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Leica official Rainguards - inter-changable? (1 Viewer)

Dialyt

Dialyt

The Definitive Binocular
I was wondering if anyone can answer this query:

I have a pair of Leica Ultravid 8x32BR - I find the supplied rainguard too rubbery and grippy - it's too tight and it is possible during removable to actually remove the eyecups also.

So I was wondering if the Leica Trinovid 8x32 rainguard is suitable for the Ultravid 8x32BR, as in does it provide a looser but more effective fit? I realise that this may be a long shot, but if you have any knowledge of this issue I would be most grateful to hear about it.

The model number of the Leica Trinovid rainguard I'm interested in is 42156 and it is marked LEICA CAMERA GMBH GERMANY. (I think it is possible that the first generation LEICA Trinovid rainguards were of a better rubber material than those supplied with the LEICA Trinovid BN models, but I could be wrong.)
 
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I thought I'd reply as no one else has yet.
First, this s/b in binoculars, not spotting scopes.
Second, I have 8x32 BNs and the rainguard is the 42156 you describe and it is exactly the same quality as my 10x42 BAs, circa 1996. I no longer have these.
Third, I also have Ultravids (7x42) and I agree the Trinovid guard is superior.

Since the 8x32 rainguards don't fit the 7x42 Ultravids, I can't help you there. If reasonable, I wouldn't mind buying a Trinovid rain guard for the Ultravids myself, if they fit.
 
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Kevin Conville said:
I thought I'd reply as no one else has yet.
First, this s/b in binoculars, not spotting scopes.
Second, I have 8x32 BNs and the rainguard is the 42156 you describe and it is exactly the same quality as my 10x42 BAs, circa 1996. I no longer have these.
Third, I also have Ultravids (7x42) and I agree the Trinovid guard is superior.

Since the 8x32 rainguards don't fit the 7x42 Ultravids, I can't help you there. If reasonable, I wouldn't mind buying a Trinovid rain guard for the Ultravids myself, if they fit.
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Thanks. Anyone else got any ideas?
 
Good news: I've just been on to Leica UK and placed an order for the rainguard for the Trinovid 8x32 which I'm told fits perfectly the Ultravid 8x32. Cost around £12 including vat and no postage charge.

I was just about to order one from some bloke in South Africa off ebay but then it occurred to me to check with Leica first. Glad I did as it's much cheaper!
 
I use a Duovid rainguard on by regular pair of 8x42 Ultravids and have Geovid rainguards on my other two pairs of x42 Ultras (BR and BL). You can take it I dont think much of the Ultras rainguard in that I gave replaced them on all my pairs!
 
Steve Dudley said:
I use a Duovid rainguard on by regular pair of 8x42 Ultravids and have Geovid rainguards on my other two pairs of x42 Ultras (BR and BL). You can take it I dont think much of the Ultras rainguard in that I gave replaced them on all my pairs!
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I like Leica binoculars a lot, but it makes me wonder how a company that has been involved in making binoculars for so long (100 years?) can provide such appalling rainguards with their premium products. It makes me think that these rainguards really were designed by some dude in an office who'd never been outside with a pair of binoculars, ever! Hopefully, this kind of feedback will lead to real improvements in future.

The rainguard provided with my first pair of Leica bins, an 8x32BA Trinovid, bought in 1995, and marked 'Leica Camera GMBH' was the very best rainguard I've seen. I can add here the rainguard for the Zeiss Dialyt 7x42 as it too is an excellent, truly useful and useable rainguard.
 
Dialyt said:
I like Leica binoculars a lot, but it makes me wonder how a company that has been involved in making binoculars for so long (100 years?) can provide such appalling rainguards with their premium products. It makes me think that these rainguards really were designed by some dude in an office who'd never been outside with a pair of binoculars, ever! Hopefully, this kind of feedback will lead to real improvements in future.

The rainguard provided with my first pair of Leica bins, an 8x32BA Trinovid, bought in 1995, and marked 'Leica Camera GMBH' was the very best rainguard I've seen. I can add here the rainguard for the Zeiss Dialyt 7x42 as it too is an excellent, truly useful and useable rainguard.
Click to expand...

Though I agree the Trinovid, and probably (no experience) Duovid and Geovid, rainguards are clearly a better design, I wouldn't characterize the Ultravid rainguard as "appalling".
They're fussier than the Trinovids in that they aren't very stiff where the cups are joined therefore requiring one to look at what they're doing putting them on. They also have too much taper and are of a stickier material that conspire to make them fit too tightly. The key here is to put them on lightly.

This is my way of saying I've seen plenty worse designs from other makers, and some of those might be called appalling ;)
It does cause one to wonder why Leica seemingly took a step backward regarding these things however.

Oh, while we're on a Leica bitchfest, I don't like their fancy neck strap either. It places raw neoprene on your neck if not wearing a collar. I prefer Bushnell's straps (for one example) that are lined inside and out... much more comfortable.
 
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Kevin Conville said:
Though I agree the Trinovid, and probably (no experience) Duovid and Geovid, rainguards are clearly a better design, I wouldn't characterize the Ultravid rainguard as "appalling".
They're fussier than the Trinovids in that they aren't very stiff where the cups are joined therefore requiring one to look at what they're doing putting them on. They also have too much taper and are of a stickier material that conspire to make them fit too tightly. The key here is to put them on lightly.

