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Upgrading lenses/coatings (1 Viewer)

S

Stud Duck

Well-known member
Hello all,

I'm looking for a set of Victory T*FL 10x42 with the Lotu Tec coating and I've come across a set that meets my criteria except for the Lotu Tec. Since I'm a hunter rather than a birdwatcher this coating is important to me as my binos must perform in all types of weather. Has anyone ever sent their binos back to Zeiss to have the lenses/coatings upgraded and if so, what was the cost? What year did Zeiss start applying the Lotu Tec coating?

Some time ago, I came across a list that contained all the abbreviations & their explanations for the coatings Zeiss uses for their optics, however I can't seem to find it now. Can someone point me in the right direction?
 
Lotutec is discussed at page 7 in my "Carl Zeiss Riflescopes and Binoculars" catalog which is dated 2006, so it has been in use by Zeiss at least that long.

"2006 The ZEISS binoculars and riflescopes of the Victory series, premium products for hunting, bird watching and observation of nature are equipped with the innovative Lotutec coating."

You can determine if a Victory binocular has it by the thin curved line which appears over the 42 in the identification of the size of the binocular located on the bottom of the left hinge. Mine reads "7x42 T* FL" with the curve over the 42.

Bob
 
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Exchanging the objective lenses and the eyepiece lenses for ones with Lotu Tec would be far too expensive. If you think you need it, get a pair that already has Lotu Tec coatings.

Hermann
 
ceasar said:
Lotutec is discussed at page 7 in my "Carl Zeiss Riflescopes and Binoculars" catalog which is dated 2006, so it has been in use by Zeiss at least that long.

"2006 The ZEISS binoculars and riflescopes of the Victory series, premium products for hunting, bird watching and observation of nature are equipped with the innovative Lotutec coating."

You can determine if a Victory binocular has it by the thin curved line which appears over the 42 in the identification of the size of the binocular located on the bottom of the left hinge. Mine reads "7x42 T* FL" with the curve over the 42.

Bob
Click to expand...

Great information, thanks Bob.
 
Hermann said:
Exchanging the objective lenses and the eyepiece lenses for ones with Lotu Tec would be far too expensive. If you think you need it, get a pair that already has Lotu Tec coatings.

Hermann
Click to expand...

Great advice Hermann and from Bob too.

Lee
 
I just spoke with a CSR from Zeiss and learned the following: Zeiss does not polish lenses nor will they apply any coatings to existing lenses. They will not allow a customer to upgrade the lenses in their optics, whatever it came from the factory with is exactly what they will replace them with at a cost of $50-$75 per lens.

Oh well.
 
Stud Duck said:
I just spoke with a CSR from Zeiss and learned the following: Zeiss does not polish lenses nor will they apply any coatings to existing lenses. They will not allow a customer to upgrade the lenses in their optics, whatever it came from the factory with is exactly what they will replace them with at a cost of $50-$75 per lens.

Oh well.
Click to expand...

Meopta and Schmidt & Bender are two of the very, very few that do so in house anymore, IIRC.
 
jgraider said:
Meopta and Schmidt & Bender are two of the very, very few that do so in house anymore, IIRC.
Click to expand...

You bet they do polish and coat lenses, just not those from a pair of bins in for service, which frankly doesn't make sense economically.

You might be lucky to get new coatings on a pair which had to get replacement lenses and only ones with the latest coatings were available.

See end of video for lens production at Zeiss.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxSrtbWz1kY

Cheers,

Joachim
 
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