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A New Binocular Brand is Launched (1 Viewer)

Troubador

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A new brand of bins and riflescopes has emerged under the name German Precision Optics. The brand has been founded by ex-Zeiss Sports Optics boss, Richard Schmidt and an independent USA company GPO, USA owned and operated by ex-Zeiss Sports Optics USA boss, Michael Jensen, has taken on distribution in the United States and Canada.
The bins look great and the specifications are competitive as are the prices. No doubt at some point review units will become available and we will find out how they compare with the competition.

The website is now viewable in the USA and should open from other parts of the world sometime over the next few days. So I haven't seen the site yet.

Go to: http://gpo-usa.com/

Lee
 
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A new brand of bins and riflescopes has emerged under the name German Precision Optics. The brand has been founded by ex-Zeiss Sports Optics boss, Richard Schmidt and an independent USA company GPO, USA owned and operated by ex-Zeiss Sports Optics USA boss, Michael Jensen, has taken on distribution in the United States and Canada.
The bins look great and the specifications are competitive as are the prices. No doubt at some point review units will become available and we will find out how they compare with the competition.

The website is now viewable in the USA and should open from other parts of the world sometime over the next few days. So I haven't seen the site yet.

Go to: www.gpo-usa.com

Lee
Are they selling direct to the consumer? Another Tract or Maven? A new Alpha is born?
 
Thanks Lee, definitely an interesting new option.

I did get the German site to come up, but it is not populated with much detail yet. Like James found, the USA site is not working, at least for the moment.

Here is the German link that worked for me.

http://www.gp-optics.com/

The opening photo looks like Lake Powell in Utah.

On Edit:

If you look at the bottom edge of the opening photo, then off to the right are small flag icons. Clicking on the UK flag will bring up the English translation (now showing in the link posted by James).
 
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The USA website had now opened for me just using this link:
http://gpo-usa.com/

I think there have been delays at the ISP.
The German website (which is a different company) doesn't have product content yet.

Dennis: You will love this quote from the site (and GPO, USA will be selling direct as well as through retail outlets)
"With regard to clarity and sharpness, the difference between mid-priced and high-priced products is indistinguishable to most customers. However, the pricing difference between these categories is dramatic".
Lee
 
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Lee, if you read the specification of these miracle binoculars you immediately want to see a medical doctor to cope with the incredible excitement: a transmission of 99,7% for multi element binoculars.
That is of course possible with compressed air lenses, a real breakthrough in modern optics, so Dennis can start a new hobby.
Gijs van Ginkel
 
The link works without the www:

http://gpo-usa.com

The blurb in the "about us" sounds indeed just like another Kamakura or Chinbin distributor.

Our products are built to our high-quality standards in some of the largest global production facilities in the world. All of our design, engineering, and quality management is done internally in Germany.

And they offer a Spectacular Lifetime Warranty TM :-O

And more blurb. Did they hire Dennis as texter?

We will not invest in extreme infrastructures and force consumers to pay for it. We will not invest in making a product that gives you unnoticeably better performance for a disproportional increase in price. We will not mislead our customers. Our reputation from a lifetime in the sports optics industry ensures this.
 
Hello,

In binoculars, they have two lines: Passion HD and Passion Ed. The Passion HD has a price point similar to the Zeiss Conquest and Passion ED seems to be near the Terras in price. In performance, I have no clue but I won't expect anything spectacular. However, they seem to be avoiding the polycarbonate bodies of some mid tier binoculars touted by some. At first glance, I am not excited.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur
 
"We at GPO strive to bring you the best premium product line at the absolute best price/value ratios in the industry. We offer a powerful industry Spectacular Lifetime WarrantyTM"

I seem to recall someone indicating that warranty for bins in the EU is limited , by law, to 10 years. As ever, I am possibly wrong about this.
 
I seem to recall someone indicating that warranty for bins in the EU is limited , by law, to 10 years. As ever, I am possibly wrong about this.

Well, I'm pretty sure the website and the whole concept is aimed at the US only and not at Europe and the rest of the world. I feel that we're discussing here (and in Dennis nice thread) not so much about binocular technology but about a marketing concept specifically aimed at US consumers.

I admit that things like "direct to consumer", "Spectacular Lifetime Warranty" and donations to the NRA don't excite me much, but I have to assume that for US consumers this works? However, I'd have thought that boasting about not maintaining their own production facilities and rather buying cheaply in Asia is not really what US consumers want to hear nowadays? But I am no marketing expert...
 
