Leica Ultravid 8x20, Nikon 8x30 E II or 8x30 Habicht? (2 Viewers)

[Northman]

Just a Quick Ask for this..
Does anybody know the diameter of the 7x42 GA eyepieces?

 

[mwhogue]

I had the 7x42 GA and sent them back because of the occular protection hood. Its to small for my IPD.

So every time I wanted to look at something, I would have to remove cap, set my IPD, adjust it while looking through it, look at object, compress the binocular again, so I could get occular hood on.

Do that 15 times each time out on a walk… its annoying, and will produce alot of unwanted stress on hinges!

• I thought I would disslike the small AFOV, but it did not bother me at all!! And I prefer 65+ AFOV.
• Very bright!
• GREAT ergonomics! Fit my hands like a glove and lightweight. NL Pure did not suit me.. I have big hands.

If there is a know remedy for the occular protection hood, I will probably pick up another pair!

Northman,

I use several of the full size Opticron rainguards similar in style to the compact versions pictured below. If you get the correct size they tend to be quick easy on and off in actual use. I don't know which size would work best for your 7x42 GA..

Mike

 

[Binocollector]

For Paultricounty "Swarovski"
View attachment 1523668

Very nice! BTW -- is that a Seiko SNK807?

 

[norway]

Very nice! BTW -- is that a Seiko SNK807?

Good eye; sure looks like one to me. Very nice hand-lettering on that dial; it's getting increasingly rare to see such a crucial design element done right instead of messing it up with the lazy Windows-default look.

 

[dorubird]

Very nice! BTW -- is that a Seiko ?

Yes it is! I like this Seiko very much!

 

[limonabe]

It is a MUCH better birding binocular.

Just don't get it wet. (My 7x42 GA loves rain.)

 

[[email protected]]

About Small FOV:
Yes, I know very well about the small FOV of the 7x42 Habicht. I wrote and remembered and will remember every time about the small FOV at this 7x42! I even told you when you had the Habicht in the past. Do you remember finding excuses for 7x42? But for me the miracle happened and small FOV doesn't bother me at all anymore- the explanation is very simple and implacable: I honestly love the image that I can take in with a single glance, all image with direct vision. This is because you can even see the black outside of fieldstop FOV. In opposite, Habicht 8x30 has a wider FOV than 7x42 but much much much more uncomfortable to look at. You have to put your eyes very hard in the eyepieces to barely see the edge of the FOV, and that only with indirect vision, not with direct vision as with 7x42 can. So, than to have a larger FOV without convenient access to it due to the eye relief or other problems, better a smaller FOV, honestly in its smallness, but extremely easy to access to the edges, even outside the fieldstop. It's amazing how easy and comfortable it is to look through this 7x42 even with my glasses on.

About made for "hunting in low light in the Alps":
It doesn't matter that it's made for hunting, I use 7x42 with great pleasure and I find it useful for birding at dusk. But I'm not ashamed to look at the birds even in the strong sun. Then Habicht has spectacular transparency and color, without 8x30 glare, with instant access anywhere in the FOV, like a witch's globe

About stiff focus:
Yes, I know there are other binoculars with infinite better focus for birding, Nikon E2 or Zeiss SF is the king in this aspect. But in no case 8x30 Habicht, which again is below Habicht 7x42 because it has a smaller depth of field and you have to access the focus wheel very often (it's a pain in the finger)

Conclusion:
7x42 is the most spectacular binoculars in the Habicht series for me, and even among all the binoculars on the market! Too bad you sold it. I will never sell it... for another pair of binoculars!

A lot of your reasoning about the advantages of a small FOV in the Habicht 7x42 is incorrect. You are referring to somebody like you that wears glasses. If you don't wear glasses all the Habicht's including the 8x30, 10x40 and 7x42 have eye cups that are too small for most people's eye sockets, so they sink too far into their eye sockets if you try to rest them against them, and consequently you get blackouts because the ER is now too long.

So basically all the Habichts are floaters, meaning you have to float them in front of your eyes to avoid black-outs, and the 7x42 is the worst because it has the most eye relief of the three. You can aid this on the Habicht 10x40 W and Habicht 7x42 W by replacing the smaller eye cups with the green GA eye cups but them you have green eye cups on a black binocular which looks cheesy, or you can simply buy the Habicht 10x40 GA or 7x42 GA with the bigger eye cups.

