LCS 45x

T

tiny68

Member
I recently traded for a LCS x45 as an upgrade from my T36s. I took it out for the first time this weekend. I was shocked at how critical the eye-relief was compared to the T36. I am most concerned with the somewhat foggy appearance of image. Tracking was excellent. Focus worked fine. Does the 45X suffered from image clarity? Can someone post an image from their LCS X45? I don't know anyone local that owns one.

I have never sent a scope back to Leupold for repair. How does their return policy work to examine a scope. I was on hold with them for a while this afternoon. My 11th in the que and an estimated wait time of 7 times turned into 43 minutes. The background volume is so high I had my volume on my speaker turned down to the point I couldn't hear the tech support person when they did answer. I will know to turn the volume back up when the announcements stop in the future. Didn't have the patience to try again to today.

Will they inspect a scope for potential issues? Cost?

I was shooting on my home range this weekend. The range is a combination trap and rifle range. The last 50 yds is completely black with broken clays. Absolutely no grass. Possibly the worst mirage I have very experienced combined with the 45X made it an interesting day at the range.

Thanks for any input, tim
 
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Box it up and send it back to them. It won't cost you anything but shipping. Their turn around time is usually pretty fast also. I had a repair tech call me one night about 9pm to ask me what kind of issues I was having. That really surprised me.

Joe
 
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Send it back. Leupold will make it right and at their cost. I have a bunch of LCS 45x's and 40x's. The 40x may be just slightly clearer, on average, since that scope was built as a 40x and the 35x and 45x are slight compromises.
 
I have two of the LCS 40x's, bought both new last Summer from Lester Bruno. After using the Leupold BR 36x's, I find the 40x's to be less critical on eye relief, clearer to the point that I can always spot 6mm holes at 300 yds., something that was not always possible on the 36x's, depending on available light conditions. Really prefer the 1/8 clicks and the side focus is nice. Only problem I've had is when trying to reset the turret zero sight-in references. Had to send one scope back for repairs for that problem. I paid postage "to", they paid return shipping with approx. 4 weeks turn-around time. It would have been a good idea if they included instructions for the turret adjustments, as they do with all their other types. I've not bothered to call them before sending a scope for repair. All they will tell you is "Return it & we'll check it out". Did the box test recently with both & the one that had been returned passed with flying colors, but the other failed. Final shot after going around the box perimeter was 9 clicks low from the first shot fired, at 100 yds. It was returned 2 weeks ago.
 
I've got a couple 45's. Based on your comment are you sure you're not confusing mirage for lack of clarity? Every one I've looked through has been rather clear.
 
I had the chance to look through a LCS 45 and a T36 side by side about a month ago. The Leupold was noticeably clearer. It was the Weaver that looked foggy by comparison. I find that the focus on the Leupold is pretty sensitive and doesn't always seem to stay put after a shot. Are you sure you focused it just before your comparison?
 
The 45x Leupold is recognized as having some of the finest glass in the entire scope market. If it is not absolutly crystal clear, send it back. Leupold WOULD NOT WANT YOU TO KEEP IT if there is something wrong with it, that I am sure of..........jackie
 
Thanks for the feedback from all. I will box it up and send it back for inspection. Clarify is nothing like either of my T36s. Luck, Tim
 
Tim, I have had the same experience that you are having, but I did find that my parallax wasn't set quite right. I know that you have been shooting for a long time so I am not implying that you don't know your ocular from your objective, but I was suprised to find that the parallax was so sensitive on my 45x LCS. I was also suprised at how much more mirage I was able to detect with the 45x, but have since learned to recognize it and tried to make friends...we aren't speaking at this time.
My father has the t-36x and I was impressed with the glass, though I do think that the 45x LCS was more clear.
I have sent my 45x back twice and the service was great both times. I had issues with the windage and elevation screws sticking after a single full travel up/down left/right after first opening the box. It was taken care of quickly (2 weeks door to door each time).
Mike
 
ummmm, maybe I'm missing something here but I've always found that I have to adjust a scope to my eyes before it's clear. One of the worst I've ever seen was a March 10-60....... but once it was set up right it was astoundingly clear, "crystal clear" doesn't do it justice.

