My Libra Superview 4x22 have arrived

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I have just got my Libra Superview 4x22 brought to me by a friend who had picked them up for me from a store in Utrecht, the Netherlands. This one has distinctly stiffer hinges than the one I sent to Steve (BinocularSky). It actually feels quite sturdy, but of course Steve's destruction test shows thatappearances can be deceptive. Collimation was spot on, which is was a potential cause of worry in cheap bins. One minor issue is that the left eye cup occasionally flips back to its normal position once folded back. A bit of persuasion is needed to make it stay in the folded position. I hope thisproblem will be reduced with repeated use. Coatings are quite reflective, and some internal reflections show upin bright lights as before. Cloud is as solid as it has been for the last weeks, so testing on stars remains to be done. It is quite funny to see how it is dwarfed by my other bins.

[Crebles]

They're dinky. Look forward to your first light report.

[Stu]

Nice one Michael, bet they will be a bit of fun to use :-)

I picked up a pair of Orion 8x20's. No idea why, I just think they look great!

Optics are surprising good, although at 8x mag the aperture is pretty small, bet the 4x of yours makes more sense. Quite fun to see what you can see though.

Cheers,

Stu

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Nice one Michael, bet they will be a bit of fun to use :-)

I picked up a pair of Orion 8x20's. No idea why, I just think they look great!

Optics are surprising good, although at 8x mag the aperture is pretty small, bet the 4x of yours makes more sense. Quite fun to see what you can see though.

Cheers,

Stu

I like that rather minimalist porro-prism desing of those Orions. Nice to hear they perform nicely as well

[ChrisLX200]

Nice one Michael, bet they will be a bit of fun to use :-)

I picked up a pair of Orion 8x20's. No idea why, I just think they look great!

Optics are surprising good, although at 8x mag the aperture is pretty small, bet the 4x of yours makes more sense. Quite fun to see what you can see though.

Cheers,

Stu

Wow. That design has been around forever. My pair of 10x40 WA were bought 45 years ago from Charles Frank (Glasgow). They are still pretty good binos, and although the edge of the FOV is not sharp the center is sharp.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I have seen that design many times. My only worry was whether they were comfortable to hold.

[ChrisLX200]

I have seen that design many times. My only worry was whether they were comfortable to hold.

Yes they are comfortable to hold, the metal tubes get cold on a frosty night so need to wear gloves

ChrisH

[BinocularSky]

This one has distinctly stiffer hinges than the one I sent to Steve (BinocularSky). It actually feels quite sturdy, but of course Steve's destruction test shows thatappearances can be deceptive.

...which makes me wonder if the hinge on mine wasn't already hairline-cracked. The extreme looseness (which you commented on) and the ease with which it fissioned into two monoculars support that notion. Oh well....

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

...which makes me wonder if the hinge on mine wasn't already hairline-cracked. The extreme looseness (which you commented on) and the ease with which it fissioned into two monoculars support that notion. Oh well....

I did not notice any crack when I inspected your bins before forwarding them to you. A crack would probably mean I would have detected some more play in the alignment. I did not notice any play, the interocular distance was just a bit too easily changed. I would guess the hinge is just not built to tight tolerances (cannot be for that kind of money). I am not going to apply any stress to the hinge of mine to see if this one is stronger

[BinocularSky]

Michael, on re-reading my post above, I see that it could be (mis)read as being critical of you where my binocular is concerned. I'd just like to make it clear that this is not the case: I most certainly did not expect you to be a layer of quality control between Fotoprisma and me!

 I would guess the hinge is just not built to tight tolerances (cannot be for that kind of money).

That is certainly a possibility, but the ease with which it broke leads me to think otherwise. I certainly put no more force into it than I would have put into shifting a stiff hinge. Also, even with the hinge completely broken, there is no play when I put the two halves together: that weird adhesive that the Chinese optical industry routinely substitutes for a decent grease creates sufficient adhesion to eliminate any play unless I start to pull the halves apart.

I am not going to apply any stress to the hinge of mine to see if this one is stronger

I'm wavering between:

"Wise decision."

and

"Wimp! At that price you can afford to perform an experiment for the greater good and enlightenment of the masses!"