From bird watchers to hikers, binoculars are used by millions of people all over the world. But these days, getting a pair of quality binoculars made outside of China is getting more and more difficult. In this article, I’ll be looking at binoculars made in Germany.
Brands of German-Made Binoculars? (The Short Answer)
After spending some time digging around, I was able to find 2 brands that produce German-made binoculars. They are Steiner and Zeiss.
Binoculars Made in Germany – What Are Your Options?
Now that we have our German binocular manufacturers, let’s take a look at the companies behind the brands.
Steiner
Steiner was founded in 1947 by Karl Steiner in Bayreuth, Germany. In the beginning, the company was focused on producing high-quality binoculars and scopes for people in the post-war world. These days, it is an internationally recognized company that sells products to people all over the world.
As for Steiner’s manufacturing details, Steiner is very clear about where its products are made. Its rifle scopes are manufactured in Germany and the US. Its binoculars are all made in Germany. I found tech support answering a customer question regarding its binocular manufacturing on its website, see the image below for details.
Being such a well-known company, it will come as no surprise to learn that Steiner has received numerous awards over the years for its binoculars. In 2020 it picked up several awards at the Best Binocular Awards.
As for Steiner’s products, its range of binoculars is pretty large, here’s a link to its binocular product page. For those wanting a little extra help choosing a pair, here are a few of its adventure binoculars for you to take a look at.
Zeiss
Zeiss is a German optics company that manufactures everything from microscopes and medical diagnostic machines to glasses and binoculars. The company was founded in 1846 in Jena, Germany. Over the years, it has grown to become an international giant among the optical companies out there.
Zeiss is very open regarding its manufacturing locations. The company has three locations for its binoculars. One in Wetzlar, Germany, another in Oberkochen, Germany, and Its final one is located in Hungary. This makes it a little tricky to decipher which products are made where.
I found several third-party articles that stated that the majority of Zeiss’ binoculars are made in Germany. However, I couldn’t find this information on its official website. I’d recommend getting in touch with the company before making a purchase to ensure that the binoculars you like are ones that were made in Germany.
Here’s a link to the company’s contact page. For those wanting to take a look at some of Zeiss’ binoculars, here are some links to a few of its models.
Binoculars that Are Commonly Mistaken as Being Made in Germany
One brand kept popping up during my search for German binocular manufacturers. On the surface, it looked like the company manufactures its binoculars in Germany. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case. Here’s what I found.
Leica
Leica was founded in 1986 in Wetzlar, Germany. It manufactures optical lenses, cameras, rifle scopes, microscopes, and binoculars. I found multiple third-party articles stating that this company manufactures its binoculars in Germany, but this isn’t the case.
The majority of Leica’s binoculars are produced in Portugal. While it looks like the company does manufacture some of its products in Germany, I was unable to find out if it made any of its binoculars there, but this seems unlikely.
To be clear, the misinformation is coming from third-party sites that are in no way affiliated with the Leica brand.
