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

New Zeiss Conquest HD 8x32...not very impressive (1 Viewer)

St. Elmo said:
The underlying rules, however, likely permit parts (e.g., screws, glues, glass) and even sub-assemblies to be made in other countries (e.g., China).

Mike
Click to expand...

Yes, Mike, I've always understood that that is the case.

The reality we live with is that 99%+ of the world's binoculars are made in China, and 99%+ of them are bought by people who have never heard of BF.

It's certainly regretable that there are often inevitable QC concerns with the kit that we buy yet most of us are more than capable of getting it sorted.

In market terms the vanishingly small percentage of binocular purchasers that post on here have no statistical significance to the market whatsoever whichever their prefered brand or brands. But that is no hinderence to having the debate for the sake of it !
 
Ruger and Peatmoss, looking into this a bit more, the stylized Z logo has been removed on this model, it was an in-line change as per the new corporate identitity standards, so that is less of a red flag than I suspected.

Ruger, still, contact the customer service group as I had mentioned with the serial number, we will get to the bottom of it. The armoring situation is just strange and even for a demo not up to scratch.

Cameraland certainly is a ZEISS authorized dealer Peatmoss so I would not be concerned about a counterfeit. Of course we have seen the knock off 8x20's and I have seen our Z-Point reflex sites counterfeited but I have no seen anything like this in forgery-land. Yet.

Kind Regards, Rich Moncrief
 
Samandag said:
I have an email from ZEISS Wetzlar stating unequivocably that the Conquest HD is made in Germany and I have no reason to doubt it.
Click to expand...

Samandag,

Which version of Made in Germany, would you believe:

A. Completely made by Kamakura Japan without any input from Zeiss, only the coöperation of the former distributor in Holland of Zeiss who had connections with Kamakura and brought those two together (version former distributor).

B. Completely made by Kamakura Japan, conform the regulations of Zeiss (version Zeiss).

C. Completely assembled by Zeiss in Germany, from components made by Kamakura Japan (version Zeiss).

A and B suggests that the only thing Zeiss does is putting the eye cups on the bin to make it work. By doing so it is enough for European Law to state Made in Germany.

Let's make one thing clear; In my book Made in means Made in....!!!
Where ever it is made is of no importance to me as long as I know where it is made.
I can't stand an A brand labeling Made in Germany while it is Made in Japan.

Jan
 
Yes, Jan ! For me where it is made is of no real concern as long as it meets my requirements.

I guess that as a consumer I just don't have the time to start calling a brand regarding their marketing statements, life is just too short, but I do appreciate that such concerns are of grave importance to half a dozen or so consumers who post on here.
 
Waxwingz said:
Cameraland certainly is a ZEISS authorized dealer Peatmoss so I would not be concerned about a counterfeit.
Click to expand...

If that is so… and Conquests are indeed made in Germany, it leads us directly to the universe of German-made, non-counterfeit Conquests that have issues not usually (or reasonably) found in demonstrator models (to wit, dust inside, and poorly fitting armoring with roughly finished edges).

That can't be where any of us want to this story to end….
 
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Well, this story gets even worse. :(

The Good
Zeiss and Cameraland have been great about the return, I have no complaints at all about either companies customer service. I have purchased from Camerland before, I will will continue to do so.

The REALLY Bad!
I called Zeiss customer service with the serial number, and this was a NEW pair of binoculars. :eek!:

I am returning the binocular for a refund, and I will NOT be purchasing another Zeiss Conquest HD binocular. I still think this is an isolated incident, but I don't want to spend the time and money gambling on another pair.
 
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So, what we have now are brand-new, German-made binoculars with dust inside and poorly fitting armoring with roughly finished edges.

If that's the end of it, I'm still suspicious.
 
Ruger270 said:
Well, this story gets even worse. :(

The Good
Zeiss and Cameraland have been great about the return, I have no complaints at all about either companies customer service. I have purchased from Camerland before, I will will continue to do so.

The REALLY Bad!
I called Zeiss customer service with the serial number, and this was a NEW pair of binoculars. :eek!:

I am returning the binocular for a refund, and I will NOT be purchasing another Zeiss Conquest HD binocular. I still think this is an isolated incident, but I don't want to spend the time and money gambling on another pair.
Click to expand...

What is the problem?

