Jon In Norway
Member
I found this forum whilst seeking information on my Octarem 8x50Bs bought new for £199 from Jessops in the UK just before Germany re-united (I seem to remember reading an article giving them a great review and saying East German optics should be bought ASAP). They're stunning. Rubber armoured and haven't been used much and the lenses etc. are still nice and I know they haven't been knocked. There's some wear and tear on the rubber coating and the eyecups are perishing a bit but they're sharp and bright.
However, after finding out how much they're worth now, I thought I should get some binoculars for "abusing", keeping in the car, always to hand in various rooms around the house and I had a bit of a wild session on ebay recently where I bought some
Optomax 8x30
Praktica/Pentacon CN10x50R
Swift Belmont 8x40 extra wide
Tecnar (by Swift) 20x50
Tecnar 8x40
Yashica 7x50
I'd earlier bought some Clubman 10x40ZCF-Vs from a camera shop in the UK I'll mention again later.
I should mention here I also have an interest in Astronomy and Microscopy ... basically interested in pretty much anything ...
I have one or two Optomax lenses and they're respectable and the Optomax 8x30s are no disappointment though they are getting on a bit and not the best.
The Swift Belmont 8x40s are worth carrying around and pretty sharp.
The Tecnar 20x50 are pretty woolly and may have been knocked. OK for close up stuff but when used for Astronomy alignment seems a bit of a mess. I reckon they're not unusable for work from a hide though on fairly close-by bushes.
The Praktica/Pentacon CN10x50Rs are not bad though I find the controls too sensitive.
The Yashica 7x50s are the opposite, too much adjustment is needed before I see what's going on though that MAY be a good thing since I know I COULD set them up exactly for my eyes knowing a slight rub in the wrong place won't make much difference.
The Tecnar 8x40s were good enough to go to my son as his first "serious" pair of binoculars (he's shown no interest in having any though and I hope he does SOMETHING with them other than watching the girl next door's bedroom!)
The Clubman's are really not bad at all and I can see myself using them. Not a well known brand but mine were bought used for £20 and must have had an easy life. They're as good as anything above.
Now we come to the Zeiss Jena stuff ..... I visited the camera shop where I bought the Clubmans to see what they had in. They had a pair of used little Olympus' I already have (bought to replace some small Nikons I had but which left my car when it was stolen in Oslo). I'm keeping my little Olympus'. They're better than the Nikons despite them having a weird "plasticky" design.
I digress, I was chatting to the camera shop owner about my Octarems and how I'd never looked through anything that made me want to get anything else but wanted more stuff worth less money to actually carry around or keep in less than ideal conditions and and he pulls out from under the counter a pair of Nobilems 8x50Bs ... or so he said ..... I took them outside. had a peek, 30 seconds later, they were mine including a hard, brown case.
Only when I got home did I discover they were the "super" version.
Anyway, the moment you've all been waiting for .... which are best? I'm sorry, but I think the Octarems have it. I don't know the history of the 8x50B Nobilems and when I've spent more time with both pairs working side by side, I may change my mind. There's no denying the Nobilems are a different class of binocular but the Octarems are just so tight and bright.
Maybe that's why you have more chance of seeing Lord Lucan on "Big Brother" than you have of finding a good deal on a pair of Octarems.
Before I finish, I'll just do a quick "side-by-side" test ..... yes, the Octarems have it. The Yashicas are worth getting though. I don't know if Yashicas co-operation with Contax affected their binoculars but they're serious bins.
Beware of anything "new" badged with "Yashica". As a brand, it has changed hands and, pretty much like Rollei, cannot really be trusted now as they're simply badging anything that comes out of Far East factories.
However, after finding out how much they're worth now, I thought I should get some binoculars for "abusing", keeping in the car, always to hand in various rooms around the house and I had a bit of a wild session on ebay recently where I bought some
Optomax 8x30
Praktica/Pentacon CN10x50R
Swift Belmont 8x40 extra wide
Tecnar (by Swift) 20x50
Tecnar 8x40
Yashica 7x50
I'd earlier bought some Clubman 10x40ZCF-Vs from a camera shop in the UK I'll mention again later.
I should mention here I also have an interest in Astronomy and Microscopy ... basically interested in pretty much anything ...
I have one or two Optomax lenses and they're respectable and the Optomax 8x30s are no disappointment though they are getting on a bit and not the best.
The Swift Belmont 8x40s are worth carrying around and pretty sharp.
The Tecnar 20x50 are pretty woolly and may have been knocked. OK for close up stuff but when used for Astronomy alignment seems a bit of a mess. I reckon they're not unusable for work from a hide though on fairly close-by bushes.
The Praktica/Pentacon CN10x50Rs are not bad though I find the controls too sensitive.
The Yashica 7x50s are the opposite, too much adjustment is needed before I see what's going on though that MAY be a good thing since I know I COULD set them up exactly for my eyes knowing a slight rub in the wrong place won't make much difference.
The Tecnar 8x40s were good enough to go to my son as his first "serious" pair of binoculars (he's shown no interest in having any though and I hope he does SOMETHING with them other than watching the girl next door's bedroom!)
The Clubman's are really not bad at all and I can see myself using them. Not a well known brand but mine were bought used for £20 and must have had an easy life. They're as good as anything above.
Now we come to the Zeiss Jena stuff ..... I visited the camera shop where I bought the Clubmans to see what they had in. They had a pair of used little Olympus' I already have (bought to replace some small Nikons I had but which left my car when it was stolen in Oslo). I'm keeping my little Olympus'. They're better than the Nikons despite them having a weird "plasticky" design.
I digress, I was chatting to the camera shop owner about my Octarems and how I'd never looked through anything that made me want to get anything else but wanted more stuff worth less money to actually carry around or keep in less than ideal conditions and and he pulls out from under the counter a pair of Nobilems 8x50Bs ... or so he said ..... I took them outside. had a peek, 30 seconds later, they were mine including a hard, brown case.
Only when I got home did I discover they were the "super" version.
Anyway, the moment you've all been waiting for .... which are best? I'm sorry, but I think the Octarems have it. I don't know the history of the 8x50B Nobilems and when I've spent more time with both pairs working side by side, I may change my mind. There's no denying the Nobilems are a different class of binocular but the Octarems are just so tight and bright.
Maybe that's why you have more chance of seeing Lord Lucan on "Big Brother" than you have of finding a good deal on a pair of Octarems.
Before I finish, I'll just do a quick "side-by-side" test ..... yes, the Octarems have it. The Yashicas are worth getting though. I don't know if Yashicas co-operation with Contax affected their binoculars but they're serious bins.
Beware of anything "new" badged with "Yashica". As a brand, it has changed hands and, pretty much like Rollei, cannot really be trusted now as they're simply badging anything that comes out of Far East factories.
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