Helios Naturesport 10x50 WA

[Rhys Hardwick]

I have been asked to post a report on the above binoculars. I bought them in a bit of a fever when Panstarrs arrived! My cheap 8x21s were just not doing the trick. I saw a review on Sky and Telescope, and bought them through First Light Optics. Delivery was prompt - 48hr. Well packaged.

First light last night from a moderate LP site. First target was Panstarrs itself. It was a little dim and difficult to see. I started looking around 2200, and so it was a little lower in the sky than previous. Also, it was in a light dome provided kindly by Bridgend town! However, did get a good view, saw the tail. Very nice wide FoV allowed me to hop from Andromeda to M31 and on to the comet.

After this, looked through the binocular objects in this months Sky at Night - saw all objects, even though the Sunflower galaxy was only meant to be visible through 15x70s. Particularly beautiful were the open clusters Mel 111 and alpha-Persei moving cluster. Moved on to M44 (beehive) after that, and my, it was gorgeous!

The most difficult thing, I found, was pointing it where I was seeing at higher altitudes. I'm sure this is down to my experience, and not the binoculars!

I have performed the tests as recommended by BinocularSky and here are my results:

· No internal noise on shaking

· No internal dust/marks

· Focus/dioptre/hinge adjustments smooth

· No rocking on bridge

· Good eye-relief

· Lovely operation of twist-up eyecups

· Exit pupil is round with slight flattening in upper-nasal region

· Exit pupil 5mm

· Acheives excellent focus, sharp in central 50% region, acceptable beyond, poor right at the edge

· Minimal colour fringing centrally, some visible on edge of field

· No vertical or horizontal displacement visible (first time I have ever tried this!)

· Pincushion – None visible, perhaps even slightly the other way.

· No ghosting, small amount of flare when outside field of view

I hope this is helpful to you. I am happy to say I am a satisfied customer! Any questions, please ask.

[jimmyjamjoejoe]

I recently got these too, wanted something with a little more grasp and a slightly wider afov than my hawke 8x42.

Gotta say i love them. Views are great, about 80% of the field is sharp - maybe not tack sharp, but sharp nonetheless. My girlfriend can see the full fov when using her specs.

Nice and contrasty, and no ghosting, even when looking at an almost full moon. While i havent checked the true aperture (theres a small cut off in the light path which is apparently normal for these bins), they certainly seem to grasp more light than my 8x42, which fail to show me m81+82.

The dioptre adjustment feels a little bit easy, not loose, just easy. Fortunately its not something you can really accidentally knock.

Focusing is firm, with no play. Finding the sweet spot is relatively easy.

I cant comment on robustness, i dont intend to test it... They certainly feel solid enough though.

I'm very happy with them, the 8x42 hasnt been used since the side by side comparison.

Edit - btw, i'm talking about the "plus" version.

[Butchless1]

Thanks for this detailed review....I was looking at these and mulling over which way to go.......

This tips the scales.........

Was tending to go for a 70mmm pair, but then decided I would just use my 90m Mak if going to the trouble of tripod mounting...

This fills the void I had...and sounds like you can see the detail I wanted from a new pair of 10x50

[Ken31]

I'm still undecided - I think I need to see a pair to be convinced of their additional value over what I already have (cheap Bessers but surprisingly good for the money).

[Ventolin]

I just bought these, and did a mini review of the others I tried in a shop. Have a look at my thread "another sub £100 binocular advice thread" for the results.

I would certainly recommend the Naturesports 10x50 to others even though I have only had it a few hours!

I wish the £17 Lidl bins I first tried would have been suitable for me - certainly would have suited my wallet, but the £80 Naturesports are very clearly better and better than the highly regarded £50 bins, which in turn were all much better than the Lidls. I certainly think the quality of the Naturesports justifies the price.

Hope that helps!

Best Regards,

Vent

[Ken31]

I wish the £17 Lidl bins I first tried would have been suitable for me

LOL! Weren't they just Rubbish?!!