Nikon vs Leica (1 Viewer)

If you had to choose between the Leica Trinovid 8 X 32 BN and the Nikon 8 X 32 SE which would you recommend ? (also taking into consideration that the Leica would cost me almost 40% more but can be afforded)

hawkeye_oo said:

If you had to choose between the Leica Trinovid 8 X 32 BN and the Nikon 8 X 32 SE which would you recommend ? (also taking into consideration that the Leica would cost me almost 40% more but can be afforded)

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Nikon HG8x32!!

Seriously you need to compare them. As well as the two you mention you should look at the HG8x32 and the Swaro EL8x32.

oh and welcome to the forum

Welcome to Birdforum from the Moderators and Admin Staff,Hawkeye...always nice to have new Members from India.
I'm sure you'll get plenty of opinions on your question,but have you tried them both yourself,which is really the best way to choose binoculars?

hawkeye_oo said:

If you had to choose between the Leica Trinovid 8 X 32 BN and the Nikon 8 X 32 SE which would you recommend ? (also taking into consideration that the Leica would cost me almost 40% more but can be afforded)

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Dear Hawkeye,

I have both and I am unhappy with the Nikon SE. It has a narrower field, but I find it prone to blackouts. Wearers of spectacles and some others share this problem. I have to hold it in a peculiar fashion to avoid the blackouts. There is a thread on this subject. Search "Nikon blackouts," to find out ways of minimising the problem. The watertight integrity of the Leica is another point in its favour.
I recommend that you try both before purchasing as binoculars are rather personal items and my needs may not match yours.

Happy birding,
Arthur Pinewood

I am a huge fan of Leica and their optical quality. Nikons are great... but I can still see the difference.

hawkeye_oo said:

If you had to choose between the Leica Trinovid 8 X 32 BN and the Nikon 8 X 32 SE which would you recommend ? (also taking into consideration that the Leica would cost me almost 40% more but can be afforded)

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The Nikon does have noticeably better optics IMO and hence for me it wins the competition. BUT your needs might well be quite different from mine. If you are likely to inadvertently take it for a swim, then the Leica wins hands down. The Leica is more compact, and this might be an issue if you are likely to do lots of hiking. For insects the Nikon is not quite so good as it can be hard to focus on nearby objects due to the distance between the objectives. And as others have mentioned, some people have trouble with blackouts. I don't except when viewing the night sky.

However, why not also consider the Nikon 8x32 HG. In the UK it is cheaper than the Leica, and IMO it has better optics: brighter image, less edge distortion, less vignetting. And it is warterproof, compact and as far as I can tell as well made as the Leica, though it is a bit heavier.

The Nikon 8x32 SE has the most Natural image I have ever seen! It's really unbelievable. Proper handling of the bins can drastically reduce blackouts, if not eliminate them. Good Luck with your search.

BTW, you're in my "Neighbourhood"

Leif said:

If you are likely to inadvertently take it for a swim, then the Leica wins hands down.

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Leif,

Actually, watertight integrity is good for more than an occasional swim: it might be just the ticket for monsoons, swamps and jungles. I have had difficulties with fungus in optics, without ever visiting the tropics. Did you ever come in from the freezing cold and have your binoculars or specs fog?
What might be going on inside the binocular?

I was very fortunate in purchasing my 8x32 BN. It was a clearance of a model in red, which Leica test marketed and then dropped.

Happy birding,
Arthur Pinewood

Pinewood said:

Leif,

Actually, watertight integrity is good for more than an occasional swim: it might be just the ticket for monsoons, swamps and jungles. I have had difficulties with fungus in optics, without ever visiting the tropics. Did you ever come in from the freezing cold and have your binoculars or specs fog?
What might be going on inside the binocular?

I was very fortunate in purchasing my 8x32 BN. It was a clearance of a model in red, which Leica test marketed and then dropped.

Happy birding,
Arthur Pinewood

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Hi Arthur: I agree with you regarding waterproofing being good in case of monsoons and so on, and indeed that is what I meant by taking it for a swim. (I was talking figuratively, or whatever the correct word is.)

However I am of the opinion that the view through the Nikon 8x32 SE is so superior to any other glass (except perhaps the new waterproof Zeiss FL), that I am willing to enjoy it knowing that I have to take a little bit of care with it. Quite a few people on this forum use the SE and do not report problems with water ingress and fogging. In fact the general opinion seems to be that they are rather tough, as long as you do not immerse them, or expose them to direct heavy rain. Of course others might disagree.

The new Zeiss FL seem to offer a similar quality of view but in a watertight package. Interestingly when I recently tried them, it was raining, and at one point the rain was quite heavy. I was impressed that I could use the binocular without any fear of damage. (I suspect the Zeiss representative had contacts in high places, and had pre-arranged some moisture, since that is clearly one of their selling points.)

Leif

I agree with Leif that there is really no contest between the Nikon 8X32 SE and the Leica 8X32 BN optically.The Nikon is better in every category of optical quality (brightness, contrast, sharpness, etc.) The old Trinovid Ultras are now really a generation behind the best current roof prism bins and probably two generations behind the new Zeiss FL's, if the reactions of those (like Leif) lucky enough to have seen the FL's are accurate. Besides isn't there supposed to be a 8X32 Ultravid in the works sometime soon?

Leica. Without a doubt. I have owned a pair of Nikons (admittedly not the ones mentioned above), and while they were good, they weren't a patch on my Leicas.

