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Are these old 7x50 Carl Zeiss binoculars authentic or fake? (1 Viewer)

Red_Blaster

New member
Hi. I found these old binoculars. I wanted to sell them. But I'm not sure if they're authentic or not, and I don't want to accidentally sell something fake. Can anybody tell by these pictures?

Thanks for the help!

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The photos show some characteristics that may help determine whether they are genuine, fake, or perhaps made in an era in which Zeiss (it is said) had some binoculars built in Japan:
Just looking at overall binocular, what decade would I expect them to be manufactured.
Can the angularity of the prism covers be compared with an authentic pair.
Can the location of the neck strap lugs be thus compared.
Can the serial number be compared (1915 production ended in 547521, but there are outliers).
Hope this helps!
Foss
 
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Welcome.

This looks like a genuine high quality military Zeiss 7x50, but I am not a Zeiss expert.

Independent eyepiece focus.

No ports for inert gas.

The lenses seem to be single blue coated?, so cannot be from 1915.
Maybe 1940s?

B.
 
Hi Red,
the binoculars are made by Zeiss and are post-WWII production

After WWII, there were two Zeiss companies in operation:
- one at the original location of Jena, in what was then the new nation of East Germany (and continuing to use the original ‘Carl Zeiss Jena’ marking), and
- a seperate company at Oberkochen in West Germany

The East German company recommenced production using pre-WWII designs and equipment
However, when the West German company commenced in 1954, it used new more compact designs

The West German models included what’s called a tele-objective, where the 2 big lenses on each side of the binocular, were not glued together but spaced apart
This allowed the objective body (the large cylindrical part attached to the front of the binocular) to be shorter than usual
(the design was also later used by Carl Zeiss Jena for some models)

Zeiss Oberkochen initially made their individual focus 7x50 design from 1956 to 1961. They then replaced it with a 7x50 B version in 1961
(see the attached listing from: http://www.europa.com/~telscope/binotele.htm)
The B indicates a binocular with a longer eye relief, that can be used by people who wear spectacles, since their eyes are further away from the eyepieces

I’ve attached a copy of:
- the original version from a 1958 catalogue, and
- the B version from a 1964 catalogue
As you can see yours is the former

To confirm that yours is a West German model, compare your binocular's markings to the centre focus 8x50 version here: http://www.greatestbinoculars.com/allpages/reviews/vintage8x50/vintage8x50.html
See about 1/3 down the page at ‘Zeiss West 8x50B’
And especially note the comments about the internal problems that happen with age, as these will have a big effect on what price your binocular might get

In addition, your binocular is missing its eyecups - someone on the forum may be able to give you a source for replacements
And due to its age, it will primarily be of interest to a collector, rather than someone looking for a binocular to use

For those interested, Holger Merlitz has:
- comparative reviews of various larger 7, 8 and 10x designs by the two Zeiss companies, and
- copies of various Zeiss catalogues from 1912 to 1985
see: http://www.holgermerlitz.de/binoculars_english.html


John
 

Attachments

  • 1958 catalogue.jpg
    1958 catalogue.jpg
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  • 1964 catalogue.jpg
    1964 catalogue.jpg
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  • Zeiss Models to 1972 .txt
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Last edited:
The photos show some characteristics that may help determine whether they are genuine, fake, or perhaps made in an era in which Zeiss (it is said) had some binoculars built in Japan:
Just looking at overall binocular, what decade would I expect them to be manufactured.
Can the angularity of the prism covers be compared with an authentic pair.
Can the location of the neck strap lugs be thus compared.
Can the serial number be compared (1915 production ended in 547521, but there are outliers).
Hope this helps!
Foss
Appreciate this thread is a few years old, it is however the only place I can find reference to Japanese Carl Zeiss binos.
I have a pair that may be just that, am trying to identify, they have seen better days, however I don't want to chuck them if they are of any significance, they came from my Great grandfather who fought in the war, so could possibly be from that era or any time until he died in the late 90s...
The logo appears to say Fujicarl 🤔


Any info/insight greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Dave
 
Hi,

first of all, welcome to BF!

The MiJ Carl Zeiss Jena bins mentioned above were sold in the 80s... so not available to bring home from Japan after the war...

More images from all directions (and including any inscriptions/engravings) would be helpful... but from what I see it looks more like a US style pair with the rounded prism housings...

Also searching for Fujicarl yielded the following auction listing for a 12x50 pair... albeit in better shape than your example... prism housings look like your pair...


Joachim
 

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