In an era of swift advancement of electronics, where more often that not something made last year isn't worth repairing, we have got used to simply replacing products with lesser defects by brand new ones (even if the broken part could have been easily mended).
On the other hand, pure mechanical-optical devices like binoculars don’t advance at a similar pace, and a pair of 20 year old binoculars (like the Nikon SE or Leica BN) can offer very nice performance and years/decades of service (and be repaired along the way), where a mobile phone or a hard disc drive from the year 2000 is an outdated rarity most likely bound to a scrapyard, not a repair workshop.
One thing that strikes me about top brands is the simple and astonishing fact (in this time and era) that they do repair binoculars. I know this probably shouldn’t surprise me, but it does. Such a simple fact (I guess that's one of the reasons many here like binoculars, for their simple and mechanical nature). There’s a lovely and reassuring feeling when you get back your repaired binoculars, it’s hard to describe. I’ve sent binoculars to Swarovski, Zeiss, Leica or Meopta and in many occasions they’ve gone beyond what was asked/expected, and replaced/improved other bits of the device. Sustainability issues aside, this gives me great pleasure and confidence (I have no brand loyalty for any particular firm).
However, I’ve also read stories of binoculars with very minor defects (like a crooked eyecup) that have simply been replaced by a new one. Given that a good deal of the binoculars in the market today come from far away manufacturers, I guess it is cheaper for the brands selling them to simply replace them with new ones. I think I’ve read some comments about this issue here and there in some forum threads, but usually within a post regarding a particular brand that would simply replace a broken device under warranty without even trying to fix what’s broken. But I don't think I've seen it as a main subject.
So, my question is, other than Zeiss, Leica, Swarovski, Nikon, Meopta… what other brands offer quality repairs and servicing of their products?
More and more, when buying binoculars I think about the life of the product and the reassuring (but less and less common) idea that someone will take care of my binoculars should something happen to them. And I think it is just fair that brands that offer this service (and way of understanding business) be acknowledged. What do you think about this? (Mind you, this is not a thread about who offers the best repair service, or who doesn't).
On the other hand, pure mechanical-optical devices like binoculars don’t advance at a similar pace, and a pair of 20 year old binoculars (like the Nikon SE or Leica BN) can offer very nice performance and years/decades of service (and be repaired along the way), where a mobile phone or a hard disc drive from the year 2000 is an outdated rarity most likely bound to a scrapyard, not a repair workshop.
One thing that strikes me about top brands is the simple and astonishing fact (in this time and era) that they do repair binoculars. I know this probably shouldn’t surprise me, but it does. Such a simple fact (I guess that's one of the reasons many here like binoculars, for their simple and mechanical nature). There’s a lovely and reassuring feeling when you get back your repaired binoculars, it’s hard to describe. I’ve sent binoculars to Swarovski, Zeiss, Leica or Meopta and in many occasions they’ve gone beyond what was asked/expected, and replaced/improved other bits of the device. Sustainability issues aside, this gives me great pleasure and confidence (I have no brand loyalty for any particular firm).
However, I’ve also read stories of binoculars with very minor defects (like a crooked eyecup) that have simply been replaced by a new one. Given that a good deal of the binoculars in the market today come from far away manufacturers, I guess it is cheaper for the brands selling them to simply replace them with new ones. I think I’ve read some comments about this issue here and there in some forum threads, but usually within a post regarding a particular brand that would simply replace a broken device under warranty without even trying to fix what’s broken. But I don't think I've seen it as a main subject.
So, my question is, other than Zeiss, Leica, Swarovski, Nikon, Meopta… what other brands offer quality repairs and servicing of their products?
More and more, when buying binoculars I think about the life of the product and the reassuring (but less and less common) idea that someone will take care of my binoculars should something happen to them. And I think it is just fair that brands that offer this service (and way of understanding business) be acknowledged. What do you think about this? (Mind you, this is not a thread about who offers the best repair service, or who doesn't).
