Zeiss Binofix - a useful & well-thought out accessory (1 Viewer)

I recently ordered and received a Zeiss Binofix, a useful and well-thoughtout accessory for binoculars, roofs and porros. What is it? It is a platform or holder for virtually any binocular you want to attach to a tripod or window mount.

A picture can be found on Zeissgear.com. Go to the binocular thread and then hit accessories. My first impression was, "now isn't this odd looking," But upon using it, one quickly sees that function follows form.

Over the years many of us oldsters have cobbled up various and sundry devices to hold binoculars steady. Zeiss sold me a post-like rod back in the 1990s (for the 15x60) that worked with any porro having an axle or hinge pin, The cap screwed off revealing a large slot which slid over the hinge. Of course not all hinges had the same diameter, meaning there could be some slop when the cap screwed down to tighten everything down. Other companies made a similar apparatus. And of course reverse porros and piano hinged porros and many roofs couldn't use that system.

I had made a flat platform out of plywood with a velcro strap to keep the binocular from being tipped off accidentally should I hit a tripod leg. Been there and done that as the trite expression goes. Strange how whatever is below is not very kind when the binocular hits the surface.

But the Binofix is really a good investment when one is using a tripod or other mount to hold a binocular rock steady. (Too be continued with dimensions and details - have to go play some bridge now)

John

I couldn't find it on the Zeissgear Website but Camera Land, B&H and Adorama list it.

http://www.cameralandny.com/optics/zeiss.pl?page=528387

Nikon also has an inexpensive version. I have it and it works pretty good.

http://www.cameralandny.com/optics/nikon.pl?page=nikonumount

Be warned that the Camera Land website now has a very annoying sales announcement that you have to disable before you can look for your specific item in peace and quiet!

Bob

I found the Zeiss strap binocular mount. Wow, high priced, $220.
Not many takers at that price level, I am thinking.

The Nikon Binoc-U mount is a very nice universal binocular strap tripod
mount. List is $49.99. I have this one and it works well, 2 straps.
Looks more sturdy than the single strap Zeiss.

Jerry

Swarovski also had had a Universal Tripod Adaptor that worked in a similar fashion as the
Zeiss does but it appears to be discontinued now. It was expensive.

Bob

Here is the Berlebach from Germany discussed previously on the forum. I do not know if anyone sells it in the US.

http://www.berlebach.de/?bereich=details&id=70&sprache=english

Back from bridge. Yes, Bob & Jerry, it is expensive but it is built to last a life time. I have not had the Nikon to examine, but the picture of it shows a different design which may not be apparent when compared to the Zeiss. Does the Nikon allow the use of either a 1/4 or a 3/8 female connector for attaching to a plate? The Zeiss does.

Two straps would argue for more security, but I have found the Zeiss one strap to hold any binocular I have including the Zeiss 15x60 and the Nikon 10x70. The Zeiss strap is made of neoprene or something similar with some elasticity to it.

The Binofix has a curved platform, and inletted are large pieces of neoprene as bearing surfaces. The curved section, which is really part of the bearing surface does have a distinct additional function besides bearing, viz. allowing the binocular IP distance setting to be unaffected and yet the strap doesn't put pressure on the upper surface of the binocular when it is hooked up.

Also, one strap allows the binocular to have the focusing mechanism less interfered with depending on placement on the platform. I would rather fiddle with one strap than two if one is adequate.

At first glance the Zeiss looks like a Rube Goldberg outfit (for Europeans this is an American slang word for a weird contraption), but it isn't. My home made platforms look similar to the Nikon, but the Zeiss IMO is much better.

The difference between $45 and $220 is admittedly significant, and if the Nikon, e.g., serves the user's purpose, I'm all for that.

Dimensions? Height = 82 mm; Width = 125 mm; depth = 116 mm Strap width is 25 mm; weight = 10.1 oz. The platform is made of some kind of cast metal roughly 1/4 inch thick. Of course the finishing is up to Zeiss standards, and it is made in Germany. Other than running over it with a heavy diesel pickup, the Binofix looks bullet proof.

