Leica Geovid, Zeiss Victory RF, Swarovski EL Range - leica-shop
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1. the most important determinant of image bright ness significant differences were revealed not only under laboratory conditions but also out in the field The clear front runner here is the Swarovski EL Range with 91 day transmission and over 89 transmission at night in both binocular tubes The slight difference between the day and night trans mission values also shows that the Tyroleans have turned out a very well balanced optics package with their EL Range TEST RESULTS BINOCULARS WITH INTEGRATED RANGEFINDERS Swarovski EL Range 8x42 Zeiss Victory RF 8x45 Measured 8 0 Entry pupil 43 5 mm Exit pupil 3 nm Field of view at 1 000 136 m Spectacle wearer yes Interpupillary 56 74 mm Eye relief 18 5 mm Close focusing limit 2m Transmission day nont 209 left 91 1 Transmission night right 89 6 left 89 2 Binocular alignment horizontal Field rotation Resolving power misalignment 32 1 vertical misalignment 9 0 horizontal 0 207 vertical 0 14 oy Dioptre 6 5 dpt dpt Low temperature test 40 C passed High temperature test 70 C passed Waterproof yes IS 47 mm 6 5 mm 128 m yes 54 76 mm 18 5 mm 5 0 im right 70 2 left 85 5 right 62 6 left 75 2 horizontal misalignment 4 6 vertical misalignment 4 7 horizontal 1 107 vertieal 17292 25 4 dpt 4 dpt passed passed yes Leica HD B 8x42 8 1 43 mm 5 8 mm 12. even at very long distances This program will be unnecessary when shooting on level terrain and can be deactivated in the menu At a price of 2 780 the Habicht is the most expen sive of the three models tested Leica s new Geovid has unusual ba nana shaped tubes Although Leica is the pioneer of binoculars with in that are a result of its tegrated rangefinders our test glass was the latest new construction model on the market It was first presented to the concept a mixture of general public at the Shot Show in Las Vegas in Jan Porro and roof prism uary 2013 and deliveries to dealers have only just systems begun In comparison with earlier Geovids a first look at its housing reveals that the new generation is a com pletely new construction The open bridge is really new it is a trend that has obviously taken root in contemporary binocular construction Leica too has chosen a rubber ar moured magnesium alloy housing in Leica s typi cal black as tradition demands These days magnesium alloy is the first choice in the construction of top priced binoculars thanks to its lighter weight than aluminium and its considera bly greater robustness The fact that it is also signif icantly more expensive obviously plays no role what soever in this price category The two halves of this pair of binoculars have a pro nounced bend or an elegant curved form de pending on how you look a
3. is the heaviest of the trio Optical performance Before the JAGDPRAXIS team took the three high tech candidates out for practical testing in the field they first went to the laboratory of the department of optics and optoelectronics at the Georg Simon Ohm Institute in Nuremberg This is where not only optically relevant data like transmission re solving power edge sharpness contrast and colour fringing were determined but also where the man ufacturers details regarding magnification field of view and dioptre compensation were checked and important factors like binocular alignment and field rotation were assessed Professor Hanskarl Treiber and his student group also made a visual assessment of the LED read out of the measured values in the binoculars The results here are a jungle of numbers so we re quested Professor Treiber to summarise them in brief statements about each of the three test candi dates Leica 8 x 42 HD B These binoculars fulfil all the DIN ISO high performance instruments No deficiencies requirements of the standards for were determined in practical use Image quality im age field and brightness meet all expectations re quired of premium class binoculars a pair of pre mium class binoculars with no cause for complaint Swarovski 8 x 42 EL Range These binoculars fulfil all the requirements of the DIN ISO stand ards for high performance instruments No defi ciencies were
4. us ers can enter these parameters into a ballistics pro gram on the Leica website and upload the results to their micro SD memory card The Leica package includes an adaptor for the use of this tiny memory card in the conventional card reader slot of a PC The Geovid automatically imports the data from the memory card as soon as it is inserted and from then on uses these parameters for computation with significantly greater accuracy than with the six hard wired ballistic curves Summing up the Leica ballistics computer has the largest number of functions and in terms of com puting power the best preconditions for accurate results But there could have been more and that the spin drift spin related lateral deviation could have been calculated as it is in modern ballistics programs like QuickTARGET This would entail even more pro cessing power and the display of yet another value probably more confusing than helpful for many users But we are still quite a way from the end of what s possible ballistics has a lot more to offer At a price of 2 650 Leica has strategically posi tioned the new Geovid between the Zeiss and the Swarovski The battery compartment also houses the slot for the micro SD card and the Leica package even includes a pair of tweezers for extracting it 8 Jagdpraxis 3 2013 The Geovid left looks the biggest and the Zeiss centre with its slightly wider objective lens
5. determined in practical use Image quality image field and brightness meet all expecta tions required of premium class binoculars Opti mal transmission values a pair of premium class binoculars with no cause for complaint Zeiss Victory 8 x 45 REF With the exception of the field rotation these binoculars fulfil all the re quirements of the DIN ISO standards for high per formance instruments The binocular alignment however is excellent Although the transmission and its uniformity are not ideal these deficiencies would not be particu larly irritating in practical use a very good pair of binoculars with little cause for complaint What do the test results tell us In this test all three of the exquisite candidates are high performance binoculars that are characterised by extremely high resolving power and a short close focusing limit All three are suitable for use by spec tacle wearers without any restrictions The eye relief the measured position behind the lens of the eye is 18 mm in all cases The standard for high performance binoculars specifies a mini mum of 16 mm All three glasses also rate well above the standards Jagdpraxis 3 2013 9 z Be 7 Comparison test All round binoculars with integrated rangefinders for binocular alignment collimation This is de termined at the oculars of the binoculars This de scribes the true misalignment of the axes that the eyes must compensate fo