A bigger FOV is always advantageous in binoculars because even if you can not take the whole FOV in one glance you can pick up birds on the edge and then center them in the middle of the FOV to observe them. A bigger FOV allows you to pan a much bigger area at once and cover much bigger areas with fewer pans to find birds than one with an extremely narrow FOV like the Habicht 7x42. Even most hunters prefer a larger FOV for that reason.

By the time you pan the side of a mountain with the Habicht 7x42 looking for game they may be gone, but with a larger FOV you can search the mountain much quicker, which can be important. The same thing applies to birding. It is very difficult to find fast moving warblers for example with a binocular that has a very narrow FOV like the Habicht 7x42, and then you are further handicapped by the focuser that is very hard to use quickly and even at 7x you do have to focus once in a while.

It makes me wonder if you even use the Habicht 7x42 as a birding tool, or you simply like the looks and simplicity of it. You are in love with the esoterics of the Habicht 7x42, but you are not concerned with the functionality of it as a birding tool. If a large FOV was not desirable, why do you think Swarovski and Zeiss spent millions of dollars on R&D increasing the size of the FOV on their new alpha binoculars like the NL and SF.

Most people that bird and hunt want a bigger FOV than the 6.5 degree FOV of the Habicht because it is advantageous for the way they use them. I understand your love of the Habicht 7x42. I have the Habicht 8x30. The Habicht's are beautifully made binoculars and the 3D view, transparency and transmission put them in a class by themselves, but the 7x42 Habicht is not the best tool in the toolbox when it comes to birding.

 

[CharleyBird]

A lot of your reasoning about the advantages of a small ...

😘

 

[dorubird]

A lot of your reasoning about the advantages of a small FOV in the Habicht 7x42 is incorrect. You are referring to somebody like you that wears glasses. If you don't wear glasses all the Habicht's including the 8x30, 10x40 and 7x42 have eye cups that are too small for most people's eye sockets, so they sink too far into their eye sockets if you try to rest them against them, and consequently you get blackouts because the ER is now too long.

So basically all the Habichts are floaters, meaning you have to float them in front of your eyes to avoid black-outs, and the 7x42 is the worst because it has the most eye relief of the three. You can aid this on the Habicht 10x40 W and Habicht 7x42 W by replacing the smaller eye cups with the green GA eye cups but them you have green eye cups on a black binocular which looks cheesy, or you can simply buy the Habicht 10x40 GA or 7x42 GA with the bigger eye cups.

A bigger FOV is always advantageous in binoculars because even if you can not take the whole FOV in one glance you can pick up birds on the edge and then center them in the middle of the FOV to observe them. A bigger FOV allows you to pan a much bigger area at once and cover much bigger areas with fewer pans to find birds than one with an extremely narrow FOV like the Habicht 7x42. Even most hunters prefer a larger FOV for that reason.

By the time you pan the side of a mountain with the Habicht 7x42 looking for game they may be gone, but with a larger FOV you can search the mountain much quicker, which can be important. The same thing applies to birding. It is very difficult to find fast moving warblers for example with a binocular that has a very narrow FOV like the Habicht 7x42, and then you are further handicapped by the focuser that is very hard to use quickly and even at 7x you do have to focus once in a while.

It makes me wonder if you even use the Habicht 7x42 as a birding tool, or you simply like the looks and simplicity of it. You are in love with the esoterics of the Habicht 7x42, but you are not concerned with the functionality of it as a birding tool. If a large FOV was not desirable, why do you think Swarovski and Zeiss spent millions of dollars on R&D increasing the size of the FOV on their new alpha binoculars like the NL and SF.

Most people that bird and hunt want a bigger FOV than the 6.5 degree FOV of the Habicht because it is advantageous for the way they use them. I understand your love of the Habicht 7x42. I have the Habicht 8x30. The Habicht's are beautifully made binoculars and the 3D view, transparency and transmission put them in a class by themselves, but the 7x42 Habicht is not the best tool in the toolbox when it comes to birding.

