Retrovid 7X35 a viable birding binocular? (1 Viewer)

[brocknroller]

:t:
I can’t say much about its former life (it was in the hands of a famous optics expert before I bought it a few years ago)
Canip

Late the party... Was it from Fan Tao's Binoculars Museum? Another Birdforum member bought a Swift 8.5x44 804 Audubon ED from Tao a couple months ago. It was sold the day I saw or I would have scooped it up myself.

Brock

 

[Canip]

Nope, it belonged to Holger Merlitz.

 

[brocknroller]

That is exactly what I referring to when I mentioned I treated the Retrovid a little more carefully than I would a armored binocular or a armored version of the Retrovid. Such a binocular stays looking good a long time! I have a 10X42 SLC that has been on a many a trip and was always in my backpack or around my neck...never a case. Back then I had one decent binocular and it got USED! Still looks almost like new. If it would have been the Retrovid it would have probably looked no differently than the binocular in Lee's picture.

The ideal compromise for me would be for Leica to sell the rubber objective coverings on the much fabeled rubber armor edition to slip over the bare metal on the leather retrovids, which is the largest exposed metal area, and from looking at Lee's photo, that's where most of the scrapes and dings occurred on his 40+ year old sample. New from Leica: The Hybridvid.

 

[brocknroller]

Nope, it belonged to Holger Merlitz.

Not surprising. When you look at Holger's reviews, most of his bins are in VG to excellent condition, even his antiquities.

He might have been selling off some of his collection to offset the purchase of his Nikon 10x50 WX.

Brock

 

[John M Robinson]

The ideal compromise for me would be for Leica to sell the rubber objective coverings on the much fabeled rubber armor edition to slip over the bare metal on the leather retrovids, which is the largest exposed metal area, and from looking at Lee's photo, that's where most of the scrapes and dings occurred on his 40+ year old sample. New from Leica: The Hybridvid.

Great idea!

 

[brocknroller]

Great idea!

I did that with my 8x30 E2s. Put Bushwacker objective covers on the bare metal objective housings. As an added bonus, they also make the stubby bins easier to hold, and they somewhat improved the E2's "hang" by lengthening it.

Brock

 

[brocknroller]

Eyeu=cup

I'm very interested in the 7x35 model. I called a local store here (about 10 miles away from me) and they have them in stock. One interesting note though, he said that the 7x35 model has an 'eyecup' recall. This issue doesn't affect the other models. Does anyone have any information on this recall?

Now that you mentioned it, I was waiting to hear if someone found the eycups too narrow. A couple years ago, there was a BF member from the UK selling a LNIB 7x35 Retrovid on the BF Classifieds. He mentioned in the ad that they were great but the eyecups were too narrow for him. I assumed he meant the diameter of the EPs, but I read the Retrovid EP diameter was wide, so I asked him what he meant, and he said it wasn't the diameter of the eyecups, but the thinness of the eyecups that bothered him. When I took a closer look at the Retrovid's eyecups, I could see that they were rather thin, reminding me of the plastic circles on the 820 Audubon, which dug circles into my eye sockets.

Does anyone have issues with the eyecup thickness in terms of comfort and face fit? Also interested in hearing about the rubber eyecups recall. I hope they don't blow out at 50 mph.

Brock

 

[dries1]

Why don't you get someone to measure the Retrovid eyecup diameter, (although it is likely available here on BF somewhere) then measure your own eye socket diameter, question answered.

 

[lmans66]

Eyecups size had me hesitant at first but they are just fine. Try them; test for your liking.

 

[John M Robinson]

Eyeu=cup

Now that you mentioned it, I was waiting to hear if someone found the eycups too narrow. A couple years ago, there was a BF member from the UK selling a LNIB 7x35 Retrovid on the BF Classifieds. He mentioned in the ad that they were great but the eyecups were too narrow for him. I assumed he meant the diameter of the EPs, but I read the Retrovid EP diameter was wide, so I asked him what he meant, and he said it wasn't the diameter of the eyecups, but the thinness of the eyecups that bothered him. When I took a closer look at the Retrovid's eyecups, I could see that they were rather thin, reminding me of the plastic circles on the 820 Audubon, which dug circles into my eye sockets.

Does anyone have issues with the eyecup thickness in terms of comfort and face fit? Also interested in hearing about the rubber eyecups recall. I hope they don't blow out at 50 mph.

Brock

That’s my only gripe with them. A thicker, slightly softer, larger outside diameter eye cup would be perfect. I much prefer the old, fold down, rubber eyecups like I have on my SEs. I don’t wear glasses when I use binocs, except for occasionally looking through my sunglasses. Ironically they work with glasses better than any other bin I’ve tried.

 

[Dipperdapper]

This is a very interesting binocular to be sure and will likely make an excellent birding glass.

Holger Merlitz did a very nice review of this 7 x 35 for my up-and-coming book, where he summarises its strengths and weaknesses.

Cheers,

Neil.

 

[brocknroller]

Why don't you get someone to measure the Retrovid eyecup diameter, (although it is likely available here on BF somewhere) then measure your own eye socket diameter, question answered.

