Ultravid & Ultravid HD – ultra-premium roof prisms

More Information Price $2,345.00 List Price $2,595.00 Optical Type Roof Prism Field of view 7.4° Field of view 1000 yards 389' Exit Pupil 5.25mm Relative Brightness 27.56 Twilight Factor 18.33 Eye Relief 15.5mm Interpupillary Distance 55-75mm Close Focus 9.8' Weight 27.9 oz. Height 5.6" Armored Yes Waterproof Yes Number of optical elements 9 per side Warranty “No-Fault” Limited Lifetime

The Leica Ultravid HD color rendition is superbly neutral and realistic. Barrel distortion is low and astigmatism is virtually nonexistent, for images that are fatigue-free and a pleasure to view. The image is commendably flat and the close focus is well-suited for close-in birding and butterfly observing. These are truly state-of-the-art birding optics.

The focus wheel is positioned so that both index and middle fingers fall right on it naturally. Less than three quick pulls of the fingers (one and a quarter turns of the focus knob) move from an under 10’ close focus out to the horizon and beyond. With the fast focusing and a good 7.4° field, you won’t miss finding and focusing on a fast-moving life bird with this Leica.

Coated in durable black armor, sealed and nitrogen-purged to be waterproof and fogproof, the Ultravid HD will take the worst climate extremes in stride. Whether you’re birding in shadowed woodlands or viewing across open meadows and shorelines, in bright sunlight or under foggy or overcast skies, the 8 x 42mm Ultravid HD will show you all the color and detail in nature that there is to see.

Features of this binocular . . .

• H-body roof prism with internal center focus. The two halves of the focus knob pull apart to adjust the eyepieces individually to compensate for eyesight differences, then snap together to lock in the diopter correction. The diopter setting is visible in a ring-shaped window in the focus knob. This lets you easily return to your individual setting should someone else use your binocular and adjust the diopter correction to suit his or her eyes.
• Lightweight and rugged die-cast magnesium body with noise- and shock-absorbing black soft touch rubber armor. Thumb rests molded into the underside of the barrels allow a comfortable and slip-free grip. The body’s center shaft is made of titanium for both light weight and long life. At 27.9 ounces, the 8 x 42mm Ultravid HD is easy to carry during all day birding.
• The HD optics use new high definition fluoride (FL) glass lenses for excellent color fidelity and freedom from color fringing when examining high contrast subjects. There is no annoying purple fringe of chromatic aberration around the outline of a dark bird seen against a bright sky. Colors are rich and realistic, even in overcast situations. What you see in real life is what you see in a Leica HD binocular, with no muting or desaturation of the colors. A Leica HD binocular simply shows you real life . . . up close.
• Each lens surface is fully multicoated with seven to ten layers of unique Leica HDC (High Durable Coating) antireflection coatings for the highest possible light transmission – an astonishing 99.10% per air/glass surface. Unlike some manufacturers, Leica refuses to settle for a “one type of coating fits all glass types" approach to light transmission. To optimize the light transmission, Leica specifically tailors the mix of antireflection materials and the number of antireflection layers used on each lens surface to the individual glass type used in that lens. Each vacuum-deposited anti-reflection layer is a mere 0.000125 millimeter thick, about 1/500th the thickness of a human hair.
• External lens and eyepiece surfaces have additional special hard coatings for added protection from the environment – from scratches, dings, acid rain, enraged warblers . . . all the hazards today’s birders face.
• Nitrogen-filled and O-ring sealed to be fogproof in all temperature extremes and waterproof to a depth of 5 meters (16.5 feet) for a period of one hour. Inert nitrogen filling also prevents the internal formation of fungus in high humidity climates, such as rain forests. Designed to operate reliably over a temperature range of -13 degrees to +131 degrees Fahrenheit – from the cold of Attu to the heat of Death Valley, from the dry Serengeti Plains to the rain forests of Costa Rica.
• HLS (HighLux System) coated roof prisms for superb light transmission. The mirrored surfaces of the binocular’s roof prisms are dielectric coated with 42 microscopically-thin layers to increase the reflectivity to more than 99.5% – higher even than silver, the former reflectivity leader. The result is an extremely bright image, with neutral and realistic color rendition.
• P40 phase-correcting prism coatings provide very high contrast and resolution, particularly visible when looking sunwards, where more color and detail is clearly visible in the shadowed areas of backlit or silhouetted birds.
• Twist-up soft rubber-rimmed eyecups (with two intermediate click stops) retract into the HD binocular body for eyeglass use, rather than rolling down. It takes only a matter of seconds to switch from unaided eye to eyeglass use. The 15.5mm eye relief permits almost unvignetted eyeglass viewing.
• About one and a quarter turns of the comfortably-large ribbed rubber central focus knob moves from a near focus of under 10’ out to the horizon and beyond.
• Supplied accessories include a wide and comfortable cloth-wrapped neoprene neck strap, an eyepiece rainguard, and tethered (but removable) objective lens covers. A padded Cordura nylon storage case is standard. The case is designed primarily to store the Ultravid HD when it is not in use, so no shoulder strap is provided, although one can be added later, if desired.
• This genuine Leica import qualifies for the unique Leica Lifetime Sport Optics Passport Plan available only to registered owners of Leica products that have been legally imported by Leica USA. In essence, the Passport Plan says that if you register your Leica product with Leica, no matter what happens to that product for as long as you own it, you can send the pieces back to Leica (including the piece with the serial number) and they will repair it or replace it for only a $35 shipping and handling charge. Certain restrictions apply. Click on the “Warranty Information" link to the left and then click on the “Leica" link in the warranty page that opens up for the full details of the Leica Lifetime Sport Optics Passport Plan.