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Message: <blockquote data-quote="jan van daalen" data-source="post: 3168427" data-attributes="member: 113800">Steve,First congrats with this thread!At my visits to Zeiss, Leica, Swarovski etc. I've never witnessed any binocular body casting but all of them did it out of an massif Aluminium block for the riflescope bodies because of the tension that would occur in a "normal" tube.So we can wipe out the housing issue.When I was at Steiners the marketing/sales guys told me they made everything inhouse. I had heard earlier that their roofs were made in their Chinese plant, so when we walked through the production facility I asked one of the workers, who was preparing Porro binoculars, where the roof prisms were. The answer I got was: "Roof prisms? We don't have roof prisms here".So we can wipe out the exclusive manufacturing. A lot is completely sourced out, even by the brands who claim it is Made in......Can/may we expect from a optic company to die cast? I know from Swarovski they let the casting be done by an Austrian Firm specialized in this matter and inhouse at Swarovski they fine tune the body.  The grinding and polishing machines are built in coöperation with the manufacturer and both profit from their mutual expertise.The same goes for the high vacuum coating equipment.Glass comes from Hoya, Ohara etc. in blanks and/or blocks.So, strictly speaking, it's all assembly.At the end it's the experience and workmanship that counts.I consider for example Kamakura and Swarovski as OEM's.I don't consider all the subs like Bushnell as OEM's.That's the difference IMO.Jan</blockquote>

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