Leica 10x42 Noctivid Binoculars

These binoculars are absolutely spectacular! They are startlingly sharp and bright, and give a strong sense of depth. One can look through them for long periods without eye strain. The only downsides are they are pretty heavy at about 2 pounds, (though the weight helps steady them), and they are enormously expensive to buy. For avid birders who want the very best I'd say they are a bargain.

While the product itself was phenomenal, after checking with Leica, zero warranty as the unit was originally shipped to Spain then reimported to America.

I also own the newest Swarovski EL 8.5x42 and SLC 8x42, and have found that the Leica Noctivid 8x42 has better eye relief than either of the Swaros, despite the fact that the reported eye relief values suggest that it shouldn't. I believe the issue is that Leica measures eye relief from the eyecup (the "usable eye relief" for eyeglass wearers), whereas Swarovski measures from the glass (without subtracting the space taken up by the eyecup). As a result, when wearing eyeglasses I get the fullest, most immersive view from the Noctivid. The sharpness and contrast of the Noctivid seem to be as good as for the Swaros, while also seeming brighter. I've seen no chromatic aberration whatsoever. The ergonomics are great. I only have two minor issues: (1) The rubber of the lens caps rubs on the glass very easily and causes smudges that have to be cleaned off quite frequently; in 25 years of birding I've never owned a binocular with this problem. I replaced the top lens caps with a Vortex cap, and that completely fixed that issue because the Vortex covers are deeper and don't touch the glass, but the objective lens covers are of a proprietary design that are hard to replace with a non-Leica cover. (2) While the focus knob is very smooth and uniform, it is touchier than on the Swaros (different gear ratio?), which takes a little getting used to.

Very nice optic. I just don't think its worth $2.7 grand. I didn't find it to be the ground-breaking glass they said it was. I compared it side by side with a Kowa Premier 8 x32 (a $1000 dollar bino) and I just did not see $1.7 grand of difference between the Leica and the Kowa.

These are incredible. The clarity, depth and wide angle are amazing, and last evening I took them out at dusk and loved that their light gathering was vastly better than the "pretty good" mid-range bins I was using before. I feel like my birding has been taken to a completely new level with the Noctavids, and I can't wait til the warblers get here! I can't recommend them highly enough- you would really have to use them to experience the difference.

I've been using 27 year old Leicas. They have really made improvements over the years. Fantastic product, especially for a bird watcher with middle age eyes on a dark day.

I love these for their clarity. I was bird watching in Belize, and it was totally amazing. I also checked out some night time sky and was able to see way more stars, like mind blowing.

Superior low-light performance. The relatively high weight should be seen in this context - yes, it's heavy for a 8x42, but still lighter than larger binoculars with similar low light performance.Sharpness and colors are great, but there's too much CA for binoculars in this price range. That's why I give it only four stars.Another issue is that there are substantial differences between individual devices, both as far as optics and mechanics are concerned. I first got an 2016-11 production unit, later exchanged it for a 2019-03 unit, and the focus adjustment is much better (lighter). Another thing that should not happen in this price range.Compared to Swarovski EL and Zeiss Victory SF, the Noctivid is smaller, and looks way, way cooler. A clean, minimalistic, classic design! Kind of like the rubber-clad Zeiss of the 1990s, which still look wonderful over 25 years later. Looks may not matter to you, but for me they do - a device that I plan to use for decades should have a timeless styling...The subjective user experience of the Noctivid is wonderful. It's not something I can quantify - how quickly do I get something in focus, how does it subjectively look? Ultimately, that's the reason I like the Noctivid, and am willing to deal with the CA. Your experience may vary, and the quality of the Noctivid you're looking through may unfortunately also vary, so it's best to look through the one you are planning to buy, before doing so.