Leitz Amplivid 6x24
Mfr: Leitz, Wetzlar, Germany
Date: circa 1960 (made from 1956-1962)
AFOV: ~72 degrees
TFOV: 212m at 1000m (12 degrees)
Eye Relief: ~11mm
Prisms: combination roof and mirrored surfaces
Serial Number: 600387
The Leitz Amplivid 6x24 is an interesting wide angle binocular. It uses two mirrored surfaces in combination with a roof prism (see Seeger, "Feldstecher", Abb.93). Leitz later replaced this design with one using a Uppendahl roof prism in their Trinovid line. The body is extremely compact, as can be seen in the photo above comparing it to a Sard 6x42 which has virtually the same power and field of view.
The exit pupils on the Amplivid are not quite round. They are slightly squared off on two sides, probably due to the shape of the prism or reflecting surfaces. This is not really noticeable in normal viewing even though the brightness is reduced slightly. The metallized reflecting surfaces and small aperture also contribute to low image brightness, though I found it perfectly fine for daytime viewing. The optical image is very wide and well corrected for distortion, though it is noticeably soft at the edge. I really like the wide angle views provided by this tiny binocular.