6. often you shoot too low This may be considerably less the case with a modern 270 WSM than an old 9 3 x 72 R Forester Car tridge but it still happens all the same Then you have the problem of angle shots if the target is above or below the hunter s position the projectile is no longer subjected to the full force of gravity and low shots are less frequent than would be expected This makes it clear that despite state of the art hunting equipment hunters must always know three things to accurately place their bullets in the game even at long distances E precise knowledge of the ballistic properties of the ammunition used E the true shot distance E the angle for angle shots and the resulting chang es to the bullet s flight As long as these parameters are known precise hits are no longer a problem At least in theory Unfortu nately there are other factors that can interfere with the hunter s nominally perfect calculations E Depending on its angle and strength the wind can strongly influence the flight path of projectiles over long distances Even in light winds lateral de viations of 30 to 40 cm are completely normal The ability to read the wind makes it possible to com pensate for such effects but this requires years of experience and practice In purely theoretical terms this can never be learned Only numerous shots on a 300 metre range and precise documentation of wind speeds and deviation
7. the case of the Zeiss users must pick one of the hard wired ballistic curves We checked this on the 300 metre range with rifles zeroed at 100 metres This works very well with normal calibres and nor mal length barrels with which the ammunition manufacturers given parameters can be achieved The deviations are then between five and eight cen timetres in the vertical So when shooting deer the shot remains in the lethal zone The deviations increase at greater distances In any case we recommend testing on the 300 metre range to determine which ballistic curve is the best for the rifle you use wide shots at game are other wise irresponsible One thing the Zeiss doesn t offer is a correction for angle shots Calculations are always made with the actual measured distance not a problem as long as you are shooting on level terrain or the shot angle stays in a low number of degrees However the holdover correction displayed is no longer valid when shooting up or downhill in the mountains In such situations the holdover corrections given by the BIS system of the Zeiss RF are much too large From the possible 15 points we awarded the Zeiss ten for its accurate and reliable ballistics system without angle shot correction The new Geovid offers the best system by far The holdover correction can be displayed in either cen timetres or clicks and the shot angle is also taken into account for its calculation What s more t
8. the other two glasses pressing the button once activates the sighting point and the measuring process begins when the button is released Our testers managed very well with both methods Here getting used to the method plays more of a role than the consideration of which offers a real advantage Taking a look at the results of the comparison in this category reveals that Leica and Swarovski lead the field by a read out s breadth There are no significant differences between the three when it comes to measuring accuracy meas uring reliability speed or read out qualities The Swarovski may be a touch slower at measuring but this is made up for by the option for manually set ting the read out brightness gt more on page 14 Binoculars with integrated laser rangefinders 8x magnification 42 45 mm objective lenses How we rated our test candidates This category applies to binocular glasses with integrated laser rangefinders First of all we assessed the performance of the binoculars and rangefinders separately Each of these component parts can potentially be awarded 100 points in the subgroups coming to a maximum of 200 possible points at the end of the test BINOCULAR OPTICS RATING Field of view max 10 points A pair of binoculars field of view is extremely important as a better overview contributes significantly to viewing comfort We award full marks for a field of view greater than 130 me tres at 1 000 metr
9. with the Swarovski Weighing in at 980 grams the Leica is around the same weight as the Zeiss but is slightly longer at 178 mm which could well be due to its banana construction The Geovid also makes use of a Class 1 eye safe la ser and with a range of 10 to 1 825 metres is con siderably more powerful than either the Zeiss or the Swarovski The first press of the button activates the red rec tangular sighting symbol The button must then be pressed a second time to send the laser beam on its way If the finger stays on the button the measuring electronics switch to scan mode and initiate one measurement after another The read out can be switched between metres and yards The LED read out adapts automatically to the light ing conditions a manual brightness setting option is not provided The ballistics computer Leica has installed a ballistics program with a very wide range of functions and provides a slot for en tering user specific parameters into the ballistics computer in the binoculars from a tiny micro SD memory card The user can upload these custom parameters to the card from a computer quite a lot of technical stuff that demands a certain level of ba sic technical skills Jagdpraxis 3 2013 m 7 The Leica engineers dug deeply into their bag of tricks when programming the ballistics computer it even takes parameters like temperature baromet ric pressure and the shot angle into a
