Optolyth: Breitband Vergütung, Ceralin and Ceralin-Plus? (1 Viewer)

[mbb]

Out of curiosity, seeing some pop up on second hand every now and then, does anyone have some good info (years of production, evaluation, specs…) about the evolution of coatings on Optolyth scopes, like their draw tube scopes?

Older scopes have either the more general German term « breitband Vergütung », mainly on scopes labelled « Made in Germany, or « Ceralin » mentioned as coatings (some specific coating name from Optolyth, like Swarovski would say « SwaroXyz » now, or « Iralin » in the past?) often on scopes labelled « Made in West Germany ». Recently/currently, « Ceralin Plus » seems to be used.
‘Ceralin‘ and ‘Breitband Vergütung’ both appear on scopes with (seemingly) identical specs (e.g. some 22x70), probably mainly due to one being the evolution of the other, I assume. «Made in West Germany » obviously already suggests some manufacturing period, at least for the ’Ceralin’ ones, but still:

• Does anyone know for sure the order or periods of those coatings/products?
• Or if they differ significantly regarding brightness and/or colour accuracy etc.?
• Did they evolve or improve over the years, even before changing names, like Swarovski-coatings do?

I have seen Gijs van Ginkel’s measurements on some Optolyth draw tube scopes, but I am not sure about the manufacturing period and used/labelled coatings on those measured scopes.
They don’t seem to be in the same league as recent Swarovski draw tube scopes or many other more ’standard’ field scopes from good brands (not only the « alpha »), but considering their much lower second hand price, maybe they are still interesting low-priced options, also as robust options (e.g. in comparison to small 50mm scopes which are also often less expensive and used at 20-30x).

 

[jring]

Hi,

afaik Ceralin means single or maybe dual coated... Ceralin Plus is multicoated. Breitbandvergütung means broad band coatings, maybe that was the term for dual coatings between Ceralin and Ceralin Plus...

Maybe we should ask some guy on the german Juelich Forum who has worked for Optolyth and later Swaro ;-)

Joachim

 

[henry link]

Here's some information on Ceralin from an old Optolyth brochure from the mid 1980s, which refers to it as "new" at that time. I bought a pair of Alpine 10x50s with this coating. It was very similar to several other multi-coatings introduced by Fujinon, Nikon and some other Japanese makers in the mid to late 80s. It's reflections were all green and its color bias was slightly pink, just like Nikons and Fijinons. I believe Ceralin Plus came along around 1990 and that's still the term Optolyth uses for its current scope and binocular coatings. My only experience with it was from a Optolyth scope eyepiece. The reflections were more orange/magenta like Zeiss T* multi-coating. Judging from photos of recent Optolyth scope and binocular objectives it may to be unchanged today.

 

[jring]

Hi,

it seems I stand corrected...

Thank you Henry!

Joachim

 

[slingworks]

I don't believe Opotolyth has changed anything in regards to coatings in the past 30 years. The Ceralin Plus appears brighter from what I remember, but but by much. All the Optolyths I've used had a tinted view. Not so much amber as Russian glass, but more of a brownish yellow. Very good but not excellent. I'd rate them on parity to most Docters, Bushnell and Burris (USA).
I had 2 Florite late model TBS-80 (ceralin plus) angled type spotters and they were very good. Comparing to my Kowa TSN 823M they were outclassed. (Brighter and better resolution). Comparing to my Kowa TS82SV They were "slightly" outclassed. My 82sv was brighter and had identical resolution.

Optolyth makes good glass. Good, but way too overpriced. I am not certain how they stay in business? Very few purchase the brand's product line these days....

 

[Tringa45]

On their German home page it states that they are temporarily shut down due the Covid 19 pandemic and interruptions in their supply chain.

John

 

[mbb]

Thank you for all the info!

Thus I assume it is safe to say that the chronological order was
1) breitband Vergütung
2) Ceralin (at least from the 80’s?)
3) Ceralin Plus (from around 1990, still the name used today)
?

The comparison with the Kowa models is interesting, thank you!
I have almost no experience with optics from that period, apart from a Doctor Classic 8x30 (which is surprisingly good) and a Zeiss 4x12 Design Selection (which is hard to judge:it needs cleaning inside).

I guess it’s mainly one of their draw tube scopes that might be interesting for me as a cheaper, robust and lighter scope.
Gijs van Ginkel’s measurements seem to confirm that there appears to have been little to no improvements in their coatings over a considerable amount of years, but it’s hard to know exactly when they did make noticeable improvements.

 

[slingworks]

Tringa45 I would gamble that statement means Optolyth is probably out of business?
I recently purchased a pair of 8x30 Alpins that seem to be pretty handy little bins, but the grease is quite stiff...So I guess I'm on my own with those.

 

[kimmik]

Here's some information on Ceralin from an old Optolyth brochure from the mid 1980s, which refers to it as "new" at that time. I bought a pair of Alpine 10x50s with this coating. It was very similar to several other multi-coatings introduced by Fujinon, Nikon and some other Japanese makers in the mid to late 80s. It's reflections were all green and its color bias was slightly pink, just like Nikons and Fijinons. I believe Ceralin Plus came along around 1990 and that's still the term Optolyth uses for its current scope and binocular coatings. My only experience with it was from a Optolyth scope eyepiece. The reflections were more orange/magenta like Zeiss T* multi-coating. Judging from photos of recent Optolyth scope and binocular objectives it may to be unchanged today.

Just got a ceralin coated (not plus) 30x80 draw tube and it is a pleasing bit of kit. The reflections are mostly cyan, exactly like your graph shows, which is interesting as it suggests some violet transmission. Definitely multicoated, good brightness.