Ordered Leica Noctivid 8x42 - a mistake..? (1 Viewer)

I have owned the Nikon EDG 8x42 bino since 2013 and optical it is a great piece of equipment. I also like the design. But I am somewhat tired of a loose hinge and a creaping diopter. My focus knob is not perfect either.

So..today I ordered the Leica Noctivid 8x42. I have not tried it before, but I have tried the older Ultra HD Plus. I did not like the focus wheel on that one and I thought it showed to much CA. And of course..it was not sharp edge to edge like the Nikon EDG (but thats how it is designed).

Have someone compared Leica Notrivid to Nikon EDG?

How does them compare:

Sharpness?
Color?
CA?
Smoothness in focusing?
Brightness?
3D?
Use with glasses?

The Kingfisher said:

I have owned the Nikon EDG 8x42 bino since 2013 and optical it is a great piece of equipment. I also like the design. But I am somewhat tired of a loose hinge and a creaping diopter. My focus knob is not perfect either.

So..today I ordered the Leica Noctivid 8x42. I have not tried it before, but I have tried the older Ultra HD Plus. I did not like the focus wheel on that one and I thought it showed to much CA. And of course..it was not sharp edge to edge like the Nikon EDG (but thats how it is designed).

Have someone compared Leica Notrivid to Nikon EDG?

How does them compare:

Sharpness?
Color?
CA?
Smoothness in focusing?
Brightness?
3D?
Use with glasses?

Click to expand...

Hmmmmm.. So if you didn't like the focus adjustment on the EDG and didn't like the one on the UVHD+, what binoculars focus adjustment do you like? I find those two to be two of the better ones out there. The Noctivids is at least as good if not better. I don't see CA much in any of the better quality binoculars.

I have both of those binoculars and quite honestly, really like them both.

Image is very sharp. Color is as good as it gets IMO. Not the brightest but certainly among the top group of binoculars. 3D is as good as any top 8X42 roof prism binocular. Use with eyeglasses is EXCELLENT.

I don't see how you wouldn't be happy with a Noctivid. But some aren't along with the UVHD+, EDG, SF, HT, SV, etc, etc, etc.

chill6x6 said:

Hmmmmm.. So if you didn't like the focus adjustment on the EDG and didn't like the one on the UVHD+, what binoculars focus adjustment do you like? I find those two to be two of the better ones out there. The Noctivids is at least as good if not better. I don't see CA much in any of the better quality binoculars.

I have both of those binoculars and quite honestly, really like them both.

Image is very sharp. Color is as good as it gets IMO. Not the brightest but certainly among the top group of binoculars. 3D is as good as any top 8X42 roof prism binocular. Use with eyeglasses is EXCELLENT.

I don't see how you wouldn't be happy with a Noctivid. But some aren't along with the UVHD+, EDG, SF, HT, SV, etc, etc, etc.

Click to expand...

The focus wheel on my Nikon EDG is not perfect because it has some play..about 1 mm or so. And if I focus with too much pressure there is a risk that the diopter setting will change. It's not too terrible, but it is frustrating to allways have that "problem" in mind when using the binocular. Now and then I also check that the diopter setting still is set on zero.

With the Leica Noctivid I hope I will get a bino without any focus wheel play and creeping diopter. I also hope that the Noctivid would be a little bit sharper than the EDG. But I am worried about CA in the Noctivid and I'm not sure if the design with softer edges is "my cup of tea". I have also red some negativities about the placement of the focus wheel. Time will tell if the Noctivid is right for me or not, I think!

If you like the EDG why not get those issues repaired, I too have the EDG 8X42 and it is a great glass providing a flat view, only issue was my hinge had to be tightened; the focus is the best out there IMO.
I have been curious about the Noctivid 8X42 and I have heard OP say the CA was an issue but how much I do not know.

I also have the Ultravid 8X42 HD, and it provides great contrast with smooth focus with no friction , it is also a nice small package compared to other 8X42s.

Let us know how the Noctivid performs to you.

