Optolyth (1 Viewer)

[Torview]

Just received a lovely Optolyth 8x30 Alpin serial no. 151792 I purchased off ebay for a mere £28.50, need some cleaning but Wow what a gem.

Some of these old Porro`s just blow me away in terms of performance to price ratio.

Will post my feelings later if this post generates any interest.

 

[chartwell99]

Just received a lovely Optolyth 8x30 Alpin serial no. 151792 I purchased off ebay for a mere £28.50, need some cleaning but Wow what a gem.

Some of these old Porro`s just blow me away in terms of performance to price ratio.

Will post my feelings later if this post generates any interest.

I owned one of these for a time, and you're right that the performance is remarkable, especially for the price. That said, all porros are inherently more fragile than their roof siblings and the Optolyths (even the rubber armored versions) more so than most.

 

[brocknroller]

Optolyth doesn't make the 8x30 model anymore, though they have gone back to the "classic look".

However, they are not as big a bang for the buck as they used to be, as you can see from the prices on Deutsch Optik's Website. The FOV on most models is also a bit stingy for porros.

Even the 12x50 model, which has a decent 4.9* FOV for this configuration, has undersized prisms that reduce the exit pupil size and make it operate at less than full aperture.

Makes me wonder if the 10x40 also works this way with its 5.8* FOV? The 8x40 and 7x42 both have only 6.3*, so those are probably okay, though quite narrowish for the 7x (44* AFOV!). The 10x50 has 5.1*, not hard to achieve with small prisms.

Here's Holger Merlitz's review:
http://www.holgermerlitz.de/dodecarem.html

Being a porro fan, I do like their look and would probably like their feel in my hand, but for that kind of money, I think the Nikon SE and EII series off more "bang for the buck".

You may have the best of the lot with the 8x30 model.

http://www.deutscheoptik.com/product_info.php?cPath=11&products_id=445

bp

 

[Torview]

Optolyth doesn't make the 8x30 model anymore, though they have gone back to the "classic look".

However, they are not as big a bang for the buck as they used to be, as you can see from the prices on Deutsch Optik's Website. The FOV on most models is also a bit stingy for porros.

Even the 12x50 model, which has a decent 4.9* FOV for this configuration, has undersized prisms that reduce the exit pupil size and make it operate at less than full aperture.

Makes me wonder if the 10x40 also works this way with its 5.8* FOV? The 8x40 and 7x42 both have only 6.3*, so those are probably okay, though quite narrowish for the 7x (44* AFOV!). The 10x50 has 5.1*, not hard to achieve with small prisms.

Here's Holger Merlitz's review:
http://www.holgermerlitz.de/dodecarem.html

Being a porro fan, I do like their look and would probably like their feel in my hand, but for that kind of money, I think the Nikon SE and EII series off more "bang for the buck".

You may have the best of the lot with the 8x30 model.

http://www.deutscheoptik.com/product_info.php?cPath=11&products_id=445

bp

Not sure of the age on mine but guessing late 80`s.

The fov feels around 7*+ actually quite good.

A friend has the 10X40 which I have used often, its a lovely optic and does not feel as narrow as the fov suggests.

I spoke to a very knowledgeable lady at Opticron who are able to give it a full service for a reasonable charge, I think its worth it as it clearly has potential as a keeper, not as good as I recall an EII but IMO handles rather better.

 

[Simon S]

I was watching that one too but missed the end.
I have a few of the other larger models, and all a disapointment.
I'm glade yours are good. Are you going to repaint the hinges?

 

[Jack Dawe]

I have an old pair of 10x50 Alpins somewhere. Excellent pair of bins for what they are, but the FOV is narrow. Didn't take me long to find out that they're not watertight though. I got caught in heavy rain and, despite the rainguard, water got in - a fair amount too, which left a residue when it evapourated. Had to send them off to be cleaned. They now have fungus inside. Keep meaning to get them cleaned. They'd be useful to someone.

 

[Simon S]

I would pay £25 for a fungus ridden pair. The fungus eats the coated prisms first then the glass!

 

[SUGS]

I have an old pair of 10x50 Alpins somewhere. Excellent pair of bins for what they are, but the FOV is narrow. Didn't take me long to find out that they're not watertight though. I got caught in heavy rain and, despite the rainguard, water got in - a fair amount too, which left a residue when it evapourated. Had to send them off to be cleaned. They now have fungus inside. Keep meaning to get them cleaned. They'd be useful to someone.

First time I took my brand new 10x40's out in the 80's leaked like a sieve and were never the same after repair .Bought them from Jessops when they were a decent shop . How times change !