Leopold FC980C

[seebart]

I bought this as a regular consumer for myself retail, this is not promotional or crowd funded or supported by anyone else in any way.

IMGP5940.JPG (971.86 KiB) Viewed 12978 times

IMGP5945.JPG (900.59 KiB) Viewed 12978 times

After learning to appreciate the Topre switch over a period of more than two years in the form of several keyboards and knowing this layout from Cherry keyboards I knew I would like this. I have owned or still own the HHKB 45g, Topre Realforce TKL 55g (I also owned a variable Realforce) and the Leopold FC660C 45g.

Overall impressions:

The quality of the keyboard is very high as I expected and should be in this price range.I have never tried any full size Topre keyboards but I from what I have tried and owned I get the sense that Leopold keyboards are at least if not better build quality than Realforce or HHKB. The case has a nice texture to it.

IMG_20170510_124351.jpg (825.03 KiB) Viewed 12978 times

The case may seem slightly bulky at the front for some but it's rock solid and adds to the overall typing experience, the "Topre thock" sounds just the way it should. The LED lock lights are red and pretty small, stealthy looking. The rubber feet grip very well, the tips of the flip feet also have a rubber cover. The keyboard feels very solid for it's size, no flex and no sounds that should not be there.

IMGP5961.JPG (929.61 KiB) Viewed 12978 times

My FC980C did not come with any modifier keycaps or even a key puller I guess those days are over? The cable routing cable is detachable which is a plus to me, the keyboard is shipped with a plastic keycover in the box but I don't think the Topre switch is dust prone like Alps SKCM though.

The keycaps are dyesubs on PBT, again anything else in this price range would not be acceptable although Leopold does offer lasered PBT keycaps like the Hangul set on my FC660C. The spacebar is 6 units so PBT spacebars from matt3o / massdrop will fit thank you Leopold.

Layout:

This type of layout is obviously interesting if you need / want / like to have a numpad on your keyboard and have a slightly more compact form factor at the same time. Leopold adds their usual quirky nav-cluster in between the alpha and numpad section, not exactly the most pretty solution but it works. The bottom row works well with the FN key at the very right next to the navigational keys.

IMGP5947.JPG (970.14 KiB) Viewed 12978 times

The single unit CTRL key on the right between ALT and FN is also slightly odd, the function row above the numpad is awkward to use but not a problem since FN+arrow up and down is also page up&down just like on my FC600C. Because of the position of the arrow keys "0" on the numpad is a single unit key which does take a bit getting used to. Due to the layout the right shift key is an usually small 2 unit key.

IMGP5934.JPG (1018.68 KiB) Viewed 12978 times

IMGP5933.JPG (975.38 KiB) Viewed 12978 times

FN and DIP options:

Bild.jpg (349.68 KiB) Viewed 12978 times

Cable routing left and right:

IMGP5954.JPG (969.45 KiB) Viewed 12978 times

Sturdy feet with rubber cover keep this keyboard in place:

IMGP5956.JPG (861.21 KiB) Viewed 12978 times

Conclusion:

The most important conclusion I can draw from using all these keyboards is that Topre 45g uniform is the most productive Topre swtich variation for me. While 55g is nice it gets tiring to type on over longer periods, that little 55g dome is not to be underestimated! The difference between 45g and 55g is actually quite substantial to me, possibly Topre should try developing a 50g version? The variable keyweight solution Topre offers is quite interesting but may irritate some, I do not mind it but I prefer to use an uniform keyweight across the keyboard.

