[Marley]

Hello all,

I have been searching the forum for Zeiss information and I see quite a bit of good information regarding FL quality, etc.

I am interested in Zeiss bins, but after just purchasing a pair of Swaro 8.5 x 42 ELs, the finances are a bit strained.

I see many pairs of pre-owned Zeiss bins on E-Bay at pretty good discounts, but I know very little about their optical quality. We all know that Zeiss is reknown for it's excellent glass, but at least for me, far less is known about the individual years and models.

I am kind of a nut about clarity and sharpness and am less worried about CA and slight fuzzyness at the edge of the field of view. I like 42 mm objectives and would appreciate any opinions on 7,8 or 10x magnification.

Thanks to all in advance,

Rgds,

Steffan

[IanF]

Maybe not too relevant to your query but I have had a pair of Carl Zeiss 8x32 DDR Jenoptems for around 30 years and they are as good as new. No marks on the objectives and the bloom is still perfect. The clairty is very good and they have out lasted several other pairs. I'd still be using them now if they had fold down eyecups as nowadays I wear spectacles. My wife loves them though for thier light weight and clarity - so now they're hers!

[Andrew Rowlands]

Hi Steffan,

The recently discontinued (I think) 7x42 Dialyts would be top of my list, they were made for a very long time and the coatings are better on the later versions. You have to try them!

Cheers,

Andy.

[henry link]

Steffan,

A few things to keep in mind when looking at old Zeiss bins on eBay. The division of Germany after WWII resulted in the creation of two "Zeiss" firms: Carl Zeiss Jena in East Germany and Carl Zeiss in Oberkochen, West Germany. CZJ made mostly inexpensive and often crudely constructed binoculars based on pre-war designs (with a few notable exceptions which are now highly prized by collectors). Zeiss Oberkochen produced innovative and expensive porro designs and after acquiring the Hensoldt firm added roof prism binoculars. Both porro and roof were beautifully made, but the non-phase corrected roofs (Dialyts) made before 1989 are IMO much inferior to the same models produced after the introduction of phase coating that year.

EBay is definitely a "buyer beware" market for binoculars. In my experience the sellers usually don't know enough to accurately describe the condition of older binoculars so I almost always assume reconditioning will be necessary and am pleasantly surprised if it isn't. CZJ's should almost never be very expensive.

Henry

[Rich N]

If you are going to look for a used Zeiss binocular you may as well look for a used FL.

I suggest waiting until you can buy a new one where you have the opportunity to return or exchange it if there is a problem with that particular unit.

Rich

[POP]

Henry am I right in that I beleive the East German binocular was marketed with a brand name of Jenoptem?
POP

[henry link]

POP,

Somebody else probably knows more about the history of the Jenoptem models. When Zeiss-Jena first came to my attention in the mid 80's the Jenoptem 8X30, 7X50 and 10X50 were slightly less expensive versions of the identical looking 8X30 Deltrintem, 7X50 Binoctem and 10X50 Dekarem. At the time I was told that the non-Jenoptems had better internal construction and "selected" optics. More recently I read that the Jenoptems were in fact completely identical, but used more modern manufacturing techniques that made them cheaper to produce. The name "Carl Zeiss" could not be used by CZJ in the US and some other countries. Here the brand name "aus Jena" was used.

Henry

[POP]

thank you Henry.

POP

[chartwell99]

Zeiss Oberkochen produced innovative and expensive porro designs and after acquiring the Hensoldt firm added roof prism binoculars.
Henry[/quote]

Actually, Carl Zeiss had acquired a majority interest in Hensoldt during the 1920's. Hensoldt, interestingly enough, developed the abbe-koenig roof prism at the turn of the last century to avoid patent infringement issues with the early Zeiss porro designs, and named their roof glasses "Dialyt". Zeiss transferred all binocular production from Oberkochen to the Hensoldt facilities in Wetzlar in early 1960's, and used the Dialyt name for their roof prism models, although the prisms used were initially Schmidt-Pechan. The renowned 7 x 42, however, while also a Dialyt model, was an abbe-koenig design, as are the 42mm FLs today. To my knowledge, all Zeiss Jena roof prism models were Schmidt-Pechan designs, and all were made in Eisfeld, East Germany.

[henry link]

chartwell99,

Thanks for the correction about the Zeiss-Hensoldt connection.

Henry

[trealawboy]

See the Binoculars Corner section at

http://www.holgermerlitz.de

for some interesting information about about older binoculars, particularly Zeiss.

[Chhayanat]

Originally Posted by IanF

Maybe not too relevant to your query but I have had a pair of Carl Zeiss 8x32 DDR Jenoptems for around 30 years and they are as good as new. No marks on the objectives and the bloom is still perfect. The clairty is very good and they have out lasted several other pairs. I'd still be using them now if they had fold down eyecups as nowadays I wear spectacles. My wife loves them though for thier light weight and clarity - so now they're hers!

In all likelihood you have 8x30 Jenoptem porro prisms as there was never a Jenoptem 8x32 and the 8x32 Notarem roof prisms appeared just inside of 30 years. Only the Notarems had fold down eyecups. If this has been answered already I regret the repetition.

[IanF]

My apologies they are 8x30W.

[Pinewood]

Marley,

Ebay is often a source of "gray market" Zeiss binoculars. If the binocular was imported by Zeiss USA, there is a transferable guarantee. If you can obtain the serial number, before purchase, check with Zeiss USA to ascertain if it is covered by that guarantee.
Additionally, the Dialyts should be a T*, or phase coated model.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur Pinewood

[MacGee]

Originally Posted by Pinewood

Marley,
Ebay is often a source of "gray market" Zeiss binoculars.

Also, a lot of the Jenoptems sold on eBay in the UK were made, not in East Germany but Japan. They began as knock-offs, but were of good quality optically, so CZJ did a deal with the Japanese makers and made them legitimate. But they're of poorer quality mechanically and in construction.

Michael.