Are Leica binoculars the best available?

Smoothbore

Smoothbore

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I notice that Leica binoculars seem to retail for crazy prices.
Like $2000.00+. Does this mean, like most pricey items, that this reflects their very high quality?
 
Sure, they are good glasses, but part of the price is the brand name, and part of the price probably also reflects the value of the Euro against North American currencies. Minox is a Lieca brand, and their glasses are about half the price of the ones with the Leica sticker.
 
Minox for the price is the best I have found I am not saying Leica,Zeiss and swarro's are not good they are all very very good but for 50%++++ less for Minox they are best buy
 
Having extensively used and sold top-end optical equipment in a previous life, I can tell you that you are hard pressed to find finer optical quality than German-made Leica/Leitz. Having said that, there are many that come close second for much less.

Zeiss is also outstanding, but I see that they are using factories in other Easter European countries for some of their models.

The human eye compensates for a number of things that makes the subtle differences difficult to distinguish in Binoculars. I think the mantra you should follow is buy the best you can afford. It takes a rich man to buy cheap optics.
 
I've owned glasses from several different companies and thought my pentax Sp's were good until I looked throught the Leica Ultravids I bought on this site.

They are amazing, I don't know if they are better than top of th line Swarovski's or Zeiss, I don know they are absolutley better than Minox as i have a pair of them as well.
 
As has been said, spend the money once and buy the best binoculars (or any other optics) that you can afford. They will last a lifetime and you will not regret it.

I prefer the Swarovski products especially the EL series binoculars for clarity and ease of use.
 
i used to work on wild/lietz,wetzlar, sokkisha, and some others- some of the japanese glass is as good or better than the german/swiss- likewise some of the stuff that used to come out of e.germany was pure crap- the best way is still to pick a quality name, but don't buy it just because it comes from europe, and pick what suits you- i've got a set of wetzlars that were only 40 bucks back in the 70's and they're absolutely perfect - no aborration, or distortion- all that said, i think that NIKON makes the best glass these days( ducks and covers)
 
About two years ago I was in need of a good set of binos. I spent a few days with a 10*42mm Ultravid, 8.5*42mm Swaro EL and 10*42mm Swaro El.

Optically the Leica was first. Ergonomically, for me, it sucked. The Swaro's fit my hands far better. I bought the Swaro 8.5 and really like them. They have a wide field of view and the 4.9mm exit pupil is pretty easy on the eyes for extended glassing sessions.

One thing I don't understand about Leica. They have the lamest warranty ever as it's only good for the original purchaser. Compare that to Swaro and Zeiss who have lifetime transferable warranties and I wonder why anyone would even buy Leica.
 
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that's easy- you're only supposed to buy NEW lieca products-the used market does not exist as far as they're concerned- just a way of letting themselves off the hook as far as warranty in concerned- i can remember an incident where a kid brought in a pre-war camera that was literally worn out- cost over 1k in 76 dollars to fix it- he said it was his grandfather's and we couldn't fix it under warranty- two weeks later the old gentleman walks in( right BIG fellow too),shows us the ORIGINAL RECEIPT , AND SAYS WE HAVE TO FIX IT- we telephoned lieca in germany and they said YES, FIX IT, BUT SEND IT TO US- the thing came back factory reconditioned new
 
Westicle said:
so what is the final word on minox for those of us not able to afford $2000 bino's ???

most I am looking to spend is $800-$1k and want 8x42's...
Click to expand...

If you are willing to spend $1000 you not to far off from a Leica Trinovid 8x42BN $1149usd, or a Zeiss Victory 8x42 T* FL which I bought for $1199.99usd from cameralandny.
Save twice, spend once.
 
The Leica's are very good, however the Meopta line is certainly close, I have compared/used both and the pair that I kept are the Meopta 10x42's.
Aus $1000.00 cheaper did not hurt either.
 
From my warranty experience with Leica, I would say they have been second to none.

1st - they never asked for a receipt or proof of purchase.
2nd - they replaced the product with new unused product

I've owned the Geovid 10x42 and the smaller 1200 laser. Swarovski monocular/laser is in my opinion a nicer laser then the 1200 from an erog and glass prospective.

My Leica Binoculars have never been in for service.
 
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