Andy W.

dries1 said:

If you like the EDG why not get those issues repaired, I too have the EDG 8X42 and it is a great glass providing a flat view, only issue was my hinge had to be tightened; the focus is the best out there IMO.
I have been curious about the Noctivid 8X42 and I have heard OP say the CA was an issue but how much I do not know.

I also have the Ultravid 8X42 HD, and it provides great contrast with smooth focus with no friction , it is also a nice small package compared to other 8X42s.

Let us know how the Noctivid performs to you.

Andy W.

Click to expand...

I have had my EDG repaired twice - tightened the hinge and tightened the diopter..and I also got the rubber armor replaced because of "bubbles". But on the other hand..I rather have a loose hinge than it's too stiff, I must say.

I will let you know how the Noctivid performs in my hands!

Just curious but given your dislike of the UVHD+ would`nt an SV or SF have been a more likely replacement for the EDG, both have field flatteners and very little C/A ?

Kingfisher,

It would be helpful to me from someone who has used the EDG to comment on the difference to the Noctivid. Not many on the forum have the EDG glass in 8X42, except Chuck who has every glass under the sun.
IMO the EDG is a premium glass.

Andy W.

It doesn't sound like you want another EDG but you want a top alpha which means Noctivid, SF or SV. Torview is correct in that the SF and SV are going to be most similar to your EDG's because of the flat field and sharp edges so if you like the EDG's you would probably like either one of those. IMO the SV will be the most similar to your EDG's because it has the flattest field and sharpest edges which is like the EDG. I personally would not buy a $2500.00 binocular with out comparing those three because although they are all excellent there are little differences with how they will fit you and work for your eye sight that you would probably prefer one over the other. At that level of optics it comes down to personal preference. You can argue endlessly over which of the three is the best but at the end of the day it matters most which one works the best for you. Try them all!

I think you'll be fine with the Noctivid. It's a first rate binocular with very few shortcomings.

I don't think I have DIRECTLY compared the EDG and the Noctivid. Optically it's just going to be hard to better the EDG. The Noctivid may be a little brighter and maybe a little better color. Splitting hairs here. EDG will be sharper edge to edge. The Noctivid is a little more refined product IMO.

The best thing about an EDG I have found is very few know what it is. It's just a Nikon.

How do the Nikon EDG 8x32 compare to the 8x42? There seems to be about $1000 price difference between the two sizes. That seems like a lot. I've always wanted to own or at least look through a EDG as I've been hearing such good things about them for many years now, however over three grand is just something I'm not ready to part with. Two grand and I might just talk myself into it. Plus I'm always hiking with binoculars so weight and size are factors . If I remember the 32 is pretty heavy as it is.

Torview said:

Just curious but given your dislike of the UVHD+ would`nt an SV or SF have been a more likely replacement for the EDG, both have field flatteners and very little C/A ?

Click to expand...

Just a quick answer on your question right now. I have tried every alpha bin (8x42) there is to try..except the Leica Noctivid. The SV had too much rolling ball and on the SF I did not like the placement of the focus wheel.

Of all alpha bins I have tried I like the Nikon EDG best. I think the optics is almost perfect..sharp all the way to the edge, but without rolling ball. It handle CA well and the design is good. The focusing is very nice for the most time, but sometimes it's a little bit stiff and sometimes it is very very smooth. If Nikon could fix the problem with creeping diopter and the focus wheel play..the EDG had been absolutely perfect.

I will try the Leica Noctivid (difficult name to remember...) when it arrives - then I will take a descision if it is a keeper or not. Otherwise I will send my EDG for repair once again and hope that they can fix the problems permanent!

The Kingfisher said:

I will try the Leica Noctivid (difficult name to remember...) when it arrives - then I will take a descision if it is a keeper or not. Otherwise I will send my EDG for repair once again and hope that they can fix the problems permanent!

Click to expand...