Good idea. I could compare the RV's eyecup width to the SE's and E2's and find out if I'm going to end up with ring around the eye like Petie



I'm not sure how accurate you can measure something that thin with a ruler. You might need a micrometer. I used to have one around the house since my mom used it for work, but my dad's favorite hobby was throwing other people's things out, so it's been rusting in a junkyard for a decades.

They now make them with digital meters.

https://www.amazon.com/Micrometer-Professional-Thickness-Resolution-Protective/dp/B07DNNX9Y3/ref=sr_1_19?c=ts&keywords=Micrometers+%26+Accessories&qid=1678752636&s=industrial&sr=1-19&ts_id=4989301011

Now that I looked at one online, Amazon will probably send me a "suggestions for you" email with micrometers. You're not paranoid, they are watching you!

Brock

 

[dries1]

From memory, the eyecups are a smaller diameter than the SEs or EIIs. They are narrow in diameter like the Meopta Meostars 8X32s, the thickness of the eyecup is a minor issue.

 

[brocknroller]

This is a very interesting binocular to be sure and will likely make an excellent birding glass.

Holger Merlitz did a very nice review of this 7 x 35 for my up-and-coming book, where he summarises its strengths and weaknesses.

Cheers,

Neil.

When is your book coming out, Neil?

 

[lmans66]

This is a very interesting binocular to be sure and will likely make an excellent birding glass.

Holger Merlitz did a very nice review of this 7 x 35 for my up-and-coming book, where he summarises its strengths and weaknesses.

Cheers,

Neil.

Do you have that link?

 

[Holger Merlitz]

Eyeu=cup

Now that you mentioned it, I was waiting to hear if someone found the eycups too narrow. A couple years ago, there was a BF member from the UK selling a LNIB 7x35 Retrovid on the BF Classifieds. He mentioned in the ad that they were great but the eyecups were too narrow for him. I assumed he meant the diameter of the EPs, but I read the Retrovid EP diameter was wide, so I asked him what he meant, and he said it wasn't the diameter of the eyecups, but the thinness of the eyecups that bothered him. When I took a closer look at the Retrovid's eyecups, I could see that they were rather thin, reminding me of the plastic circles on the 820 Audubon, which dug circles into my eye sockets.

Does anyone have issues with the eyecup thickness in terms of comfort and face fit? Also interested in hearing about the rubber eyecups recall. I hope they don't blow out at 50 mph.

Brock

The Retrovid's eyecup diameter is 33mm, the thickness about 4mm. I find them sufficiently comfortable in my eye sockets.

Cheers,
Holger

 

[Dipperdapper]

When is your book coming out, Neil?

Fall 2023

Regards,

Neil.

 

[brocknroller]

Fall 2023

Regards,

Neil.

I look forward to reading it!

 

[Dipperdapper]

Cheers Brock. Working on it as we speak.

It's turning out to be a much bigger enterprise than I had initially anticipated. Probably of the order of ~500 pages.

Something for everyone hopefully!

Regards,

Neil.

 

[brocknroller]

The Retrovid's eyecup diameter is 33mm, the thickness about 4mm. I find them sufficiently comfortable in my eye sockets.

Cheers,
Holger

Thanks, Holger. I don't have millimeters on my tape measure, so I used rapid tables to convert the numbers on the eyecup width and thickness on my porros's eyecups since they have thin rubber eyecups. The SE and E2's eyecups are about 10mm wider than RV's. The 6x30 Fuji's are narrower at 34mm.

If I made my measurements correct (hard to see down to 16ths of an inch, let alone 32nds), all three porros' eyecups are thinner than the RV's--no more than half as thick. So, the RV's eyecups' thickness should fit me fine, and the width should also be fine since the SE and E2's eyecups are on the wide side, and the SE in particular, which has longer ER, barely fits into my eye sockets, so I have to dig my face into the eyecups to see the field stop. If I invert the SE's eyecups, so that the rigid bottom of the eyecus is facing up, then I can see the full FOV more easily.

The other factor, the RV's ergonomics, is something I will have to find out with bin in hands. It looks like there's room for my fingers to wrap around each barrel, however, that huge diopter wheel intruding into that space might hit my fingers. The photos they show in the ads are with the RV's bridge closed (maximum IPD), so it's hard to tell if my fingers will fit in the space or get squished up against that protruding diopter, which looks to have sharp edges. Wish that diopter wheel had been flatter.

Here's what Roger from scopeviews.com said about the RV's ergonomics:

One downside of the Trinovid’s small size is that big hands might find them a bit fiddly, gloved hands struggle with the small focuser wheel.

I haven't heard any complaints about the diopter wheel causing hand/finger discomfort, and though my hands are large, my fingers are thin. So, I'm hopeful that will work, too.

The upside the RV's design is that unlike the bulging V-shaped EDG bridge, the RV's wide flat rectangular bridge gives a better platform to rest your fingers. I can't hold binoculars stable with my fingers alone. I also need to grip them with the palms and heels of my hand.

Thanks again.
Brock