carl zeiss jena jenoptem 8x30w

[PeterHenry]

Hi all,

I've just bought what I thought to be a good deal on a pair of zeiss jena jenoptem 8x30w binoculars on ebay. I know, not the newest things, but good for walks along the beach - and my vague knowledge of zeiss lenses seems to recall that the east german zeiss jena factory continued to use fundamentally sound pre war designs, hence the purchase.

however, in my excitement, I have missed that fact that there is no zeiss logo, and instead a slightly odd coinage in its place. I know there were numerous disputes between the east / west german zeiss's - however, I also know that there are fakes going around.

So, I was wondering if anyone on pigeonwatch has any knowledge about odd zeiss jena binocular coinage and/or fakes?

Pictures from the ebay auction attached.

 

Best,

 

Peter

Edited September 24, 2023 by PeterHenry

[London Best]

Looks genuine enough to me.

[holloway]

Best way to check is by the viewing quality  but they do look a genuine older pair .veb carl zeiss jenna traded from 1945 to 1964 in the old East Germany.

Edited September 25, 2023 by holloway
extra info

[DUNKS]

Cant help with the history. Mine are a later pair and by far the best nocks I have ever owned. apparently they are easily damaged with knocks so treat them gently.

[Old Boggy]

As said, they look pretty original and genuine.

I have a pair of old Jenoptic 8x30 binoculars that I bought at a game fair over 30 years ago, but not sure whether they are Zeiss lenses.

The clarity is however brilliant, but I did wonder whether the `Jenoptik Jena` was a spin off from the original make. 

The eye cups have now perished and the outer coating went all sticky so I repainted it !

Consequently, they have been confined to a drawer as a spare pair.

OB

[London Best]

I think that, following the re-unification of Germany, Zeiss Jena  became Docter Optik.

[Dougy]

Replace the leather straps asap, Mrs D has a pair of her dads and the straps broke, luckily no damage. 

[Dave66]

You can still buy some spare parts for them, I lost one of the threaded lens collars and thought they were for the bin, Viking Optical managed to get me one.

I will replace the straps as advised by Dougy for some a bit wider

 

[TOPGUN749]

I have two pairs of Carl Zeiss 8x30 in my collection both from 1980.I too bought from EBay. Yours are from 1975 from the serial number,the coated lenses began in 1977,and were continued in production until 1991,Tha last year serial numbers were 7241174-7246633. Excellent binoculars,10x50’s are a bit heavy but fabulous quality.

There are many Japanese versions around, the screws are in different places,and the serial numbers only 6 digits instead of 7,These are worth far less than the DDR originals.

Edited September 25, 2023 by TOPGUN749

[PeterHenry]

On 25/09/2023 at 07:22, London Best said:

Looks genuine enough to me.

 

On 25/09/2023 at 08:40, holloway said:

Best way to check is by the viewing quality  but they do look a genuine older pair .veb carl zeiss jenna traded from 1945 to 1964 in the old East Germany.

 

On 25/09/2023 at 09:39, DUNKS said:

Cant help with the history. Mine are a later pair and by far the best nocks I have ever owned. apparently they are easily damaged with knocks so treat them gently.

 

21 hours ago, Old Boggy said:

As said, they look pretty original and genuine.

I have a pair of old Jenoptic 8x30 binoculars that I bought at a game fair over 30 years ago, but not sure whether they are Zeiss lenses.

The clarity is however brilliant, but I did wonder whether the `Jenoptik Jena` was a spin off from the original make. 

The eye cups have now perished and the outer coating went all sticky so I repainted it !

Consequently, they have been confined to a drawer as a spare pair.

OB

 

21 hours ago, London Best said:

I think that, following the re-unification of Germany, Zeiss Jena  became Docter Optik.

 

20 hours ago, Dougy said:

Replace the leather straps asap, Mrs D has a pair of her dads and the straps broke, luckily no damage. 

 

14 hours ago, Dave66 said:

You can still buy some spare parts for them, I lost one of the threaded lens collars and thought they were for the bin, Viking Optical managed to get me one.

I will replace the straps as advised by Dougy for some a bit wider

 

 

14 hours ago, TOPGUN749 said:

I have two pairs of Carl Zeiss 8x30 in my collection both from 1980.I too bought from EBay. Yours are from 1975 from the serial number,the coated lenses began in 1977,and were continued in production until 1991,Tha last year serial numbers were 7241174-7246633. Excellent binoculars,10x50’s are a bit heavy but fabulous quality.

There are many Japanese versions around, the screws are in different places,and the serial numbers only 6 digits instead of 7,These are worth far less than the DDR originals.

 

Thanks for all the replies - good to know I havent bought a dud (well, insofar as I can know without having them here infront of me)

[Fargo]

Some of these in my local sporting auction for estimate £20-30

[PeterHenry]

1 hour ago, Fargo said:

Some of these in my local sporting auction for estimate £20-30

That's about what I paid for them 👍

[JohnfromUK]

These older binos (I have a pair of old E. Leitz Trinovids) remind me how little improvement there has really been for normal daylight usage.  However - at dusk/twilight the age does show.  The trouble with the Leitz (Leica's binocular range name before that adopted the same name as the camera  - which was Leitz Camera = Leica) is that parts like the rubber eyecups perish and I don't think are obtainable now.  If anyone knows of a source, I'd be grateful for details.

[DUNKS]

I was pleased to pay £70 for mine, but you cant tell them from new. That also goes for the leather case as well. Most nocks seem to have suffered a price drop in recent years.