Zeiss Optics

[One Day...]

Thank you for your well thought out and deliberate analysis. The scope still won’t shift off 9 power after being removed from the rings. I do realize it’s my fault for not returning the scope in a timely manner. It’s just I have lost all faith in it and believe it or not it’s useless to me and I don’t have a problem just throwing it away. I have thought about getting it repaired and then selling it but I feel that would be dishonest. It’s nice and clear. Lighter than binoculars. Maybe a spotting scope in my day pack would be a suitable use for it.

It is a 1" tube, right? Interestingly, I always thought back in those days that the 1" scopes were kind of an afterthought for Zeiss to go after the US market. Their construction alone (that bell shaped zoom ring) always appeared to me inferior to the 30 mm tube. Maybe they actually were...

I commend your honesty for not sticking some else with it. Here is a suggestion: put it on a full size .22 ($350 CZ 455) and ring a 6" plate at 100 yd with it a few thousand times before each hunting season. It is simply amazing what it does for someone's shooting! And that will be an infinitely better scope than most folks have on their .22...

 

[Ray B]

I always thought back in those days that the 1" scopes were kind of an afterthought for Zeiss to go after the US market. .

The 1" tube Diatal 1.5x was made in Germany for the German market. It was never exported to the US - except the one that a friend bought while in Germany and brought back.

 

[One Day...]

The 1" tube Diatal 1.5x was made in Germany for the German market. It was never exported to the US - except the one that a friend bought while in Germany and brought back.

I would not doubt your reference Ray, but, having been born and raised in Europe, I struggle to envision any frame of reference in which 1 inch would be a metric European or German standard. 26 mm certainly, but not 1" (which is 25.4 mm), and knowing German engineering and German culture as a whole, I am pretty comfortable in saying that German engineers certainly did not confuse 26 mm and 25.4 mm.

 

[Ray B]

 

[Ray B]

Above is a photo of the 1985 Zeiss 1.5x. It is a 1 inch tube but note the elevation dial. It is in metric increments and note the German for up & down, H & T. this model was prior to the variable 1.5-5x so I suppose it was more of a proto-type than a production model.

 

[Hogpatrol]

@Ray B
Just curious about that photo. Hard to see how much each click was at 100m, a millimeter would only be, rounded off, .040"
or .393 which is a lot for a rifle scope. Also, is the turret limited to less than one complete turn? It looks like it.

 

[Ray B]

The focus is out but the instructions on the elevation dial indicate one click equals 1.8 cm per 100 meters, or converted to SAE, about 2/3 inch at 100 yards. The scope was designed with close range shooting in mind, so it doesn't need adjustments to 1/8 MOA. Initially the scope was on a 375H&H from 1985 until it was moved over to the 458 about 1998. It seems as solid as when it was new ove 30 years and hundreds of rounds ago. But then, it is a fixed power with less moving parts than its successor the 1.5-5x.

 

[One Day...]

Above is a photo of the 1985 Zeiss 1.5x. It is a 1 inch tube but note the elevation dial. It is in metric increments and note the German for up & down, H & T. this model was prior to the variable 1.5-5x so I suppose it was more of a proto-type than a production model.

Thank you for posting the picture Ray. I have seen the combination of 1" tube and metric dials before on some Zeiss scopes of this period. I have no data whatsoever as to whether these were exported by Zeiss or brought over by US military returning from a posting in Germany (they actually ended up bringing quite a few things over the years!), or for which market (US or German) these were designed for, but I would say that in the late 80's finding 1" rings in Germany/Continental Europe would have been about as darn difficult as finding 26 mm rings in the US. I continue to think that about anything "imperial" produced in Continental Europe was designed with the US market in mind, but who knows... In this case, was there enough of an "imperial" African/British market in those days that 1" made sense? I just do not know...

 

[Bushpig4Ever]

It’s German made.

Hi, I contacted Zeiss Germany, one of the Wetzlar based reps called me in South Africa. He recommended that you should send the telescope to...

CZ Thornwood
one Zeiss Drive
Thornwood N. Y. 10594
Att. Service Dep. Manager

They will check the scope and forward it, if necessary, to Germany for repair.

Good luck.

 

[DFC4545]

Hi, I contacted Zeiss Germany, one of the Wetzlar based reps called me in South Africa. He recommended that you should send the telescope to...

CZ Thornwood
one Zeiss Drive
Thornwood N. Y. 10594
Att. Service Dep. Manager

They will check the scope and forward it, if necessary, to Germany for repair.

Good luck.

Thank you. That’s who didn’t accept it because The return order was expired. I’ll call and get another one and be more diligent about sending it in a timely manner.
Thank you for the help. I’ll keep everyone advised of the progress.