Leica USA service question (1 Viewer)

[Sheepwatcher]

I have a pair of Leica UVHD+ 12x50s I bought recently as an open-box unit from B&H.I like them a great deal, but as I've been using them, I'm more and more aware of a sticky point in the focus wheel. I'm not sure if it's actually getting worse, or if it just seems that way, but it's making them hard to use for fast-moving birds like warblers (they would otherwise be wonderful for this application). I'm wondering if anyone has recent experience with sending binoculars in to Leica USA for a similar problem...what was the turnaround time like? And were they fixed to your satisfaction?

Thanks very much!

Milton
New Hampshire, USA

 

[tenex]

I've been considering the 12x50 primarily for my wife, and suspected that my thread might have prompted someone else here to buy that one. It might be the perfect compromise between my own 10 and 15x for extra reach while still being able to easily get on birds, as you say. I wonder whether the focus glitch explains why this one wound up open-box, but it's definitely worth sending off for service. Turnaround has been ~4 to 6 weeks, it should surely come back at least improved, and if you're still not satisfied you can try again (they might even replace it). By the way, make sure the eyecups are deep enough for you, because there have been comments about this and you could easily request alternative ones at the same time.

 

[Sheepwatcher]

I've been considering the 12x50 primarily for my wife, and suspected that my thread might have prompted someone else here to buy that one. It might be the perfect compromise between my own 10 and 15x for extra reach while still being able to easily get on birds, as you say. I wonder whether the focus glitch explains why this one wound up open-box, but it's definitely worth sending off for service. Turnaround has been ~4 to 6 weeks, it should surely come back at least improved, and if you're still not satisfied you can try again (they might even replace it). By the way, make sure the eyecups are deep enough for you, because there have been comments about this and you could easily request alternative ones at the same time.

Thanks very much for your encouragement re Leica Service, and about the availability of deeper eyecups -- I think those would be very helpful, and I didn't realize they were readily available.
I apologize if I bought this pair out from under you! But your thread wasn't the motivator...I've always preferred 10x to 8x, so I was curious if 12x might be even better, but I was afraid of holding that magnification steady. I tried a pair of NL 12x42s at a retailer and loved the view but not the price, and 12x seemed totally manageable. In ended up buying the UVHD+ and demo-ing the Maven 12x50; while I really wanted to like the Mavens for their weight, close-focus distance, and price, they had both optical and ergonomic problems that made them clearly inferior to the Leicas (not really a surprise, I guess, but the rave reviews got my hopes up).

 

[tenex]

Other alternatives include EL 12x50, now on closeout sale at roughly the same price as the Leica, and MeoStar whose real price seems more difficult now to understand. For years I sniffed at all these because it seemed to me that glass 50mm or larger should really have Abbe-König prisms, as SLC 56 and HT 54 do (and FL 56 did)... but none of those comes in 12x, which seems an oddly neglected magnification.

Eyecups from another Ultravid model with longer eye relief should resolve any tendency toward blackouts.

 

[Sheepwatcher]

Other alternatives include EL 12x50, now on closeout sale at roughly the same price as the Leica, and MeoStar whose real price seems more difficult now to understand. For years I sniffed at all these because it seemed to me that glass 50mm or larger should really have Abbe-König prisms, as SLC 56 and HT 54 do (and FL 56 did)... but none of those comes in 12x, which seems an oddly neglected magnification.

Eyecups from another Ultravid model with longer eye relief should resolve any tendency toward blackouts.

I haven't seen the closeouts on the EL 12x50s. It's a bin I'd love to look through. If Leica can't do anything to improve the focusing on my UVHD+, I might consider trying something else, as I'm really fond of the extra reach that 12x provides.

 

[tenex]

I haven't seen the closeouts on the EL 12x50s.

Swarovski EL 12x50 Binoculars (Green) 35212

Discover Swarovski EL 12X50 binoculars, the flagship of the Swarovski EL binocular line. Get free shipping on orders of every Swarovski EL Binoculars here at Eurooptic.com. Get discounted Price on the best binocular for birdwatching.

www.eurooptic.com

$2399... they also have a demo unit whose price hasn't been adjusted for this, so you could probably negotiate it lower still. If you haven't lost your taste for demo/open-box...

 

[Foss]

I have a pair of Leica UVHD+ 12x50s I bought recently as an open-box unit from B&H.I like them a great deal, but as I've been using them, I'm more and more aware of a sticky point in the focus wheel. I'm not sure if it's actually getting worse, or if it just seems that way, but it's making them hard to use for fast-moving birds like warblers (they would otherwise be wonderful for this application). I'm wondering if anyone has recent experience with sending binoculars in to Leica USA for a similar problem...what was the turnaround time like? And were they fixed to your satisfaction?

Thanks very much!

Milton
New Hampshire, USA

FWIW Just today I received back my 7x42 UVHD. Turn around time was about seven weeks. The focuser now works to my satisfaction.

 

[NDhunter]

FWIW Just today I received back my 7x42 UVHD. Turn around time was about seven weeks. The focuser now works to my satisfaction.

Was it serviced in the US or ? Let us know.
Jerry

 

[Foss]

There are no sure signs either way. The shipment came from New Jersey. The paperwork is written in English but the folder in which it came is printed in German.