IMGP5960.JPG (900.32 KiB) Viewed 12978 times

IMGP5919.JPG (955.14 KiB) Viewed 12978 times

To make this short:

Unless you already know that you like the Topre switch don't spontaneously buy this unless you have plenty of money to blow. Furthermore and much more obviously you should like this layout or at least imagine the possibility of adopting it for your daily use. If you like the layout and the feel of the Topre electrostatic capacitive non-contact switch and don't mind the $$$ price tag this may be something for you to consider, the quality is top-notch. Unlike the newer Topre MX mount the keycap-options are quite limited in this case. All in all I can say that the Topre switch lends itself to it being trolled as "the most expensive rubberdome" out there but it has it's valid merits.

wiki/Topre_switch

[ShivaYash]

Nice.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Daniel Beardsmore]

You know, I don't know how I'd abbreviate Pause instead of "Pus" …

[Stabilized]

I actually use right control fairly often, I think that tiny one would drive me insane! I don't really understand why they chose the have them that way round instead of having a bigger control key. Even weirder that they don't let you swap it with the DIP switches..

[seebart]

You know, I don't know how I'd abbreviate Pause instead of "Pus" …

"PSE" or "PAU" but all three are slightly problematic.

I actually use right control fairly often, I think that tiny one would drive me insane! I don't really understand why they chose the have them that way round instead of having a bigger control key. Even weirder that they don't let you swap it with the DIP switches..

Yes agreed that left 1u CTRL seems silly and wasted space on an already unusual layout. FN next to it is critical in that position though.

[002]

Nice little review and pics, seebart. I suppose it cost you quite a bit to get your hands on that.
My own thoughts on this board are that a numpad would be nice, but not at the expense of a relocated nav cluster which I use all the damn time in combination with the cursor keys. This is why I can't use HHKB or anything that isn't the usual boring-loser-pleb-who-can't-adapt layout.

You know, I don't know how I'd abbreviate Pause instead of "Pus" …

'Pse' looks OK to me. I wonder who makes those decisions and if it is someone at Topre Japan, does it have anything to do with how they pronounce English words and which syllables they put emphasis on.

[seebart]

Nice little review and pics, seebart. I suppose it cost you quite a bit to get your hands on that.

Right it didn't come cheap but they never do although I got lucky on my RF and FC660C that I bought used. We have another reseller / importer here in the EU now where I bought this he's doing a good job and is known here by now no need for me to bump him.

My own thoughts on this board are that a numpad would be nice, but not at the expense of a relocated nav cluster which I use all the damn time in combination with the cursor keys. This is why I can't use HHKB or anything that isn't the usual boring-loser-pleb-who-can't-adapt layout.

Yes this numpad nav-cluster combo is odd and takes some getting used to. I don't mind the 1800'ish layout but here the whole keyboard is more compact of course.

'Pse' looks OK to me. I wonder who makes those decisions and if it is someone at Topre Japan, does it have anything to do with how they pronounce English words and which syllables they put emphasis on.

I bet Topre makes those calls, Leopold got the license but the Japs call the shots. I'll add a 3-way size comparison picture with my other two Torpe boards later.

[Stabilized]

'Pse' looks OK to me. I wonder who makes those decisions and if it is someone at Topre Japan, does it have anything to do with how they pronounce English words and which syllables they put emphasis on.

I just assumed that the caps, as well as the keyboard, were made by Topre due to the weird return arrow & black on grey colour scheme of the keycaps, the classic brown Topre box, and the fact it's made in Japan. It would be nice if it was something to do with the Japanese pronunciation, but would that really matter for an abbreviation that you probably wouldn't pronounce like that anyway? I guess it was just the easiest way to shorten it, and it's been the same on the HHKB for years so it's probably less effort on Topre's part.

[002]

Oh yeah! I didn't even notice that it was like that on the HHKB.
I knew the rest of the caps were the same as the ones on the Realforce though. The Backspace and Enter keys are a dead giveaway...and what shits me is that they went to the effort to correct *both* caps for EK's version of the Realforce 87U but then just disregarded it for all subsequent ANSI Topre keyboards made since then...and it's been a few years now.

[seebart]

Here's the three way size-comparison shot, the Leopold FC980C being just 2cm wider than the Realforce:

IMGP6056.JPG (962.49 KiB) Viewed 12717 times

[XMIT]

I'm still on the fence as to whether I should buy one. It would be a neat addition to the collection but is also similar enough to enough other boards I have.

