Leica Trinovid 7x35 2019 (Retrovid) First impressions.
My initial idea was to post this as an answer to another two threads about the 7x35 Retrovid being a viable everyday birding binocular and also about the possibility of the Retrovid replacing a top 8x32, which in my case is the Swarovski EL SV (a 2016 model. Please note that my unit has been to Absam for refurbishment and AFAIK, both the rubber armour focus wheel and eyepieces have been updated).
Given the space limitations, I've divided it in two consecutive posts.
I love 7x binoculars, I usually find a great difference in the field between 7x and 8x, something that can probably be measured (depth of field, stability due to less shaking) and something that is surely pure perception (and hence a personal experience sometimes difficult to put into words). Usually 7x gives me an enhanced feeling of 3D, or immersive view if you like. I say 3D because most of my 7x experience has been Porro prism binoculars, but after using some 7x roofs (7x42 FL, 7x33 Granite, etc.) I can see this feeling of “immersiveness” (if that word ever exists) has to do with 7x, regardless of the type of prism.
In short (you can skip the lengthy text and go to the last sentence): the view through these is mind-blowing. Sharp, “warm and beautiful” (as in "Leica View" TM), full of contrast and “more real than reality itself”, if you know what I mean.
For the sake of comparison, I’ll use a well known contender, a 8x32 EL SV pre-FP (2016).
First I’ll go with the good news and then I’ll cover the not so good.
The view. Seriously. These deliver such a wonderful view you just don’t want to put them down and you end up using them simply because the world looks a nicer place through them (more beautiful, more interesting), and you end up indulging in the prolonged contemplation of trees, branches, clouds or just about anything that appears on sight. What is so special about it? The feeling of space, the 3D-esque/porro-esque immersion in the scene you’re observing. I think there are 3 things that help produce this feeling. First is the contrast. Comparing the ELSV and the Retrovid in different light situations, the image on the ELSV looks washed, while the image on the Retrovid looks as if someone just hit the “contrast boost” button. When you return to the ELSV you keep wondering who turned the contrast off. On one hand, the blacks, the shadows, the parts of the image that give it more volume are simply on another league in the Retrovid, then the colours on the Leica are warmer (“Leica View" TM), a bit more saturated, sweeter, and pleasing to the eye, I’m not sure if this actually means they are more true to reality, but they’re like a drug you get addicted to. The colour cast on the ELSV looks greenish after switching from the Retrovid. On the other hand, because of the increased depth of field you get this transparency, this “immersiveness”, as if the air was cleaner through the lenses of the Leica, as if it had just rained. It is difficult to explain. It can also be that the overall feeling (under daylight) is that the scene through the ELSV is “brighter” as in more clear, as if it was richer in more clear tones (yellows, lighter shades of green) and poorer in darker tones (browns, ochres, black). So you combine enhanced contrast (blacks, shadows), more transparent view, increased sense of space, and you simply get a more stunning view with more “pop” (the subjects appear cut out from the background). Take picture number 1. A black redstar on top of a pile of soil. Through the Leica it simply stood out more prominently from the background (more like on those XIX century stereoscopic images where you looked through a special device that showed each eye a slightly different picture of the same object, thus creating this 3D effect, this "pop"). The Retrovid is simply on a different level regarding this. Really very stunning.
As for the FOV: it is nice on the Leica, same 8º as the ELSV, but being 7x maybe the feeling is nicer through the ELSV, since not only are objects closer/bigger, but the sensation is that of an increased FOV (I guess this is a good example to explain FOV vs AFOV).
(Continues on following comment)
The view through the Leica is pleasing, although when watching vertical lines you can notice the pincushion distortion on a good part of the field, not only at the very edge. This can be distracting at times, especially if you are looking at trees, or buildings for that matter. See picture number 2. Not good, not bad, a matter of design, but worth mentioning. I probably wouldn’t have paid attention to this, if not for the fact that my main binocular is a 8x32 ELSV, where the flat field is one of the most characteristic features. Together with the distortion, you can see that the sharpness also softens towards the edge, probably more so than in other non-flat top binoculars.
