Leica Trinovid HD 10x42 or Zeiss Conquest HD 10x42 eye relief query ! (1 Viewer)

[Nick Cable]

Hi Guys,
I wonder if you could offer some advise in choosing a good pair of binoculars. I wear glasses as I am short sighted and so I am very conscious that I need a pair of bins with Long eye relief. I have narrowed down my choice to these two models both have excellent reviews. The Leica has 15.5mm and Zeiss 17mm eye relief. As my glasses have thin lenses, would the Leica be sufficient to give me a full view through the eyepiece. I have read many articles discussing this topic and they say that the eye relief is taken as the distance from the eye lens of the bins to the human eye, but the rubber eye piece cups may protrude and reduce this distance so it may not be as stated.

Your views would be appreciated, many thanks in advance...

Nick

 

[dwatsonbirder]

Hi Nick, I have no experience with the Leica binoculars mentioned, but I have used friends Conquest HD in 10x42 and 8x32, and both had sufficient eye relief for me to see the whole field (I have thick frames and am very myopic in one eye). I've owned the previous trinovid (8x32) twice, and despite the great ergonomics and decent view, always found the eye relief too short, and eye placement tricky. I had the same experience with the ultravid range too. Not sure what your budget is, but you may be able to find a victory FL for around the same price as a new conquest or trinovid - I bought a used 7x42 recently, and it is still one of the very best pairs of binoculars out there. Here is an 8x42 at a fairly competitive price.
Hopefully somebody with experience of both pairs will be able to assist further.

 

[chill6x6]

I don' t have any experience with the Trinovid HD 10X42 but I DO with the Conquest HD 10X42. I wear glasses as well and the Conquest HD works quite well with glasses. It's a little bit heavier/larger than the Trinovid HD but the Conquest HD also has more FOV. Personally, in this instance I rather have the Conquest HD 10X42. It's a really nice binocular.

 

[Nick Cable]

Thanks Daniel and Chuck for your comments. I will take a look at the Victory as you suggested Daniel.

Best wishes
Nick

 

[jring]

Thanks Daniel and Chuck for your comments. I will take a look at the Victory as you suggested Daniel.

Best wishes
Nick

Hi,

there is a very nice condition 10x42 FL on uk ebay, btw...

As for 15mm eye relief and glasses - it's not totally hopeless, some people have had success. But you have to try yourself - it really depends on your prescription (especially the distance between lens and eye and the thickness of the lens) and also the frame model... and might not work any more with you next glasses...

Joachim

 

[Nick Cable]

Thanks Joachim !

Does anybody else have any experience of the Leica Trinovid HD 10x42 ?

Thank
Nick

 

[justabirdwatcher]

The Conquest HD's actually have too much eye relief for the eyecups, if a person doesn't wear glasses. I'd go with the Conquests. I've owned both pairs the OP mentions and the Conquests will give you a larger field of view. One of the reasons I returned my Trinovid HD's was the "tube" effect. The FOV was disappointing to me.

 

[Troubador]

The Conquest HD's actually have too much eye relief for the eyecups

If you have trouble with blackouts due to this, Zeiss will send different eyecups free of charge to solve the issue.

Lee

 

[wdc]

...As for 15mm eye relief and glasses - it's not totally hopeless, some people have had success. But you have to try yourself - it really depends on you prescription (especially the distance between lens and eye and the thickness of the lens) and also the frame model... and might not work any more with you next glasses...

Joachim

Another glasses wearer here. I always appreciate hearing others input on this topic.

I've found that eye relief in the 15-16mm range has only worked for me on much smaller binoculars, like the 8x30, 8x25, 8x20. I expect it is because the eye cups are so small and thin that one can get close enough to see the entire FOV.

It is good to know from some other eyeglass wearing birders on the forum, that the 10x42 Conquest works for them. I always stayed away from that one because although the 8x42 did fit me at 18mm, the spec on the 10x42 was 17 on some websites (not allbinos). I had no place to try it in a shop, so would have had to deal with packing and returning yet another 'not enough eye relief' bin.

How about the 10x42 Nikon MHG? How does that work with glasses? If it does, I'd say its a reasonable contender, price and performance-wise, with the Trinovid and the Conquest.

-Bill

 

[Nick Cable]

Thanks again guys for your comments. I can’t believe 2mm makes such a difference :-O

 

[Conndomat]

is so, sometimes even 0.1-0.5mm decide. about seeing or not seeing!

says Andreas (glasses wearer!)

 

[Nick Cable]

Are there any Leica Trinovid 10x42 HD owners who wear glasses ? I really want your opinion on eye relief.

Many thanks
Nick

 

[Krico]

Are there any Leica Trinovid 10x42 HD owners who wear glasses ? I really want your opinion on eye relief.

Many thanks
Nick

I just picked up a pair - had my contact lenses in when I tried them out initially but will test them with glasses and let you know!

 

[wdc]

Everyone has a different fit with glasses and eye relief. In addition, the manufacturer's specs don't equate to a solid standard that applies to all, due in part to differences in eye cup size and design. Leica eye relief at 17mm and above works for me on the Trinovid HD and the Ultravid line, in the 8x32 and 7x42 formats.

With Zeiss, in the Conquest line, 18mm works, but 16mm does not. However the 8x25 Victory Pocket, with 16.5mm E/R shows me the whole view. But that's just me.


-Bill

 

[Krico]

Nick I tested out the eye relief on the Leica TRINOVID HD 10x42 this morning.
For reference - I am near sighted with prescription of -3.25 right and -3.75 left, and wear a contemporary frame of thick plastic, positioned fairly high on bridge of my nose. For comparison I pulled out my Minox HG 8.5x43 which has been my main bino since 2007 and a listed eye relief spec of 18mm.
To me there was actually a slight advantage to the Leicas, as the rubber eyecups are slightly lower profiled when fully retracted. I have always had to rest rubber eyecups against my glasses for full view and also to stabilize, the Leicas were no different.
So, for me, the Leicas are a win - especially at the bargain price I found them.
Happy shopping!

 

[Nick Cable]

Bill thanks for your thoughts.
Krico, many thanks for your testing, it’s good to hear that the Ultravids could be an alternative. Particularly interesting that the the rubber Eyecups have such a low profile. Thanks for your time in carrying out your tests and enjoy your pair of bins !

Nick

 

[Krico]

Bill thanks for your thoughts.
Krico, many thanks for your testing, it’s good to hear that the Ultravids could be an alternative. Particularly interesting that the the rubber Eyecups have such a low profile. Thanks for your time in carrying out your tests and enjoy your pair of bins !

Nick

D’oh! My test was on the Trinovid HD! Not sure why I typed Ultravid lol

 

[jgraider]

All this time I thought the Conquest HD's didn't have enough eye relief, which is why Zeiss would send you longer eyepieces for free to solve the problem.

 

[dries1]

JG,

I thought that the original eye cups were not long enough for some viewers, (the ER was further out than the initial extended eye cups) so they offered the longer ones.

Andy W.

 

[justabirdwatcher]

If you have trouble with blackouts due to this, Zeiss will send different eyecups free of charge to solve the issue.

Lee

You're correct, and one call to Zeiss had the extended eyecups in my mailbox in just two days, free of charge. However, even the extended eyecups still weren't enough for me. I still got kidney beans when I really drew the binoculars in, and that was with 10x42's. It would have been even worse with the 8x42.

Conquest HD's are amazing binoculars for the money if you use them with the eyecups rotated down, whether that's because you are wearing glasses, or because you have them mounted on a tripod (I prefer them that way when mounted on a tripod actually). Otherwise, there are better binoculars for fit and function in that price range IMO.