Cameraland sold a brand new Zeiss bin far under the SRP under the mantra "its a demo" and it turned out to be a bad sample.
Cameraland is offering a new one under the same sales conditions.
This is a isolated incident.
A bin which has slipped trough CQ.

Again, what is the problem?

Jan
 
jan van daalen said:
What is the problem?

Cameraland sold a brand new Zeiss bin far under the SRP under the mantra "its a demo" and it turned out to be a bad sample.
Cameraland is offering a new one under the same sales conditions.
This is a isolated incident.
A bin which has slipped trough CQ.

Again, what is the problem?

Jan
Click to expand...

Jan,

The problem lies with the time, energy and hassle of dealing with the "bad sample". If you will read my previous post again, hopefully more objectively this time, you will see that the problem I have is not with Zeiss or Cameraland, I just don't to waste my time and have the hassle of another "bad sample" of a pair of mid-tier Zeiss binoculars.
 
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St. Elmo said:
@Samandag…. I have no doubt you have an email from Zeiss that states Conquest binoculars are made in Germany and that Zeiss made no unlawful statement whatsoever. The point is, as long as Zeiss complies with the current rules for placing the "Made in Germany" phrase on products, it can (and will) do so.

The underlying rules, however, likely permit parts (e.g., screws, glues, glass) and even sub-assemblies to be made in other countries (e.g., China).

It's my position, that when a company starts outsourcing major components to China (and some other Pacific Rim countries) and still label products "Made in Germany" or "Made in U.S.A.," things like Ruger's experience are bound to happen.

I'm not saying that's the case here, but it is starting to look like it. I'm really interested in how this turns out. You see, I like Zeiss products immensely and have use them for many years.

Mike
Click to expand...

I agree. The standards for products made in "Made in Germany" are "fast and loose" so it doesn't necessarily follow that the entire product was made or assembled in Germany even if it is labeled as such. This doesn't mean the Conquest HD wasn't entirely made and assembled in Germany, but given all the outsourcing that's done today by manufacturers, and the price of the Conquests, it also doesn't guarantee they were.

The German Bundestag has been trying to come up with a "truth in labeling" bill for some time, but it has not been successful in getting something that everyone will sign off on, which probably includes German manufacturers, some of whom benefit from a label that makes their products sound more prestigious than they really are.

In today's Kinky "mixed up, muddled up world," if countries were really honest about their products, most would be labeled "Made in the World," since they almost all contain parts from other countries and/or were assembled elsewhere.

If the WTO and the EU get their way, country labels of origin will be a thing of the past:

Made in the World

Glad Gary chimed in with an explanation, because the lack of a logo on the end cap seemed suspicious, particularly with the bad demo.

It wouldn't be the first time Zeiss fakes were made:

Jenoptem fakes

There are other articles by Holger on Zeiss fakes, but you have to open them as Word docs.

Brock
 
Ruger270 said:
Well, this story gets even worse. :(

The Good
Zeiss and Cameraland have been great about the return, I have no complaints at all about either companies customer service. I have purchased from Camerland before, I will will continue to do so.

The REALLY Bad!
I called Zeiss customer service with the serial number, and this was a NEW pair of binoculars. :eek!:

I am returning the binocular for a refund, and I will NOT be purchasing another Zeiss Conquest HD binocular. I still think this is an isolated incident, but I don't want to spend the time and money gambling on another pair.
Click to expand...

Ruger

Can't say I blame you but its a shame as Conquests have a great reputation now and you don't get that by selling shed-loads of rubbish like the one you got.

Here is a way for you to get a prime piece of Conquest with little risk for yourself. Since Cameraland sold you a POS (don't lets be polite about it) ask them to take another one out of the box and examine it absolutely thoroughly and email you to confirm that in fit and finish and usability it is perfect. Then they can send it to you. Its the least they can do. They sold that unit as a demo model but it doesn't sound like it really was one,unless it just sat on a shelf inside a locked cabinet, it sounds like nobody has picked it up to try it out or they would have found what you did.

I can understand if you can't be bothered to do that but like I said that would be a real shame because this model is a real sweatie.

Good luck whatever you decide.

Lee
 
Troubador said:
Ruger

Can't say I blame you but its a shame as Conquests have a great reputation now and you don't get that by selling shed-loads of rubbish like the one you got.

