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New Leicas - Let the Games Begin! (1 Viewer)

brocknroller

brocknroller

porromaniac
United States
Extree, Extree, read all about it (well, not all, not even much, just a teaser):

http://www.birdforum.net/showpost.php?p=2838871&postcount=14

Okay, Lee, spill the beans, all of 'em. Either you tell us wuz up with Leica or the speculatin' will begin, and you know how that goes. Nano nano coatings....Perger prisms....$3K price tag....built-in GPS...field flattners, open bridge (or open hinge)....micro video camera imbedded (Ultravideos)....an ultra smooth focuser...etc...etc...

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Yes, we definitly need another thread with a few hundred posts about a new binocular that has not even be annouced yet!

So, what about a new Duovid with similar weight and FOV than the HT or SV? Not sure if that is possible, but that would be a killer!
 
brocknroller said:
Extree, Extree, read all about it (well, not all, not even much, just a teaser):

http://www.birdforum.net/showpost.php?p=2838871&postcount=14

Okay, Lee, spill the beans, all of 'em. Either you tell us wuz up with Leica or the speculatin' will begin, and you know how that goes. Nano nano coatings....Perger prisms....$3K price tag....built-in GPS...field flattners, open bridge (or open hinge)....micro video camera imbedded (Ultravideos)....an ultra smooth focuser...etc...etc...

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Click to expand...

Sorry Brock

I have no details on the beans themselves, only a well-founded indication that an announcement of new Ultravids will be made by Leica to celebrate the opening of the new factory back in Wetzlar, sometime in October.

Still any new beans from the Red Dot are newsworthy events, almost as newsworthy as the fact that 'Carl' (poor lad) will be disappearing and, 'within soon' as they say sur le continent, Carl Zeiss will be known simply as 'Zeiss'.

Leo
 
Troubador said:
Sorry Brock

I have no details on the beans themselves, only a well-founded indication that an announcement of new Ultravids will be made by Leica to celebrate the opening of the new factory back in Wetzlar, sometime in October.

Still any new beans from the Red Dot are newsworthy events, almost as newsworthy as the fact that 'Carl' (poor lad) will be disappearing and, 'within soon' as they say sur le continent, Carl Zeiss will be known simply as 'Zeiss'.

Leo
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Troub,

I have a feeling you know more than you're letting on but are clamming up to protect your "Deep Throat" source at Leica. Throw him under the bus and post what you know to WikiLeaks. You can always seek asylum in Russia. ;)

We all knew this was coming, with new Zeiss and Swaro models abounding, and an EDG II out for over two years, the Royal Order of the Red Dot had to either evolve or become a vestigial appendage and lose sales to the competition if it already hasn't happened. Except for the Trinnie Rebels, who will stick with their original Trinnies, thank you very much.

Plus the new Trinnie went over a like 99 lead balloons. Leica needs a grand slam in the post-season.

Of course, if Leica comes out with an Ultravid HD II with incremental improvements at a higher price, that could backfire since I think most buyers are finally hip to the old Incremental Changes for Diminishing Return$ scam now.

I think the biggest improvement the company can make isn't technological, but in their warranty and customer service. Bring back the Goodwill Policy so that the plebeians and youngins can own a Leica w/out having to worry about getting stuck with repair bills almost the price of the second-hand bin itself. Plus, as those plebs and whipper snappers improve their lot in life, they have been introduced to the Leica brand and will move on up to the East Side and finally get a piece of the pie (with new red dots on it).

Of course, the other way they could recruit first time buyers is do what Zeiss did -- introduce a Leica at a more affordable price point - a Leica Volksbin. I have a hard time seeing that, but in these trying times, Tomorrow Never Knows.

As to Carl, sorry to see him go, but Zeiss Jena has been defunct for decades, so I don't think we really need to make the distinction any longer. His last name will live on in perpetuity.

Carl Zeiss AG RIP: 1846-2013

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Good.
It's about time Leica updated there Ultravid range.
Would also be nice to see a magnesium clad Duovid with FL glass and an improved fov.

