News | Oberwerk

The odds are you had not heard of Oberwerk before you found our website. If so, you’ll probably be quite surprised to learn that for the last two decades, Oberwerk is the world’s leading supplier of high-power binoculars, outselling all other brands- combined! How can this be? Let’s start by defining “high-power”. There are a number of binocular brands that offer models that have as much as 25x magnification. But there aren’t many that operate at 40x (or higher). Let’s also immediately eliminate all (yes, all) “zoom” binoculars from the mix, as none of them are high-quality optical instruments. “But doesn’t the Spion 20-140×70 ‘Military Zoom’ binocular operate at 140x”? Sorry, that’s marketing hype- it’s a plastic POS (piece of crap), unusable at 140x, and overpriced even at $139. By the way, no military has ever deployed any zoom binocular, from any manufacturer- and for good reason. The lowest-price high-power binocular on market is the small but mighty $1595 Oberwerk BT-70XL-ED, capable of up to 56x magnification.
For long-range observation, the world’s militaries have deployed thousands of Oberwerk 25/40×100 Long-Range Observation binoculars, which have huge 100mm (4″) triplet objectives and built-in 25x and 40x eyepieces on rotating turrets. Amateur astronomers around the world have made our Binocular Telescopes the most popular choices for serious binocular astronomy. For the home-with-a-view, the ultimate instrument to enhance a great view has been the 25/40×100. But in 2018, Oberwerk announced the revolutionary XL Series binocular telescopes. Three years in development, the XL Series, with ED (or SD) objectives, 45-degree viewing, 1.25″ focusers, and ultra-light magnesium-alloy construction, are simply the finest binocular telescopes on the market, regardless of price. The XL binocular telescopes have effectively made the 25/40×100 somewhat obsolete, and the world’s militaries, as well as the home-with-a-view customer, are switching to the optically-superior XL models.
Over the years, Oberwerk has quietly sold over 7500 25/40×100 Long-Range Observation binoculars and binocular telescopes. That’s more high-power binoculars than all the binocular brands you’ve heard of have sold- combined! Even we think that’s pretty remarkable!
With our new XL Series, which start as low as $1595, not only will Oberwerk continue to dominate the high-power binocular market, we’ll no longer be the brand you never heard of.

I was recently asked “what’s different about your brand- what sets Oberwerk apart from the competition?” Well, there are a number of unique and important things that make us different- but just one that I want to talk about right now.
If you’re considering buying a binocular, ours or another brand, you probably have some questions- especially so if you’re looking at one of our Long-Range Observation binoculars or our Binocular Telescopes. The fact is I spend much of my day on the phone answering questions and answering questions by email. The first thing I do in the morning is respond to the email questions that came in the previous night. When I think a question/answer might be interesting or informative to others, I’ll post them on our Email Questions/Answers Archive. I wear a wireless headset so I can take customer calls while I’m checking/testing binoculars that are to be shipped that day, or building our TR3 hardwood tripods. I’ve heard countless times “you’re the only company I can contact and get thoughtful and knowledgeable answers to my questions.”
So when I was recently asked “what makes us different”, it struck me that there really is no other binocular retailer I can think of that you can call and speak instantly with, or email and get a timely reply from, someone that is truly knowledgeable about their products, as well as the competition’s. Someone that’s lived and breathed binoculars for the last twenty years. Someone that’s not a salesperson or an order-taker. But your business is selling binoculars- right? True, but I don’t consider myself a “sales type” at all, I’ve never read a book on how to close a sale. But what I do pretty well is answer customer’s questions, explaining technical things in a way people can understand. I believe that our products are such a unique value, that as long as I can impart enough knowledge to a customer, they’ll come to that conclusion on their own- without any arm-twisting on my part. Sometimes our product isn’t the best solution, and I’ll be the first to say so. Sometimes I have to set realistic expectations- “no, you can’t read a license plate 3 miles away“, “yes, you can see the rings of Saturn, but it’s still a very small object in the field of view“, because 1) nobody likes dealing with returns and 2) we want everyone to be thrilled with their purchase. They’ll tell their friends and relatives, and they’ll want one too, and so on- until everyone on the planet has heard of Oberwerk.
Any questions? Feel free to call me at 937-640-1040 (9-5 EDT) or email to [email protected].