At least you'll be able to compare them directly with each other. Its disturbing to hear about the diopter drift and your other issues with the EDG. Its been on my list of bins to watch out for, and, so many sing their praises. The main criticisms aimed at it are the non-functional objective covers, the loose hinge (for some), and the 'batman' type design elements. Optics and focuser seem to be well regarded.

You're accomplished the dilemma of owning a very well regarded binocular, so there's very little room to improve, with perhaps the exception of reliability and accessories.

-Bill

wdc said:

At least you'll be able to compare them directly with each other. Its disturbing to hear about the diopter drift and your other issues with the EDG. Its been on my list of bins to watch out for, and, so many sing their praises. The main criticisms aimed at it are the non-functional objective covers, the loose hinge (for some), and the 'batman' type design elements. Optics and focuser seem to be well regarded.

You're accomplished the dilemma of owning a very well regarded binocular, so there's very little room to improve, with perhaps the exception of reliability and accessories.

-Bill

Click to expand...

I got a new pair of Nikon objective covers sent to me for some years ago and they are perfectly fine!

I have got a message from the company who dilever packages, and my Leica should arrive today. So..about 7 hours in the future I have the Leica Noctivid in my hands..

I am reading a review of the Leica Noctivid 8x42 and is surpriced to read that the bino has field-flatting lenses. I did not know that!

This is one part of the review:

We’ve seen an absolutely wonderful trend emerge with premium binocular models: lens systems designed to increase peripheral edge clarity (often referred to as field-flatting lenses), accompanied by an ever-widening field of view. Swarovski was first to popularize this with their Swarovision EL, then Zeiss introduced similar design with the Victory SF, and now Leica has embraced this trend with the Noctivid and its 404-foot/1,000-yard field of view. This is the optical feature that sets the Noctivid apart from Leica’s Ultravid HD Plus and brings Leica’s binocular line up to speed with their competitors. Although it’s tempting to ask “What took you so long?” //

Interesting! Nice with sharper edges than the Ultravid HD Plus, but does it mean that the Noctivid has less 3D?

The Kingfisher said:

I am reading a review of the Leica Noctivid 8x42 and is surpriced to read that the bino has field-flatting lenses. I did not know that!

This is one part of the review:

We’ve seen an absolutely wonderful trend emerge with premium binocular models: lens systems designed to increase peripheral edge clarity (often referred to as field-flatting lenses), accompanied by an ever-widening field of view. Swarovski was first to popularize this with their Swarovision EL, then Zeiss introduced similar design with the Victory SF, and now Leica has embraced this trend with the Noctivid and its 404-foot/1,000-yard field of view. This is the optical feature that sets the Noctivid apart from Leica’s Ultravid HD Plus and brings Leica’s binocular line up to speed with their competitors. Although it’s tempting to ask “What took you so long?” //

Interesting! Nice with sharper edges than the Ultravid HD Plus, but does it mean that the Noctivid has less 3D?

Click to expand...

As far as I understand the Noctivid does not have any typical field-flatteners like the SV. The Noctivid FOV is slightly curved but the edge sharpness is (better than in the Ultravids (larger sweet spot)). Probably would be difficult to preserve the "3D-effect" otherwise.

"- A very large sweet spot for a non-field-flattener design. Very much like Swaro SLC series.
"
https://www.birdforum.net/showpost.php?p=3479090&postcount=65

I spoke directly to the folks on the Leica stand at Bird Fair when Nvids were introduced: they said no field flatteners, and yet there is a lens or doublet in the field flattener position just above the prisms. See pic.

Lee

Troubador said:

I spoke directly to the folks on the Leica stand at Bird Fair when Nvids were introduced: they said no field flatteners, and yet there is a lens or doublet in the field flattener position just above the prisms. See pic.

Lee

Click to expand...

But that lens element looks quite modest compared to the humongous SV field flattener lens:

https://www.birdforum.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=537740&d=1427571133

Do you think the Noctivids appear to have a flat view?

I think there is a "degree of flattness" here. But semantically, if it's not flat it's curved..