10. 2013 0 5 over 600 m 3 volt lithium 2 595 over the entire measuring range 3 volt lithium 2 780 2 m to 1 000 m 0 5 over 1 000 m 3 volt lithium 2 650 The Zeiss 8 x 45 RF RF for rangefinder has a tough but light magnesium housing that is protect ed against knocks and impacts by rubber armour ing Its construction is conventional which means it has a closed bridge The optical design of the 45 RF corresponds to that of the 42 mm Victory models and is based on a four lens achromatic system with fluoride lenses and Ab be K nig prisms The eyecups have four detent set tings and can be completely removed for cleaning The ocular and objective lenses feature a Zeiss Lo tulec coating a type of hydrophobic nano coating that is standard for today s leading brands It lets water simply roll off the lenses and makes them easy to clean The binoculars are focused with a large knurled wheel and the dioptre compensation is set with a wheel on the left ocular Zeiss inte grates the transmitter and receiver system in the tubes The laser beam is sent through one tube and the reflected signal is received in the other This could well be the reason for the three millimetre larger lens diameter as the electronics interrupt the ray path in the optical system In other words it costs you light To ensure that the view is not no ticeably darker than with 42 mm binoculars without ra
11. 28 m yes 55 74 mm l8 2 mm SAM right 86 3 left 87 7 right 84 7 left 843 horizontal misalignment 3 4 vertical misalignment 9 2 horizontal 0 202 vertical 0 12 27 4 5 dpt 6 dpt passed passed yes permitted value for high performance binoculars vertical 20 and horizontal 60 measured values in angular minutes permitted value for high performance binoculars 1 measured values in angular degrees 10 Jagdpraxis 3 2013 The transmission values of the Leica are also well balanced with 87 day transmission and 84 at night Not quite good enough for top marks but still very good The Zeiss Victory RF trails behind in this discipline namely with a day transmission value of 85 5 and that only at the left ocular On the right hand side with the rangefinder system it only manages a mea sre 70 2 The difference is similarly disappointing for night transmission 75 2 at the left and 62 6 at the right In practical use the right hand side of the binocu lars appears noticeably darker than the left The tests here show that Swarovski s idea of install ing the rangefinder components below the tubes is the right way to go The new mixed Porro roof prism concept from Lei ca also appears to work It produces not only good transmission values but also almost identical values for both tubes Zeiss limps along quite a way behind the others an obvious reason why the o
12. Special reprint from 3 2013 agadpraxis Jagdpraxis fur Waffen Optik und Ausrustung Comparison test Comparison test All round binoculars with integrated rangefinders Starting this year hunters have had the choice of three pairs of binoculars with integrated rangefinders and masses of high tech from three leading manufacturers The price differ ence between the three is less than 200 which in a price bracket over 2 500 should hardly make a difference JAGDPRAXIS has put three top models with 8 fold magnifica tion and 42 mm Leica Swarovski or 45 mm objective lenses Zeiss to the test bench All three had to show what their optics are made of and their performance in the fields And would you believe it the differences are more than just fine in the Rolls Royce class en ie en s ids Er 2 ariin L aa aaa Sea iE Ee Jagdpraxis 3 2013 oday hunters are more likely to attempt much longer shots than they would have 50 years ago Advances in weapon technologies ammu nition and scopes provide the technical prerequi sites for this precise rifles high performance car tridges with reliable bullets and high magnification riflescopes bring the target much closer to the hunt ers eye Nevertheless the principles of ballistics haven t changed at all even modern projectiles fly along a ballistic curve and the greater the target distance the more
13. al accounting overall points we add to gether the ratings for optical performance and those for the integrated rangefinder and ballistics pro gram We have intentionally awarded 100 points for each to allow the comparison of standalone rangefinders and 8 x 42 binoculars without rangefinders at any time in the future This makes it possible to recog nise at a glance whether binoculars without the electronics or standalone rangefinders can offer more than integrated solutions The Zeiss was eventually able to make up ground thanks to its good ballistics program and earned the JP rating of good two magnifying glasses with a to tal of 178 points Great optical performance and a total of 187 points earned the Swarovski second place in our test and a rating of very good three magnifying glasses The clear winner of the grand JAGDPRAXIS compari son test was the Leica with 194 points and a rating of excellent four magnifying glasses Although it can t match the Swarovski in transmis sion or field of view it has the better ballistics pro gram and the rangefinder with the longest range As there is no significant difference between the prices of our three top glasses the question now is Leica or Swarovski Anyone shooting with a riflescope with rapid reticle adjustment ASV has no disadvantages with the Swarovski and enjoys the benefits of the currently best optical performance in this class In contrast the Leica offe
14. ation of their rangefinder technology the electronics were slung below the tubes in so called measuring fins rather than being integrated in the binocular housing The idea be hind this was to prevent the optical performance of the binoculars from suffering from beam splitters located inside the housing The EL also featured a kind of integrated ballistics computer for the calculation of angle shot devia tion With these features Zeiss and Swarovski left the Geovid behind them in technical terms as the latter could only display the measured distance In 2013 Leica followed up with a completely new construction packed with computing power the Geovid HD B But first of all lets take a look at the three candi dates and their technical and constructional differ ences TECHNICAL DATA MANUFACTURERS DETAILS Zeiss Victory RF Swarovski EL Range Leica Geovid HD B Model 8x45 8x42 8x42 Body Magnesium Magnesium Magnesium Magnification 8x 8x 8x Lens diameter 45 mm 42 mm 42 mm Exit pupil diameter So mm sam SMM Twilight factor 19 18 3 18 3 Field of view at 1 000 125 m D m 130 m Close focusing 55 5m 5m Dioptre a 3 0 dpt 7 5 dpt 4 dpt Eye point 16 mm 19 2 mm 18 mm Interpupillary 54 76 mm 56 74 mm 56 74 mm Height 167 135 mm 166 117 mm 178 128 mm Weight 7959 2109 980g Measuring range 10 1 200 m 30 1 3 5 m 10 1 825 m Measuring accuracy 1 m to 600m 1m 1 m to 500 m Battery Price 4 m Jagdpraxis 3
