are these zeiss 8 x 30 b real and what year are they made? (1 Viewer)

I was searching ebay for my next pair of binos and came across these
https://m.benl.ebay.be/itm/Carl-Zei...028069?hash=item3408fbefe5:g:e4UAAOSwIhhcuy6i

the serial number seems quit low and i was wondering if these are genuin, and what year they are from.
The serial number is 509322
Any help is apreciated, do you think these are worth the 350 buyout if it comes to that point?

Hello Monty,

Your link did not work. Did you mean this auction?

I do not believe that the postwar Zeiss serial numbers were consistent. I hope that someone more knowledgeable may help you.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur Pinewood :hi:

Arthur, Re your post #2.

The link opened briefly for me. They looked like the one in your link. I checked Allbinos.

They appear to be real. They are pictured in the Zeiss section of Allbinos which notes they were manufactured between 1968-1978. Here are their specs.

https://www.allbinos.com/1746-Carl_Zeiss_8x30_B-binoculars_specifications.html

I don't know if they are the same "legendary binoculars" reviewed by Allbinos in the link below; but good luck to Monty anyway.

https://www.allbinos.com/171.1-article-Legendary_binoculars_-_Carl_Zeiss_8x30.html

Bob

Yep, real - at least the ones in Arthur's link.

yes thats the auction, i changed the link in my post hope it works now

Hi,

looks ok as far as one can say from the few and not too detailed images...

Zeiss West serial numbers are not publicly known (unlike Zeiss Jena), so one can either ask Zeiss or hope Gary (who used to work for Zeiss and has access to the data) sees this thread.

Joachim

They look good to me. I really like the Zeiss 8x30B - just such a classic design and fine execution. I'd be really tempted by this pair, only we're about to move house and my wife would kill me - and I already have a lovely pair of Nikon 8x30 Eii binoculars which are the modern-day successors of the Zeisses with better coatings, magnesium bodies etc. so technically better...

Doesn't stop me wanting a pair of these though...

They look like the genuine article. The Japanese copies (and later made under license) were of the Zeiss Jena versions, not Zeiss West.

I love everything that the Zeiss West binoculars from this era represent, but ... if the intention is to use them in the field I strongly recommend you compare them carefully against something with more modern coatings eg. Swarovski 8x30 SLC mark II, Leica 8x32 BA/BN or newer models from eg. Vortex, Zeiss Conquest or Terra, Nikon Monarch HG or M7, etc. I like the 8x30 non-B (serial number 533xxx) a lot. They are a perfect fit to my hands and build quality is excellent, but the 1950s era single coatings are very significantly outperformed by more modern binoculars in dull grey conditions, which sadly are often the case in our part of the world. Field of view of the early 8x30B is also quite limited (110m) although this may not be an issue depending on what you are using them for. All in all they are probably of more interest to the collector rather than the practical birder.

I wish a good Japanese shop (like the outfits that produced Swifts and the quality Bushnells) had in fact copied the later 8x30B and for that matter the non-B. Even with 1980s era multi-coatings, they'd be excellent.

Carl Zeiss Jenoptem DDR 8x30 serial# 6651001 any comments. Genuine or Chinese?

Photos?

Regards,
B