I have now got my ordered Leica Noctivid 8x42. My first thoughts about it (and compared to Nikon EDG 8x42):

- Sharpness: As some other alpha binos it feels like it is super sharp in the middle. And it is of course, but with the EDG (which feels softer) I often see more details. Maybe the Leica have better resolution on a tripod, but hand holding the binoculars I could se text/letters clearer with the EDG.

Sharpness, edge: The Leica was better than I thought it would be, but the EDG is the better one with it's field flatter lenses.

Brightness: Leica is very bright - clearly brighter than the EDG. No surprise here.

CA: The EDG shows less CA than the Noctivid, but the Noctivid is much better than I thought it would be. That was very nice to see!

Backlight: The Noctivid shines here - it was fantastic and clearly better than the EDG.

Colors: Both are great and both are (or almost are) neutral.

Focus wheel: The Leica was rather good, but it is not smooth like the one on the EDG (but on my EDG sample it is smooth sometimes and sometimes it is rather stiff, and thats a little frustrating).

Built: I have had some issues with my Nikon EDG; loose sealing, creeping diopter and play in the focus wheel. I do not think the same issues will appear on the Leica.

Objective covers: They work very good on my Nikon EDG, but the Leica covers is really great. Better than those for Nikon!

In my hands: The Nikon EDG fit my hands nicely - almost perfect. The Leica is only okey to handle, I think.

Eye placement: For me, this is the week point with the Leica Noctivid. I thought this would be one of the best things with the Noctivid, but I had big trouble to get a good eye placement. I do not know why, because I tried everything to get a nicer viewing, but failed. The EDG felt much much more comfortable to use (I wear glasses).

Overall: The Leica Noctivid is a very bright binocular which is fantastic in backlight and well build. It has some strong points, but for me the Nikon EDG is the bino I prefer. The EDG is very comfortable to use and have great first class optics. Okey, it is not as good as the Noctivids in backlight, but in normal light I think it is. Actually..I see birds better/clearer with the EDG than with the Noctivid. Colors seems to "pop" more with the EDG and details are more visible too. And the Nikon have a very nice relaxing view!

I will try the Leica Noctivid a little bit moore, but right now I think it is not a keeper. The glass may be fantastic, but I have big trouble with eye placement when using it. That's a shame!

Vespobuteo said:

But that lens element looks quite modest compared to the humongous SV field flattener lens:

https://www.birdforum.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=537740&d=1427571133

Do you think the Noctivids appear to have a flat view?

I think there is a "degree of flattness" here. But semantically, if it's not flat it's curved..

Click to expand...

You are right about the modest appearance of the element compared with the EL SV but maybe it is similar to SF's. In any case we do not know for sure what it is. I didn't look for field flatness when I tried Nvid at Bird Fair as I was more concerned to find out about the 'plasticity' and 3D-effect of the image at the time.

Lee

Hej Kingfisher - thank you for your thoughts on both binoculars. It's always interesting to read what others think of binoculars you handled and looked through, as I was able to do last August. My experience was very similar to yours: Noctivid superior in brightness, very sharp in the sweet spot, and I like the saturated Leica colours - EDG with excellent focus feel (everything said about it in Birdforum was true!), better placed focuser and flat field, but seemed quite dark to my eyes compared to other alphas. I think the EDG would really show its strengths in a different environment to our often grey soggy British conditions and of course Nikon binoculars are sold and used all over the world. One aspect of the 8x42 Noctivid I really liked was that the view reminded me somewhat of the large objective binoculars (8x56 SLC and 8x54 and 10x54 HT) I'd looked through earlier. It wasn't quite the same, but closer to it than the other x42 class alphas, and I'm not quite sure why (and would like to know if anyone else experienced the same).

There is a post in the Nikon subforum (https://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=342391) with some detailed info on how to adjust the hinge tension of the EDG. If you have or can get access to the right tools it should be possible to adjust hinge tension to your requirements. Unfortunately the diopter won't be fixed so easily...