The buckle end is a pinned metal claw type which is spring loaded. The friction caused by the bottom platform and the strap is greater than I anticipated at first. No slipping or sliding of the binocular at all.

John

Bob - Thanks for Berlebach citation. It obviously is a less expensive design but operating on a similar design principle as the Zeiss.
John

The binocular will move some in the Nikon Binoc-U Mount, not bad and it will not fit some binoculars, small roofs, it works for them . I have the Nikon mount and the post SE Nikon mount.

John Dracon said:

Bob - Thanks for Berlebach citation. It obviously is a less expensive design but operating on a similar design principle as the Zeiss.
John

Click to expand...

Give the credit to Bruce, John. He is the one who posted the pictures.

Maybe you could make one yourself?:smoke:

Bob

John,

Thanks for posting but please permit a few critical remarks.
Some years ago I wanted to look through a 15x56 SLC but the dealer couldn't find the original tripod adapter (1/4" thread on central hinge) and put the SLC on a Zeiss Binofix.

Admittedly it can be used universally for Porros and roofs and is well made, but I found it difficult to put sufficient tension on the narrow rubber strap. The base has a very small diameter for fitting to tripod or QR plate and the height puts the centre of gravity far above the tilt axis of the tripod head. If the head doesn't have a preload spring it needs a lot of tension to secure the head at larger angles of tilt.

The Berlebach adapter looks a little primitive but it is cheap. I believe Piergiovanni of Binomania uses one. For roofs I find the Leica adapter works very well.

John

BruceH - Bob correctly pointed out I needed to thank you not him for the pictures. Thank you!

John Russell - Your critical comments are well taken. I use a Bogen tripod with QR plates on top of a pistol grip - ball pivot system. No twist arm sticking out to bump or snag. It has many, many advantages with any kind of platform system. But for a window mount, the old Bushnell base of swiveling and up and down movement works best for me.

Examining the pictures of the Berlebach, I note that it has a single strap allowing for quick adjustment, faster than the Zeiss. I like that feature.

I note that the Berlebach strap is similar to the way leather binocular straps were connected years ago with the slit and punched out end to allow the strap to go over the double button. Here only a single button is needed,

The home tinkerer making one would find the greatest challenge to constructing the base where the platform is connected. That is where real strength and rigidity is necessary.

Zeiss' slit post (1990s model) has only a 21 mm base diameter, and that is not wide enough. I speak from experience. The Binofix base diameter is 39 mm and very stable on a QR plate in fact it covers mine. The offset of the Binofix is designed to accommodate the twist arm location, right or left. But anyone with a pistol grip system doesn't need that.

I can make my own replacement strap for the Binofix and may just do that.
Always on the prowl for a better mouse trap! Thanks for your comments.
John

Dear all,
I found a universal tripod adapter (UTA) in the Swarovski catalogue, which should be usable for many types of binoculars, if I look at the photograph of it. The price in The Netherlands and Belgium is listed as 91 euro. Leica has a similar one which is also for universal use, but I could not find a recent price list, so I do not know the present price. In an older price list it was priced for 100 euros. The Zeiss Binofix is listed for 199 euro.
Gijs
Gijs

Hello all,

My Leica 12x50 BA was mounted on the Leica adapter, years, ago, and has not been removed from it. I only use that glass with a monopod.

Binoculars which have a tripod thread on the axle require an "L" adaptors, which seem to be shakier, and more prone to vibrating than the Leica adapter.

The Berlebach unit might inspire our DIY types.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur Pinewood :hi:

John D.,

The pan and tilt lever on most video heads can be adjusted so that it is not an obstruction when used with bins. If not, one can always turn the head back to front.
A friction ballhead also works well with bins on a tripod but on a monopod I think a simple tilt head like the Manfrotto 234 or Sirui L-10 is the ideal solution.

Gijs,

I haven't seen the Swarovski UTA but from illustrations it appears to be similar in principle to the Leica adapter. I paid €75 for the Leica some years ago and it is still available here for that price.

John R.

