Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Range Finding Binoculars Nikon or Leica?

Leica has said that failing to function below 30 degrees is not how the Geovid is expected or designed to perform, and are quick to ask to inspect the unit under warranty, if still applicable.

Bought a pair of Geovid BRF's in 2004. They were replaced once for failing to range properly. About 5 years ago, that pair was replaced for a fogged barrel. Not sure which version I have but would not give it up easily.
PS. Mine have a lifetime warranty on optics and electronics. They did it for a year or so, when they first came out. For that reason, I will never give these up.

I was hot to trot to buy the Nikons, and was waiting for the EBAY 15% off, which was yesterday, but after reading a bunch of reviews, I decide against it.

Bought another Leica rangefinder instead.....

Who has new BRF Geovids for sale at $2k off? I’m in the market for some at $2k off regular price. 😎

Funny thing, my buddy has the HD-B and my Nikons are DEFINITELY better at ranging. Glass is probably 98%. I just used my yesterday in very frigid temps and they worked as desired. My buddy's Leicas are iffy below 20 degrees. Nothing is guaranteed in this line of products. I do find the Swaros hardest to use but they range good.

Hi Dennis
My buddies nikons only range maybe 800 yards off hand I easily get 1500 to 1600 off hand on non reflective targets. Also they have the ballistic info built in so much easier and faster to get come ups. That's why we think the range finder is better. Also ranges are much more consistent on readings on multiple ranges.
There is no comparison in the glass be honest its not even close especially in low light. But on the late elk hunt which was a snowy cold one this year on the day it was below 10 I could only get readings out to about 500 yards. I am now thinking of going back to a hand held rangefinder and el's. Not trying to argue either just wanted to respond. I live in Camp verde az and would be willing to do a side by side with you anytime.
Will

I can get 2200 yards holding my off-hand. Maybe not when it's 5 degrees outside but in more typical weather I can do that. I used them a lot guiding a bull hunt in 3C in September. I could get 2100-2200 on juniper trees as long as it wasn't mid-day bright sun. The ballistic thing is nice if you trust it.

There’s been several guys who had some initial problems with their Geovids and the laz working properly...As for the optical clarity of the nocs-They’re excellent. I would like to know if the “fix” is in on the Leicas. Seems guys were happy once they received the replacement...😎

Leica had an issue with a sizeable early run of the 2000 and 2200. They had a component fail resulting issues when operating below freezing. This was ultimately fixed when an alternate component became available. The snafu resulted in a bunch of refurbished units being sold at fantastic discounts this past year. If your buddy is having issues, he should contact Leica. The unit should function at those temps.

Thanks dennis I think I'll let him know to get his looked at. I assumed that was the norm.
Thanks Kingston I will contact leica about the cold issue.

Given the issues and limitations of some of the models discussed, I think I"ll stick to separate units for now. Happy Trails

I had separate for years. Everyone, including me, who has switched to the binocular style has wondered why we didn't do it years ago. The separate ones are harder to hold steady, easier to misplace and just additional weight. I might still use one for bow hunting because I like only carrying the little 8x30s around my neck and I can pin the RF to a retracting leash but for everything else, especially guiding, I like the binocular style way better. I can tell you that when I used a stand alone RF there were a lot of times where I didn't have time to switch from Binos to RF to rifle; nice to be one and done.

I had a chance to compare the Nikons, $1200 to the the Leica Geovid R for $1400 yesterday. In a huge store at about 60 yds the Leica's crushed the Nikons in optical quality. I would have still gone for the Nikon's because of the lifetime no questions warranty, except they had a fair amount of Chromatic Aberration and worst of all there was a substantial blue tint, which I had seen on pictures on-line but thought it might just have been the camera used. That would probably effect right before and after sunrise and sunset viewing at distance right when the hunting is best.

In addition, I am not racist or anything but have found that stuff made in China is often lower quality - because WE drive that paradigm. Unfortunately at a Macro level our whole culture seems to be focused on price instead of quality. There are exceptions where QC is tight and I am sure in 20 years their stuff will be much better, just like made in Japan was also synonymous with lower quality in the the 70's and is as good or better than here now. As an exception, my Monarch X are made in China and they are quite good.

When I compared both to my old stand alone Nikon Monarch X and they were close enough to the Leica's that I am still satisfied with them, but I really want to consolidate. There was no blue tint or CA in the Monarch X.

I found the Leica HD-B Demo's in the 2000 and 2200 for a substantial discount, and the ballistics calculator would be useful. Does anyone know the difference between the two, perhaps the range?

Now the big question is to get the 8 or 10 power. I selected 8.5 instead of 10 on my old Nikon's primarily because the ability to get a steady image when holding free hand for longer periods and also because of low light advantage. I observed that the military who really rely on them for life and death typically use 7 or 8 power. But.. as these will be used for longer range shooting perhaps I should just learn to hold the 10's steady. The question becomes where do you cross over from a Bino to a spotting scope?

I'd be willing to bet every electronic component in every single RF/bino unit is Chinese, even Swaro's, Leica's, etc. I bet they all are.

I wouldn't bet against you.

I fear you are right sir - just like the [bleep] I have to replace way too early in my expensive German and British Cars.

8x vs. 10x depends on what/where you’re hunting. Generally, if I need a range finder, chances are I need a 10x optic.

I agree, thats why Athlon has their unit which is undercutting everyone else. They stole the fugging technology,

Just how much of the unit is CHinese and are the lenses and transmitter the same quality as what Leica , Zeiss or Swaro are putting in

Leica hd-b gets used thousands of times a year. I shoot P-dogs a lot ,have gone thru multiple batteries, not because they don't last I just use them all the time. No problems. Have only had them 3 years but they work great. My biggest problem is that I'm colorblind and they were the only ones that the LED was bright enough foe me to see, I can see the readout in any light.