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Optolyth Royal 8x56 (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Sancho
- Start date
Allbino's doesn't think they are that great. They think the Monarch in the same configuration at less money is superior.
http://www.allbinos.com/index.php?test=lornetki&test_l=178
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/910875-REG/nikon_7581_8x56_monarch_5.html
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I would think with the bigger AK prisms it would perform better. More light transmission. The IF focus should not make any difference optically. IF is tough for birding.
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I've never heart about an Optolyth Royal with IF focussing. The 8x56 Royal I know has CF but the focusing is external. The focusing mechanism is quite interesting with these because it is very ergonomic. It can be used at both sides of the bridge. Each side has its own focusing wheel located. I like this. The 8x56 Optolyth Royal is the long time competitor and fear opponent of the Zeiss 8x56 Dialyt at the hunter market over here. Like the Dialyt it is now a bit outdated and not waterproof but nevertheless still quite popular among hunters. Recent samples deliver a very sharp, contrasty and bright Image. Build quality is very high also.
Steve
Steve
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Sorry folks, I may be wrong about the IF focussing. Can´t remember where I read that, it wasn´t on the ´bay posting. The photos weren´t very clear, I couldn´t see if it had a central focussing wheel, it seemed to have "diopter" type adjustment on both oculars. In any case, it sold for 216 sterling, which is quite a bargain. Fairly narrow FOV according to the allbinos specs, at least compared to the Dialyt. It looks rather like a slightly longer, slightly chunkier Dialyt.
Definitely a bargain @ $345.00 US.
Éanna,
the Zeiss Dialyt has a narrow FOV as well. I believe both binoculars do have simple 3-lens Kellner eyepieces. That comes from a time when multicoatings weren't that effective so the idea back then was basically to use as less lenses as possible. BTW, I once thought that the Royal was kind of a clone of the Dialyt but I'm not sure about this. Does anybody know when the Optolyth Royal came to market for the first time?
Steve
the Zeiss Dialyt has a narrow FOV as well. I believe both binoculars do have simple 3-lens Kellner eyepieces. That comes from a time when multicoatings weren't that effective so the idea back then was basically to use as less lenses as possible. BTW, I once thought that the Royal was kind of a clone of the Dialyt but I'm not sure about this. Does anybody know when the Optolyth Royal came to market for the first time?
Steve
normjackson
Well-known member
If no one gives a satisfactory answer that looks like a nice project for a German speaker
Seems Roland Zeitler did a review of the 10x56 Optolyth Royal for a magazine in 7/1994 :
http://www.deutsches-jagd-lexikon.de/index.php/Zeitler,_Roland
the 50x56 is a typo as confirmed here :
http://www.djz.de/r30/vc_content/bilder/firma447/inhalt_djz-1994.pdf
If no one gives a satisfactory answer that looks like a nice project for a German speaker
Well, I thought authority regarding the Royals should be left to our British associates...
I think the Optolyth Royals were already available back in the 1980s or even 1970s or even before? Perhaps some of the collectors here on board do know something more.
Steve
henry link
Well-known member
I have an Optolyth catalogue from about 1985 which lists 7x50, 8x56 and 9x63 Royals. I don't think they were new even then. The number of lenses (5 per side) supports Steve's view that a 3 element eyepiece is used. However, the eye relief is so long (23mm) that I suspect the 8x56 Royal, like the Dialyt, uses a 3 element Konig rather than Kellner.
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normjackson
Well-known member
Steve, you referring to them folks at Buckingham Palace 'n' all that? Nah, we don't talk the same language :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Saxe-Coburg_and_Gotha
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|Good stuff Henry. Well at least we are now looking at somewhere between 1965 and 1985 :
http://www.optolyth.de/english/about-optolyth/index.php
According to http://home.europa.com/~telscope/zeissbn2.txt Zeiss started to produce their 8x56 Dialyt in 1968. That leaves indeed the possibility that Optolyth were first with their Abbe 8x56. But then if I recall correctly there was also an 8x56 Hensoldt decades before this, presumably in one way or the other the ancestor of both, the Royal and the Zeiss B/GAT.
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henry link
Well-known member
Looks like the plot thickens. The binocular below appeared in the Spring 1996 catalogue of Deutsche Optik, the US Optolyth importer at the time. So maybe there was an 8x56 IF at some point.
That catalogue also shows an expanded line of CF Royals: 7x50, 8x56, 9x63, 10x56 and 12x63. Eyepieces must have changed from 1985. All 1996 models have 6 lenses per side except the 12x63, which has 7.
That catalogue also shows an expanded line of CF Royals: 7x50, 8x56, 9x63, 10x56 and 12x63. Eyepieces must have changed from 1985. All 1996 models have 6 lenses per side except the 12x63, which has 7.