15. bjective lens diameter has been increased to 45 mm this fete cer me The two control buttons of the Geovid are next to each other increases the brightness of the view in practical use and users will hardly notice the difference to 42 mm models with better transmission values Another important point is field of view to achieve top marks it has to be at least 130 metres Only the Swarovski manages this with an impres sive 136 metres Zeiss and Leica both offer 128 me tres and both drop a point in this test discipline The JAGDPRAXIS test results expressed in points look like this We subtracted one point for each of the three glass es in the features category as none of them had quick release carrying straps The Zeiss lost a point for mechanical quality for not meeting the standards for field rotation The rating for ease of handling determined by our testers in the field was already taken into account Here the Zeiss lost points again our test team much preferred the open bridges of the Leica and the Swarovski In the category value for money Leica and Swarovski each earned eight points for being optically excellent but very expensive The Zeiss is equally expensive but showed consid In the case of the Zeiss measuring is activated with the large button The smaller button below it is used exclusively for programming the ballistics computer No chance of confusing the buttons on the Swaro
16. ccount So an angle shot correction is offered here too All it needs to display the ambient temperature and air pressure any time is a short tap on the menu but ton If you press the button longer the electronics take you into the custom programming mode In principle the ballistics program works in the same way as the one offered by Zeiss In addition to the distance measured it displays the holdover val ue i e the required shot correction This value can be displayed in centimetres or inches or as clicks for ASV adjustment As the adjustment per click differs from scope to scope it also allows the input of the click adjustment to the point of impact in millimetres It also immediately calculates the ballistic distance for angle shots at the same time Presets also allow selection of the point blank shot distance for 200 metres in addition to 100 metres and MRD Leica also provides a choice of six hard wired ballis tic curves that can be selected from the menu In Comparison test All round binoculars with integrated rangefinders addition to these the precise parameters of the hunter s own cartridges can be input from the SD card Knowledge of the measured muzzle velocity of the weapon being used is also necessary only then does the calculation with custom parameters make really good sense If the projectile V O and the height of the optical axis above the bore axis of the barrel are known
17. ctory RF has six permanently stored ballistic curves to cover the most common calibres Further more it offers a choice between a point blank shot at 100 m or MRD The curves are printed in the user manual and users pick the best match to the calibre they use When the ballistics computer is activated Zeiss calls this system BIS Ballistics Information System the read out displays the holdover correction for the distance and the chosen ballistic curve immediately after showing the measured distance If for exam ple the read out shows H 10 the aim must be set 10 cm higher by a corresponding height adjust ment of the reticle of the riflescope or by setting an appropriate value with the rapid reticle adjustment ASV of the riflescope and then aiming as usual The choice of ballistic curves is made with the smaller of the two buttons the mode button be low the measuring button This button is no longer needed when the ballistic curve has been selected With dimensions of 167 x 135 mm L x W anda weight of 995 g the Victory RF is only slightly larger and heavier than conventional 42 mm glasses A Victory 8 x 42 HT is around 200 g lighter Slight compromises must be accepted in the case of field of view The RF offers 125 m while the view with the 42 mm glass is wider with 136 metres At a price of 2 595 the Zeiss Victory 8 x 45 RF is the least expensive of the trio we tested Jagdpraxis 3 2013 m 5 Compariso
18. despread use for instance among golfers and sur veyors the technologies became increasingly cheaper So it was only logical that the next step would be the integration of a laser rangefinder in a pair of binoc ulars In 1992 Leica the German optical equipment Jagdpraxis 3 2013 3 manufacturer launched the Geovid the world s first binoculars with a built in rangefinder As the initial target group was authorities and the military market this meant that a compass was integrated too Not only its price but also its bulky size and ex treme weight made the original Geovid not all that popular in the hunting community it was around twice the size and weight of a normal pair of binoc ulars In 2004 2005 Leica launched the new Geovid BRF no larger or heavier than binoculars without a rangefinder Although competing manu facturers were quick to notice the potentials of this bestseller it still took several years until Zeiss had its Victory RF models ready for the market Leica had safeguarded its ideas with such cast iron pat ents that the Zeiss engineers were forced to work their way around them A first for Zeiss though was the ballistics computer in the Victory RF Swarovski the third of the European optical giants Comparison test All round binoculars with integrated rangefinders took even longer It was 2011 by the time its EL Range was first presented The Tyroleans took a dif ferent path for the integr
