Brochure

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Leica Noctivid.
Progress with a clear perspective.
Inspired by nature and its perfect balance, from abilities that are essential
to survival in various habitats, the Noctivid also possesses a perfect balance
of the best characteristics from more than a century of experience of
optical excellence and precision engineering. Its incomparable resolving
power promises unique viewing experiences with clear-cut and pin-sharp
contours, dazzling contrast and unrivalled brilliance.
Images without globe effect
Particularly in the case of binoculars, we must take the so-called globe
effect into account. Already familiar from the early days of telescope
technology, the middle of the image affected by the globe effect frequently
appears significantly closer to the viewer than the edges. Panning across
a scene with such a telescope gives the impression of a glass ball rolling
through the image. This effect is a result of the physiology of the human
eye and is particularly pronounced in binoculars with strong image field
flatness. We take this effect into consideration when designing out optical
systems and ensure that the eventual user enjoys a natural and undisturbed
visual experience when viewing a scene by the appropriate positioning of
lens elements within the optical system.
Viewing behaviour and the
power of the eye to accommodate
With the particularly large oculars and long eye-relief of the Noctivid
binoculars, every user, either with or without glasses, quickly and easily
finds the ideal position for viewing through the oculars. Simultaneously,
the already outstanding closest viewing distance of 1.9 meters can be
significantly reduced by the accommodation capability of the user’s eyes –
i.e. the dynamic adaptation of the refractive index within the eye.
Precise interaction of optics and
precision engineering
Lens elements must be positioned with absolute precision at the
right distances from one another in the optical system and must be
precisely centred in the tubes of the binoculars. To ensure this, and
to guarantee that the viewing image is not degraded by false light,
our optical designers work very closely with our precision engineers
and constructors of the mechanical components. They take advantage
of the latest technologies, for example to ensure perfect focusing with
consistently high resolving power, or to keep the construction as light and
as compact as possible. In the production process, permissible tolerances
are frequently measured in thousandths of millimeters. Despite this, the
construction of the Noctivid still resists the most extreme stresses and
rough handling. Our customer may watch ivory gulls in a snowstorm just
as well as gigantic herds of zebra in the middle of the African savannah.
Such versatile, robust and resilient pieces of equipment can only be made
when we utilize only the finest, most modern, most resilient and hard
wearing materials.
Fast and precise focusing
Focusing is extremely precise and it takes only two turns of the focusing
wheel to shift the focus from the closest distance of 1.9 meters to infinity. At
the same time, the large, ergonomically located focus wheel with excellent
grip allows delicate and precise focusing for even the smallest differences
in distance. In true Leica tradition, diopter compensation is integrated in
the focusing wheel, can be securely locked and is easily visible through a
viewing window.
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