Brightness is very similar, maybe the ELSV give a sensation of being brighter because of the colour balance (as I explained earlier), but at night, looking for objects in the shadows the Leicas have a clear edge (not surprising given the larger aperture and larger exit pupil). However, it really has to get very dark to appreciate this, I'm talking about 10 PM in December. During dusk hours, it was really close, probably the 8x of the Swarovski made up for the bigger lenses in the Leica.
Let’s leave the view for a while, because another impressive asset of the Retrovid has to be its build quality. To say that it is impressive and it leaves you in awe is an understatement. They are really very small. When you hold them in your hands they feel reassuringly compact, solid like a perfectly balanced tool. When I handed them to my partner the first thing she said was “Wow, these are heavy”, but then they have almost the exact same weight as the 8x32 Kowa BD XD she is used to. I guess it is the sheer compactness and the lack of a thick rubber armour that gives them this 100 % metal feeling: pure mechanical precision. Maybe because the focus wheel is bare metal (as is most of the device) they feel heavier than they really are. If you put the front end of the Retrovid against that of the ELSV you are in of a surprise: the 8x32 ELSV tubes are actually thicker (because of the rubber armour), see picture number 3. This is really impressive. To have a 7x35, with a larger diameter lens and a bigger exit pupil in a shorter and slimmer body is something to behold. I wish other brands would follow suit. There’s no escaping from the fact that, given a sudden drop, the Leica would probably take the worst part because of this lack of protection.
As for handling, the Retrovid feel great in the hands, although I could see how they may be too slim for someone with large hands (the same way a small and light 8x32 could feel toyish for some people). Focusing worried me after reading some reviews, but I found it was not that much of a problem. Yes, it is slower than others, but it is very precise, and given the improved depth of field, it’s only a problem for sudden changes from very close to very far away. What is really nice is the mechanical precision and feel of the focus wheel, so soft, nice, even. It just matches the overall feeling of a well thought out tool.
My initial idea was to post this as an answer to another two threads about the 7x35 Retrovid being a viable everyday birding binocular and also about the possibility of the Retrovid replacing a top 8x32, which in my case is the Swarovski EL SV (a 2016 model. Please note that my unit has been to Absam for refurbishment and AFAIK, both the rubber armour focus wheel and eyepieces have been updated).
Given the space limitations, I've divided it in two consecutive posts.
I love 7x binoculars, I usually find a great difference in the field between 7x and 8x, something that can probably be measured (depth of field, stability due to less shaking) and something that is surely pure perception (and hence a personal experience sometimes difficult to put into words). Usually 7x gives me an enhanced feeling of 3D, or immersive view if you like. I say 3D because most of my 7x experience has been Porro prism binoculars, but after using some 7x roofs (7x42 FL, 7x33 Granite, etc.) I can see this feeling of “immersiveness” (if that word ever exists) has to do with 7x, regardless of the type of prism.
In short (you can skip the lengthy text and go to the last sentence): the view through these is mind-blowing. Sharp, “warm and beautiful” (as in "Leica View" TM), full of contrast and “more real than reality itself”, if you know what I mean.
For the sake of comparison, I’ll use a well known contender, a 8x32 EL SV pre-FP (2016).
First I’ll go with the good news and then I’ll cover the not so good.