[seebart]

I'm still on the fence as to whether I should buy one. It would be a neat addition to the collection but is also similar enough to enough other boards I have.

I hear you. I know you know the price tag on these so don't rush it. One thing that may not have come across well enough is the "bulky" case Leopold uses on this (just like the FC660C) which may annoy some users as it's not rounded like on the Realforce. Here is a side by side with my RF87U picture that gives you an idea:

IMGP6059.JPG (924.85 KiB) Viewed 12681 times

[slyker]

Oh yeah! I didn't even notice that it was like that on the HHKB.
I knew the rest of the caps were the same as the ones on the Realforce though. The Backspace and Enter keys are a dead giveaway...and what shits me is that they went to the effort to correct *both* caps for EK's version of the Realforce 87U but then just disregarded it for all subsequent ANSI Topre keyboards made since then...and it's been a few years now.

EK probably paid and has a contract for the corrected keys.

[Stabilized]

That's a good point, if they ran it on all their boards then EK wouldn't be able to call their's "EK Edition".

[TuxKey]

i don’t think i would like the smaller right shift key.
the smallest i would go would be on my FC660C or FC660M.

i do like the capslock indicator light on the top right corner instead of having it
under the key.But as this is a Topre board i don’t think i would change the keycaps anytime soon.

The feet are awsome like all the Leopold boards.
And i like that you get a detachable cable instead of what we get with the older Realforce
boards.

Seebart mentioned that the case was bulky..
To be honnest i never noticed that on my FC660C i use a wood wrist rest “Royal Glam”
and it fits perfectly exact same hight so perfect for me.

About the price i was surprised to see this board on mykeyboards dot eu. so finally a board we Europeans can buy without having to for an extra €80 tax+customs crap..

[seebart]

Seebart mentioned that the case was bulky.

It's slightly bulkier than the RF but more importantly the edge of the case is not rounded, since I've been using a ducky acrylic wrist rest with this I don't notice the edge anyway. I think we agree on the quality of the Leopold, at this point I'd say it might even be superior to the RF but that's relative. Yeah not having to import this was the closer for me.

[Entropia]

I own a FC980M. I didn't like the nav cluster there. Actually, I never use the nav cluster in 100% keyboards, but the numpad instead. So, bought a keycap set for the 900R and used some of its keycaps. I wanted the printscreen and the pause keycaps back to their standard location. I use printscreen for capturing my screen very often. The pause key is for pausing and unpausing my music with foobar2000. The new F2 key is actually for launching this program (I don't need a scrolllock key for anything). The numlock and the delete key have swapped their positions. Now I can reach the delete key easily and it sits in a position that is closer to the standard.

[Lansky]

I've been thinking about getting this board. But I'm still not sure if it's worth it when I already own a RF board with 45g domes.

[czarek]

Nice board. Is it made out of this dark grey plastic (like HHKB Pro) or is it black plastic painted dark grey (like new silent RealForce)?

[seebart]

I've been thinking about getting this board. But I'm still not sure if it's worth it when I already own a RF board with 45g domes.

Difficult to say really, like I said you really should like this layout.

Nice board. Is it made out of this dark grey plastic (like HHKB Pro) or is it black plastic painted dark grey (like new silent RealForce)?

I'd say it's a really dark grey, almost black. In my pictures it looks blacker than in real.

I own a FC980M. I didn't like the nav cluster there. Actually, I never use the nav cluster in 100% keyboards, but the numpad instead. So, bought a keycap set for the 900R and used some of its keycaps. I wanted the printscreen and the pause keycaps back to their standard location. I use printscreen for capturing my screen very often. The pause key is for pausing and unpausing my music with foobar2000. The new F2 key is actually for launching this program (I don't need a scrolllock key for anything). The numlock and the delete key have swapped their positions. Now I can reach the delete key easily and it sits in a position that is closer to the standard.

Yeah I think I'll swap the numlock and the delete key also, reaching delete is borderline. Yes the nav cluster takes some getting used to.