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Leica Ultravids (thread contains a variety of topics, optic reviews & other binos) (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Chas4045
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Re the hunting saga, I think Grousemore was putting forward his personal opinion rather than any Birdforum policy (we don't have any policy as such in these matters). We welcome all comments on optics, as it's all useful input in some way or another to prospective purchasers.
As long as members don't go into detail about their hunting exploits (it is a birding site afterall), they are more than welcome to share their knowledge/experience of binos & scopes (of the spotting variety) with others.
Remember that it is a global site, with members from various cultures.
As long as members don't go into detail about their hunting exploits (it is a birding site afterall), they are more than welcome to share their knowledge/experience of binos & scopes (of the spotting variety) with others.
Remember that it is a global site, with members from various cultures.
Grousemore
Senior Member
My earlier Post was indeed my personal opinion;if it was Bird Forum policy,I would have deleted the Posting.
My opinion remains unchanged,that this is a Birding site and optics are a subsidiary part,whereas Hunting is not.
My opinion remains unchanged,that this is a Birding site and optics are a subsidiary part,whereas Hunting is not.
Grousemore said:
The posting that you objected to was on topic i.e. interesting comments were made about optics. So I fail to see the problem. I sometimes use binoculars for mushroom hunting, so maybe I should keep shtum about that!
Anyway, he mentioned Fujinon porro prism binoculars which an example of modest priced porro prism binoculars and are said to have superb optics. Sadly they have individual eyepiece focus which presumably rules them out for birding.
Scampo: What would be examples of user bias? Surely people post their own experiences, which to me is more useful than many magazine reviews. I have owned or used extensively Leica 10x32, Zeiss 8x30 BGAT, Nikon 8x32 SE, Nikon 8x32 HG, Nikon 8x42 HG, Nikon 8x40 Egret, Viking 8x40, Zeiss 8x20 Classic and Swarovski 8.5x42 and certainly have my own favourites from that list.
pduxon
Quacked up Member
Grousemore said:
Grousey -
a) the guy may be a hunter but he may like birds - apparently the two aren't mutually exclusive.
b) Also bear in mind he's expressing himself in a foreign language and a damn sight better than most of the Brits could in a non native tongue - so perhaps you should cut him some slack.
c) you are a moderator and should be a little bit more careful what you say.
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pduxon
Quacked up Member
Leif said:
Why should your or my opinion be any more or less valid than a magazine? At the end of the day if you buy anything on anyones recommendation other than your own eyes you are stark raving bonkers(ok if you are unsure and lots of friends tell you a are better than b). I thought Scampos scope quest proved this rather well.
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pduxon said:
In my experience magazine reviews seem to have a bias towards roof prism binoculars. The Swift Audubon 8.5x44 are never mentioned AFAIK. Magazines reviews also tend to ignore issues that to me are important e.g. excessive chromatic aberration in the Leica 8x32 BN and Nikon 8x42 HG. Obviously you have to be careful and never accept the word of one unknown person. However, I bought a pair of used Nikon 8x32 SE on the basis of numerous user reviews and was surprised to find that the praise was well justified.
I don't know about you but I find it hard to judge the quality of optics in a store, even one with good viewing facilities. Maybe other people are better than me?
I certainly agree that no-one should buy expensive binoculars without trying out a selection.
pduxon
Quacked up Member
Leif said:
Fair point (oh and stark raving bonkers - was a tadge ott don't you think on my part !! I wasn't in the best of humour when I typed that !!)
Testing at a shop etc is difficult.frankly a few days test drive out in the field is what we really need. The Leica red bins strikes me as a really good idea.
If some of you don't want me to discuss optics here,well then i can stop.Most birders know much more about optics than most hunters.That's my reason for writing here.And i wanted to be honest about that.Birding and hunting;i don't see why there must be a conflict.BTW i only hunt deer and reindeers.That's my last word in this forum,at least about hunting.
Jasonbirder
Jason-occasional-twitcher
Welcome Laika - please feel free to keep posting!
scampo
Steve Campsall
Leif said:
What a list of binos - but I suppose if I added up my own list it would be pretty long. I saw some of my best birds with my first "proper" bins - a pair of East German Zeiss 10x50s and I have fine memories of those binoculars. But - they were large, heavy and misted up easily. The Optolyth Alpins I followed them with are still used by my son and are quite superb - he has no desire to change them.
About personal opinions I think what I said was reasonable. For instance, whilst always interesting to read, some of the comments made against Leica and Swarovski have rather surprised me.
I enjoy reading magazine reviews and find them useful but often superficial these days - which is a shame because the testers should have the time and facilities to produce a fuller and more useful review. A panel of reviewers does seem to me to be a good idea.
I remain convinced that it is human nature to feel that the decisions we make are sound, logical, rational, weighed up between the pros and cons and so forth - especially when we have paid a small fortune for a product. We also have a desire to pass on this conviction and this does not always lead to the most objective analysis and commentary to be made - as interesting as it still might be to others to read and consider.
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scampo said:
I'm sure some people do overrate their bins for the reasons you give. If you search the web you'll find many reviews which are less than fawning and taken as a whole you can build up a rounded feel for a given product.
Mind you reviews on web sites such as epinions should be taken with a pinch of salt as reviewers are paid a small commission. I know because I have earned a massive $5. :king: Similarly I don't trust reviews attached to shops - BVD excepted - for obvious reasons.
scampo said:
Scampo/PDuxon: I can't spend the money until it hits $100. That's a condition on overseas reviewers. So I won't see a penny. Oh well.
Scampo: Yes I did take all the fungi pictures. Fungi are pretty amazing beasties! There are some even more stunning ones that I have never seen. Clathrus archerii is known as the squid fungus because it looks like a squid, with red tentacles! Cyathus species are known as Bird's Nest fungi because they look like bird's nests and they even contain little white eggs that are ejected when it rains. I could ramble on, but best not in this forum!
refocussing
Well, hello to everybody. I just discovered this forum while searching google for Leica Ultravid information. What I have read so far, has been of utmost interest to me. I have one thing right now with respect to Tim's post. I have an old pair of Kowa 7x50s which I used as a kid (I am beyond 60 now), and we used to marvel about this hardly having to focus. Well, the quality is mostly in your eyes, and not in your binoculars, as I can tell now. When I try those still wonderful but heavy 7x50s, I constantly need to refocus, just about as with other binoculars (allowing for the lesser magnification, of course). Thus, it just depends on how stiff one's eye lenses have become whether you need to refocus often or not.
Robert/Swissboy
Tim Allwood said:
Well, hello to everybody. I just discovered this forum while searching google for Leica Ultravid information. What I have read so far, has been of utmost interest to me. I have one thing right now with respect to Tim's post. I have an old pair of Kowa 7x50s which I used as a kid (I am beyond 60 now), and we used to marvel about this hardly having to focus. Well, the quality is mostly in your eyes, and not in your binoculars, as I can tell now. When I try those still wonderful but heavy 7x50s, I constantly need to refocus, just about as with other binoculars (allowing for the lesser magnification, of course). Thus, it just depends on how stiff one's eye lenses have become whether you need to refocus often or not.
Robert/Swissboy
laika said:
Oh, don't be too shy, though. I participated for a long time in a hunters' site on optics, though I never openly said that I was a birder. But the important point is, that we all use optics, and we can share experiences on that level for the benefit of all.
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