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And a portion from every purchase goes to the NRA. Wow.

Now that's strong motivation! Unfortunately it would make me refrain from buying even if they offered the holy grail like a revised SE line with a bit more field, waterproofing and twist up eyecups...

And the 8x42 model is rated as 91% transmission in the technical data which is a quite good value for a roof - I wouldn't count on this being reached in lab. If you ask them they'll tell you that the 99.7% were meant per surface and neglecting the prism - a nice example of misleading advertising.

Joachim
 
I admit that things like "direct to consumer", "Spectacular Lifetime Warranty" and donations to the NRA don't excite me much, but I have to assume that for US consumers this works? [/B]However, I'd have thought that boasting about not maintaining their own production facilities and rather buying cheaply in Asia is not really what US consumers want to hear nowadays? But I am no marketing expert...

Not for me.

The Passion HD is attractive looking (aesthetically), but the specs of the new Nikon HG beats it solidly (fov, weight, size, flat field). I'll still keep my eye on the new Nikon for 10x42.
 
"We at GPO strive to bring you the best premium product line at the absolute best price/value ratios in the industry. We offer a powerful industry Spectacular Lifetime WarrantyTM"

I seem to recall someone indicating that warranty for bins in the EU is limited , by law, to 10 years. As ever, I am possibly wrong about this.

The website is of a USA company operating in the USA and Canada only. What GPO is doing in the rest of the world hasn't been revealed.

Lee
 
Wow, there sure is a lot of immediate negativity in this thread. My view is it a good thing to have more options from a company backed by two individuals with extensive high level experience in the optics industry. I am willing to see what they have to offer.

Lee, if you read the specification of these miracle binoculars you immediately want to see a medical doctor to cope with the incredible excitement: a transmission of 99,7% for multi element binoculars.
........
Gijs van Ginkel

The overview description says "99.7% ags". I take that to mean for each air to glass surface, not the total transmission. In the actual specs is a number of 91%. That sounds reasonable.

"We at GPO strive to bring you the best premium product line at the absolute best price/value ratios in the industry. We offer a powerful industry Spectacular Lifetime WarrantyTM"

I seem to recall someone indicating that warranty for bins in the EU is limited , by law, to 10 years. As ever, I am possibly wrong about this.

I believe that is from the USA web site (since it is the only one at the moment showing details) and applies to those units sold by GPO USA.

" The GPO, USA Spectacular Lifetime Warranty™ applies to every GPO product bought in the United States or Canada...."


Hello,

In binoculars, they have two lines: Passion HD and Passion Ed. The Passion HD has a price point similar to the Zeiss Conquest and Passion ED seems to be near the Terras in price. .......

Arthur

Here is what I found from the USA press release discussing the binocular offerings.

" Binoculars will consist of 25mm, 32mm, 42mm, 50mm, and 56mm objective diameter models in three price classes (entry premium class, premium class, and super premium class)."

Not for me.

The Passion HD is attractive looking (aesthetically), but the specs of the new Nikon HG beats it solidly (fov, weight, size, flat field). I'll still keep my eye on the new Nikon for 10x42.

The Nikon has interesting specs but the initial reviews have been mixed. It may be a good strategy to be open to considering both. It seems to me to be premature to dismiss a binocular before anyone has even seen it.

...........

And the 8x42 model is rated as 91% transmission in the technical data which is a quite good value for a roof - I wouldn't count on this being reached in lab. If you ask them they'll tell you that the 99.7% were meant per surface and neglecting the prism - a nice example of misleading advertising.

Joachim

I am not sure why a 91% total transmission does not seem likely. There are other binoculars out there that have a similar spec or more. Also the 99.7% figure is shown as "99.7% ags". That looks quite explicit and not misleading.

Example-Classic design SP prism of 93%
http://www.allbinos.com/303-binoculars_review-Swarovski_SLC_10x42_W_B.html
 
"With regard to clarity and sharpness, the difference between mid-priced and high-priced products is indistinguishable to most customers. However, the pricing difference between these categories is dramatic".

I wrote that for them.;)
 
"All of our design, engineering, and quality management is done internally in Germany."

This might be a direct marketed binocular Troub would like. It is designed in GERMANY!:t:
 
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