Show us your "vintage" and classic binos (2 Viewers)

[Pinewood]

@Pinewood
Really nice! I had quite a few 6x30 Silvarems on my eBay-watchlist but never pulled the trigger so far. I think I might have to get one. I like the lower magnifications like the APM 6x30 and a couple of older 6x binos I own.

Hello,

Here is a Bausch & Lomb 6x30 Zephyr from 1951, manufactured in the USA. It has a wider field and coated lenses in a slightly lager package, than the Silvarem, to accommodate the larger prisms. I would guess that is the civilian version of B&L's military 6x30. It lacks high eye relief for eyeglass wearers. In 1951, the advantages of coatings in improving light transmission had not yet let 8x conquer the market. Of course, 6x30 is a lot easier to hold steady.

Stay safe,
Arthur

 

[John A Roberts]

And some info on the 6x30 B&L from a 1950 catalogue . . .



. . . with an interesting claim as to 'average light transmission' of 78%.


The 8x30 differed in having a 6 element eyepiece in a 2, 2, 2 configuration.


John

 

[John A Roberts]

Gregor Bernard’s site includes high quality images along with reviews of a variety of older Porro prism binoculars
at: CLASSIC BINOCULARS

They include:
• the Zeiss Silvarem 6x30: CARL ZEISS Silvarem 6X30

• the B&L Zephyr 8x30 (vs the 6x30): BAUSCH & LOMB Zephyr 8X30


John

 

[John A Roberts]

Gregor's site also includes:

A) A comparative rating of the brightness of the binoculars tested (the Swarovski SLC included is the neu version):



B) Along with a comparison of the image colours:






See both at: Classic porro binoculars BRIGHTNESS AND VIEW COLOURS


John

 

[Binocollector]

@John A Roberts
Very interesting - thanks for sharing.

 

[Patudo]

From memory Gijs' figures for transmission for eg the Zeiss West 8x30 are much lower? Not that it matters that much on a sunny day, mind...

 

[Paultricounty]

From memory Gijs' figures for transmission for eg the Zeiss West 8x30 are much lower? Not that it matters that much on a sunny day, mind...

I think on a sunny day coatings and coating quality is more important than transmission. But soon as that cloud rolls in , then is when we see what the more modern higher light transmission binos can achieve.

 

[Pinewood]

And some info on the 6x30 B&L from a 1950 catalogue . . .

View attachment 1506545

. . . with an interesting claim as to 'average light transmission' of 78%.


The 8x30 differed in having a 6 element eyepiece in a 2, 2, 2 configuration.


John

Hello John,

The two most desired B&L Zephyr binoculars may be either the 8x30 or 9x35. I have an older 8x30 B&L, whose optics were updated with some coated elements. The 7x35 do turn up more. frequently.

Stay safe,
Arthur

 

[Patudo]

It'd be interesting to compare that to your Binuxit. I understand the 8x30 Zephyr is well thought of, and have occasionally thought about looking for one, but - as it is I have three good 8x30s that I don't use much. Would be interesting to look through one though.

 

[Pinewood]

It'd be interesting to compare that to your Binuxit. I understand the 8x30 Zephyr is well thought of, and have occasionally thought about looking for one, but - as it is I have three good 8x30s that I don't use much. Would be interesting to look through one though.

Hello Patudo,

LPT who posts here thought that the coated 8x30 Zephyr was better than the coated Binuxit, whose prisms were not coated. He has more optical tools available to him than I do, so I will accept his judgement.

Stay safe,
Arthur

 

[Patudo]

With the greatest of respect (as I've corresponded briefly with LPT, and enjoy his Flickr pages), I was more interested in your opinions than his. But never mind. I myself used to prefer the Binuxit to my Zeiss West 8x30 because of its greater perceived brightness, but after using the 10x42 SE a lot, have started to value the Zeiss's better edge performance more than I did. I've never handled a Zephyr.

