'RetroPorro' a Possibility says Leica (1 Viewer)

[quincy88]

I'd buy a Leica Porro. Maybe a 50mm model. Gotta be waterproof and have central focus though.

 

[SUPPRESSOR]

Lucky you! And there are no doubt millions that don't. But if a bino with decent eye relief is to fit a wide variety of facial structures and spectacle designs and deliver the user's eyes to the right position then multi-position eyecups are necessary if the binos are to appeal to as wide a variety of users as possible.

Lee

Unfortunately the millions that don't have to suffer for those that do, probably the same people that are for ever banging on about binoculars being too heavy. Take up knitting for a hobby instead!!

 

[limonabe]

I would buy any Leica porro in a heartbeat! I would also buy a waterproof Trinovid throwback with rubber armor and Uppendahl prisms…

 

[Ignatius]

I would buy any Leica porro in a heartbeat! I would also buy a waterproof Trinovid throwback with rubber armor and Uppendahl prisms…

Agree on both counts ... even without the Uppendahls. But only if the rubber comes in black and/or olive only - none of that fruity pink or lime green stuff for me please.

 

[fazalmajid]

I doubt it will happen. Leica is a lifestyle/Veblen brand and its products have to look good. It's hard to top the looks of the Retrovids/Ultravid BL and bulky porros like the Binuxit are not it. Also much of Leica's positioning on the market is in instruments that are more compact than peers.

More likely, if they are serious about porros, they will come up with some form of compact opera glasses. I'd say something like the Fata Morgana or Nikon Mikron, but there is no Leitz pedigree in that format.

 

[Sebzwo]

I did something similar and did buy a new Zeiss 7x50 Classic. So enjoyable. Just a perfect view and not that bulky or heavy at all.

There must be many famous Leitz binoculars that everybody would want for sure. Imagine latest glass and coatings on an old classic. Sounds good.
How about the Decimarit 10x60?

rarity E. Leitz (Leica) Decimarit 10x60 binoculars, collectors binoculars — Steemit

rarity E. Leitz (Leica) Decimarit 10x60 binoculars, collectors binoculars This is a binoculars 10x60 Decimarit from… by army-store24

steemit.com

 

[Hermann]

It's hard to top the looks of the Retrovids/Ultravid BL and bulky porros like the Binuxit are not it.

The Binuxit are "bulky porros"? Now, that's a mind-boggling statement.

Hermann

 

[PYRTLE]

As we Brits say, " It's all pie in the sky." A throwaway comment over 18 months ago. Yes, we have the lovely Retrovid but after all the huffin and puffin no further indication nor rumours in relation to 32mm Noctivids, nor a porro.
The Nikon WX was a great feat of engineering and limited marketing, attracting only the real optic enthusiasts.
This Leica concept is surely filed away in the archives

 

[Holger Merlitz]

As we Brits say, " It's all pie in the sky." A throwaway comment over 18 months ago. Yes, we have the lovely Retrovid but after all the huffin and puffin no further indication nor rumours in relation to 32mm Noctivids, nor a porro.
The Nikon WX was a great feat of engineering and limited marketing, attracting only the real optic enthusiasts.
This Leica concept is surely filed away in the archives

If Leica really wants to go for Porros then they should make use of their patented Perger-Porro design. A truly professional Porro-based line of binoculars of slim design would make the difference that Leica needs to remain attractive in the market of high-end binoculars.

Cheers,
Holger

 

[jafritten]

If Leica really wants to go for Porros then they should make use of their patented Perger-Porro design. A truly professional Porro-based line of binoculars of slim design would make the difference that Leica needs to remain attractive in the market of high-end binoculars.

Cheers,
Holger

I'd love a Leica porro! A 7x35 would be great for me. However, I'm not too sure about a Perger porro. They're said to balance well (the Geovids) and they're supposed to be fine optics but I think the design is not exactly sleek. Awkward some might say. I've heard many a user praise the design of the Retrovids or the great industrial design of the Ultravids. But I've never heard a word of praise about the odd design of the Geovids. If they ever made a Perger porro for people other than hunters, I guess the design would not be its best selling point.

 

[Holger Merlitz]

I'd love a Leica porro! A 7x35 would be great for me. However, I'm not too sure about a Perger porro. They're said to balance well (the Geovids) and they're supposed to be fine optics but I think the design is not exactly sleek. Awkward some might say. I've heard many a user praise the design of the Retrovids or the great industrial design of the Ultravids. But I've never heard a word of praise about the odd design of the Geovids. If they ever made a Perger porro for people other than hunters, I guess the design would not be its best selling point.

That's right, though the Geovids also include some electronics, and the Perger prism's layout had to be optimized to allow a coupling of the measurement beam into the light path. These restrictions would be relaxed in case of conventional binoculars and the prism may then possibly be slimmer. Perger has pointed out that the prism could be designed in various different layouts, depending on parameters such as axis-offset, beam width and residual amount of vignetting.