19. e focusing mechanism and dioptre compensation must still be easy to move in cold conditions Features max 10 points Are the front lenses nano coated Does the package include caps for the objective lenses and oculars Does the price in clude a case and a carrying strap and are these practical and usable Can the strap be detached easily and quickly Value for money max 10 points What does the product offer for the retail price Here we rate the performance and features offered in relation to the price RANGEFINDER RATING Range max 20 points What is the maximum range at which the device can deter mine the distance to an object the size of a car Maximum points are awarded for 1 500 metres one point is deducted for each step of 100 metres less than this value Jagdpraxis 3 2013 13 Comparison test All round binoculars with integrated rangefinders OVERALLRATINGS RALL RATINGS excellent an An Gn Gn OEMS emcees Sees NO 180 189 points very good NN The read out in the high tech binoculars 170 179 points good KAS gt in this test show the precise distance to the game you came out to hunt en Once you have this you only 160 169 points tisfact x i aaa a need to make the right conclu SIONS sob el not to be recommended 169 points Measuring accuracy max 15 points There should be no deviations greater than one metre at distances up to 500 metres On top of this we allow a tole
20. es We deduct one point for every two me tres less than this limit Resolving power max 15 points Resolving power also known as resolution is the ability of the optical system to make the separation between two closely neighbouring points clearly visible to the user an im portant criterion for the quality of an optical system Resolv ing power is measured in angular seconds At a measured resolving power of 4 a user looking through the optical sys tem would be able to recognise two points separated by a distance of two centimetres as individual objects at a dis tance of 1 000 metres A resolving power of 10 would apply to two points separated by five centimetres at a distance of 1 000 metres Full marks are awarded to optical systems that have a resolving power of 6 angular seconds Two points are deducted for every angle second above this value Transmission max 15 points The transmission value is a decisive factor for hunting glass es The transmission is measured in the daytime and at night We take only the daytime transmission value as an average from both tubes when awarding points Full marks of 15 points are awarded for daytime transmission values of 90 and above Every 2 less than this value leads to the deduc tion of one point Actual magnification max 10 points The manufacturers of binoculars state a magnification fac tor for their products and this is often a decisive factor in the purchasing decision At th
21. he Leica can also compute with user specific parame ters which is significantly more accurate than when using one of its hard wired ballistic curves On the 300 metre range the Leica impressed the testers with holdover corrections to the precise centimetre applying the displayed correction landed every shot in the 10 The JAGDPRAXIS testers had no problems at all with the handling of the three models and anyone prepared to read and follow the instructions in the manual will find the programming easy as well As soon as everything is set up a press of the button is all it needs Admittedly importing custom parameters to the Leica from the micro SD card involves some extra effort but that is hardly a reason to complain After all six ballistic curves that are easy to access are already programmed in Inputting your own pa rameters is only an additional option but it does deliver more accurate results and is highly recom mended for users of more exotic calibres The Leica earned full marks from our test team for its mature and versatile ballistics program Summing up this is the outcome of the JAGD PRAXIS test for the electronics category The clear winner in this category is the Leica with 100 out of a maximum of 100 points It has the longest range and the best ballistics program Otherwise for simple rangefinding functions and ease of use it is a level playing field for all three models Overall ratings In the fin
22. is point in the test we deter mined whether the manufacturers data are correct or differ significantly from the stated value We measured the actual magnification A 5 deviation is tolerated and one point is deducted for every percentage point beyond this allowance Overall optical package max 10 points This covers a whole range of tests that are important for de termining the quality of a pair of binoculars Here we assess edge sharpness contrast colour fringing chromatic aberra tion compensation for long and short sightedness dioptre compensation and the size of the entry and exit pupils The pupils are measured with the aid of an ideally collimat ed bundle of laser beams and the pupil diameter is deter mined with a calibrated CCD camera An optical system that shows no weaknesses or deviations from the standards is awarded the maximum points Use with spectacles max 10 points Can spectacle wearers see the entire field of view Are the eyecups easy to retract Do they have several detent set tings Can they be completely removed for cleaning Mechanical quality and ease of use max 10 points Both tubes and their individual optical systems must be horizontally aligned with extreme precision If they are not viewing may be strenuous and cause eye strain and head aches Field rotation must be within the specified toleranc es The housing must be watertight and the control ele ments such as th
23. n test All round binoculars with integrated rangefinders Thanks to its low slung measuring fins the Swarovski achieves outstanding transmission values Despite its open bridge construction the Swarovski offers real internal focusing Swarovski 8x42 EL Range 7 Based on Swarovskis EL line the Range was launched in 2011 and owes its open bridge con struction with practical holding and handling char acteristics to this design Nevertheless it offers real internal focusing a very sophisticated feature in binoculars without a hinged bridge The mechanism is installed in the upper crosspiece and the focusing element is moved by rocker levers and connecting rods The roof prism system with P coating for phase correction is also contained in a lightweight rubber armoured magnesi um body This armour is however not black but the typical dark green of the Tyrolean mountain peaks Each ocular ring is equipped with a setting ring that is pulled out to set the dioptre compensation and pushed back after setting This effectively prevents inadvertent twisting and loss of the compensation settings Just like the standard EL model the Range also features Swarovski s own lens coatings Swaro bright and Swarotop both now optimised for use with laser technology Swarovski also coats all ex posed lens surfaces with a nano coating that goes by the name of Swarodur The eyecups can be re tracted for spectacle wearer
