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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Vintage Binoculars (2 Viewers)

LPT said:
For several years I have enjoyed collecting vintage binoculars.
The collection of 43 mostly vintage binoculars can be viewed at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/binocwpg/sets/72157623234405689/detail/
I would appreciate any comments, further information or corrections the members of this forum could provide about these binoculars and my descriptions of them. In particular, as detailed at this site I have specific questions about the following binoculars:
Ross No.6 Mk I 4X24
Rodenstock DF 03 6X24
Ross BinoPrism No. 5 Mk II 7X50
Barr & Stroud CF 41 7X50
Pecar 8X40
Schutz Ruf & Co Kassel Heliolith 10X50
Click to expand...


Frank:

I see you started this thread almost 6 years ago. I just checked out
Your link above, and I am thinking your collection has grown a bit
From 43.

How many do you have now, and thanks for posting, I find the vintage
Models very interesting.

Jerry




Edit: sorry for all the extra caps, posting from a tablet, and getting used to the functions.
 
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NDhunter said:
Frank:

I see you started this thread almost 6 years ago. I just checked out
Your link above, and I am thinking your collection has grown a bit
From 43.

How many do you have now, and thanks for posting, I find the vintage
Models very interesting.

Jerry
Click to expand...

Hello Jerry,

My best guess is that it's somewhere between 300-350 by now, but intake is slowing up considerably as I'm becoming more selective and concentrating mainly on WW II period binoculars. I am currently spending quite a bit of time preparing a book about Canadian military binoculars from WW II through the Korean War and have fallen behind updating the Flickr pages even though I have ample binoculars for several updatings. Hopefully will be able to get back to this in a month or two.

Frank
 
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Bencw said:
I picked up this smashing Bushnell Explorere 7x35 for a few pounds from a Charity shop.
Click to expand...

Another nice binocular, Ben. It wasn't so long ago you posted that you were cutting down? ;)

Binastro said:
At about 7.00 a.m. this morning I saw Venus and Saturn 9 arcminutes apart with 8.5x44 and scope. From somewhere two or three hours East of Greenwich they were only 5 arcminutes apart.
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Thanks for the nudge, Binastro. This was very impressive Sunday 10th January at about 06.30. New moon (?), dark sky, very close and very enjoyable with an 8.5x45. Memorable. :t:
 
Samandag said:
Another nice binocular, Ben. It wasn't so long ago you posted that you were cutting down? ;)

Hi there,

Your right, spent last 6 months of last year selling binoculars from my collection, now I seem to have started collecting again, I was playing cards with my grandaughter and I asked her why she kept on cheating, she said " I'm sorry Grandad, I just can't help it !!"
guess i'm the same with binoculars.;)
Click to expand...
 
LPT said:
Hello Jerry,

My best guess is that it's somewhere between 300-350 by now, but intake is slowing up considerably as I'm becoming more selective and concentrating mainly on WW II period binoculars. I am currently spending quite a bit of time preparing a book about Canadian military binoculars from WW II through the Korean War and have fallen behind updating the Flickr pages even though I have ample binoculars for several updatings. Hopefully will be able to get back to this in a month or two.

Frank
Click to expand...

Frank:

It is good to hear that. You do a nice job with the photos and ID's on
your binoculars.

I'll have to go through the full lineup sometime soon. I also like the
photos of the parts and internals. Very educational.

Jerry
 
Leitz code but Zeiss marking?

What do you make of this, WW11 Binocular has the beh code for ernst Leitz, but on the other side it has Ziess Jenna logo? The code for Zeiss was blc? Just puzzling me as the binocular looks period and original.
LPT any ideas ?
 

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Bencw said:
What do you make of this, WW11 Binocular has the beh code for ernst Leitz, but on the other side it has Ziess Jenna logo? The code for Zeiss was blc? Just puzzling me as the binocular looks period and original.
LPT any ideas ?
Click to expand...

