Pros: Excellent optics, excellent build quality, good design.
Cons: Could do with more eye relief. Eye tubes fiddly. Hard plastic body. Pricey.
The Bottom Line: A first rate mid-sized binocular. Excellent optics. Excellent build quality. Good design. High price. Oh, and the Leica red spot for the snobs among you!
userleif's Full Review: Leica Trinovid BA (8x32) Binocular
Quality 8x30 binoculars are ideal for the serious birder who does not want to carry a brick around their neck. The top models these days are the Leica 8x32, Nikon 8x32 SE and 8x32 HG, Swarovski 8x30 SLC and Zeiss 8x30 BGA. The objectives are large enough to give excellent sharpness, though none quite match a top quality 8x40 binocular. They are also large enough to provide ample light for use in dark woods or when the sun has gone down and the darkness is starting to set in.
Mechanics
The Leica 8x32 are relatively light (about 600g) and compact. I find them comfortable to hold as I can wrap my hands around them. People with big hands might disagree. The case is armoured with a fairly hard ribbed plastic that feels okay (warmer than metal) but in my opinion is not as nice to the touch as rubber. The focus wheel is large, well placed and operates smoothly. It incorporates a clever diopter adjustment mechanism that also works well. The focus wheel is made from a hard polythene and feels a bit cheap. I am sure it is well made and durable though. The two halves of the binocular flex via a central hinge that is firm and looks well made. The eye tubes pull out and do the job though I found them a bit stiff. I would have liked screw out eye tubes that could be adjusted to the desired height. The Leica eye tubes are either in or out. The binocular is waterproof to a few metres depth though I would not purposefully submerge them more than a few inches. Why take the risk. Overall the whole package is up to the standards expected of Leica.
They also come with a lovely leather case that exudes quality and which adds a nice finishing touch.
Optics
Optically they are excellent but not stunning. The view is contrasty and sharp, with a wide field of view, but with noticeable edge distortion. There is some false colour (chromatic aberration) but it is well controlled. Depth of field is excellent. Brightness is excellent and is comparable with many cheap 8x40 binoculars. Eye relief is a bit on the short side though they are useable with glasses. Try before you buy as it will depend on your glasses. The binocular focusses to 2.5 meters so is suitable for watching insects, wood mice, snakes and whatever else takes your fancy!
Conclusion
Compared with competing products they hold up well but they are no longer the class leader. The Swarovski 8x30 SLC offers similar optical quality, a casing with a nicer feel, and a bit more eye relief for significantly less money. But it also has a poor close focus, and an oddly placed focus wheel which I did not like. The Zeiss is said to be comparable (I haven't used them) for similar money. The Nikon 8x32 SE offer noticeably better optics (noticeably sharper, brighter, with less distortion) for significantly less money but is not waterproof and being a porro-prism glass is an odd shape. The Nikon 8x32 HG offers better optical quality (noticeably brighter, sharper and less distortion) and slightly better ergonomics (in my opinion, which is subjective) with screw in screw out eye tubes, for the same sort of money.
Overall all very nice indeed. They are not the best overall, but if you are in the market for top grade optics, you should definitely give these a try. It may well be that they are the ones that best suit you.
Of course if you are a fashion victim, then the Leica are definitely the ones to go for. Leica is a very well marketed brand! Walk around a nature reserve with a pair of Leica's round your neck and you will get a lot of envious looks and many people will assume you are a serious birder. Whether you like that sort of reaction is another matter.
Comment added 23 April 2003: I recently tested the Zeiss 8x30 binocular and it compares well with the Leica. It has significantly less false colour but a rather stiff focus wheel. See the review on this site for further details.
@@ The Foresta Series feature lightweight and durable die-cast bodies made of Aluminum (for the 32mm models) or Magnesium alloy (for the 42mm models)....More at Buy.com Marketplaces
@@ The Foresta Series feature lightweight and durable die-cast bodies made of Aluminum (for the 32mm models) or Magnesium alloy (for the 42mm models)....More at Adorama
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