Overpriced underperformer
Written: Jul 10 '01 (Updated Jul 10 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: waterproof, solidly built
Cons: optics not on par with comparable models
The Bottom Line: Better views, features, and build quality can be had for substantially less. Maybe Swarovski or Nikon can justify their expensive roof prism binoculars, but not these Leicas.
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| charles_dunlap's Full Review: Leica Trinovid BN (10x50) Binocular |
When I purchased these binoculars I had high hopes. I had owned a pair of Leica 8x32 of the same design and I liked them. These were supposedly an improved version with harder lens coatings and better close focusing. When the 10x50s arrived today I compared them with the Pentax DCF WP 8x42s that I had on hand. I fully expected the Leica's to better the much less expensive Pentaxs in a few small ways (a bit better sharpness/contrast, more resistance to flare perhaps). The Pentax binoculars are excellent, especially for $370, but still I thought that they wouldn't compete with my new Leicas.
I was in for an unpleasant surprise.
1. The Leicas do not have the excellent contrast of the Pentax DCF WPs. I could not believe my eyes. Looking at some nasturtiums I noticed that the overall view in the Pentaxs had better clarity than the Leica's. On closer investigation it appeared to be a notable difference in contrast. The Pentax and Leica were showing me about the same detail in the flowers, fence post grain, spider webs--handheld sharpness was not discernibly different. However, the petals of the flowers showed better separation of tones and greater contrast between the fine shadows and the fully lit petal surface when looking through the Pentax. I swapped back and forth a few times to make sure, but the Pentax was giving me much better contrast with all of the sharpness and color saturation that I was seeing through the Leicas. I always liked the view through the Pentaxs, but I certainly expected the Leicas to give me a little more, not observably less.
2. The eyepieces on the Leicas are "blinky." They are particular about being correctly aligned with your eyes (or at least with my eyes). As viewed they gave little flashes of black on one side or the other of the view as they blinked out. Very annoying and not a problem with the Pentaxs.
3. The focus on the Leicas felt as if they had put a piece of fine grained sand paper in the mechanism. It was not nearly as smooth and solid feeling as the Pentax focus. Again, I was surprised since my old Leica 8x32s had a nice focus feel. In these 10x50s it seems as if the o-ring has not been well designed or installed and causes some binding or rubbing as you focus.
4. The focus range is limited. With most binoculars I have plenty of focus range to accommodate viewing without contacts or glasses (I'm myopic, about -4 diopters). The Leicas appear to be very near the limit of their focus range when I'm focusing near infinity. Actually, it seemed that at infinity I couldn't quite get focus. This is a very poor design and something I've never seen in another binocular. I'm wondering if it has something to do with their redesigned light path (shortening the optical tube by 0.5 inches) and with their nearer close focus distance compared to the previous iteration of this design.
5. The diopter adjustment felt really plasticky. This is minor, but I don't remember the 8x32 Leicas feeling that flimsy. In this price range I expect very solid build quality. Overall, Leica seem to have "cheaped-out" on some of their parts or quality control. I found this with my Leica camera (M6) and lenses: they sometimes try to cut corners where they shouldn't be on such high-end products.
Overall I couldn't recommend these binoculars for the price. They can't compete with the Pentaxs that are only 40% of the price. I can hardly believe it, but it's true. The R+D department at Pentax seem to have hit upon a new and very effective way of making an excellent phase coating on their roof prisms. That coupled with the undoubtedly lower costs of manufacturing for Pentax leads to what is a very fine pair of binoculars for much less than the Leicas.
As always, look before you buy.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
charles_dunlap
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Reviews written: 4
Trusted by: 1 member
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