LEICA ULTRAVID 12X50 HD

[cliveh]

Does anyone have experience with these binoculars? Good or otherwise?

 

[Mustafa Umut Sarac]

Cliveh , there are tons of threads at birdwatching and astronomy forums and they are the best if it is not opened , not fall to the ground, not hazed , fungus issues , prism separation or misalignment.

Their optics are even better than Leica cameras , old or new.

I borrowed an 15000 dollars and 500 dollars ones and they are SUPER SUPER SUPER , not less than that. It can make a person leaving photography.

Learn the serial number and check from bird watching forums. Everyone is fallen love to them.

 

[pdeeh]

My main birding bins are Ultravid 8x42 HD and they are indeed superb.

However bear in mind that 12x50s will be big and heavy. They'll be excellent for seawatching but you'll need a tripod unless you have exceptionally steady and strong hands and arms. Very few birders will use bigger than 10x50s for spotting work. Very good for scanning the heavens of course,but a very secure support will be even more important if not essential.

They are not optically "perfect" whatever people say, (you will see some colour fringing at the edges of the image, but for non-photographic work this is rather irrelevant.)

If you want to see truly ill-tempered discussions about binoculars and spotting 'scopes, head off towards birdforum.com - it is the APUG of the birding world (for technical discussions around natural history) but the denizens can be quite amazingly rude about and to each other about their choices of optics. even more than camera enthusiasts ...

 

[Mustafa Umut Sarac]

I did not experience any fringing at my 8 Leicas and two binoculars. I dont expect any fringing at a Leica , may be you bought it used and someone misaligned the prisms or serviced for fungus or haze.

 

[pdeeh]

No Mustafa, I bought them brand new from a Leica dealer.
Fringing is expected in these sorts of optics, even at this level. It is not obtrusive but it is there at the very edges of the field.
Even Leica do not claim that the Ultravid HD range is free of fringing.

 

[cliveh]

My main birding bins are Ultravid 8x42 HD and they are indeed superb.

However bear in mind that 12x50s will be big and heavy. They'll be excellent for seawatching but you'll need a tripod unless you have exceptionally steady and strong hands and arms. Very few birders will use bigger than 10x50s for spotting work. Very good for scanning the heavens of course,but a very secure support will be even more important if not essential.

They are not optically "perfect" whatever people say, (you will see some colour fringing at the edges of the image, but for non-photographic work this is rather irrelevant.)

If you want to see truly ill-tempered discussions about binoculars and spotting 'scopes, head off towards birdforum.com - it is the APUG of the birding world (for technical discussions around natural history) but the denizens can be quite amazingly rude about and to each other about their choices of optics. even more than camera enthusiasts ...

Thanks pdeeh, this is useful info as I thought I should get some feedback before spending that amount of money. I live in an area of outstanding natural beauty and do a fair bit of hill and cliff walking and although I have a pair of Leica 8 X 25 BCA binoculars, I fancied something with more power.

 

[pdeeh]

Knowing where you are based, you could do a lot worse than head up to Truro and see South West Optics so you can handle a few pairs. Just like cameras, it's how they feel in the hand and at the eye that matters most.

When I bought my Ultravids I spent a couple of hours at least trying a few others alongside, including the (then) latest, and very very expensive, Swarovskis. But while I could see that the Swarovski had terrific contrast in low light, I simply didn't find them comfortable to hold.

Plus I experienced awful "rolling ball" effect with them, which I didn't with the Leicas (It's hard to describe "rolling ball" but if you pan horizontally quickly across a horizon line, the optical field can appear to "roll", which can be merely disconcerting but actually induces nausea in some folk!). This doesn't seem to be down to optical design alone, but to a combination of that and an individual person's perceptual apparatus. So some people would get "rolling ball" with my Leicas, whereas I don't. A curiosity.

This manouevre is a good thing to try with a pair of bins, although it can be tricky to do so in optics shops that are city-based rather than country, for obvious reasons.

 

[benjiboy]

Any 12 X binocular is very hard to hold still whatever the quality, when hand holding around 10X is about the maximum.

 

[miha]

Clive, have a look at Canon IS / Nikon VR stabilized models, much better at higher magnifications compared to non-stabilized models.

 

[E. von Hoegh]

Any 12 X binocular is very hard to hold still whatever the quality, when hand holding around 10X is about the maximum.

+10.
My current favorite binoculars are Busch Terlux 10x40 from about 1913. Almost everything (except low light performance by a small margin) about modern binoculars is overrated, overblown, and obscenely overpriced. I spent about an hour one day sitting at a table comparing Spencer Buffalo 7x50 WWII military binoculars to some new Swarovskis that cost about $700. Guess what? The 70 year old Spencers are better.

 

[cliveh]

Clive, have a look at Canon IS / Nikon VR stabilized models, much better at higher magnifications compared to non-stabilized models.

Thanks miha, I will and thanks to others for comments so far. Anyone got any thoughts on stabilized models?

 

[miha]

This guy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w8ltx3zRp0

 

[cliveh]

This guy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w8ltx3zRp0

Thanks miha and I like the look of Nikon StabilEyes 14x40. Does anyone have experience with these?

 

[benjiboy]

The mistake many first time binocular buyers make is they buy the most powerful they can find only to discover that firstly they can't hold them still, and secondly their light gathering capacity in marginal lighting situations are crap because with binoculars if you divide the magnification of X12 by the size of the front optic 50mm you get a twilight factor of only 4.16 and with the suggested 14X40 even less a factor of only 2.85 regardless of the image stabilization, which is why binoculars
of around 8X30 (factor 3.75) 8X40 (factor 5) or 8X50 (factor 6.25) are preferable, I find for general use the best combination of small size, magnification light gathering capacity and weight are 8X30, or 8X40.

 

[miha]

Ben, I understand Clive already has a 8x bino and fancies something more powerful. IS helps a lot; have you ever used a stabilized telephoto lens? It's night and day compared to a non-stabilized one.

 

[cliveh]

Actually I made a mistake in a previous post as my current Leica binoculars are 10 X 25 and not 8 X 25 and I don't find those difficult to hold steady. Reading other reviews of the Nikon, what puts me off a bit is that they are made in China and wonder if they would break down as they have more complicated mechanics. What is the M2 of the binocular world?

 

[miha]

What is the M2 of the binocular world?

Since you've asked: :joyful: http://www.zeiss.com/sports-optics/...s/specialist-binoculars/20x60-binoculars.html (mechanically stabilized)

 

[cliveh]

Since you've asked: :joyful: http://www.zeiss.com/sports-optics/...s/specialist-binoculars/20x60-binoculars.html (mechanically stabilized)

Thanks miha, but that is beyond the budget I had in mind.

 

[miha]

...

 

[miha]

All right.

But it compares to your M2, although an MP with a summilux is still USD 1,000 dearer that this super Zeiss.

 

[cliveh]

All right.

But it compares to your M2, although an MP with a summilux is still USD 1,000 dearer that this super Zeiss.

Miha, it's not just the price, as it is also over spec. Have you watched the video? It comes in it's own Man From Uncle box. I would probably be great for a commander of a battle ship. However, I liked the simplified stabilizing system. In fact, how does the stabalizer work without batteries?

 

[cliveh]

After looking through several makes and handling various binoculars, I am warming to the Leica Ultravid 10 X 50 HD. Any experience from others?