Tim
 
I wonder how long it will take to hit the shelves after it's announced.
I hope the price tag isn't too extreme...and I hope they keep it small-ish
and relatively light.
 
ticl2184 said:
Good.
It's about time Leica updated there Ultravid range.
Would also be nice to see a magnesium clad Duovid with FL glass and an improved fov.
Click to expand...

I'm personally not at all interested in any "improved" Ultravids.

The only new Leica I'd be interested in is one that features the perger prism.

Hermann
 
Delays, delays, delays

Friends

It seems my information about the timing of the opening of the new factory and the announcement of new models was optimistic.

Sorry for raising hopes and expectations, but it appears that it will be 2014 before any of these developments take place after all.

In the meantime Rejoice: Terra ED, Conquest HD and Victory FL and HT are available NOW!

TroubaLee
 
Lee, either Leica or you have been influenced by a discredited German co. which tried that one on us recently with their own top model. The delay was about a year as I recall, but I don't recall the name of the co. ;) What are those models you list - who makes them? No-one on Bf. has heard of them. Pl. enlighten us if it's worth our time.
 
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Hmmm.... Leica and Pentax... both still in a coma... It seems that they've both been in limbo too long. Could this indicate they are de-emphasizing their respective sport optics divisions?
 
St. Elmo said:
Hmmm.... Leica and Pentax... both still in a coma... It seems that they've both been in limbo too long. Could this indicate they are de-emphasizing their respective sport optics divisions?
Click to expand...

Well, Pentax has merged with Ricoh, so they might be a little preoccupied by their shared photography business, which is really hurting.
Leica has not formally become part of Panasonic/Matsushita, but they sure are working pretty closely together in cameras. It would be surprising if they have not discussed sport optics, where stabilization really makes a demonstrable difference. A stabilized glass with a good warranty and a red dot on it would be a breakthrough product, imho. I hope Leica offers such a one, a second generation design, succeeding the initial Canon and Fuji models.
Full disclosure: I love my image stabilized Canon 10x42ISL, but believe that a chintzy warranty and brick like ergonomics have thwarted the market success of this wonderful glass.
 
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St. Elmo said:
Hmmm.... Leica and Pentax... both still in a coma... It seems that they've both been in limbo too long. Could this indicate they are de-emphasizing their respective sport optics divisions?
Click to expand...

Elmo

Anything is possible but Leica is building a new factory back in Wetzlar instead of down the road in Solms.

It is not at all clear what this delay means or why it has happened only days before the opening was supposed to happen.

Lee
 
pompadour said:
Lee, either Leica or you have been influenced by a discredited German co. which tried that one on us recently with their own top model. The delay was about a year as I recall, but I don't recall the name of the co. ;) What are those models you list - who makes them? No-one on Bf. has heard of them. Pl. enlighten us if it's worth our time.
Click to expand...

Poor old Pompadour

Of course it is well known that as we get older, our memory becomes unreliable, it starts to fail, and becomes especially poor at remembering recent events.

My condolences go to you Pomp as this appears to have happened to you sooner than might have been predicted.

And there is no purpose in me reminding you who manufactures all of those world beating bins, because you will only forget it all tomorrow.

Still, look on the bright side, there are compensations: you can read all those posts from Dennis and forget about them in just a few minutes o:)

Best wishes Troub
 
Here is an example of the kind of thing Leica has been busy with over
the last few years. Just some bling. Ostrich leather, does that turn off
some on here?

Hopefully they are on to bringing out a new high-end model, to compete
with the others on the market today.

Jerry
 

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Jerry... for a real turn off, go to the Leica website for an eyeful of the new "Colorline" series of compact binoculars. It looks like 1970's fashions are back again (Heaven forbid).

And, by the way, it's not ostrich... it's leather embossed in an ostrich leather pattern ... after all when you're in some equatorial jungle rain forest during the wet season, you need equipment that just won't fail. I can just see the boys at the Leica torture testing tank choosing good old cow leather instead of bird leather for it's water repellency qualities. Karl, vot du yu tink abaut dis bird shtuff? Iss da sahme craap. Letz goh hohm.
 
St. Elmo said:
It looks like 1970's fashions are back again (Heaven forbid).
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:eek!:

They can't be serious...

img27907.jpg
 
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