Well, Andreas, you have started something here, with help from CharleyBird and his link to Ace Optics, Canip, Mike F, Andy and others. Ace is an excellent shop in my experience; I have been doing business with them since the late 90s and their lockdown delivery service is rapid, with free no-hassle collection by courier if needed for returns within the 14 day period. Interestingly, in view of the difficulty posters have mentioned in sourcing this 'sleeper' 8x50, Ace not only had the second hand item still in stock but also currently carry the 8x50 UVHD Plus among their new Leica equipment.
To come clean here, I gave Ace Optics a call yesterday midday, asked about the second hand 8x50 HD Plus and was told it was as advertised in new condition, to all intents and purposes unused but without box, carton, and warranty cards. Knowing I could return the item if not entirely happy with it I went for it. I've been on a high the last few days as, touch wood, not only have various other things panned out well but also as far as glass is concerned my 7x42 UVHD Plus is at last correctly set for the dioptre. For too long I had fiddled about with that setting and felt I was jinxed and on the verge of giving up on the 7x42, but finally we got there and I can now see what all the excitement is about when this bin is mentioned. Confidence in Leica image quality has returned in full.
The 8x50 arrived this morning, two days sooner than expected (i.e. no pause for the weekend) and I forced myself to wait to open the box till various other tasks were done and dusted. On unpacking the first thing that struck me was that the 8x50 was absolutely pristine: as with many optical secondhand purchases I wondered if it had in fact ever been used. I can imagine the size and weight (I'm guessing light for the format but still noticeably heavier than your typical x42) might have meant that despite the previous owner's best intentions he or she tended to pick up something smaller, like a x32 or x42 — or quite possibly found the narrow angle of view too restricting for their style of birding or whatever else they were using the bin for.
By the time the tasks to be completed were over, the sun was already into its final half hour's descent towards the horizon. As I was keen to try the glass out in low available light conditions the decision was taken to stay indoors and use various artifacts and paintings as test material for viewing, without the sharp breeze or other distractions to make a stable hold harder. Since finally taming the focus of the 7x42 as mentioned in §2 above and experiencing what it could deliver I was nervous about finding out how the 8x50 would compare. Would it give the hoped for very sharp yet rounded Leica feel? Apologies to any optical physicists reading; I know how subjective, touchy-feely descriptive comment goes down in some quarters. In short I was half-expecting the x50 might be unexciting by comparison.
Initially acquaintance was a bit of a struggle but I put that down to being a predictable part of the acclimatization period for a fairly unfamiliar format. Small handling niggles were noticeable, such as the barrels feeling a bit uncomfortable, being narrower than on the near-equivalent big Zeiss AKs; the narrow view came as a surprise even though we all knew about that from this thread on the forum; and of course the dioptre needed setting up. This last was not so easy as no objective caps (or for that matter, rainguard) came with the bins and I didn't want to squint in order to set the dioptre. Necessity is the mother of invention, however, and so after a quick rummage I used the rectangular prism shape of a light bulb carton as a long-sided cap on each objective lens in turn, and chose the coarse brushstrokes of a painting as a surface target to focus on. As an aside I some time ago gave up trying to set focus on a smooth-surfaced 2D target such as a road sign because, ageing eyes?, it was never as reliable as focusing on a slightly cratered flat surface such as a painting where the brushstrokes would suddenly snap into sharp relief and allow focus to be fine-tuned. Snap into sharp relief with the Leica 8x50 anyway... I could now see what all the excitement is about with these bins.
Once done I spent a few hours today here and there by artificial light just marvelling at the image. Tomorrow or Monday there should be a chance to get out and look at birds; by then I'll have got round to fitting the strap and deciding where to go, as we still have to stay local for some time, according to restrictions while the virus hopefully continues its downward trend.
There is something special about this 8x50. As Andreas said, it should have advantages in occupying a position between x42 and x56 by giving more light than a x42 while staying a touch more compact and therefore manageable than say an 8x56 T*FL. While generally tooling about with the 8x50 today it dawned on me that, once immersed in the viewing and enjoying the image quality, any worries about weight and shake had evaporated: by comparison the 8x56 generally leaves me struggling after a while in unstabilized use. The difference in weight between the two, using data in AllBinos, works out as follows:
Zeiss 8x56 T*FL 2lb 11 oz less Leica 8x50 UVHD Plus 2lb 3.3oz = 7.7oz -OR-
Zeiss 8x56 T*FL 1,220g less Leica 8x50 UVHD Plus 1,000g = 220g
That doesn't sound so very much but to me it makes the difference between a confident hold and a race against fatigue.
As a summary of this first day quick start experience, I can see what Chuck meant by best of his Leicas and also why when you have a good example of a Leica UV (HD, HD Plus etc) you generally don't want to part with them. The traditional view and the great resolution and 'atmosphere' (not an optical word but It's what came to mind along the lines of Leica glow etc) of this glass have me hooked. It will be interesting to try it in the hazy sunshine that is forecast for the coming days but my guess is these will be most exciting in available light viewing. I'm curious to know if the previous owner liked their 8x50 as much as I do already but parted with it to get an NL Pure or something new with a wide view, or whether the weight and maybe conclusion it was an overspecced purchase was the reason. Anyway, this and the new relationship with the 7x42 have reaffirmed my love for Leica. The only mild quibble arising is the lack of closer focus. Minimum focus of the 8x50 UVHD Plus is 11' 5 3/4" (3.5m), compared with the 8x56 T*FL at 9' 10" (3.0m). Not that I'm generally going to need closer focus for the more usual uses.
Other observations:
Eyecups: initially I was surprised that there are only two detents other than fully in: the first is a short way out and then it's a way to go till the next detent at fully out. The first one was too close for comfortable viewing without glasses, but luckily I found that there was sufficient resistance despite the smooth twist action to keep the eyecups still between in the free area between detents.
Correction to above re eyecups: on further examination there are actually two very close detents at the fully open end of travel, i.e. three detents in all other than fully in.
Quality control: absolutely no dust or flakes etc visible looking into the barrels from the objective end. No loose armouring, and as Chuck mentioned about his example a very smooth even focusing travel. Hinge resistance smooth but firm.
Date of manufacture: I can't tell but depending on how Leica allocates its serial numbers this second hand bin was possibly produced at about the same time as my 7x42, bought new two years ago from the same stockist. The numbers of both HD Pluses are 1649---, with the 8x50 number being 501 earlier than the 7x42.
To finish off, the 8x50 is definitely an elegant bit of kit, slim and graceful, in addition to being a fine piece of workmanship with no cosmetic shortcomings and a beautiful view. If anything new transpires in further use I will try to post about it; please ask if you have any questions about this bin in use. I don't usually notice CA unless viewing photo prints. I didn't see distractions at the edges of the view either and found I could refocus some mild outer field fade away at least as far as my eyes will comfortably turn, but then low light indoor viewing with some point light sources isn't the best situation to judge on that.
Three or four items are earmarked for sale to rebalance the outlay: the first time of selling any binoculars. This glass is one I will be happy to take out for fairly frequent evening and winter use, either that or the 7x42 depending on what's better for the occasion.
Tom