Considering the codes were invented to keep the manufacturers name hidden, it seems to me that one of the plates was placed later.

Jan
 
jan van daalen said:
Considering the codes were invented to keep the manufacturers name hidden, it seems to me that one of the plates was placed later.

Jan
Click to expand...

Hello Jan,

I agree but the possibilities include a repair done in the field as a repair or a cobbling together after hostilities, especially for the black market. I think the latter was mentioned on BF, fairly recently.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur Pinewood
 
Something's amiss. The binocular is a Leitz 8x60 Porro. beh is the German WW II coding for Ernst Leitz and the serial number is a correct Leitz one for this type binocular, and altogether the markings on the left plate look original. The binocular should be rubber armoured but this is missing. Also, the eyepieces are not correct for the Leitz bino and are re-worked. It's possible it was serviced by Zeiss but I doubt it very much because if so it would have been late war and they would have applied their own 3 letter code blc instead of the early war Zeiss Jena. Zeiss 8x60's are extremely valuable, much more so than the Leitz ones (although the Leitz 8x60's today are valued at least $1,000 +), and it's my opinion the Zeiss marking was faked to increase the value of the binocular.
 
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It is my understanding that there was quite a black market for German military binoculars right after WW II, as referenced by Pinewood in his post above. There were lots of those around in various states of repair/disrepair. Many were rebuilt as one binocular from more than one binocular as parts sources. Might this 8x60 come from this period?

Some German Navy Opticalman using his skills to do something to get something of value? Would the nameplate for the Leitz and Zeiss Kreigsmarine 8x60's interchange?
 
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One meets rare old lenses that just didn't exist.
They were named 'Bitsa'.
Bits of this and bits of that.

They have been described to me as giving future finders and historians a real headache once the fabricator passed on. Some made in England also.
 
Thanks, well, I will not be buying it, but find it interesting. Thanks LPT for the info that the serial number is a correct Leitz one for this type binocular, but eyepieces wrong. I guess your right, the Zeiss mark probably faked. But given the eyepieces are wrong for Leitz, it could have been cobbled together from two different 8x60s, hard to tell, Whichever, definitely not right.
 
Steve C said:
Would the nameplate for the Leitz and Zeiss Kreigsmarine 8x60's interchange?
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No. They're two different binoculars with completely different prism plates. The right prism plate is the original Leitz one but marked with the Zeiss trademark.
 
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Bencw said:
But given the eyepieces are wrong for Leitz, it could have been cobbled together from two different 8x60s, hard to tell, Whichever, definitely not right.
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The eyelens cel, ocular tube and eye lenses are all probably original but the eyecups and focus rings came from something else. Optically if in good condition the binocular may be alright.

I don't think there's hardly any interchangeability of parts between Leitz and Zeiss 8x60's. Maybe a few screws.

Just saw the auction site with these binos with a closeup of the eyepieces - looks like the focus rings may be original but with non-original eyecups fitted.
 
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LPT said:
The eyelens cel, ocular tube and eye lenses are all probably original but the eyecups and focus rings came from something else. Optically if in good condition the binocular may be alright.

I don't think there's hardly any interchangeability of parts between Leitz and Zeiss 8x60's. Maybe a few screws.

Just saw the auction site with these binos with a closeup of the eyepieces - looks like the focus rings may be original but with non-original eyecups fitted.
Click to expand...

Thanks LPT, yes, I noticed the eye cups, they remind of the ones on a deltrintus. As a WW11 8x60, it will probably be popular anyway, not many come up, shame really if the Zeiss logo was added, it makes look neither one nor tother. Be interesting to see what it goes for.
 
Some of the large aircraft cameras were made partly by Emil Busch and partly Zeiss.
I think some items were made by different makers and probably shadow companies.
Some of the lenses were by Schneider, Zeiss and maybe Leitz.
Some were exceedingly good, in fact unnecessarily good.
 
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