Bino Noob - Leicas - Ultravid HD+ vs Noctivid

fwafwow

WKR
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Apr 8, 2018
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4,879
'm a bino novice. I currently use a pair of Tract UHD 8x42 (which I really like), but I'm in the early stages of looking to upgrade. I have plenty of questions I will save for future inquiries, but can someone give me a quick rundown on the differences on these? The Leica website is pretty frustrating (to me, at least) - especially in comparison to the Swaro site. I expect the Noctivids are better, but I'm basing that on the prices. I have figured out that they are competitive to the Swaro ELs, but does that mean the Ultravid HD+ is competitive to the SLCs, or are they in between?
 
Joined
Mar 14, 2016
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738
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Utah
Here’s my uneducated take until someone else chimes in. The noctivid have field flattener lenses like the EL and Zeiss sf. I’ve only looked through them at scheels but the field didn’t seem as flat as with ELs which some may like. None of the ultravids have field flatteners so the edges are more distorted by design. They were leicas flagship before the noctivid so I’d guess they are slightly superior to the SLC in general. I’m not sure if the noctivid can have a tripod stud installed so that’s one thing to note. I still can’t believe they are still making high end optics that aren’t readily tripod mountable. One last thing, those noctivids are a cool looking set of glass not that it matters. I just love the look of them, and it doesn’t hurt that they might be the best Binos made right now. Wish they made em in 12s. Good luck in your search.
 

timberbuck

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Mar 31, 2018
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115
Location
Utah
Ultravid HD plus are slightly better than the current SLC HD in optics, focusing, build quality and ergonomics.

They may be your top optic if you like the classic view with a little edge distortion like the SLC and Zeiss HT all which present a more natural view than designs with field flattening lenses.

My 10x50 Leica Ultravid HD plus does slightly best my SLC HD in FOV,brightness and resolution. I have not compared a 10x42 Ultravid HD plus to the SLC. Overall I feel the SLC is where it is at in a 10x42 even over the EL swarovision field pro.
 
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