Vintage find at the Charity Shop

I had umed and ahhed about buying these binoculars. They weren't particularly clean and with some crystallisation in the ocular lenses were boarding on a no-no. But after many weeks and some haggling (which I don't usually do with charity shops) I bought them.

These are the Ross Stepruva (early style) 9X35

The early models have the shorter ocular assembly and longer objective tubes

Compared to the later model here, notice the difference.

Serial no' 139235 Year of Manufacture probably 1949-1950

After a good clean and checking the collimation it was a reasonable view and sharp as most Ross Binoculars are.

A makeshift strap from cord and a few repairs to the case adds character and tells a story.

(Ross introduced the Stepruva design circa 1932 and along with the 7X50 Steplux and 8X30 Stepron was one of Ross' most popular models continuing to be marketed until approximately 1970 when the company ceased selling binoculars. Sometime in the 1950's-60's Ross Stepruvas were re-designed with longer ocular assemblies and shorter objective tubes. Both versions are well-suited for bird-watching: light and compact, fast focusing, high magnification to see detail but with a wide field of view enabling one to track a bird in flight. During the 1940's - 50's this binocular was a favorite of British ornithologists most notably Sir Julian Huxley and James Fisher).

Comments

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