The Habicht 8x30 is a great pair of binoculars, but not have the strong personality of the 7x42, precisely because his politically correctness when it comes to FOV, trying to fit too many things at once. The strong personality of the Habicht 7x42 comes from his weakness, from the courage of Swarovski to use an "non politically correct" and spartan 46 degree AFOV, that I see it all at a glance and love it. I love it just as I love Fujiyama orthoscopic eyepieces in astronomy which have even less AFOV (42 degree).
So, Habicht 7x42 is a binocular, as I said, for connoisseurs and Spartans. For Spartans who are no longer scared by a small visual field of view. Because they know they are rewarded with an entire view of the FOV at a glance!
Instead, the major compromise of Habicht 8x30 is small eye relief (12mm!!!). It is so small that even without glasses you struggle to see the entire FOV at a glance, up to the nice black fieldstop. Read carefully what I wrote: at a glance! At Habicht 8x30 you can see to the edges only with periphelical vision. You see fieldstop with direct vision only if you move your head in front of the eyepieces, in which case you no longer see the center. So, 8x30 has a larger FOV (in the specifications), but in reality you can only enjoy it if you stick your eyes in eyepieces, in which case, as you say, blackouts occurs. And if you floating and move away from eyepieces to not have these blackouts, you will cut out of the FOV and you no longer able to see the edges and the fieldstop. If you are satisfied without all FOV it is ok for you. For me it is not! I want to see the entire FOV up to the edges and without blackout. This it is a price paid for the 8x30 small eye relief (simple like that). The 7x42 does not suffer from this, which is extremely comfortable to look at without problems of eyerelief or blackout, precisely because they just have to manage only a smaller visual field of view (spartan decision by Swarovski that I admire). If you really want a really big field of view, there are other options that are much more exciting than the Habicht series (NL, WX, SF ). But the Habicht army has its own personality and the captain is 7x42

 

[Dyrlege]

That would only be the case if his present 8x20 is one of the oldest Leitz versions, which would also offer the greatest improvement available. All the others are larger, making it a smaller improvement, but still worthwhile. I have that old tiny Leitz 8x20 and a few of the Ultravid 8x20, and the Ultravid totally blows it away in all ways other than size.

Don't forget the Curio! It is awesome.

 

[Dyrlege]

Please English. Welcome to BF.

Don't use Brexit against him!
😁Per

 

[John A Roberts]

Just a Quick Ask for this..
Does anybody know the diameter of the 7x42 GA eyepieces?

Hi Northman,

Do you mean the diameter of the eyecups?

The current eyecups for the 7x42 and 10x40 GA models are the same, with a rear/ maximum diameter of 39 mm.
The eyecups for the leatherette models are 33 mm at the rear (they taper fractionally from front to rear),
and extend about 1 mm less to the rear of the eye lens.

And as can be seen the two are interchangeable:


Image from Rathaus at: Habicht: 8x30 or 10x40?

- - - -
For completeness:
The eyecups for the 7x42 B O GA are a different pattern (see the image in post #24),
and have a different thread than those for the rest of the Habicht line.


John

 

[Rg548]

A lot of your reasoning about the advantages of a small FOV in the Habicht 7x42 is incorrect. You are referring to somebody like you that wears glasses. If you don't wear glasses all the Habicht's including the 8x30, 10x40 and 7x42 have eye cups that are too small for most people's eye sockets, so they sink too far into their eye sockets if you try to rest them against them, and consequently you get blackouts because the ER is now too long.

So basically all the Habichts are floaters, meaning you have to float them in front of your eyes to avoid black-outs, and the 7x42 is the worst because it has the most eye relief of the three. You can aid this on the Habicht 10x40 W and Habicht 7x42 W by replacing the smaller eye cups with the green GA eye cups but them you have green eye cups on a black binocular which looks cheesy, or you can simply buy the Habicht 10x40 GA or 7x42 GA with the bigger eye cups.

A bigger FOV is always advantageous in binoculars because even if you can not take the whole FOV in one glance you can pick up birds on the edge and then center them in the middle of the FOV to observe them. A bigger FOV allows you to pan a much bigger area at once and cover much bigger areas with fewer pans to find birds than one with an extremely narrow FOV like the Habicht 7x42. Even most hunters prefer a larger FOV for that reason.