24. ng your shot It also offers no hard wired ballistic curves or manual input op tions for various different calibres It is assumed that you already know the ballistic curve you need for your ammunition If you are lucky you may have a riflescope with rap id reticle adjustment ASV or a ballistic reticle that can be used to directly convert the shot distance The input of a holdover point is rendered unneces sary by an ASV Despite this the EL Range does have another very useful feature angle shot correction Uphill or downhill placement of a desired point blank shot requires a good gut feeling along with plenty of experience in ballistics the EL Range takes care of this quite simply with its electronics The integrated angle shot program displays the cor rected ballistic distance for shots in sloping terrain When the angle shot program is activated the EL Range displays two distances after measuring at the top the distance actually measured and below that the so called ballistic distance under consider ation of the shooting angle On level terrain the two should be identical but the larger the angle is the greater the difference between them The ballistic distance is always a smaller value Users can also choose to display the angle in de grees but then the calculation would have to be done manually This feature means that point blank angle shots are no problem at all when using ASV on a riflescope
25. ngefinder technology it is naturally a simple tech nical workaround to increase the diameter of the objective lens Anyway the housing construction of the 42 mm models couldn t have been used for the RF models as the measuring system has entirely different re quirements Zeiss installs a high performance Class l laser with a range of 10 to 1 200 metres in the Vic tory models Even at maximum range the measur ing process takes less than a second to deliver re sults The measured distance is displayed by a self illuminating four figure LED read out The electronics are activated by pressing the rangefinder button and holding it down This displays the sight ing mark in the view and measuring is initiated as soon as the button is released one touch princi ple This is intended to reduce distance errors caused by delays or measuring beam shake and pre vents inadvertent sighting on objects in front of or behind the actual target one of the most common causes of measuring errors and unexplainable miss es This model also features a scanning mode for measuring the distance of small and moving targets The Zeiss RF can switch between metres and yards and its 3 volt lithium battery is housed in a water tight sealed battery compartment integrated in the bridge Of the three models tes ted the Zeiss Victory RF has been on the market the longest Zeiss 8x45 Victory RF The ballistics computer The Vi
26. o jagdpraxis com Phone 49 0 2501 801 3 32 Fax 49 0 2501 801 3 33
27. onstructed closed bridge Zeiss Our field test focused primarily on evaluating the performance of the integrated rangefinders and bal listics programs They are after all the special fea ture of the three binoculars in our test Our test team took the candidates out into the field and then to the shooting range to check them out in detail and must have pressed the measuring but tons many hundreds of times The results were pre cisely documented and evaluated Before getting to use one of the respective test glasses each tester had to program it to meet their specific require ments according to the instructions in the manual Rangefinder and ballistics programs None of the test glasses showed any weaknesses in the precision at 500 metres category At the standardised distances of 200 300 and 500 metres all displayed precisely these distances on their read out this was no particular surprise to us as even today s cheap rangefinders show hardly any short comings in this respect The matter of range paints a different picture to earn full marks the rangefinders must reach a dis tance of 1 500 metres The Leica made easy work of 12 Jagdpraxis 3 2013 Comparison test All round binoculars with integrated rangefinders this according to the manufacturer s information the very high powered laser unit installed can achieve distances of 1 800 metres and more We were however surprised by the other two brands
28. ors for long distance shots Such hunting situations are not only found on mountain hunts where chamois and ibex are found the average shot distance is frequently over 200 metres It can also be very use ful and ethical to know exactly where my weapon will hit the game at 250 metres from a high seat particularly when one thinks of wounded game that disappears into cover after the first shot only to ap pear again much further away giving you the chance to place a second shot Distance can be measured the military have been pioneers in this for ages Rangefinders for naval and tank guns were constantly developed over the years Split image and eventually became portable rangefinders are neither very accurate nor conven ient or easy to use Rangefinders became interesting for the hunting fraternity with the appearance of the first laser rangefinders as these finally made it possible to de termine shot distances at the press of a button Such devices transmit a laser beam that is reflected by the target and then captured again by the device The measuring system employs a real time clock to calculate the distance from the time delay between the transmission and reception of the beam an ex tremely precise technology that also takes up very little space Although the first rangefinders were about the same size as a box of rifle cartridges they soon shrank to the size of a packet of cigarettes With the onset of wi
