Posted by Rick Denney on December 18, 2003 at 12:34:12:
In Reply to: Karl Zeiss Tuba posted by Jamey on December 18, 2003 at 01:57:22:
There is no relationship between Karl Ziess tubas and Carl Zeiss optics.
Warning: For those who are interested in the history of the optics company (everyone else stop reading):
The Zeiss optical company was founded in Jena, Germany in the first part of the 20th century, or perhaps even earlier. They made optical instruments of all kinds. Before WWII, they made the highly regarded Contax cameras, which were the only real competition for the Leica at that time.
After WWII, the Soviets carted off a lot of the tooling from the Jena factory and set up a factory in Kiev producing knock-offs of the Zeiss products. In time the Kiev factory learned enough to make some of their own designs. They are good when they aren't victims of their own horrible quality control. The U.S. didn't want all those high-grade optics experts to end up in the Soviet sphere, so they helped them emigrate to West Germany, where they set up a factory in Stuttgart and later in Oberkochen. That company has become the Zeiss we are all familiar with now--the one that makes ultra-expensive lenses for ultra-expensive cameras such as the Hasselblad and the Rollei (not to mention the new Contaxes, which are actually made in Japan). They also make medical imaging equipment, surveying equipment and military and sports optics of all sorts.
The original factory continued to operate as Carl Zeiss Jena right up until 1991, when their parent company, VEB Pentacon, was purchased by Joseph Schneider, another optical company of high repute based in Kreuznach, as a result of unification. I have some Zeiss Jena lenses designed for a Pentacon camera and made in the late 80's that are truly world-class, and usually sell for one-tenth of the Zeiss Oberkochen counterparts. They are all based on the classic, pre-war Zeiss lens designs that are still among the best available in fixed focal lengths. Advances in optics since that time have focused on extreme lenses and zoom lenses, where computer design handles the otherwise intractable math involved.
The two Zeisses sued each other during the 50's. The Oberkochen lenses were first called "Opton", and then "Zeiss-Opton" until they won the suit, at which time they just because "Zeiss". The Jena lenses were called "Carl Zeiss" until after the suit, when they were called "Carl Zeiss Jena" in the Second World (aka the Soviet sphere, where western trademarks didn't matter) and "aus Jena" in parts of the First World where the results off the lawsuit were enforced.
In my opinion, the use of "Karl Ziess" on a tuba is an attempt to draw on the high-end reputation of Zeiss optics without copying it closely enough to get sued. Marketers will be marketers. It has nothing to do with the quality of the instruments, which are generally well regarded, as you can see below.
Rick "who warned you" Denney