Telescope Reviews: Leupold Yosemite 6x30

I picked up a pair of these because they have an extreme narrow IPD setting. That's something I always need for students. I usually have one or two that need very close IPD binoculars and most 8x40s/10x50s don't get close enough for a young 10 year old with eyes only 52-54mm apart. The measured IPD of the 6x30 Yosemite is 49mm to 71mm. That reaches the narrowest of any binocular I've ever seen. Of those I've tested, I can count only 5 binoculars that have IPD closer than 55mm, and only 1 closer than 53mm.

First impression - very nice.

Some of these measurements will confirm those I've read posted here and elsewhere by Henry Link and Patrick (Swedpat).

Center focus, porro prism design.

Exit pupil and Loupe test both confirm effective aperture is a bit small. I measured 28mm. I wouldn't disagree that it might be 27mm.

On axis resolution is very good, I measured a definite at 13.64 arcseconds and suspected 12.12. That's an apparent resolution of 82 arcseconds, suspected 73. Generally, I would list that in my file as avg 78 arcseconds. That places this little binocular among the best measured. With only few can I see below 80 arcseconds.

Resolution does fall off fairly quickly. By 50% out from center it has deteriorated. By 75%-80% out it is rather poor.

Most of the off-axis aberration seems to be curvature. While not so good for astronomy, this actually facilitates a better deep field view for terrestrial use. I noted while center was focused at 125 feet, about 50% out was very clear resolution at near 70-80 feet and 90% out showed clear resolution at about 50-60 feet. So this little binocular has a very broad near image depth of field across the fov.

Coatings appear to be very good. Exit pupils are perfectly round and centered.

FOV stated as 8.0°. I measured it at 8.1°

Point alignment merged perfectly. FOV overlap at close focus is 83% of total FOV. FOV overlap at 125 feet only off by 2 inches, nearly perfect, less than 5 arcminutes.

Light beam tested with laser is very well balanced. Laser also shows effective aperture is 28mm.

Several measures of exit pupil show 4.8mm to 4.85mm. With an effective aperture measured at 28mm, these values would give magnification of about 5.8x.

Close focus exit pupil was measured at 4.7mm, giving a magnification of just about 6x at close focus.

Mine measures a close focus of 13 feet (4 meters).

It has long eye relief easily accomodating my eye glasses. I measured total er at 18-19mm and with eyecups in it has 14-15mm usable.

I did not notice any stray internal reflections. Views of tree tops pointed as near as a dared get towards the direction of the Sun showed no stray color and no stray reflections on the insides of the barrels.

It's waterproof, and weighs only 17 ounces (480g.) on my kitchen scale.

I did notice a short flat spot when changing focus from in to out. Other than that focus was very positive and did not slip.

Right eye diopter was quite stiff, but was easier to get a grip when the eyecups were extended. IPD axle was not overly loose, but every time I tried to change the right diopter it moved the IPD axle. Minor annoyance.

Overall, I'm impressed with the build quality. The eyepiece bridge has NO rocking movement at all. Compared to all other $60-$100 porros that I've tested, this one has far better build quality and better mechanical function.

Of all those I've tested, I can't think of a better binocular to recommend for young children.

This 6x30 Yosemite cost me $90 shipped from Eagle Optics. It comes with a limited lifetime warranty.

edz