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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Binocular refurbishment? (1 Viewer)

Roefisher

Roefisher

Member
Hi folks,

I mentioned earlier today that I have an older pair of Zeiss which I no longer use. Sadly, it's easy to see why as they are in dire condition. I got them off a relative a few years ago who used them around the home farm and didn't really understand about coatings or being careful with glass. He usually carried them around in his tractor B :)

Both eye lens are badly scratched, I would guess it's through the coating into the glass. On a brighter note the objective lens are in really good condition, which is a miracle when you look at the rest of them.

Anyway, would it be possible to have them done up? I'm not bothered about the paint and cosmetics, it the business end I would need fixed - the glass scratches and maybe the eye cups changed as they are both cracked and one is very loose. And, if this could be done, would they be worth it?

I've taken a few pictures,

http://i974.photobucket.com/albums/ae223/Roefisher/100_5152.jpg
http://i974.photobucket.com/albums/ae223/Roefisher/100_5154.jpg
http://i974.photobucket.com/albums/ae223/Roefisher/100_5162.jpg
http://i974.photobucket.com/albums/ae223/Roefisher/100_5163.jpg
http://i974.photobucket.com/albums/ae223/Roefisher/100_5167.jpg
http://i974.photobucket.com/albums/ae223/Roefisher/100_5169.jpg

Thanks,

Mark
 
I'd say they are worth doing up!

Super Nobilems are... super rare! In good condition they go for quite a bit on Ebay. I have a pair myself - which are in worse cosmetic condition than yours though all the lens coatings are intact. I've just sent mine off to Viking Optical Repairs in Glasgow as they were a bit dirty internally, were a mile out of collimation and have a badly chipped prism. Despite all that I think they're worth servicing (though there's not much that can be done about the prism as they are rare to find and very expensive!) which has cost me £56 inc. return postage. Not had them back yet but should be with me hopefully tomorrow so will report back then on how it went.

However I'm not sure there's much that can be done about the scratched lens coatings, they can be re-coated but it won't be the original coatings as far as I know. It doesn't look that bad looking at the pictures and if it doesn't affect the view I wouldn't worry too much. They're definitely worth saving/servicing though!
 
SOR in Henryetta, OK would be a good place to start. Suddarth Optical Repair is the name. I have two old vintage bino's they are refurbishing now. Should have one back within the week! You can E-mail Cory, www.suddarthoptical.com and he can give you a quote. There are a couple of others in the US, just can't think of them at the moment. Bryce...
 
Hello Mark,

I agree with Sammy that repairing the eyepieces is probably impossible. Replacing them is a possibility but I do not know if Docter is supplying the parts of the old Zeiss Jena glasses.
The only other possibility is finding the same model with damaged prisms or obecjtives on that electronic auction site, which would allow a transplant.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur Pinewood
 
I'm curious why you don't first send them to Zeiss for an evaluation. They might be able to find substitute eye lenses, and do whatever cleaning and alignment is needed. That's what I'd try before going to a third-party repair shop.

Ed
 
I don't think you'll have much luck with Docter or Zeiss for eyelens replacements. Docter never made an equivalent model to the Nobilem Super. Zeiss would probably only have parts for Zeiss/West products of the same mid 80's vintage, almost certainly not Zeiss/Jena. The scratches don't look too terrible to me. I've seen much worse. A good internal cleaning and collimation probably won't return these to 100%, but they should be pretty nice, certainly worth the cost.
 
I suspect Docter would not have any spares - I emailed them about a prism for my damaged Super Nobilems but they had none - though you may have more luck with eyepiece lenses. May be a bit pricey though, Dougie at Viking Optical suggested if they could find a prism it would be around £200 or so - lenses could be nearly as much I fear!

Your Super Nobilems do look to be in good working order though - I'd get out there and enjoy them! :D
 
Thanks very much again for all the advice so far. It seems to be a goes to get the work done, it's now a matter of who will carry it out. I'll send Zeiss an email first, now that I have got positive opinions from people in the know, about the possibility of their doing the work.

Sammy, you're right - they are a wonderful binocular. I don't want to pass any amateur remarks that people here would laugh at, but they have a great field of view, are really bright, easily focussed and kept on the thing being watched.

Although they have been put to rest most times by my EL's, I do enjoy using them and that's why I would love to see them back in tip top condition if possible.

Mark
 
Mark, A Zeiss 8x50 Nobilem Super sold on eBay UK in April 2009 for £366, so yours is still worth a bob or two. The Super, made in the 1980s, is very rare; it was Zeiss Jena's top model, built by a Communist regime without concern for manufacturing cost, to show that Jena could still make a world-beating binocular. It was manufactured for only two or three years, and was superseded by the Zeiss Octarem, another superb model whose production was more economically viable, in turn reincarnated as Docter Optic's 8x50B in 1990 when they took over from Zeiss Jena and resurrected the famous Nobilem name. I don't know to what extent (if any) the present Zeiss company would/could help toward any refurbishment (since they had nothing to do with Zeiss Jena) although I suppose it is worth asking them as well as Docter. A 'proper job' won't be cheap, but even if you kept your Nobilem in its present distressed state, I expect it should still have historical value to collectors...
 
I wasn't able to copy the appropriate page on the Carl Zeiss website but the official service for Carl Zeiss Jena (and Docter) products is carried out by:

Geraete-Service & Montage
Harald Ros
Coburger Strasse 72
98673 Eisfeld
Germany

Tel. +49 3686 6159-28
Fax +49 3686 6159-29
[email protected]

If you have any communication difficulties (English was not widely spoken by the older generation in the East), you can send me a PM.

John
 
John Russell said:
I wasn't able to copy the appropriate page on the Carl Zeiss website but the official service for Carl Zeiss Jena (and Docter) products is carried out by:

Geraete-Service & Montage
Harald Ros
Coburger Strasse 72
98673 Eisfeld
Germany

Tel. +49 3686 6159-28
Fax +49 3686 6159-29
[email protected]

If you have any communication difficulties (English was not widely spoken by the older generation in the East), you can send me a PM.

John
Click to expand...

Thank you very much, John.

I've sent them a message asking about the possibility of the work being carried out.

Mark
 
I'd also give Dougie at Viking Optical Repairs a call - just got my Nobilems back today - what a difference! Internal optics cleaner, collimation now spot on and now a very useable binocular - despite the humongous chip remaining on the prism!

However it sounds like your Nobilems are in a much more serviceable condition than my ones are at the moment - is the only problem those scratched eyepiece lenses and slighly dodgy eyecups?
 
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