al
 
I adjusted the ocular the same as I almost have with other scopes. Point the scope into a clear blue sky and adjust to yield the sharpest image of the crosshairs. Maybe I need an update on my technique. The scope seemed to come into focus fine, but wasn't as bright as the T36 and not as clear either. I talked with Leupold tech support. Scope was mailed out this morning to have it looked at. Tim
 
tiny68 said:
I adjusted the ocular the same as I almost have with other scopes. Point the scope into a clear blue sky and adjust to yield the sharpest image of the crosshairs. Maybe I need an update on my technique. The scope seemed to come into focus fine, but wasn't as bright as the T36 and not as clear either. I talked with Leupold tech support. Scope was mailed out this morning to have it looked at. Tim
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Well, no, that's all I know to do. Dunno if there's "more" but sometimes I have to do it more than once. (As my eyeballs get older they're getting weirder, a liddle set in their ways maybe?)
 
I do find that on overcast days the Leupy 45X seems to dim more than other scopes like the 36X's but otherwise it's really nice.
 
Don't know if this has anything to do with the price of cabbage or not but I found it interesting. I was either told or read somewhere that with the side parallax scopes you should always go to infinity and then come back to your desired setting. I assume it's for eliminating backlash. Don't know if that applies to Leupold.
 
twentytwoguy said:
I do find that on overcast days the Leupy 45X seems to dim more than other scopes like the 36X's but otherwise it's really nice.
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How exactly would that be possible? They have bigger objective lenses and bigger tubes, i.e. more light, certainly more than the 36's.
 
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tim said:
How exactly would that be possible? They have bigger objective lenses and bigger tubes, i.e. more light, certainly more than the 36'a.
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There is a physical reason why the 45X Leup should be dimmer than the 36X Weaver and its based on magnification and objective diameter.

Relative brightness value is obtained by squaring the diameter of the exit pupil. The greater the relative brightness is, the brighter the image will be. For example, with 8x42 binoculars, the brightness is (42÷8)2= 28.1. This means that if the magnification is the same, the larger the diameter of the objective lens, the brighter the image will be.

The exit pupil of the 45x45 Leup is 1mm so 1 squared is a relative brightness of 1. I think the Weaver is 40mm and if so that would make the exit pupil 1.44mm square that and you have 2.07 relative brightness. The Weaver should appear brighter. Buy a 40X Leup....45mm objective / 40X = exit pupil of 1.125, square that and you have relative brightness of 1.265...but you only have 40X. Everything is a trade off in optics. --Greg
 
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Yeah, what he said. Thanks for getting me out of a scientifically tight spot explaining that one away.

To be clear the Leupy is great optically but for the reasons explained above (whew) suffers a bit on overcast/early a.m. periods- as do all scopes just a matter of degrees.
 
alinwa said:
glp said what I wanted to say but wasn't smart enough to.

Thanks Greg

al
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:) Al, not smart enough not to make a math mistake! The weaver 40mm objective / 36X = 1.11 square this and you have 1.23 relative brightness. So a 40X leup comp should be neck and neck with a Weaver and a bit better in therory. --Greg
 
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Not an optics guru by any means, but I use optical components in my equipment in the lab and a play with a few telescopes. I would like think that relative brightness with sporting optics is all about the light transmission. If you only get 90% transmission in each lens, you loss brightness pretty quick as you pass from one end of the tube to the other. Quality of glass gives you clarity and image quality and optical coatings boost the light transmission. At least that is how it works in telescopes. We have eye pieces that cost $40 and ones of the same mm (magnification) that cost $600. The difference is night and day when you have clear sky and low humidity. Luck, Tim
 
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