Ultravid BL, is it still available? (1 Viewer)

[brocknroller]

I was looking at a Great Spotted Woodpecker about 30m away. It looked at me, made eye contact then scurried over to the opposite end of the tree trunk to peck away in privacy.

That's been my experience with woodpeckers in the wild. OTOH, I've had chickadees eat sunflower seeds out of my hand. Of course, they were in my wooded backyard, so they saw me every day putting seeds in the feeder. But I was still surprised they were that tame.

Brock

 

[MiddleRiver]

To be honest, they look pretty nice and it's the only x32 'BL' I've seen? But $8k ?!??

Leica Ultravid 8x32 HD Plus "Edition Hermès" | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Leica Ultravid 8x32 HD Plus "Edition Hermès" at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[Trinovid]

To be honest, they look pretty nice and it's the only x32 'BL' I've seen? But $8k ?!??

Leica Ultravid 8x32 HD Plus "Edition Hermès" | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Leica Ultravid 8x32 HD Plus "Edition Hermès" at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

I could see actually buying those...if I was in a totally different income bracket. Like you said, at least they're nice looking.

 

[limonabe]

Interesting eyepiece design too, they look unlike other Ultravids.

 

[MiddleRiver]

ANother one!

Leica Ultravid 40084 8x32 ""Edition Zagato"" - Limited Edition 439 of 1000 // | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Leica Ultravid 40084 8x32 ""Edition Zagato"" - Limited Edition 439 of 1000 // at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[The Bird Guy]

This link reads like internet trash, reposting shallow well-known information with lots of ads and presumably click-through profits from sales links. They can't even decide whether attraction to shiny things relates to courting behavior, food (how?), or "uveitis" which is an eye infection.

Thanks for providing the link. I just read the article on birds attracted to shiny things and I love it. It is very in-depth, and well written and provides a great deal of information on the subject.

 

[tenex]

Thanks for providing the link. I just read the article on birds attracted to shiny things and I love it. It is very in-depth, and well written and provides a great deal of information on the subject.

Don't thank me, I'm allergic to "inexplicable penchants".

 

[Thotmosis]

Thanks for providing the link. I just read the article on birds attracted to shiny things and I love it. It is very in-depth, and well written and provides a great deal of information on the subject.

Don’t thank tenex, thank me….tenex is allergic to "inexplicable penchants" 😜 ☮️

 

[MiddleRiver]

So after bemoaning having sold my BL's, I recently snagged another pair

I'm curious about a couple of things: These came with cordura pouch (unlike the molded leather case of my previous example) and they also have objective covers (opticron style but they look OEM for some reason). They are a very high s/n 162XXXX.

Does anyone know the timeline for BL's, when the cordura pouch appeared, perhaps when coatings were upgraded, etc.?

Overall I'm elated - minty and great price, but most importantly as soon as I put them to my eyes I realized why I love Leica glass. Yes, there's a tad CA if I setup worst-case test scenario, the focuser while very nice is not the fast silky thing Zeiss have mastered, and the FOV doesn't match my SF's, but man oh man, can Leica make a beautiful device and view!! Even if specs get beat out by newer competitors, these make me smile. Funny how that works ;-)

 

[greekgeek]

So after bemoaning having sold my BL's, I recently snagged another pair

I'm curious about a couple of things: These came with cordura pouch (unlike the molded leather case of my previous example) and they also have objective covers (opticron style but they look OEM for some reason). They are a very high s/n 162XXXX.

Does anyone know the timeline for BL's, when the cordura pouch appeared, perhaps when coatings were upgraded, etc.?

Overall I'm elated - minty and great price, but most importantly as soon as I put them to my eyes I realized why I love Leica glass. Yes, there's a tad CA if I setup worst-case test scenario, the focuser while very nice is not the fast silky thing Zeiss have mastered, and the FOV doesn't match my SF's, but man oh man, can Leica make a beautiful device and view!! Even if specs get beat out by newer competitors, these make me smile. Funny how that works ;-)

Congrats! Any pictures? I really like the look, feel and views with the BL. It's like a little more modern spin of the Retrovid, even though it predates it.

By coincidence I just received my 8x42 BL back from service at Leica 2 days ago. They applied new leather on both barrels (had just a very tiny amount of shrinkage, I was impressed they did this), internal cleaning, diopter knob replacement etc., all for no charge except return shipping. Excellent service!

Unfortunately, there is a small spot of dent/marring that occurred on the very end of the barrel, hopefully they can replace that outermost ring by the objective.

 

[MiddleRiver]

I had no idea a 10x42 Safari BL existed :-o
On auction site now (no affiliation!)...

 

[MiddleRiver]

They didn't last long... Anybody around here?

 

[Thotmosis]

They didn't last long... Anybody around here?

It wasn’t me, that’s for sure… but now i want one.

 

[fazalmajid]

The x42 BL may be long gone, but there is a leather-armored 8x32 Special Edition (only 150 made worldwide):

Leica Ultravid HD-Plus 8x32 Special Edition

Precision meets elegance Discover the special edition Leica Ultravid 8x32 HD-Plus. Maximum precision meets extraordinary elegance: With this special edition Leica Sport Optics presents a binocular which unite outstanding design and optical quality with a premium leather trim and a titanium...

leicacamerausa.com

In the UK, Red Dot Cameras has one left in stock:

Leica Ultravid 8x32 HD-Plus Special Edition

www.reddotcameras.co.uk

The brown and titanium color combo is certainly fetching, but must.. resist... already have a 8x42 BL and 10x40 Retrovid...

 

[MiddleRiver]

Yes, B&H shows them. I personally don't care for the 'palette' but if they offered the 8x32 in safari green, I'd be all over it! LOL

 

[fazalmajid]

Can't blame you, to paraphrase an adage, you can never be too rich or too thin green...

Although the "Life edition" Retrovids certainly try:

‘LIFE edition’ – Leica Trinovid 8 x 40 | Leica Camera US

leica-camera.com

B&H is sold out and optimistically expecting a restock, unlikely given the limited numbers worldwide.

 

[greekgeek]

They didn't last long... Anybody around here?

I'm showing them as still active, maybe they had 2 pair? Tempting, but I have some Silverlines from a member here en route to help subdue the urgent... :-D

 

[Paultricounty]

If anybody is interested in a 2016 8x42 safari in great shape with box and accessories pm me.