So I've had the 10x42 Geovid Pro's for about 48 hours after having owned/used the 10x42 EL Range TA's for about 2 years.
Some initial thoughts and findings:
I like the pro's significantly better than the 3200.coms. Maybe it's placebo, but I feel like the buttons are easier to find, I like the glass better, and they seem more comfortable to hold. The Pro app is light years better than the .com app. Not even in the same ballpark. Being able to cancel out of the information ticker for a re-range is a huge improvement that needed to happen; it makes the unit a lot more friendly to use.
Glass in the pro's clarity-wise is basically identical to my swaros from using them side by side. The swaros present the image flatter all the way to the edges and have a more neutral color palette. The pro's have more generous depth of field which keeps your eyes focused on the center of the image; it's kind of hard to explain. This also results in a "lazier" focus on the pro's vice the swaro's which is going to take some getting used to. I'd equate it to using parallax on a Schmidt vs. a ZCO.
The laser on the pro's is the shit. Significantly better than the swaro laser at 1k+. Anything I point it at inside 1500 is basically guaranteed to return. My unit seems to have an aiming point at the 3 o'clock position of the reticle right at the break in the circle. I've been able to range natural terrain (meaning rocks/cliffs/trees) offhand to 3100, and tripod-mounted to about 3575. The wheels seem to fall off at the 3600 mark. I've ranged cattle to just under a mile, about 1670. I wouldn't necessarily call that the max for live animals, I just ran out of distant cows to lase. Like someone said above, the laser seems identical to a Terrapin X. I know leica and vectronix have been in bed together for some time, and it wouldn't surprise me if it was exactly the same between the two units.
I had to pay 150 bucks for AB Elite in the pro's which I am salty about, but without actually shooting with them, all my trued dope off my kestrel is lining up within a tenth of what's being displayed off the binos out to the farthest I tested with the Kestrel which was just shy of a mile.
Bluetooth has worked great thus far. As long as the last paired device is still on, the binos will reconnect to it, meaning even if the binos time out while you're searching for targets you don't have to worry about having to re-pair a kestrel. While paired, you can obviously use the app on your phone which does give a very comprehensive display of your last range, or fill range cards in conjunction with your Kestrel, which plugs in elevation, your preset wind value, and azimuth/direction.
Swaro still has Leica beat on extra hardware and accessories. The carry bag that comes with the pro's is like someone stuffed a gym sock inside a breadbox and slapped a Leica logo on it. Not awesome. The strap attachment method is traditional buckle/loop and not at all snazzy or super-cool like the swaro one. I am also really really missing my swaro forehead rest. Also, no Leica branded soap and brush
More to follow as I get more miles on the pro's, but I really dig them so far. Hopefully those aren't famous last words.
www.americanhunter.org
and frankly I don’t think they give much consideration to the USA, if they make something that USA shooters want, great, but beyond that I don’t think we’ll see much change there. I have been tempted by the Sig and by the new Leicas but neither give me what I want (which is the marriage between the two - either Sig surprises us with better glass and display tech that doesn’t require blue tint or Leica surprises us with a better display), until then I’m sticking with LRF monocular. SHOT shows keep coming and going and I’m shocked no US mfr has ventured into this market.
