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  1. B

    Terrible Swarovski customer service for NL coating failure - No response for a month, then a $50 charge for expedited service

    Gotcha. I looked at the value as being a declaration of value for insurance purposes, in case of loss or damage whilst in the hands of the courier company (UPS). As this was a repair and not a purchase, I saw no other purpose for the low valuation, apart from being the replacement cost Swarovski...
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    Terrible Swarovski customer service for NL coating failure - No response for a month, then a $50 charge for expedited service

    This is kind of off topic, but maybe relevant to what Scotty was saying regarding EDG vs NL PURE pricing above. I've just received my 2023 manufactured 8x32 NL's back from Absam and was intrigued (to say the least) by their replacement valuation for import/insurance purposes of just 645 euros...
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    Terrible Swarovski customer service for NL coating failure - No response for a month, then a $50 charge for expedited service

    If this experience is typical of Swarovski's NA customer care, I'm shocked. In no way does this even remotely reflect my own experiences (and there have been at least half a dozen over the past few years) when dealing with Austria via the UK office. The level of customer service I have...
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    Speculative 10x30/32 question

    ...and 6 days later those same 10x32 SF's are 'For Sale' in the BF classifieds. Ok.
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    Speculative 10x30/32 question

    +1 I have an 8 year old 10x32 EL FP as my main everyday binocular. I wear glasses, if that makes a difference, and for me it is the best fit and most comfortable to use of any 10x30/32 binocular. I also own 10x32 NL's, which I find easy and perfectly comfortable to use, 10x30 SFL's which I...
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    Meopta 15x56 HD

    Thanks Pat! Currently, my left eye is giving me the illusion of being in the midst of a swarm of flies, and in my peripheral vision birds flying overhead, due to the abundance of tiny, and not so tiny, black floaters. This the result of a tear in the retina, repaired the next day by laser...
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    Meopta 15x56 HD

    Pat, I'm absolutely delighted that dodgy finger did the deed! I watched those last two units in stock at SWO remain unsold for week after week after week in absolute disbelief, given the price they were asking for them. Well worth making an offer, well played! I may have underplayed how good I...
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    Will Retrovid 8x40 leather case fit an ultravid HD 7x42?

    I don't know where you're based, but if you're in the UK, just contact Leica Customer Care and they should be able to sell you one. I enquired about purchasing the leather BL pouches for my 8x20 and 10x25 Ultravid BR's and they duly obliged. Strangely, the smaller 8x20 BL pouch was almost twice...
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    Deciding between 8x32's

    The first thing that hit me when I unboxed a pair of 8x32 Verano was the feel and quality of the armour. Certainly amongst the nicest and grippiest I've come across. If only your Austrian competitors were as positively reactive to the fact that their armour marks up (and degrades) so easily, it...
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    Ocular Lens Size

    I understand and accept 'the science' behind the so-called 'eyebox', it makes perfect sense. However, I have never really fathomed out why some binoculars have a reputation for being particularly finicky or unfriendly, and others of the same objective/magnification formula (8x42, for example)...
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    Which Opticron binoculars focus clockwise to infinity?

    So, this swayed me into a hasty decision... Seeing an outstanding price for the 8x32 Verano being offered by a Welsh retailer (units appeared to be flying off the shelf and they've since raised the price), I decided to go ahead and make a purchase. They arrived on Thursday afternoon and were...
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    Verano BGA HD to VHD, optical changes, usable eye relief.

    I briefly owned one of these. I didn't measure usable eye relief (in the 8x32), but it felt well below the stated 18mm. It was comfortable to use with my glasses on without the eyecups raised, but not overly generous. From memory, I'd guess it was somewhere between 14mm and 15mm. And yes, the...
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    Trinovid hype

    I've noted you've been on exceptionally fine form over the past few days...😉 I'm wondering if you've been indulging in a particular Easter libation from above the clouds which is affecting your joie de vivre...? 😇
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    Which Opticron binoculars focus clockwise to infinity?

    Thank you very much for this. I had assumed (wrongly) that the Verano focused anticlockwise to infinity, same as the Aurora. Two to test, Traveller and Verano.
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    Wondering about Ultravids, esp. 12x50...

    The 12x50 EL, for it's size, is extremely comfortable, and the view, whilst lacking those Leica colours, stupendous. I get a little shiver of excitement every time I use mine.
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    Leica 8x32 Ultravid HD+ eye cup structure?

    I'd say 'the fit' you describe, whilst using them wearing glasses, is almost identical to their fit for me. Successful viewing of the entire field of view depends upon the thickness of the glasses frame and how well it recedes into the structure of the face. I should buy shares in Zeiss, I get...
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    What's your most used binocular?

    If the x32 Ultravid HD+'s had a smidge more eye relief, the 8x would almost certainly be my most used binocular (it was for quite a while), but I eventually became fed up with having to jam them hard against my glasses to get the full field of view, and have a slight preference for 10x...
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    NL Pure 8x32 field of view

    In the same way that your 'everyday' binocular is now your 8x32 NL, my 'everyday' binocular is a 10x32 EL. Nice preloved examples come up for sale on a regular basis, and this would probably tick all your 10x boxes. Others which I (personally) like very much which are not flat field but are...
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    Wondering about Ultravids, esp. 12x50...

    Yes, Ultravids are all about the eye relief for glasses wearers. The 10x32's, 10x50's and 12x50's I can't enjoy, eye relief is simply too tight for them to be an ownership proposition. My 8x32's and 10x42's are tight for eye relief (the 8x32's in particular), both need eyecups fully down, but...
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    NL >=50 mm versions?

    Andreas, I have also been told this (by a Swarovski dealer). There will be no more x50 EL's manufactured, so once the current stock is gone, that's it. Only the x50's were mentioned, so I assume production of the x42's will continue for the time being. I wonder if the big SLC's will be the...
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    Wondering about Ultravids, esp. 12x50...

    I take back this statement from a previous post I made on this thread. I've spent a lot of time using my 8x50's over the past few days and have found them to be comfortable and rock steady for long periods. It just needed a small adjustment to how I was holding them. They are a supremely easy...
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    Which Opticron binoculars focus clockwise to infinity?

    That's terrific, thank you very much for checking and for the information and link. And @Canip, my thanks to you too. Much appreciated chaps! James
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    Leica Bins

    Too right Scotty! The paperwork from Leica was perfectly clear, nothing wrong and no adjustments made to the binocular. I did a mechanical comparison between my four non pocket Ultravids (after picking myself up off the bed). Hinges all more or less identical. Focus movement of 7x42 and 8x50...
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    Leica Bins

    So now I'm confused... Before packing them off to Viking to send them to Leica for the second time (to have the newly unacceptably stiff focus wheel sorted), three different people tested these binoculars and we all universally agreed that the focus movement was extraordinarily stiff...
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    Leica Bins

    Yes, that's my experience also, you're far more likely to get the desired outcome dealing with the manufacturer direct. In this instance, I went through the retailer in the (very) vain hope that they might simply swap out my faulty unit from stock. No such luck. James
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