Notarem binoculars
It is not all bad news with the Notarem. They can be good, if put together correctly, and many owners love them.
When I get a pair for servicing or repair, I always reinforce the prism units and put the focusing system together in a more reliable way. Then, with spot-on collimation and other adjustments, you have a handy binocular.
The problem was, in the East Germany days, the Zeiss (Jena) factory churned their binoculars out like sausages although they did not put them together as well as that! Numbers made was all that seemed to matter and the design of the binocular and the quality of its individual components was betrayed.
Then, when a Notarem went out of collimation (say), disreputable 'repairers' would simply adjust it externally and do nothing about the inside of it; one good shake and it was out of alignment again.
So, all you owners of Notarems, do not despair. When they need fixing, send them to a good repairer (e.g.
www.opticalrepairs.com) (naturally) and they will improve the 'build quality' to what the designer intended.
Tony