29. r to avoid seeing a double image Typical consequences of poor alignment are rapid eye fatigue a feeling of being unwell head aches or a complete inability to superimpose the two partial images Binocular alignment is carried out as one of the fi nal steps in the construction of binoculars with test ing and adjustment tools tailored to the particular binoculars eccentric rings prisms or movement of the ocular assembly All three candidates gained top marks in this discipline The situation looked a little different in the case of field rotation image distortion Vertical and hori zontal lines of the objects viewed must be repro duced as such The DIN standards for high perfor mance optical instruments tolerate deviations of up to one angular degree In this discipline the Zeiss Victory showed a slight weakness with a horizontal deviation of 1 1 angular degrees and a vertical deviation of 1 2 angular de grees only a hairs breadth over the specified standard but not sufficient to fulfil the DIN specifi cations for high performance optical instruments and only enough to place it in the ranks of Instru ments for general use In plain language hardly anyone will ever notice this when using these binoculars but it is measura ble all the same And should really have been noticed in final check ing by the QA people at Zeiss Brightness differences In the case of transmission i e transparency as
30. rance of 5 because beyond this the information is no longer applicable for the computation of ballistic data for a rifle shot Display max 10 points Does the LED read out remain perfectly legible in un favourable light Does the brightness adjust automati cally to the lighting conditions or can it be set to an appropriate level by hand Measuring accuracy and speed max 15 points Does the device frequently deliver erroneous results that require a subsequent measurement Here we take distances up to 600 metres as a reference Good rangefinder systems should provide accurate and relia ble results within this range How long does it take for the read out to appear after pressing the measuring button Features max 10 points Is there a short range suppression function and a scan ning mode Can the device switch between metres and yards Is there a low battery warning signal Ballistics programs max 15 points Modern rangefinders should provide the hunter with holdover information No points are awarded if only the distance on the level is displayed If the device has an inclinometer and provides the ballistic distance for angle shots we consider that worth five points If the shot correction is displayed in centimetres or clicks that means ten points If this correction is also calcu lated taking the shot angle into account that earns the candidate the full 15 points in this category Naturally all this assumes tha
31. rs all round service as the ballistics computer of the Geovid can be fed with user spe cific data a particularly interesting option for us ers of more exotic calibres An interesting observation is that the three high per formance optical devices in the JAGDPRAXIS test ended up in the exact same order in which they were launched the latest model is also the best and the oldest model is at the bottom of the field This shows that our exacting comparison ideally re flects how amazingly quickly this field is develop ing Jagdpraxis 3 2013 15 Comparison test All round binoculars with integrated rangefinders RATINGS max possible points Swarovski EL Range Zeiss Victory RF Leica HD B Viewing optics Field of view 10 10 9 9 Resolving power 15 15 15 15 Transmission Is 15 8 13 Actual magnification 10 10 10 10 Overall optical package 10 10 10 10 Use with spectacles 10 10 10 10 a quality and 10 10 8 10 Features 10 Value for money 10 Rangefinders Range 20 20 18 20 Measuring accuracy 15 15 15 15 Display 10 10 10 10 Measuring accuracy speed 15 15 15 15 Features 10 10 10 10 Ballistics program 15 5 10 is Handling 15 15 15 15 Total points 20 ay omw o oa O o very good good excellent JAGDPRAXIS test rating gt gt gt gt gt gt Jagdpraxis 48084 Munster Internet www jagdpraxis com Mail inf
32. s and completely re moved for cleaning and offer four positions with precisely defined detents In optical terms there should hardly be any difference between our test model and the EL version without the rangefinder Weighing 910 grams the Swarovski is lighter than the Zeiss but its length of 166 mm is almost the same It edges ahead of the Zeiss with its field of view with a satis fying Tie rangefinder electronics are 136 metres located in so called meas uring fins on the underside of the tubes The Swarovski 6 m Jagdpraxis 3 2013 glasses do without a beam splitter so there is no loss of brightness when viewing and no need for the light gathering powers of a larger diameter ob jective lens The laser has a range of 30 to 1 375 metres and Swarovski also takes advantage of one touch tech nology pressing the rubber armoured measuring button activates a small red circle in the right hand ocular On releasing the button the system displays the measured distance in metres or yards The Swarovski rangefinder also features a scan mode all you have to do is press the button and keep it pressed The brightness of the distance read out adapts automatically to the lighting condi tions and can also be set manually to one of five dif ferent levels No holdover correction read out Unlike the Zeiss the EL Range doesn t have an on board ballistics computer so there is no holdover information for correcti
33. s of the location of im pact on the target can and only after a considera ble time ensure the necessary certainty when shooting game E The second factor in the case of long shots is the game itself and here any number of shots on a target range make no difference at all It s quite sim ple a rifle bullet takes time to reach its target the further away it is the longer it takes For instance the flight time of a 308 Winchester with an RWS 11 7 g UNI Classic bullet over a distance of 300 meters is as much as 0 46 seconds and that as suming the accuracy of the manufacturer s details on the muzzle velocity With the shorter barrels pre dominantly in use today the flight time could well be a little over half a second If the bullet is already on its way and the game moves it is impossible for it to hit the intended point of impact Hunters simply have no control over that At first sight half a second doesn t seem like much at all but if a chamois decides to jump its more than long enough for a paunch shot Long distance shots should therefore always be well considered the intention of these fundamen tal considerations in advance is to make it clear that even the most modern high tech hunting equip ment should never tempt hunters to take insuffi ciently considered long shots at game Don t guess measure The actual not the roughly estimated target dis tance is one of the most important fact