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Gijs van Ginkel
Well-known member
Dear all,
Hensoldt Dialyt production started in 1905 (5x35, 6x35, from 1910 6x26, 6x36, 8x50, 10x50, 16x50 and 18x50). Hensoldt started production of the 8x56 Dialyt with Abbe-König prisms in 1928. In that same year Hensoldt became part of Zeiss. Between 1948 and 1963 the Hensoldt 8x56 Dialyt was also made with up and down movable eyecups. Production of Zeiss 8x56 Dialyts started in 1968.
Gijs
Hensoldt Dialyt production started in 1905 (5x35, 6x35, from 1910 6x26, 6x36, 8x50, 10x50, 16x50 and 18x50). Hensoldt started production of the 8x56 Dialyt with Abbe-König prisms in 1928. In that same year Hensoldt became part of Zeiss. Between 1948 and 1963 the Hensoldt 8x56 Dialyt was also made with up and down movable eyecups. Production of Zeiss 8x56 Dialyts started in 1968.
Gijs
Gijs,
you mean the eyecups of the Hensoldt were movable (not foldable) in a way like the ones of a Leica Trinovid BA/BN?
Henry,
that's interesting, thanks. The 9x63 is still available, but unfortunately I couldn't try these so far. I've always found the 9x63 configuration quite interesting. 9x magnification is a reasonable compromise between 8x and 10x and one has still the big 7mm exit pupils. Despite the bigger objective lenses it doesn't add that much more of weight. The 9x63 Vixen Ultima for instance feels surprising lightweight in the hands.
Steve
you mean the eyecups of the Hensoldt were movable (not foldable) in a way like the ones of a Leica Trinovid BA/BN?
Henry,
that's interesting, thanks. The 9x63 is still available, but unfortunately I couldn't try these so far. I've always found the 9x63 configuration quite interesting. 9x magnification is a reasonable compromise between 8x and 10x and one has still the big 7mm exit pupils. Despite the bigger objective lenses it doesn't add that much more of weight. The 9x63 Vixen Ultima for instance feels surprising lightweight in the hands.
Steve
Gijs van Ginkel
Well-known member
Steve,
Yes, one can move the eyecups of that particular Hensoldt 8x56 Dialyt I mentioned in post 16 up and down like with the Leica's you mentioned and with the Kern porro's from 1934.
Gijs
Yes, one can move the eyecups of that particular Hensoldt 8x56 Dialyt I mentioned in post 16 up and down like with the Leica's you mentioned and with the Kern porro's from 1934.
Gijs
brocknroller
porromaniac
According to the owner of Deutsch Optik, Optolyth changed ownership about 10? years ago. At that time, the company had dropped its classic porro line and made a more modern looking porro, but it didn't do well. Neither did the Via Nova line that replaced the Royal. The owner of Deutsch Optik encouraged the new owner of Optolyth to return to the classic porros and the Royals, and he did, and for a while, Deutch Optik was the exclusive U.S. distributor of the binoculars.
I recently tried an Optolyth 10x40 Alpin porro and was surprised at how small and light it was. It was like holding a toy binocular. The feel was great with the waffle iron armoring, but the optics were only average, not worth $700, IMO.
I have a MC Japanese-made 9x63 roof with Abbe-Konig prisms that looks like an Optolyth Royal (see photos). It is not phase coated, but the views are bright and there's an amazing transparency to the image in the centerfield. The FOV is narrowish (as it is in most 9x63s) and there's astigmatism around the edges. It's heavy but there's plenty of "real estate" to grab for a roof.
I bought it in 1986 to see Haley's Comet (what a disappointment that apparition was, well, there's always next time.
<B>
I recently tried an Optolyth 10x40 Alpin porro and was surprised at how small and light it was. It was like holding a toy binocular. The feel was great with the waffle iron armoring, but the optics were only average, not worth $700, IMO.
I have a MC Japanese-made 9x63 roof with Abbe-Konig prisms that looks like an Optolyth Royal (see photos). It is not phase coated, but the views are bright and there's an amazing transparency to the image in the centerfield. The FOV is narrowish (as it is in most 9x63s) and there's astigmatism around the edges. It's heavy but there's plenty of "real estate" to grab for a roof.
I bought it in 1986 to see Haley's Comet (what a disappointment that apparition was, well, there's always next time
. <B>
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normjackson
Well-known member
There was the Optolyth Touring roof prism line that was suited to birders. Remember reading some poor reviews on some US websites on the Alpin NG waterproof porro line; questions were asked about quality control which may have suffered as the company struggled. Possibly the release of the Via Nova line post dates the takeover by Sill?
I do remember in 70s or 80s UK bird magazines that the original Alpin (probably renamed as Classic on re-release) were extensively advertised with full page adverts. One might have been lead to believe at the time they were the only (and much cheaper) alternative to the heavily advertised roof prism models from Zeiss and Leitz.
I do remember in 70s or 80s UK bird magazines that the original Alpin (probably renamed as Classic on re-release) were extensively advertised with full page adverts. One might have been lead to believe at the time they were the only (and much cheaper) alternative to the heavily advertised roof prism models from Zeiss and Leitz.
