Upgraded Leica Geovid R Rangefinder Binoculars (1 Viewer)

[John A Roberts]

Of interest to some . . .

On the 8th August, Leica announced an upgrade to their older series of rangefinder binoculars (see the press release).
This is the series that uses Uppendahl roof prisms, as opposed to the more recent one using Perger prisms.
As can be seen they have a much more stylish covering, and modified external controls:




I've not bothered to see check what changes there's been to the specifications,
though for convenience I've attached a copy for each model from the instruction manual:




John

 

[John A Roberts]

As I said, the technical data above is from the instruction manual.
I chose it over the seperate technical data sheets as it was all on one page.

But . . .
when out of curiosity I just went to look at the FOV of the 15x56 there’s an obvious error
- it’s listed as a remarkable 110 m at 1,000 m - while the FOV of the Swarovski SLC 15x56 is only 78 m!
It seems that the data for the 10x42 and 15x56 has been switched.

See the first pages from the tech data sheets - with the correct FOV figures.
I’ve also attached a copy of the sheets.


John

 

[quincy88]

Very tastefully done. As one expects from Leica. Their stuff is so much better looking than any other manufacturer. Its not even close.

 

[handwerk]

I've been using the older HD-R's for years and been very happy with them. These look very interesting as the range button now is on the right barrel, they seem to have the better lens coatings as well and at least as stated better eye relief. FOV seems to be about the same.

 

[Vollmeise]

@john, thx for pointing out the swapped specs.

There's another mistake in your post #1: the images on the right side of the brochure (four Geovid models shown on a white background) show the penultimate generation "Geovid HD" (2009-2013).

I think a functioning quality control looks different

P.S.: btw, this information is not that new, I pointed out those new Geovids in this thread in July already:

news from leica

 

[carbon]

All I can glean from the specs of the new vs old model 15x56 (which I own) are:

New and confirmed:

• Added 4 click stop eyecups vs 2 in the old version
• Improved the LRF by almost 2x distance
• Moved controls to right side, buttons look easier to finger
• A wee bit cheaper

Guessing:

• Maybe speed of the returned range is faster?
• Maybe brightness of LED is user adjustable?
• Same optical system?
• Coatings the same?

The same:

• Weight
• Housing material/gas/waterproof depth

My questions:

1. Am I missing anything?
2. Does the new one have the same quality of image and construction? I really like mine.

 

[AlbertaMcCullough]

Just upgraded to the Leica Geovid R rangefinder binoculars and I'm thoroughly impressed. Accurate rangefinding, top-notch build quality, stunning image quality, and color accuracy make them worth the investment. Highly recommend.

 

[Gus Daly]

Just upgraded to the Leica Geovid R rangefinder binoculars and I'm thoroughly impressed. Accurate rangefinding, top-notch build quality, stunning image quality, and color accuracy make them worth the investment. Highly recommend.

They sound impressive - would/do they work on accurately ranging large birds (eg raptors) in flight? Scan mode would be the only possibility I suspect. They would be great for bird surveys if so.