Here is a way for you to get a prime piece of Conquest with little risk for yourself. Since Cameraland sold you a POS (don't lets be polite about it) ask them to take another one out of the box and examine it absolutely thoroughly and email you to confirm that in fit and finish and usability it is perfect. Then they can send it to you. Its the least they can do. They sold that unit as a demo model but it doesn't sound like it really was one,unless it just sat on a shelf inside a locked cabinet, it sounds like nobody has picked it up to try it out or they would have found what you did.

I can understand if you can't be bothered to do that but like I said that would be a real shame because this model is a real sweatie.

Good luck whatever you decide.

Lee
Click to expand...

Lee,

Great idea, having Cameraland check out another pair of binoculars is something I had not considered. I will have to think about it.

Thanks!
 
Ruger270 said:
Lee,

Great idea, having Cameraland check out another pair of binoculars is something I had not considered. I will have to think about it.

Thanks!
Click to expand...


I would do as Lee suggested - there are hundreds of user reports for this model and QA seems up-to-snuff - I wouldn't expect another problem.
 
Ruger270 said:
Jan,

The problem lies with the time, energy and hassle of dealing with the "bad sample". If you will read my previous post again, hopefully more objectively this time, you will see that the problem I have is not with Zeiss or Cameraland, I just don't to waste my time and have the hassle of another "bad sample" of a pair of mid-tier Zeiss binoculars.
Click to expand...

Ruger,

Since your name is a gun, I'll be as objective as possible;)

Do all Arizona boys have a short fuse???
It's only a bad sample of an binocular and it is fixed by Cameraland.
Right, it is a hassle, waist of time etc. but it is nothing more than that.
I'm sure CameraLand will suit you the best bin from the Zeiss Conquest line they can find (if it was a Swarovski they would probably throw a bone with it too) and knowing the pleasure a Conquest gives, all the hassle etc is due to be forgotten.

Jan
 
Ruger270 ..... assuming Jan is correct that you are located in AZ (I noticed you posted to the White Wing AZ post), and are in the Phoenix area, then consider stopping by the Cabela's on the west side of the valley. They had a demo Conquest HD 8X32 a couple of months ago. You could see if it is of higher quality than what you received.

Also, Rich of Zeiss should be at the Tucson Nature Expo this weekend (Friday through Sunday) with product on display. Swarovski, Celestron and Optricron are also listed.

http://www.tucsonaudubon.org/expo.html
 
Hello Bruce, I will be there, well I am already there! We can certainly take a look at the bino if 270 is in the area and work through this for him.
 
Waxwingz said:
Ruger and Peatmoss, looking into this a bit more, the stylized Z logo has been removed on this model, it was an in-line change as per the new corporate identitity standards, so that is less of a red flag than I suspected.

Ruger, still, contact the customer service group as I had mentioned with the serial number, we will get to the bottom of it. The armoring situation is just strange and even for a demo not up to scratch.

Cameraland certainly is a ZEISS authorized dealer Peatmoss so I would not be concerned about a counterfeit. Of course we have seen the knock off 8x20's and I have seen our Z-Point reflex sites counterfeited but I have no seen anything like this in forgery-land. Yet.

Kind Regards, Rich Moncrief
Click to expand...

Rich:

Good to see another rep. from Zeiss that can help out with issues
like this.

As far as Cameraland, goes, Doug, will go all the way to make a customer
happy when the time comes,as he has helped me before with another binocular with a different company.

Rich, now go to the Victory SF thread. Tell us what the construction
of these are.

Jerry
 
I spent an hour or so early evening yesterday stood near a large elderberry bush where the tiny fruits are just ripening ; the bush and adjacent shrubs were alive with Warblers, Whitethroats and Blackcaps, too many to count and the Zeiss Conquest HD 8x32 provided some really memorable views.

Later and towards dusk the viewing switched to our local mammals. Standing quitely beside a tree I had a young Muntjac buck run almost under my elbow. In the last hour or so after sunset I was trying to assess which, for my eyes, would be as useful as the other - the Conquest HD 8x32 or the Conquest HD 8x42. At the finish there really wasn't much in it, my eyesight being the limiting factor.

My unit of the 8x32 has the edge in centre-field sharpness and of course the wider view, the 8x42 gathers ever so slightly more light but to no tactical significance over the 8x32. At a pinch I'll choose the 8x32 for the slightly better resolution, wider field, lower weight and reduced length. Your view may differ. Enjoy this wonderful Summer !
 
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