This is my way of saying I've seen plenty worse designs from other makers, and some of those might be called appalling ;)
Click to expand...

Yes I agree. The Leica Ultravid rainguard design is only poor. I can think of one other manufacturer, one of the big three, whose name does not begin with Z, whose rainguard design was, in my humble opinion, an insult to the entire human race!

I think, when we are spending many hundreds of pounds/dollars on a product, we are reasonable to expect a rainguard which does the job without any tears or annoyance.
 
I received the new Leica Trinovid rainguard this morning. I think it is a much better design than the Ultravid one and is much easier to fit to the eyecups and is of a more substantial design. It comes off the eyecups a bit more easily, but still there remains the risk of accidentally removing the eyecups when you quickly remove the rainguard. The risk was pretty bad with the Ultravid rainguard and is somewhat reduced with the Trinovid rainguard.

The problem remains with all the Ultravid eyecups: they are too easily removed form the binocular body when removing the rainguard. I hope Leica will take note of this for the design of their future binoculars. The eyecups need to feature an unscrewing mechanism (similar to current Swarovski EL), or an additional clickstop, or better still - a combination of the two features, before they will come off. Otherwise, as is the case with the Ultravid and Ultravid HD, there is a risk of losing an eyecup in the field. This risk is needless and should not have made it to the final product, and certainly not to second generation Ultravid HD models. I'll be writing to Leica about this very soon. I would also suggest others do this too - Leica specifically welcome this kind of feedback and it should lead to better products in the future.
 
Dialyt said:
The problem remains with all the Ultravid eyecups
Click to expand...

Not with my Ultravids. Their eyecups don't seem to be going anywhere and I've tried to understand what you are talking about regarding these, and cannot.
Maybe it's ben revised or corrected, I've had mine for about three weeks. I've wiggled, pulled, and twisted them to try to get them to exhibit what you've described and they're not budging. Go figure.
 
Kevin Conville said:
Not with my Ultravids. Their eyecups don't seem to be going anywhere and I've tried to understand what you are talking about regarding these, and cannot.
Maybe it's ben revised or corrected, I've had mine for about three weeks. I've wiggled, pulled, and twisted them to try to get them to exhibit what you've described and they're not budging. Go figure.
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Mine were the same, but give it time - three weeks is not long enough.

It's an acknowledged problem - an employee at the Leica stand at Birdfair 2007 agreed with me when I demonstrated it for him/her. (I hope I don't get him/her into trouble!)

Basically, the Leica Ultravid full size binocular eyecups have three settings: one for spectacle wearers and two for non-spectacle wearers. It is this last position that is problematic - in the final position, you can pull the eyecups straight off: this is part of the design to aid cleaning, since removable eyecups are good as far as cleaning is concerned. But, the problem arises when you fit the supplied rainguard too tightly, as is easily done. Then you spot an exciting bird, pull off the rainguard and with it, potentially, an eyecup or two. It's not actually happened to me in the field, but the fact that it is a distinct possibility on an £800 or £1300 pair of binoculars is of major concern as far as I can see.

Like I say, give your bins time, and you should come to see the flaw as I see it, and Leica themselves acknowledge, at least off the record!! Ultravid and Ultravid HD are both affected by this design flaw (I'm calling it a design flaw, others may not agree.)
 
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OK, I got it.

I was able to pull them off in the outermost position as you indicated. There are three ball bearings that the internal slotted cams of the eyepieces ride along and in the last position one can pull the eyecup out.

Mine takes a bit of force to do this and is quite unlikely to happen (for me) when removing the rainguard as I just never put the rainguard on very tight. I can see where removing the eyecup would cause wear that would create a "ramp" at the end of the groove in the eyecup that would allow the ball to ride up and over it easier with repeated removals.

For you, maybe a replacement of the eyecups is all that is required to make them tighter and not come off so easily. I wouldn't make a habit of removing them for no unimportant reason and wouldn't normally be doing this to clean the oculars lenses.
 
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Kevin Conville said:
OK, I got it.

I was able to pull them off in the outermost position as you indicated. There are three ball bearings that the internal slotted cams of the eyepieces ride along and in the last position one can pull the eyecup out.

Mine takes a bit of force to do this and is quite unlikely to happen (for me) when removing the rainguard as I just never put the rainguard on very tight. I can see where removing the eyecup would cause wear that would create a "ramp" at the end of the groove in the eyecup that would allow the ball to ride up and over it easier with repeated removals.

For you, maybe a replacement of the eyecups is all that is required to make them tighter and not come off so easily. I wouldn't make a habit of removing them for no unimportant reason and wouldn't normally be doing this to clean the oculars lenses.
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When I first got them, I though maybe Leica had changed the design from my last pair of Ultravids, as the eyecups seemed impossible to remove, and I didn't want to force them and risk damage. But with time, a couple of months or less, they came off quite easily. I believe the whole idea of removable eyecups is ease of cleaning and this is true, it does aid the cleaning process. But I've sort-of got round the problem by having the eyecups in the middle position, so it is impossible to remove them accidentally. This is not totally ideal from an eye-relief point of view, but I can live with it. It's little things like this which, to me, make all the difference, and affect the overall experience. I think these little things are the indicators that theses sorts of things are designed by people who don't actually use binoculars in the field, and what seems like a good idea in an office or design studio, may not be such a good idea in the real world. Take note Leica!
 
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