Couple of questions answered by Kowa Germany... (3 Viewers)

[mauriciolacruz]

------ Here below my last e-mail to Kowa Germany:



"Two more questions regarding the Kowa Genesis 44 Prominar XD line (8.5x44 and 10.5x44) if you don't mind Mr. Xxxxxxxx:

After quite a deep research of information about this premium line of binoculars from Kowa, I found contradictory information:

1. Some people say, according to a Kowa's information chart, that the prisms in the Genesis line do have ALUMINUM coatings, whereas other state that, according to a different Kowa's information chart, they do have MULTILAYER DIELECTRIC coatings.

2. Some people say that the Genesis line is outsourced to Kamakura (a well known and reputed Japanese optics manufacturer), whereas other state that all parts in the Genesis line (chassis, armoring, lenses and coatings included) are in-house manufactured and assembled by Kowa in their own facilities.

Could you please bring some light and confirm one or another on each query?

Again many thanks.

Best regards,

Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxxx."



------ And here below their answer:



"Dear Mr. Xxxxxxxx,

Thanks for your Email.

About the coating of GENESIS prisms, please be informed, that we are not using Aluminium coating, but a multicoating which is called “C3”.

Here you can find some details:

Kowa's roof prism binoculars use a Schmidt-Pechan prism. One surface of the Pechan prism does not provide total reflection, so a highly reflective C3 coating has been applied. This allows for higher reflectivity than with silver or optically enhanced aluminum which offers a 99% or higher reflectance across the entire visible spectrum (400-700nm). This not only provides bright and sharp images but also accurate color reproduction.
Applicable Models: GENESIS Series, BD-XD and BD Series.

Our GENESIS binocular line-up is produced in Japan, but we are not releasing further details."



------ My thoughts:

Their last statement: "Our GENESIS binocular line-up is produced in Japan, but we are not releasing further details." is quite revealing.

It's clear to me, according to this reply, that Kowa do NOT produce their own binoculars (as they are only specialized in scopes), but they are outsourced to other manufacturers (in the case of the Genesis line made in Japan: Kamakura?)

What I ignore is if at least all or part of the optics (lenses / prisms) are made by Kowa and then assembled in Kamakura's (?) facilities, or even the optics parts are also outsourced there (so everything is made and assembled by a third party).

Hope this information will be useful to some of you.

 

[Binocollector]

Very interesting, thanks for sharing. As for the glass - AFAIK there are only a handful of producers worldwide of optical glass for binoculars. And my guess would be that they (either Kowa or more likely Kamakura) buy glass blanks like most other makers (even the alpha makers BTW). Some companies then polish and coat them in-house. Not sure all of them do.

 

[mauriciolacruz]

Very interesting, thanks for sharing. As for the glass - AFAIK there are only a handful of producers worldwide of optical glass for binoculars. And my guess would be that they (either Kowa or more likely Kamakura) buy glass blanks like most other makers (even the alpha makers BTW). Some companies then polish and coat them in-house. Not sure all of them do.

Yes, I did already know that. But I ignored if that was also the case with Kowa and if Kamakura produces its own glass or they also buy it from a third-party maker.

What I'm sure now is that Kowa do not produce their own binoculars and most likely even their optics neither.

In any case, I'm still a big Kowa-lover and absolutely LOVE their Genesis 44 line. ❤