Cheers,
Holger

 

[jafritten]

....Perger has pointed out that the prism could be designed in various different layouts, depending on parameters such as axis-offset, beam width and residual amount of vignetting.

Cheers,
Holger

Now, that's interesting. I didn't know that. Thank you.

In what ways would a Perger porro be better than a traditional porro design when no rangefinding is needed?

 

[William Lewis]

The more porro's the better as far as I'm concerned. I can understand the attraction of roofs in terms of packaging though, I find them much more comfortable and easy to use.

I think if leica are to hit a profitable niche in the market it would be to make a porro that takes advantage of there greater optical performance at a lesser price. I'll second (or 3rd) a 7x35 being a good sweet spot.

I'd suppose around trinovid 42 cost, smoother focusing than a habicht and waterproof would be good. I'd guess a field of view around 125m would be possible without the additional eye piece lenses like the habicht 10x42 or 8x30's have that help give them the wide (ish) fov of those models compared to the 7x42. We'll recessed objectives would be good too to stop it being all glare and flair! Not sure about twist up eye cups on a porro though, I'd rather see a few different rubber ones supplied with them, don't suppose they cost a great deal.

 

[NDhunter]

If Leica really wants to go for Porros then they should make use of their patented Perger-Porro design. A truly professional Porro-based line of binoculars of slim design would make the difference that Leica needs to remain attractive in the market of high-end binoculars.

Cheers,
Holger

Holger, I agree this idea would be a great one. It seems Leica is not really known for porro prism binoculars, that goes mostly to
Zeiss and Nikon. They kept up the effort much later in the development cycle and even continue today on the lower end.

Jerry

 

[jan van daalen]

Holger, I agree this idea would be a great one. It seems Leica is not really known for porro prism binoculars, that goes mostly to
Zeiss and Nikon. They kept up the effort much later in the development cycle and even continue today on the lower end.

Jerry

Hi Jerry,

AFAIK Nikon outsources the El Cheapo Porro's to OEM's and I've never seen current lower end Zeiss Porro's (at least from the West-Germany part).

Jan

 

[NDhunter]

Hi Jerry,

AFAIK Nikon outsources the El Cheapo Porro's to OEM's and I've never seen current lower end Zeiss Porro's (at least from the West-Germany part).

Jan

Jan:
I was referring also to Zeiss still making the marine porros like the 7x50, and Nikon's recent high end porros like the SE, and that
they still build the EII. We should also remember Swarovski which has the Habicht porro lineup.
So, the porro has been alive and well to a limited extent.

In the budget price range a porro or reverse porro often offers better optics at the same price range as a roof prism.

Jerry

 

[jan van daalen]

Jan:
I was referring also to Zeiss still making the marine porros like the 7x50, and Nikon's recent high end porros like the SE, and that
they still build the EII. We should also remember Swarovski which has the Habicht porro lineup.
So, the porro has been alive and well to a limited extent.

In the budget price range a porro or reverse porro often offers better optics at the same price range as a roof prism.

Jerry

Yhx Jerry,

Then I read the lower end part wrongly.

Jan

 

[Patudo]

The real issue with the Binuxit isn't that it's bulky - it's light, even compared to my plastic bodied 8x32 FL - or even the limited eye relief/edge sharpness which can probably be improved with more modern eyepiece design. It's that it doesn't look distinctively Leitz/Leica like the Trinovid/Retrovid does. Neither do the Geovids (which most non-binogeeks would not think were porros) which, if produced in a non-rangefinding version, would only create competition with their own Ultravid/Noctivid.

I suspect a 6x24 (maybe with less field of view than the old models, but better edge performance and eye relief) has a better chance of being the next Retro product than any of Leitz's classic porros. Roof design, small/compact, and a famous Leitz design from the past - all boxes ticked.

 

[Holger Merlitz]

Now, that's interesting. I didn't know that. Thank you.

In what ways would a Perger porro be better than a traditional porro design when no rangefinding is needed?

The Perger Porro has a lower axis-offset than the Porro I or even the Porro II design. That's why the binoculars are less bulky, with a shape similar to those with Abbe-König prisms. According to Perger, this offset can be varied and in principle even eliminated altogether (in which case a certain amount of vignetting of the beam would occur).

Cheers,
Holger

 

[jafritten]

The Perger Porro has a lower axis-offset than the Porro I or even the Porro II design. That's why the binoculars are less bulky, with a shape similar to those with Abbe-König prisms. According to Perger, this offset can be varied and in principle even eliminated altogether (in which case a certain amount of vignetting of the beam would occur).

Cheers,
Holger

Thank you, Holger. One thing that I (and probably many other people) like about porro designs is that they have a wider stereo basis than roofs and thus generate a better representation of depth of space (3D view), on the downside they are "bulkier", naturally. So, you can't have one without the other, right? Maybe I don't understand the term "axis-offset" correctly.