By the time you pan the side of a mountain with the Habicht 7x42 looking for game they may be gone, but with a larger FOV you can search the mountain much quicker, which can be important. The same thing applies to birding. It is very difficult to find fast moving warblers for example with a binocular that has a very narrow FOV like the Habicht 7x42, and then you are further handicapped by the focuser that is very hard to use quickly and even at 7x you do have to focus once in a while.

It makes me wonder if you even use the Habicht 7x42 as a birding tool, or you simply like the looks and simplicity of it. You are in love with the esoterics of the Habicht 7x42, but you are not concerned with the functionality of it as a birding tool. If a large FOV was not desirable, why do you think Swarovski and Zeiss spent millions of dollars on R&D increasing the size of the FOV on their new alpha binoculars like the NL and SF.

Most people that bird and hunt want a bigger FOV than the 6.5 degree FOV of the Habicht because it is advantageous for the way they use them. I understand your love of the Habicht 7x42. I have the Habicht 8x30. The Habicht's are beautifully made binoculars and the 3D view, transparency and transmission put them in a class by themselves, but the 7x42 Habicht is not the best tool in the toolbox when it comes to birding.

This surely comes down to what the binocular will be used for.

I'm not a 'birder' 😱 ...... but a wildlife watcher/observer. And a lot of that is early mornings and late evenings, with reasonably static observing.
Sometimes I sit and watch just my bird table in my garden with a nice coffee, but sometimes I'm watching foxes playing in the fields out the back, in which case the narrow FOV on the 7x42 is irrelevant.
The other day i was lying low in the undergrowth watching a badger set.... again, no panning around, and that 7x42 would have been stellar for such an application.
In fact most of my binocular use doesn't require 'panning' or 'following' to a great extent as I'm not a 'birder'.
I nearly bought a 7x42ga a few years back, but took that 8x56 FL instead, which was actually more expensive.
I probably made a mistake that day. The stunning 8x56FL is gone !!

But when you hear all the negatives written on this forum about various optics, it really does make you question your potential choices.
When actually, each individuals use must be more important than other people's opinions.... (which can be helpful in the right context)

Habicht 7x42's would suit me fine, narrow FOV included, for my particular, personal binocular use.

 

[Paultricounty]

A lot of your reasoning about the advantages of a small FOV in the Habicht 7x42 is incorrect. You are referring to somebody like you that wears glasses. If you don't wear glasses all the Habicht's including the 8x30, 10x40 and 7x42 have eye cups that are too small for most people's eye sockets, so they sink too far into their eye sockets if you try to rest them against them, and consequently you get blackouts because the ER is now too long.

So basically all the Habichts are floaters, meaning you have to float them in front of your eyes to avoid black-outs, and the 7x42 is the worst because it has the most eye relief of the three. You can aid this on the Habicht 10x40 W and Habicht 7x42 W by replacing the smaller eye cups with the green GA eye cups but them you have green eye cups on a black binocular which looks cheesy, or you can simply buy the Habicht 10x40 GA or 7x42 GA with the bigger eye cups.

A bigger FOV is always advantageous in binoculars because even if you can not take the whole FOV in one glance you can pick up birds on the edge and then center them in the middle of the FOV to observe them. A bigger FOV allows you to pan a much bigger area at once and cover much bigger areas with fewer pans to find birds than one with an extremely narrow FOV like the Habicht 7x42. Even most hunters prefer a larger FOV for that reason.

By the time you pan the side of a mountain with the Habicht 7x42 looking for game they may be gone, but with a larger FOV you can search the mountain much quicker, which can be important. The same thing applies to birding. It is very difficult to find fast moving warblers for example with a binocular that has a very narrow FOV like the Habicht 7x42, and then you are further handicapped by the focuser that is very hard to use quickly and even at 7x you do have to focus once in a while.

It makes me wonder if you even use the Habicht 7x42 as a birding tool, or you simply like the looks and simplicity of it. You are in love with the esoterics of the Habicht 7x42, but you are not concerned with the functionality of it as a birding tool. If a large FOV was not desirable, why do you think Swarovski and Zeiss spent millions of dollars on R&D increasing the size of the FOV on their new alpha binoculars like the NL and SF.

