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Deutsche Optik Nobilem 15X60B (1 Viewer)

Robert:

You saw my post about the Big Eyes binoculars on that thread I posted about a "Binocular ID Quiz".

That is the Docter Nobilem, I suppose a European version. Docter optics took over a former Zeiss Jena plant after the war, and you can do a history search on the story.
The Docter 15x60 is well regarded and some compare it very close to the Zeiss 15x60 BGAT,
one of the best 15X power binoculars produced.

There are reviews out there, one from Binomania, they have tested this model against the best from
Swaro. and Zeiss.

For those that want to have a longer reach, a 15X binocular is a very nice choice, and
is more easy on the eyes than a spotting scope.

In the US there are some that use 15X binoculars to scan large areas of big country.
They may spend hours each day, and require quality optics.

Jerry
 
Jerry, post 2,
Docter Optics was a company in the German city of Wetzlar (the home base of many optical companies like Leitz, Hensoldt-Zeiss, Hartmann etc.) and it took over part of the Zeiss Jena optical factory after 1989 (that is also after a war, but you have to specify which one), when East and West Germany were fused again.
Gijs van Ginkel
 
Deutsche Optik is an importer and retailer in San Diego, CA. Through the years they have sold various military collectables. Originally they offered more optics, which is where the name comes from. For a time they were the US importer of Minox and Optolyth and in the mid 90s they sold close-outs of the last Zeiss/Jena binoculars. I have a Deutsche Optik catalogue from 1993 that includes the unarmored Zeiss/Jena 15x60B for $849.

I don't recall them selling later Docter versions of the Zeiss/Jena Nobilem line as a house brand, but I guess they must have done it, at least briefly, since the binocular in the photo is a later armored version of the 15x60B as made by Docter.
 
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Would these in good condition be worth less than the Docter version, what is a decent number to pay ? With 15mm eye relief would glasses be a problem, also with no warranty, are they repairable without spending a fortune ?

Thanks
Robert
 
Someone who has the Docter 15x60 reported on this forum that they are not very suitable for eyeglass wearers because the design of the eye-cup takes away a few mm of eye-relief. And in my experience you need more eye-relief when you mount binoculars on a tripod because when tripod mounted it is more difficult to press the bins to your glasses.
 
Would these in good condition be worth less than the Docter version, what is a decent number to pay ? With 15mm eye relief would glasses be a problem, also with no warranty, are they repairable without spending a fortune ?

Thanks
Robert
Hi Robert,

I guess they would be worth a little less, because not having Docter on them will always raise a doubt, but they look to me like Docter made them, and the starting price looks fair, I don't think I would go very much higher though personally. I did think about bidding myself, but I decided not to, Good luck if you go for it.
 
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