New 8x42, 10x42 and 8x56 Geovid Pro models (2 Viewers)

[John A Roberts]

Perhaps of interest to some . . .

Just over a year ago Leica introduced two new Perger prism rangefinder binoculars, the Geovid Pro 8x32 and 10x32.
See the thread: 6 January 2022 - New Leica announcement
(Prior to this Leica had only offered various x42 and x56 RF binoculars.)

Without much fanfare - other than a press announcement on 5th December 2022 - the x42 and x56 Perger prism RF models have now been upgraded
to the Geovid Pro standard.
See: Triple top performance in optics, ballistics, and rangefinding: Leica Geovid Pro 42 and 56 | Leica Camera AU

So now there’s 8x32, 10x32, 8x42, 10x42 and 8x56 versions of the Geovid Pro:



The full specifications for all five models can be downloaded from the Leica site, by selecting the Service option at the top of the page,
then Support > Downloads > Rangefinders.


John

 

[Conndomat]

Yes Leica pushes one Geovid after another on the market.
The people who are longingly waiting for an 8/10x32 Noctivid should be happy to note that.

Andreas

 

[henry link]

What about those of us waiting for flagship Perger prism Leica binoculars without the rangefinders? Leica claim in their press release that the Geovid Pros "can replace premium binoculars without compromise". I'm not so sure.

 

[zdr]

What about those of us waiting for flagship Perger prism Leica's without the rangefinders? Leica seems to be suggesting in their press release that the Geovid Pros are good enough to fill that role. I'm not so sure.

What would be the advantage of the Perger prism over the standard Ultravid or Noctivid binoculars?

thanks!
z

 

[Tringa45]

What would be the advantage of the Perger prism over the standard Ultravid or Noctivid binoculars?

thanks!
z

No roof edge to cause spikes.
No mirror coating necessary as there is total internal reflection on all four surfaces.
No phase coating necessary.
No air gap (two fewer glass/ air surfaces) and consequently no compromised anti-reflective coating on one Pechan prism surface.

John

 

[AlphaFan]

It is clear the Geovid PRO was not designed purely as a binocular. It is an integrated Rangefinding, multi-technology device, and is holistically designed to optimize all of its functions as a complete system. A dedicated Perger prism binocular would be a completely different effort as optimizing the optics of the binocular would likely compromise the functionality/effectiveness of other system components/features and design intentions of the Geovid PRO devices.

I was recently at a major USA sportsman's show where Leica had a very steady stream of people with intense interest in the Geovid PRO. Leica rangefinders are very well regarded here and a leader in providing quality rangefinding devices to h**nters and shooters. In fact, I suspect they currently sell more rangefinding devices than binoculars to USA h**nters.

 

[John A Roberts]

Picking up on John's points (post #5),

A Perger prism binocular would potentially give Porro prism binocular like optical performance, in a roof prism binocular like package.

- - - -
In most rangefinder binoculars, the way that the range finding functions are enabled significantly detract from both:
a) the overall transmission, and;
b) the consistency of transmission between the two barrels,
resulting in some very strange transmission graphs!
See the examples from Gijs’ extensive work in post #19 at: Loss Of Brightness With 8X42 RF (HT)

As can be seen, the Swarovski EL Range is the notable exception. And the explanation may be in it: not using a beam splitter, and;
containing much of the RF mechanism underneath the main barrels.
See the latter part of post #5 at: Updated Swarovski Range and CL pockets.


John

 

[AlphaFan]

@John A Roberts, do you have any indication from Leica that they are embarking on a dedicated Perger prism binocular (non-rangefinder)?

 

[John A Roberts]

Hi AlphaFan,

‘fraid not.

For what limited amount that we do know, see post #8 and on at: Perger Prisms
As indicated by Canip, Leica would seem to have the sole rights for the use of Perger prisms.
And for some amplification and a correction, see post #8 at: How many types of Porro prisms?


On one hand Leica seems to generally take a conservative/ evolutionary approach in relation to binoculars
e.g. the long lasting BA/ BN series (introduced in 1990), then replaced by the upgraded Ultravid series (starting in 2003).
Though in contrast, they do make the innovative dual magnification Duovids (from 2002 on), see: Duovid Optical Construction

And over the years they’ve been particularly innovative in their use of prisms in binoculars.
Besides the use of Schmidt-Pechan prisms in the above (and other) binocular lines, they've also used:
• Sprenger-Leman prisms in the Oberon (1952)
• Ludewig prisms in the Amplivid (1956) and the v1 Trinovid (1958)
• Uppendahl prisms in the v2 Trinovid (1963) and the v2 Geovid RF (2004)
along with Perger prisms in the v3 Geovid RF (2013)

And they have also used the S-L and Uppendahl prisms in various monocular rangefinders, see posts #9 and 14 at: Roof Prisms Used in Binoculars

. . . but as to what that might mean for the future?


John

 

[Scott98]

Those 56mm's look nice, why don't they sell them w/o the rangefinder too?