The view. Seriously. These deliver such a wonderful view you just don’t want to put them down and you end up using them simply because the world looks a nicer place through them (more beautiful, more interesting), and you end up indulging in the prolonged contemplation of trees, branches, clouds or just about anything that appears on sight. What is so special about it? The feeling of space, the 3D-esque/porro-esque immersion in the scene you’re observing. I think there are 3 things that help produce this feeling. First is the contrast. Comparing the ELSV and the Retrovid in different light situations, the image on the ELSV looks washed, while the image on the Retrovid looks as if someone just hit the “contrast boost” button. When you return to the ELSV you keep wondering who turned the contrast off. On one hand, the blacks, the shadows, the parts of the image that give it more volume are simply on another league in the Retrovid, then the colours on the Leica are warmer (“Leica View" TM), a bit more saturated, sweeter, and pleasing to the eye, I’m not sure if this actually means they are more true to reality, but they’re like a drug you get addicted to. The colour cast on the ELSV looks greenish after switching from the Retrovid. On the other hand, because of the increased depth of field you get this transparency, this “immersiveness”, as if the air was cleaner through the lenses of the Leica, as if it had just rained. It is difficult to explain. It can also be that the overall feeling (under daylight) is that the scene through the ELSV is “brighter” as in more clear, as if it was richer in more clear tones (yellows, lighter shades of green) and poorer in darker tones (browns, ochres, black). So you combine enhanced contrast (blacks, shadows), more transparent view, increased sense of space, and you simply get a more stunning view with more “pop” (the subjects appear cut out from the background). Take picture number 1. A black redstar on top of a pile of soil. Through the Leica it simply stood out more prominently from the background (more like on those XIX century stereoscopic images where you looked through a special device that showed each eye a slightly different picture of the same object, thus creating this 3D effect, this "pop"). The Retrovid is simply on a different level regarding this. Really very stunning.
As for the FOV: it is nice on the Leica, same 8º as the ELSV, but being 7x maybe the feeling is nicer through the ELSV, since not only are objects closer/bigger, but the sensation is that of an increased FOV (I guess this is a good example to explain FOV vs AFOV).
(Continues on following comment)
The view through the Leica is pleasing, although when watching vertical lines you can notice the pincushion distortion on a good part of the field, not only at the very edge. This can be distracting at times, especially if you are looking at trees, or buildings for that matter. See picture number 2. Not good, not bad, a matter of design, but worth mentioning. I probably wouldn’t have paid attention to this, if not for the fact that my main binocular is a 8x32 ELSV, where the flat field is one of the most characteristic features. Together with the distortion, you can see that the sharpness also softens towards the edge, probably more so than in other non-flat top binoculars.
Brightness is very similar, maybe the ELSV give a sensation of being brighter because of the colour balance (as I explained earlier), but at night, looking for objects in the shadows the Leicas have a clear edge (not surprising given the larger aperture and larger exit pupil). However, it really has to get very dark to appreciate this, I'm talking about 10 PM in December. During dusk hours, it was really close, probably the 8x of the Swarovski made up for the bigger lenses in the Leica.
Let’s leave the view for a while, because another impressive asset of the Retrovid has to be its build quality. To say that it is impressive and it leaves you in awe is an understatement. They are really very small. When you hold them in your hands they feel reassuringly compact, solid like a perfectly balanced tool. When I handed them to my partner the first thing she said was “Wow, these are heavy”, but then they have almost the exact same weight as the 8x32 Kowa BD XD she is used to. I guess it is the sheer compactness and the lack of a thick rubber armour that gives them this 100 % metal feeling: pure mechanical precision. Maybe because the focus wheel is bare metal (as is most of the device) they feel heavier than they really are. If you put the front end of the Retrovid against that of the ELSV you are in of a surprise: the 8x32 ELSV tubes are actually thicker (because of the rubber armour), see picture number 3. This is really impressive. To have a 7x35, with a larger diameter lens and a bigger exit pupil in a shorter and slimmer body is something to behold. I wish other brands would follow suit. There’s no escaping from the fact that, given a sudden drop, the Leica would probably take the worst part because of this lack of protection.
As for handling, the Retrovid feel great in the hands, although I could see how they may be too slim for someone with large hands (the same way a small and light 8x32 could feel toyish for some people). Focusing worried me after reading some reviews, but I found it was not that much of a problem. Yes, it is slower than others, but it is very precise, and given the improved depth of field, it’s only a problem for sudden changes from very close to very far away. What is really nice is the mechanical precision and feel of the focus wheel, so soft, nice, even. It just matches the overall feeling of a well thought out tool.
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