Steiner-Optik (also rendered as Steiner Optics) [1] is a manufacturer of optical equipment for the military, hunting and marine sector. The company is headquartered in Bayreuth, northern Bavaria, and has been part of the Beretta Group since 2008. [2] Steiner manufactures products for the civilian market as well as for the defense industry. Its product range includes binoculars for military and police use, rifle scope sights and spotting scopes for hunting, seafaring, outdoor and ornithology. Every year 200,000 to 250,000 binoculars are produced, of which 80% are exported. [3]
The company was founded in 1947 [4] by Karl Steiner, and the first product of the company was the Steinette camera. [5] In 1955, the company changed focus to production of binoculars. In 1965, Steiner was awarded a contract with the West German Bundeswehr, which it supplied with the service binoculars called Steiner 8×30 FERO-D12 Bundeswehr Fernglas (German Army Binoculars) between 1966 and 1972. Steiner was the first company to produce nitrogen-filled binoculars. [6] In 1989, Steiner-Optik received by its own account until then the world's largest order for military binoculars, which included the delivery of 72,000 M22 7×50 binoculars to the US Army. [7] Other innovations by Steiner optics included the first binoculars with bearing compass and the first binoculars with laser protection filters.
Binoculars or field glasses are two refracting telescopes mounted side-by-side and aligned to point in the same direction, allowing the viewer to use both eyes when viewing distant objects. Most binoculars are sized to be held using both hands, although sizes vary widely from opera glasses to large pedestal-mounted military models.
A monocular is a compact refracting telescope used to magnify images of distant objects, typically using an optical prism to ensure an erect image, instead of using relay lenses like most telescopic sights. The volume and weight of a monocular are typically less than half of a pair of binoculars with similar optical properties, making it more portable and also less expensive. This is because binoculars are essentially a pair of monoculars packed together — one for each eye. As a result, monoculars only produce two-dimensional images, while binoculars can use two parallaxed images to produce binocular vision, which allows stereopsis and depth perception.
Carl Zeiss AG, branded as ZEISS, is a German manufacturer of optical systems and optoelectronics, founded in Jena, Germany in 1846 by optician Carl Zeiss. Together with Ernst Abbe and Otto Schott he laid the foundation for today's multinational company. The current company emerged from a reunification of Carl Zeiss companies in East and West Germany with a consolidation phase in the 1990s. ZEISS is active in four business segments with approximately equal revenue in almost 50 countries, has 30 production sites and around 25 development sites worldwide.
A night-vision device (NVD), also known as a night optical/observation device (NOD) or night-vision goggle (NVG), is an optoelectronic device that allows visualization of images in low levels of light, improving the user's night vision.
Knight's Armament Company (KAC) is an American firearms and firearms parts manufacturer, known for producing the Rail Interface System (RIS) and the Rail Adapter System (RAS) grips for firearms use. They currently produce a variety of firearms, specifically AR-15 rifles.
The Accuracy International AWM is a bolt-action sniper rifle manufactured by Accuracy International designed for magnum rifle cartridges. The Accuracy International AWM is also unofficially known as the AWSM, which typically denotes AWM rifles chambered in .338 Lapua Magnum.
A laser rangefinder, also known as a laser telemeter, is a rangefinder that uses a laser beam to determine the distance to an object. The most common form of laser rangefinder operates on the time of flight principle by sending a laser pulse in a narrow beam towards the object and measuring the time taken by the pulse to be reflected off the target and returned to the sender. Due to the high speed of light, this technique is not appropriate for high precision sub-millimeter measurements, where triangulation and other techniques are often used. It is a type of scannerless lidar.
The Special Operations Peculiar MODification (SOPMOD) kit is an accessory system for the M4A1 carbine, CQBR, FN SCAR Mk 16/17, HK416 and other weapons used by United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) special forces units, though it is not specific to SOCOM. The kit allows US Special Operations Forces personnel to configure their weapons to individual preferences and customize for different mission requirements.
Bushnell Corporation is an American firm that specializes in sporting optics and outdoor products. It is based in Overland Park, Kansas and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vista Outdoor. Bushnell makes binoculars, telescopes, spotting scopes, riflescopes, red dot sights, GPS devices, laser rangefinders, game cameras, night-vision devices and other optical equipments.
Întreprinderea Optică Română, often abbreviated by the acronym IOR, is a major optics company established in 1936 in Bucharest. IOR produces military and civilian-grade optics and associated equipment for export and domestic production. The company is known in North America particularly for its riflescopes, binoculars and other sporting optics, which often accompany Romanian military equipment sold on the North American market, such as the PSL rifle.
Schmidt & Bender is a German company specialized in producing high-end telescopic sights for hunting, sports, law enforcement and military arms.
Vortex Optics is an American manufacturer of special optical equipments for hunting, wildlife watching, outdoor recreation, shooting sports and law enforcement and military. Vortex products include binoculars, spotting scopes, riflescopes, reflex sights, holographic sights and other accessories. It once had a sister company known as Eagle Optics, which developed high quality optics for birdwatchers.
Swarovski Optik is a division of the Swarovski group of companies, manufacturing optical instruments. Its headquarters are located in Absam, Tyrol, Austria.
NOBLEX E-Optics GmbH, formerly Docter Optics, is a German manufacturer of optics, including binoculars, rifle scopes, spotting scopes, red dot sights, flashlights and reading glasses. Its headquarters are in Eisfeld, Thuringia, Germany, where most of the products are developed and manufactured. Docter is part of the Analytik Jena Group.
Blaser Jagdwaffen GmbH is a German firearms manufacturer of high-end shotguns and rifles both for the hunting and tactical market. It was founded in 1957 by Horst Blaser, developing the drilling Blaser Diplomat. In September 2008, Blaser established a office in San Antonio, Texas.
Beretta Holding is headquartered in Luxembourg. It is an holding company for the Italian industrial group and holds direct or indirect participation in 26 companies. The eponymous company is managed by fifteenth-generation descendants of Maestro Bartolomeo Beretta, progenitor of a firearms manufacturing dynasty.
Ernst Leitz GmbH was a German corporation based in Wetzlar, a German centre for optics as well as an important location for the precision engineering industry.
The Advanced Target Pointer / Illuminator / Aiming Light, ATPIALAN/PEQ-15 known colloquially as the "PEQ-15" [] produced by L3Harris ; is a multifunction IR Target Pointer & Illuminator, a.k.a. a Laser Aiming Module (LAM) for use as a rifle attachment, using a Picatinny rail mounting system.