What does "MC" mean?

[SunnySlopes]

It's on some Zeiss scopes.

 

[xnmw]

Multicoating

 

[SunnySlopes]

Thanx.

Does that mean that any Zeiss scope w/out that designation is not "MC?"

 

[xnmw]

That's a safe bet... They have some other coatings, too, though. The T* coating I know from their SLR lenses, that seems to be the higher-end coating, and they had another repellent coating that seemed useful, but then I also saw that they had some uncoated glass. I don't have any scope experience (just an AR w/ an Eotech), but I could tell you from cameras that the coatings seem to make a big difference in lenses. I don't have and Zeiss glass, though, so no first-hand experience there. I Googled up Zeiss + MC, etc..... You can get the detailed specs of any item you're looking at, whether it has a coating or not, etc. So, I would say no MC in the name means no MC multicoating, but it may well have another sort of coating that might meet your needs, or maybe you don't need a coating at all.... Maybe someone with experience will chime in, too. Good luck!

*People do love the Zeiss Canon-mount SLR lenses so I would be reasonably confident they make a quality scope...

 

[atblis]

There's also a P* coating. You can then have T*P*. I think MC is the least best coatings they currently have. I believe the Conquest line is their lowest level scope.

http://www.zeiss.com/C1256BCF0020BE5F/ContentsWWWIntern/DF2F4A3342C2CC2B852575690059A188

Zeiss' blurb about the MC thing
http://www.zeiss.com/C1256BCF0020BE5F/ContentsWWWIntern/02E42E80D69571738525756900599ECE

Zeiss Conquest scopes are very good optically. Several years ago, they were pretty much the benchmark for comparison of value in scopes. Others have caught up now.

 

[bob barker]

Motorcycle Club?

 

[marinetowgunner]

Mulitcoating means that all surfaces are coated......all surfaces meaning front and back. Inside any optical system with multiple lenses you will have rlflection off the subsequent lens. Coating the back side of the lens makes sure that the light reflected off of the internal lens is reflected back toward you by the lens in front of it.

Most manufacturers multicoat their lenses.

 

[al123]

Hopefully the following will help what I believe the Carl Zeiss company means by 'Multicoating':

Each air-glass interface there is a small amount of light loss (seen as a reflection). Example: for BK-7 (part of the crown glass family) it's about 4% at 0 deg. incidence. This loss occurs whether the incoming light is from air-to-glass or from glass-to-air.

Many rifle scopes can have as many as 5-7 elements (including cemented achromatic pairs), with total light losses 20-30% of stray light with the main result being visibly reduced contrast.

Visible light, being part of the spectrum of electromagnetic waves, possess a property that all waves have: Interference. Thin film coatings were invented in the Carl Zeiss company that take advantage of this property to reduce stray light.

These coatings are often referred to as "broadband anti-reflective" dielectric coatings. This is because such coatings minimize stray light across a wide spectrum of light (versus a narrow wavelength) and are non-metallic in nature. They are applied to each air/glass interface.

A common and effective coating still in use is a single thin layer of magnesium fluoride (MgF2). The loss per air/glass interface was reduced to ~ 1% (depending on the type of glass) when using MgF2.

The Carl Zeiss *T coating is multiple layers stacked on top of one another instead of a single layer on the glass surface. This is what they mean by multicoating. Some multicoating formulas can be two, three, seven or even 30+ layers stacked. They're made of different materials alternating to achieve a desired result. Many companies, e.g. Nikon, Pentax etc. also have their own quality coatings.

Top-of-the-line anti-reflection coatings can deliver average light loss of <0.5% over the entire visible spectrum at 0 deg. incidence. Stray light losses drop to <10% for the equivalent design rifle scope. Furthermore, they typically have moderate abrasion resistance meaning with 'normal' care, they should wear well - perhaps a lifetime of use. Some multicoatings perform well optically, but are not quite as durable as a top quality coating.

Sometimes one sees the term "fully multicoated". That means each air-glass interface is multicoated. Some optical products have only the first interface multicoated while subsequent interfaces have only a single layer coating. This could be part of the design, but often it's to reduce costs.

Note Carl Zeiss uses this term for their Victory Rifle scopes.

In some optical designs, multicoating may not offer an advantage. While single layer coatings have more stray light when it enters at 0 deg. incidence, that may not be the case with light entering at oblique angles. It depends on the design when specifying the appropriate coating for each interface to optimize the final image.