34. t it This banana shape is by no means purely a design feature but the con sequence of an entirely new prism system a kind of cross bred Porro and roof prism concept At first glance this may seem more than superfluous but there is a logical reason for it making room for the electronics installed in the two tubes Leica remains true to its established constructional principles and installs the measuring system com ponents inside the binoculars optical system From the old Geovids the people in Solms learned early on particularly here that beam splitters are only in stalled at the expense of light and have attempted to reduce this effect to an absolute minimum The loss of light due to the beam splitter in the right hand tube has been significantly reduced by the new construction concept The majority of the opti cal components originate from the current Ultravid generation and are therefore state of the art The large centre barrel is used for focusing and each of the oculars has a ring at the left for setting dioptre compensation and at the right for changing the read out settings The front lenses are coated with Leica s proprietary AquaDura hydrophobic coating In contrast to those of the Zeiss and Swarovski models Leica s rotating eyecups with detents are not quite completely removable Leica Geovid HD B 42 The stated 130 metre field of view beats the Zeiss but cant compete
35. t the values calculated are correct otherwise we would award no points at all Handling max 15 points How easy is it to use and program the rangefinder Can the operating buttons be used just as well when wear ing gloves 14 Jagdpraxis 3 2013 The advantages of the Swarovski and the Leica are in their superior range but it remains to be seen to what extent this can be exploited in practice Our ratings saw Leica and Swarovski grabbing the full 20 points while the Zeiss had to be satisfied with only 18 Ballistics programs The second rating category covers the integrated ballistics computers The Swarovski does not dis play holdover correction values for the measured shot distance in other words it has no ballistics computer What the Swarovski does have is an an gle shot correction function that provides the actual measured distance and the ballistics distance when measuring up or downhill Using this distance with a riflescope with rapid reticle adjustment ASV provides the holdover required We tried this out and it works like a charm Things get quite a bit more difficult without ASV and you ll have to do some calculating certainly not an easy job in stressful situations In line with the JAGDPRAXIS rating criteria the Swarovski earns only five of the possible 15 points The other two glasses tested offer real ballistics computers and the holdover correction is displayed in centimetres or clicks In
36. vski there is The measuring button of the Leica left is perceptibly higher only one button on the bridge Jagdpraxis 3 2013 11 erably lower transmission values and as a result earned only six points The clear overall winner in the optical stakes is the Swarovski followed closely by the Leica with a lag of only three points Out in the field Then it was time for the three glasses in our test to show what they are made of out in the field Here above all the criteria of our test concerned handling and subjective impressions with regard to contrast and colour fidelity For this we intentionally looked for critical situations for the use of binoculars like viewing against the light and observing game stand ing in woodland shadows All three candidates came through this with flying colours the optical impression gathered in every day hunting situations is outstanding The key fac tors here are thus personal preferences and taste The Swarovski delivers a relatively soft view with very good colour fidelity which is a good reason why they have so many loyal customers in the birding community people who want to see the true na ture of every single feather The Zeiss delivers a whiter and somewhat cooler view and the Leica is somewhere in between impressive with its very good contrast The two open bridge models Leica and Swarovski found more friends in the handling category than the conventionally c
37. whose manufacturers tend to understate With the Zeiss stated as having a range of 1 200 metres we actually registered readings at up to 1 380 metres The Swarovski s specified maximum range of 1 375 metres even managed to reach the 1 500 metre mark and our longest measured dis tance was 1 523 metres There were only minimal differences in the catego ry measuring accuracy and speed Under 600 metres our maximum distance for this rating point we encountered hardly any false readings If one of the devices ever showed nothing at all this was the result of hands being too shaky or unsuitable meas uring targets In this discipline all three delivered very precise and reliable results and in general just one press of the button was enough We did however observe minimal differences in the measuring speeds Swarovski is a touch slower than Zeiss and Leica Nothing dramatic but if you are looking for it you ll find it In practice it makes no difference at all All three glasses tested have short range suppres sion and a scan mode which is also obligatory in this price bracket The read outs are well adjusted and adapt automat ically to ambient lighting conditions Of the three only the Swarovski offers a manual brightness setting option In the case of the Leica the measuring button must first be pressed once to activate the sighting point and then pressed a second time to initiate measur ing With
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