 

[Pinewood]

With the greatest of respect (as I've corresponded briefly with LPT, and enjoy his Flickr pages), I was more interested in your opinions than his. But never mind. I myself used to prefer the Binuxit to my Zeiss West 8x30 because of its greater perceived brightness, but after using the 10x42 SE a lot, have started to value the Zeiss's better edge performance more than I did. I've never handled a Zephyr.

Hello Patudo,

My 8x30 B&L non Zephyr, with its coated elements is truly on a par with the Binuxit, but I suspect the coated 8x30 Zephyr has coated prisms, lacking in the Binuxit. In any case, even the older, updated B&L is brighter. I cannot comment on the Zephyr light which may have more coated elements than my older model.
In the final link provided by John A. Roberts post #103, Gregor Bernard wrote, " Zephyr is lighter, has wider field of view and is a little brighter. Its set of features is certainly superior" to the Binuxit, but he still preferred the Binuxit.

I picture both the Binuxit and the earlier B&L 8x30, which would be heavier than a Zephyr Light


Clearly, the B&L is bigger, probably to accommodate larger prisms. The Zephyr Light would use a magnesium body, so the Zephyr manages to be about 28 grams lighter than a Leitz Binuxit.

Stay safe,
Arthur

 

[Paultricounty]

Kowa Prominar 7x35 10° FOV. These are very close to the Kowa Rangemasters.

 

[pat mitchel]

The nice thing about kowa porros back in the day- If you remove the thread on hard eyecups, the eyelens is just below the surface of the eyepiece. A nice flat surface that allows a spectacle wearer to potentially get closer to a full field of view than other extrawide binos. The sweetspot to my eye on the two Kowa 7x35's I have also seem to be quite large for a10 degree FOV- well built and reasonably easy to work on. It may not quite equal a 1st generation Rangemaster but it's a very good substitute. Keepers Pat

 

[Paultricounty]

My Swift Holiday MKII 7x35 11°. The old version.

 

[William Lewis]

Zeiss Dekarem 10x50 q1. Not sure why these get passed over in the wide field discussions at the moment. 128m at 1000m in a 10x? Bare in mind the NL 10x42 has 133 at 1000m.

Brutally sharp centre field, bright with transmission in the high 80%'s, Multi coated, slightly yellow cast, 13mm eye relief (feels like less), non waterproof. The q1's had slightly better glass (apparently!) than the usual sets. I'll be sending them in for a service soon but I'm almost in 2 minds as they're very good as they are, just a smidge of dust inside after 30/40 years.

Will

 

[Paultricounty]

Zeiss Dekarem 10x50 q1. Not sure why these get passed over in the wide field discussions at the moment. 128m at 1000m in a 10x? Bare in mind the NL 10x42 has 133 at 1000m.

Brutally sharp centre field, bright with transmission in the high 80%'s, Multi coated, slightly yellow cast, 13mm eye relief (feels like less), non waterproof. The q1's had slightly better glass (apparently!) than the usual sets. I'll be sending them in for a service soon but I'm almost in 2 minds as they're very good as they are, just a smidge of dust inside after 30/40 years.

Will
View attachment 1507514View attachment 1507516

Very nice! Should have them serviced, and get the prisms cleaned. I’ve found that most all of these vintage binos , even when in excellent condition have a little film on the prisms. After cleaning and tweaking the collimation they’re like new binoculars.

Here are the Jenoptems.

 

[William Lewis]

Yes I may well send them in, there's some slight play in the focus wheel as it changes direction and the ipd hinge is a touch looser than I prefer. I've had very good experiences with getting binoculars serviced in the past.

Will

 

[Gijs van Ginkel]

More and more Birdforum binoculars becomes part of the Binocular History Society.
Gijs van Ginkel

 

[dries1]

Hensoldt Diagon 10X50 almost 7 degrees FOV and clean as gin, however the leatherette is brittle and will need replacement. Focus is counterclockwise to infinity.