Loss of light transmission w/Zeiss Victory RF Laser Rangefinding Binocular (1 Viewer)

[dwever]

As many of you know, the Victory RF Laser Rangefinding Binocular is an HT w/added electronics that are remarkable. The optics seem great, but of course there is a loss of light transmission when compared to a non-RF HT.

Does anyone know what that loss is in transmission? For example, if a standard HT is 93%, what is the rangefinding HT? Thank you.

Zeiss Victory RF Laser Rangefinding Binocular 54mm transmission value?​

 

[John A Roberts]

Hi Doug,

This is also something that I’ve been interested in: how the second generation Zeiss RF binoculars perform compared to the earlier generation

However, since you previously raised the question in August 2019 (see at: https://www.birdforum.net/threads/loss-of-brightness-with-8x42-rf-ht.379668/), I’ve not seen any more information about either the optical construction or performance of the Zeiss HT RF binoculars

Interestingly in post #20, Gijs indicated that he'd tested the x54 and x42 HT's, but due to computer problems he'd been slowed down in posting information
(and presumedly any problem would likely have been aggravated by the Covid situation). So perhaps help is at hand?


John

 

[NZbinodude]

Interested in this. I've got a pair of 10x54 Zeiss RF's on the way.

Anxious to know how good/bad the glass is.

 

[Gijs van Ginkel]

Since Zeiss has used the same beamsplitter (I am told because the company was forced due to patents by other producers, but I have not verified it) in the rangefinder HT's I do expect significant transmission differences between left and right tube, but I will try to find out in the coming months (so slow because of all the restrictions). I am already happy that I could finish the celebration paper of 100 years production of 8x30/32's (1920-2020).
Gijs van Ginkel

 

[Canip]

Since Zeiss has used the same beamsplitter (I am told because the company was forced due to patents by other producers, but I have not verified it) in the rangefinder HT's I do expect significant transmission differences between left and right tube, but I will try to find out in the coming months (so slow because of all the restrictions). I am already happy that I could finish the celebration paper of 100 years production of 8x30/32's (1920-2020).
Gijs van Ginkel

Gijs,
I is clear to me that there is a difference in transmission between the tubes; you suspect it to be „significant“. The question, of course, is what that term means: either, that the difference is several percentage points, i.e. clearly measurable; or, that in practical use, you perceive different image brightness between left and right eye, which could mean a 10% difference or more. In the 8x42 model, I observed no OBVIOUS difference when using it (however, I did not test it or even look for it), so I would expect the difference in transmission levels to be in the single digit range.

Canip

 

[Gijs van Ginkel]

Canip, post 5,
The pleasant thing is that, alhough that transmission difference is quite strong between both tubes of some binoculars, our visual system is able to merge it so to speak, so you will hardly notice it probably.
Gijs van Ginkel.

 

[Gijs van Ginkel]

I checked it and in the occasion of the Zeiss RF rangefinder the transmission diffence between right hand and left hand tube for the Zeiss rangefinder was about 8% over a wide wavelenght range, but you can read that in our test report from 2012 published on the WEB-site of House of Outdoor.
Gijs van Ginkel

 

[NZbinodude]

I got the binos today. Don't particularly like them.

They've got the same 'green-ish' tint to the image like the SF's I tried. And they don't have that bright, sparkling image I like.

I still think the Leica Geovid leads the rangefinder bino pack. They just seem more refined/polished, and the colors are nicer to my eyes.

I'm tempted to keep binoculars and rangefinders separate for the sake of preserving image quality.

 

[Canip]

I got the binos today. Don't particularly like them.

They've got the same 'green-ish' tint to the image like the SF's I tried. And they don't have that bright, sparkling image I like.

I still think the Leica Geovid leads the rangefinder bino pack. They just seem more refined/polished, and the colors are nicer to my eyes.

I'm tempted to keep binoculars and rangefinders separate for the sake of preserving image quality.

My experience with the Geovid (8x42): superb optics, very bright and clear image, but the rangefinder feature fails to acquire targets more often than the one in the Victory RF (tested side by side).

fwiw Canip

 

[NZbinodude]

@Canip which model Geovid did you test?

 

[Canip]

8x42 HD-R (Type402), but I guess Leica’s rangefinder technology is the same on all newer Geovids

 

[NZbinodude]

It's all a bit silly really - if you genuinely need accurate rangefinding past 1000m (consistent RF'ing), then you really want one of those military units.

I've owned the 10x42 Geovid HD-R (type 402), and while the build quality and glass was top notch, rangefinding was a bit patchy in cold/wet conditions. At one point it wouldn't even range reliably at 200m! Until I warmed the unit up. Could have been a battery issue. The consumer-grade RF binos have rather small batteries compared to their tactical counterparts.

One thing I like about the the Zeiss RF is the position of the buttons. They're right on the tubes (where your fingers are). No stretching required. Very intuitive.