Gijs van Ginkel said:

Dear all,
I found a universal tripod adapter (UTA) in the Swarovski catalogue, which should be usable for many types of binoculars, if I look at the photograph of it. The price in The Netherlands and Belgium is listed as 91 euro. Leica has a similar one which is also for universal use, but I could not find a recent price list, so I do not know the present price. In an older price list it was priced for 100 euros. The Zeiss Binofix is listed for 199 euro.
Gijs
Gijs

Click to expand...

Gijs,

I'm not sure that Swarovski still carries it.

I purchased one a while back when I bought a new 8 x 30 SLC. Swarovski knocked $20.00 off the price of any accessory after you registered a new binocular with them at that time.

I purchased an 8 x 30 CL for my wife early this year and I got their "Osprey" Swiss pocket knife for myself !:king: And when I bought a new 8 x 25 CL two months ago the $20.00 off policy on a buying new accessory after the binocular is registered no longer existed and the UTA had disappeared from the Accessories.

I checked their accessories list yesterday and could not find the UTA.

Camera Land still lists it on their website.

Bob

John R. and Ceasar,
In the 2013 Swarovski catalogue and in the 2013 Swarovski price list, which I collected at the recent Dutch Birdfair, the UTA (universal tripod adapter) is shown and its price is listed as 91 euros, so that is a very strong indication that Swarovski still delivers its UTA.
Gijs

The belief in the importance of image stability, I share very much. I am also convinced of the usefulness of putting a binocular on a mono-/tripod, as a efficient, often more reasonable low-tech alternative to internal stabilisation.
The way this is achieved, however, I wonder what primitive solutions (as a concept of the design, not the quality of manufacture) the customer is ready to accept compared to the technology level within the core products of this industry.
That most of the bridge-hinge-bar-clamp-type of adapters are not satisfactory, is obvious. If not walking for longer periods, and weight, bulk (or price as well) don't matter, then the platform-type adapters may be acceptable, an idea easily to be copied among producers because such an obvious design is difficult to protect by patents.
But for what reasons, technical not commercial (styling included within the latter), the earlier existing and well functioning, most simple solutions, as the ¼ " thread in front of the axis of the bending bar, had to be abandoned?

After my enthusiastic endorsement of the Zeiss Binofit, I found one part of the design that really caused some inconvenience, viz., the thickness of the neoprene strap. But it was a very inexpensive and easy fix to make

The Zeiss strap measures 2 mm in thickness. In itself that was not a problem, but the slot which guides the strap through to the clamp was barely more than 2 mm, making it too tight a fit for pulling easily. (Zeiss folks take note!) I didn't want to take a small flat file and file away some of the metal in the slot - there was enough structural metal to do that. But then it is marred and the smoothness of the surface altered.

I happened to have some neoprene pieces on hand that measured 1.5 mm in thickness and long enough to craft a new strap which I made longer by several inches. Then came the issue of how to anchor the strap. Zeiss has a molded T end to fill the slot. Elegant but difficult to replicate.

A really simple and effective solution was at hand. A small black nylon buckle costing 25 cents allowed the new neoprene strap to be woven in and out. And it is hidden underneath the Binofit and the strap stays put. Now placing and removing binoculars is much quicker and easier than before, and the integrity has not been altered. Tension is easier to manage both tightening and loosening. The friction on the neoprene covered base below and the strap itself is enough to keep the binocular secure. Even the non rubber covered binoculars don't slip.

I went on the net to research how many of these gizzmos are for sale. More than I realized. It appears that every manufacturer of binoculars has designed some kind of adapter or another. More than I realized. But for sheer universality and convenience (not price), the Binofit IMO is hard to beat.
John

My solution to advancing years was to screw a wooden block to the end of a Manfrotto monopod. A felt pad stuck on top to protect the bins and a simple strap so it can be slung across my back when not in use. It greatly improves the stability of my Swaro 10x42s

BruceH said:

Here is the Berlebach from Germany discussed previously on the forum. I do not know if anyone sells it in the US.

http://www.berlebach.de/?bereich=details&id=70&sprache=english

Click to expand...

I was trying to figure out how to mount my WWII Nikko 15X80 when I saw this thread. I then purchased the Berlebach support on-line on December 2 and received it yesterday. It works perfectly.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/binocwpg/11422249404/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/binocwpg/11423264193/