Most people that bird and hunt want a bigger FOV than the 6.5 degree FOV of the Habicht because it is advantageous for the way they use them. I understand your love of the Habicht 7x42. I have the Habicht 8x30. The Habicht's are beautifully made binoculars and the 3D view, transparency and transmission put them in a class by themselves, but the 7x42 Habicht is not the best tool in the toolbox when it comes to birding.

You have the 8x30 Habicht, the unusable glare monster as per your words 🤔. Master Po, you mention a lot in your posts about glare and eyecups, the issue with glare I understand, but so many problems with eyecups, are you one of those people who has Herman Munster brow ridges 🤣.

 

[Paultricounty]

View attachment 1524039
😘

Is that the new 14° swarovski retro ultra wide angle monocular. 😂

 

[Paultricounty]

Don't use Brexit against him!
😁Per

Lol, I’d commend him for brexit.

 

[Paultricounty]

View attachment 1524116

Yes you are quite the handsome man, but I did picture you being a little older.

 

[Paultricounty]

What happened to the Zulu 20x42?

Btw, didn’t you say you sold the FL? Hmmm something fishy here. I’m having a Meopta déjà vu moment. Nah couldn’t be, could it 😲

 

[hopster]

Interchangeable but the green ones are butt ugly on the black Habicht!

I don't know why people get so hung up on this. There are so many good rubber eyecups on eBay of various internal diameters (e.g. 33mm, 39mm and many others) with wings if required (my preference), that it costs less than £5 to make your own custom solution.

 

[William Lewis]

A lot of your reasoning about the advantages of a small FOV in the Habicht 7x42 is incorrect. You are referring to somebody like you that wears glasses. If you don't wear glasses all the Habicht's including the 8x30, 10x40 and 7x42 have eye cups that are too small for most people's eye sockets, so they sink too far into their eye sockets if you try to rest them against them, and consequently you get blackouts because the ER is now too long.

So basically all the Habichts are floaters, meaning you have to float them in front of your eyes to avoid black-outs, and the 7x42 is the worst because it has the most eye relief of the three. You can aid this on the Habicht 10x40 W and Habicht 7x42 W by replacing the smaller eye cups with the green GA eye cups but them you have green eye cups on a black binocular which looks cheesy, or you can simply buy the Habicht 10x40 GA or 7x42 GA with the bigger eye cups.

A bigger FOV is always advantageous in binoculars because even if you can not take the whole FOV in one glance you can pick up birds on the edge and then center them in the middle of the FOV to observe them. A bigger FOV allows you to pan a much bigger area at once and cover much bigger areas with fewer pans to find birds than one with an extremely narrow FOV like the Habicht 7x42. Even most hunters prefer a larger FOV for that reason.

By the time you pan the side of a mountain with the Habicht 7x42 looking for game they may be gone, but with a larger FOV you can search the mountain much quicker, which can be important. The same thing applies to birding. It is very difficult to find fast moving warblers for example with a binocular that has a very narrow FOV like the Habicht 7x42, and then you are further handicapped by the focuser that is very hard to use quickly and even at 7x you do have to focus once in a while.

It makes me wonder if you even use the Habicht 7x42 as a birding tool, or you simply like the looks and simplicity of it. You are in love with the esoterics of the Habicht 7x42, but you are not concerned with the functionality of it as a birding tool. If a large FOV was not desirable, why do you think Swarovski and Zeiss spent millions of dollars on R&D increasing the size of the FOV on their new alpha binoculars like the NL and SF.

Most people that bird and hunt want a bigger FOV than the 6.5 degree FOV of the Habicht because it is advantageous for the way they use them. I understand your love of the Habicht 7x42. I have the Habicht 8x30. The Habicht's are beautifully made binoculars and the 3D view, transparency and transmission put them in a class by themselves, but the 7x42 Habicht is not the best tool in the toolbox when it comes to birding.

I used the habicht 7x42 ga as my main birding binocular for over a year - it works just fine.

It's one thing to have a good field of view and another thing to have a good depth of field both will help when trying to see birds in close cover. The waterproof construction also helps something neither the se, audobon or linnet are blessed with and good luck seeing things close by with the Zulu's 8m close focus and very narrow true fov.

Keep enjoying the habichts Dorubird - there a gem.

Will