Leica HD-B = Very Disappointing

[Josey D]

Thanks wind gypsy, that is great to know.

 

[mtnwrunner]

Mtnwrunner, how did you like the glass in your Nikons?

It is really good. The two complaints I have so far is that the rangefinder button is kind of hard to find without looking and both eyepieces have diopter adjustments. Kind of makes it harder to adjust but once you do, they are fine. Overall, they are really nice and I think that the glass is the monarch 7 glass.

Randy

 

[dotman]

It is really good. The two complaints I have so far is that the rangefinder button is kind of hard to find without looking and both eyepieces have diopter adjustments. Kind of makes it harder to adjust but once you do, they are fine. Overall, they are really nice and I think that the glass is the monarch 7 glass.

Randy

Are you sure one isn’t to focus the reticle? The Leica has a diopter on the left and reticle focus on the right.

 

[daddie63]

Great info. Thanks

 

[TimeOnTarget]

Just talked to Leica, they said there definitely is something wrong with them and to send them in for repair as they should work just fine in the conditions I was in.

Make sure they aren't sending you a different refurbished pair. I send in my 1600b and got back a worse functioning one than i started with. I sent the 2nd one back and did end up with a brand new rangefinder in the end but it took some doing.

 

[sneaky]

So I tested out the HD-B the last 4 days while hunting and I must say I’m not impressed at all. First and really the biggest issue is the fact it will not Range when below freezing or in the teens to low 20’s. Talk about very frustrating. The optics I had hoped would be a tad better, while very clear in the center it was still a soft image. The outer 10% was blurry or not in focus and the color fringing of a bluish purple on the outer edge was very noticeable. For the price I would have expected a much much better experience.

What I don’t get is why no one else has pointed out these do not Range in cold weather, I haven’t read one thing on this major flaw. I could have lived with the optic if the ranging actually worked. I also had a hard time ranging out past 1700 yards in perfect conditions. Maybe this unit is a lemon but I have a hard time believing that as they were very consistent in working once it was above freezing.

A)Lots of reports of the not ranging in cold temp issue
B) You got an optic lemon. The ones I used this year were amazing. Sharp across the entire image, certainly not fuzzy or color impinged

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[sneaky]

I have a pair that's a couple yrs old...I"ll have to set them outside when it gets below 20F here & see what they do...I did read some reviews before I bought mine & the swaro's didn't do well in the cold...it's a small battery in there & once its gets cold it's zapped...another thing with the rangfinding bino's image is they cant use there top of the line glass, so I'd expect some side to side clarity esp if you've been behind top glass....

Swaro doesn't use their top glass in their ranging binos, but Leica does. His optic issue is a fluke, and the Leicas are better glass in their ranging binos than the Swaros.

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[CatlinBrewer]

Does anyone use the ballistic output formats on these? I have a pair on order but can't tell from reading the manual if it will work to my expectations. I would like to use the point of impact correction (number of clicks 1/4 MOA) but it looks like only takes the measured range not the true equivalent horizontal range. So does it take the angel of inclination into consideration when giving the measured distance? It doesn't sound like it does on that setting, so if shooting at any big angles the number of clicks it reads will be incorrect?

When on MOA or MRAD all conditions are considered when given a solution. I would suggest putting them on the 1-1 setting where as it will give you a direct MOA reading down to the 10th decimal point, where if you put them on the 1-4 setting it will give you the exact number of clicks. When on any of these settings it is giving you a reading based on angle, temperature, absolute pressure (includes elevation) and the arc of your bullet.

The issue with low temperature operation is due to a solder joint on the board of one batch of HD-B's that was sent out from Portugal and not caught before hand. We at Leica are sincerely sorry for the inconvenience for those of you that have received one of these units and will do everything in our power to get you a replacement set the quickest way possible.

If any of you are having a Temperature issue or any other questions do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected]. I am the Eastern product specialist and handle serious range finding inquiries for the country.

 

[dotman]

Catlin, thank you for the pm!

 

[dotman]

I’m surprised to hear about ranging issues and image quality. I’ve owned two Leica range finders and they work very well.

I’ve read other positive reviews on the image quality of the HD series Geovid. I had actually been watching some Camerland demos.

Keep us posted on how Leica addresses your concerns.


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I’m pretty impressed by the customer service so far, I wouldn’t hesitate to jump on the demos if I was you.

 

[wind gypsy]

I love it when manufacturer reps give feedback on the forums. Email sent on my geovids Catlin, thank you.

-Brody

 

[Wahooo03]

The issue with low temperature operation is due to a solder joint on the board of one batch of HD-B's that was sent out from Portugal and not caught before hand. We at Leica are sincerely sorry for the inconvenience for those of you that have received one of these units and will do everything in our power to get you a replacement set the quickest way possible.

If any of you are having a Temperature issue or any other questions do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected]. I am the Eastern product specialist and handle serious range finding inquiries for the country.

I ordered a pair of the demo 10x42 HD-B's from Camera Land, which should hopefully show up any day now. Does Leica have a serial number range of the affected sets and/or would this have been checked at the factory before they were resold?

 

[dotman]

I ordered a pair of the demo 10x42 HD-B's from Camera Land, which should hopefully show up any day now. Does Leica have a serial number range of the affected sets and/or would this have been checked at the factory before they were resold?

I would email him directly, not sure how often he checks the form.

 

[Wahooo03]

Roger. Thanks.

 

[Northernpiker]

It is really good. The two complaints I have so far is that the rangefinder button is kind of hard to find without looking and both eyepieces have diopter adjustments. Kind of makes it harder to adjust but once you do, they are fine. Overall, they are really nice and I think that the glass is the monarch 7 glass.

Randy

With the EL Range you have to adjust both eyepieces also.
The Swaro Range glass isn't as good as the SLC HD, I talked with Swarovski and they wanted to keep the price down(yea right...only $3200). Still good glass tho.

 

[dotman]

Leica is going to replace my binocular with a brand new one, currently they are awaiting a shipment so it'll be a little while before but Leica is not shipping anything to the US until they are 100% confident that no problem binocular is sent here.

Quick pic I took during the hunt I had the issues, I would like to try the Leica Tripod mount as the Outdoorsmans bino hand isn't that impressive.

 

[wind gypsy]

The Leica mount works fine, I have to put some loctite or something to prevent the outdoorsman adapter from loosening but that's about it. I do prefer the smaller profile of a stud mount.

I sent my geovids back yesterday, so far they have been great to deal with.

 

[dotman]

The Leica mount works fine, I have to put some loctite or something to prevent the outdoorsman adapter from loosening but that's about it. I do prefer the smaller profile of a stud mount.

I sent my geovids back yesterday, so far they have been great to deal with.

What are you having to apply loctite to on the bino hand, there are no threads other then attaching a quick release plate for a tripod head.

Bino Hand

 

[venado_hunter]

Same great service I received from Leica CS.


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[venado_hunter]

I ordered a pair of the demo 10x42 HD-B's from Camera Land, which should hopefully show up any day now. Does Leica have a serial number range of the affected sets and/or would this have been checked at the factory before they were resold?

Did she have a range of serial numbers to check ours?


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