Faith said:

...(admittedly not the ones mentioned above)...

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Probably the most likely reason for your Leica preference.

No, not really. I have also tried the Swarovski ones that are supposed to be the dog's bits (and are pretty damn good, I'll admit), but I still prefer the Leicas to anything else. As for Nikon "blackouts" mentioned by Pinewood, that is also a feature of Leica BN's, and is mildly irritating. However, binocular choice, like anything else comes down to personal preference in the end.

Greetings!

While it is true that the Leica Ultravids are a bit better than the Trinovids in terms of image quality, the Nikon 8X32 HG really does have a better quality image than both of them. When I did my recent binocular comparison to buy the best 8X32 binoculars I could find, I narrowed down my list to 3 final "contenders":

Swarovski EL 8X32
Leica Trinovid 8X32 (because an Ultravid in an 8X32 doesn't yet exist)
Nikon HG 8X32.

While I liked a lot of things about the Leica Trinovid, overall it had the poorest image quality of the 3. I really like the casing of the Liecas, if I was buying a pair of binoculars based purely on ruggedness and looks, I'd probably go for the Leica. The Trinovid 8X32 is one SOLID piece of equipment, and felt quite nice in the hands. Rather light in weight too, but not that much different from the EL's (I think there is only 1 or 2 ounces difference, the EL is the lighter of the two). The Nikon was the heaviest of the three, but in terms of ergonomics it completely wins - it just feels GREAT to hold.

Focus control on the Swarovski really turned me off. I like the focus mechanism of both the Leica and the Nikon better... with the Nikon seeming to be the most responsive and "natural" of the three.

If I were to rate these, here is what I would say:

Image Quality
#1 - Tie: Nikon HG and Swarovski EL, Swarovski slightly brighter - Nikon slightly more accurate
#2 - Leica Trinovid
#3 - N/A

Ergonomics
#1 - Nikon HG
#2 - Leica Trinovid
#3 - Swarovski EL (Like I said, the focus control REALLY turned me off)

Weight
#1 - Swarovski EL
#2 - Leica Trinovid
#3 - Nikon HG

Ruggedness
#1 - Leica Trinovid
#2 - Nikon HG
#3 - Swarovski EL

Overall
#1 - Nikon HG
#2 - Tie: Leica Trinovid and Swarovski EL (this would be a VERY hard decision to make - I'd probably be inclined to go with the Leica because of ruggedness and nicer focus, but the Swarovskis image is SO nice... Very hard decision.)
#3 - N/A

In the end, I purchased the 8X32 HG's - I really do feel that they are the best 8X32 roof prism waterproof glass available, in terms of overall image quality, ergonomics, and cost (although cost was NEVER a consideration in my selection, I had the cash and didn't care how much it cost - I just wanted the best 8X32 glass I could buy).

I don't know if any of this rambling helps, I'm just sharing my impressions and the results of my testing in hopes they might be of use to you.

Best wishes,
Bawko

sorry if this rehashes anything above - not got time to read everything!

optically you'll be more than pleased with both. Both are excellent and to pick one is splitting hairs.

main concern would be how they'll stand up to hard birding (eg desert or rainforest or high up in mountains)....Leica has a good track record here, I don't know about the Nikons.

Many well-travelled birders have used Leicas - several have bubbled rubber covering due to rainforest heat but are optically fine. At the top end there really is little to pick. I used 7x 42 Zeiss for years due to engineering quality and they never let me down once in over 3 years of rainforest birding. Now got Nikons and they're holding up too. Only horror story i know of is with Swarovskis

What's the horror story then, Tim?

Hi Faith

my mate's had three pairs mist up in Peru.

henry link said:

Besides isn't there supposed to be a 8X32 Ultravid in the works sometime soon?

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Hi Henry,

AFAIK Leica is going to introduce new Ultravid x32s (8x20 and 10x25 too?) at the photokina in Cologne 28.9.-03.10. this year.
http://www.koelnmesse.de/wEnglisch/photokina/index.htm
BTW I asked Zeiss if we are going to see a Victory FL 32 line in the future but they didn´t want to tell me. : (

I had also some problems with blackouts within the SE line of Nikon. The reason for that seems to be that I´m wearing glasses and the SE eyerelief (17,4 mm) doesn´t match my individual eyerelief of about 15-16 mm. If you don´t wear glasses this shouldn´t be such a problem. With my sunglasses I didn´t have any problems with the SE. So these kind of things are also a matter of the model of glasses somebody uses. I ask myself why Nikon uses such old fashioned eyecups which aren´t adaptable to the user´s need of eyerelief. But the Leica Trinovid has only 2 positions to use too.

Let´s take a look at the accessories list. I always loved the holster for wearing at the belt Leica provides for their 32 Trinovids, a gift for the birder´s neck.

In my testings Nikons 8x32 SE and HG were on par. The SE is slightly brighter. BTW with the 10x42 HG I saw more resolution power at higher distances than with the 10x42 SE.

Under humid conditions I would always go for a real waterproof binocular such as Leica Trinovid (Ultravid?), Nikon HG or Swarovski EL (if you want to pay the extra money). So as others said: try and compare these three before buy one.

Steve






:C

Tim Allwood said:

Hi Faith

my mate's had three pairs mist up in Peru.

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Internally I take it? Not good.

yes internally

and yes not good!

an one replacement pair had a moving lens!