Porro 8x30 B -- How good is it? (1 Viewer)

[Fredin'Zona]

Have a chance to buy a Zeiss 8x30 B in mint condition with the original leather case for $175.
Has serial number in the 50xxxx which I think is about 1967.
Can anyone tell me what these might compare to in New binos?

 

[eronald]

Have a chance to buy a Zeiss 8x30 B in mint condition with the original leather case for $175.
Has serial number in the 50xxxx which I think is about 1967.
Can anyone tell me what these might compare to in New binos?

I got an old Zeiss 6x30 from around that time. Mine has a very pleasant view, I use it as my garden binocular. In that role it is much more pleasant to use than a low-end roof, and anyway I wouldn't be able to get a low end roof for the $50 I paid for it. It is sharp and color is good, the issue is lack of contrast.

You need to look through them before buying, in my opinion and check haze/fungus and collimation. it's not the external condition that counts it is the optics since a clean/recollimation will possibly cost more than the item.

We now live in a world without the repair shop culture which was ubiquitous at the time of manufacture. I have the same issue with an old Elna sewing machine from that time which I found, it cost as much as a used car when it was made - and still works, but getting it cleaned and maintained costs as much as a cheap new sewing machine ...



Edmund

 

[Pinewood]

Hello,

The 8x30B does not have a wide field by today's standards. I think it may be around 7.4º, which is pretty good. I hope that an expert might confirm that. There may have been two versions of this binocular with the later model having focussing at the objective end.

Stay safe,
Arthur Pinewood

 

[Gijs van Ginkel]

Edmund, post 1,
The first range of Oberkochen 8x30's was made between 1954 and 1971.
The 6x30 was made between 1955 and 1961.
The 8x30B was made between 1958-1978
There is a 6x30B made in 1961 only according to Wolfgang Kind and Peter Hudeman lsted in one of Seegers books.
Gijs van Ginkel

 

[eronald]

Gijs,

90% of these instruments will go to the scrap heap because they need maintenance - someone should figure out a way to clean and collimate cheaply.

When I was a kid I had a radio collection and a camera collection, both were composed of items deemed too expensive to repair - my battered Leica was quite ok when I refurbished the shutter, a friend did the same.

EDmund

 

[Foss]

This may be helpful:

Help with dating Zeiss 8x30B Oberkochens

I just purchased a pair of Zeiss 8x30 B Oberkochen Serial #577531 in minty condition. I assume they are from the mid 1960s(?). Can someone help with dating them? I spent a few hours comparing them to my Swarovski SLC 8x30WBs and was frankly shocked at how well they stood up to the more modern...

www.birdforum.net

 

[Patudo]

Can anyone tell me what these might compare to in New binos?

I don't know if there is anything really comparable in new binos, to be honest. Anything new in that price range will not be as mechanically well made, or as compact; a good one might be comparable in sharpness, and will probably be noticeably brighter, and show colours more truely. A new binocular also should not have any of the hazing or other age-related issues that can arise with a device that is likely more than 50 years old. In summation binoculars of that vintage are a bit of a different experience to new binoculars and I'm not sure they should be really compared to each other. Something like the Zeiss West 8x30B you mention is a bit like an original Porsche 911 - better to appreciate it for what it is than try to seek comparisons to products designed and produced with much more modern technology.

 

[james holdsworth]

I’ve got a good example of a WA version of the 8x30B. If cleaned internally, it would be optically excellent, only lacking modern brightness and contrast. As is, it does have a yellowish view that seems a byproduct of the aging proces.

 

[henry link]

After owning four of them (8x30B, 6x30, 8x50B, 10x50) I've had to conclude that the Zeiss Oberkochen Porros were not optically as good as their legend. Even without the hazing they are just not very low aberration binoculars, I suspect because of the wide air-spaced tele-objective used to make them small.

The last WA version of the 8x30 B, which I haven't seen, might be the one exception since Zeiss went back to a conventional cemented doublet objective for that one model.