Culmination & mounting problems? 20 x110mm Apollo binocular

[Dreamweaver]

I purchased an Apollo  20x110mm binocular from Harrison Telescopes, they are enormous and heavy! Arrived the next day so no problems there. Did I say big and heavy?  Perhaps too much for casual observing, however they are fantastic at producing good results if you persevere with them. I had some initial difficulties setting things up. I don’t have any technical knowledge of binocular optics and therefore I can only write about my experience and whether or not these giant binoculars are suitable for my needs. Take from it what you will. I hope anyone thinking of purchasing these Apollo 20X110  binoculars will find this useful.  

I do not have a P-mount so a decent tripod AND pan/tilt video head is needed. Getting it out of the supplied flight case.  The central stabilizing bar running the length of the binocular does not allow you to put your hand completely around it in order to pull out the binocular one handed. The only space to grab hold with one hand is close to the prisms but this means you are nowhere near the centre of gravity making it awkward for the  binocular to come out as all the weight is at the primary lens end. Your other hand hovers nervously nearby waiting to take up the balance as they are lifted out. This I found disconcerting and a bit strenuous initially but okay now that I have got used to it. The flight case could be stronger because when carried laden the case deforms around the handle causing the mating edges to open slightly revealing a good quarter inch gap!  

The sliding tripod adapter on the central stabilizing bar has a 3/8th inch female thread. There are short comings here as the binocular would rotate anticlockwise loosening what I thought was a secure fixing to the video head. This happened when I was manoeuvring the whole assembly.  Even when balanced on the video head the binocular  would swing round. The weight proved too much for the single fixing on the video head via the supplied sliding tripod adapter, especially once you start tilting it up. This will happen on any video head having a single fixing if the weight is too much. The angle before the binocular swings round depends on how tight you dare screw the bolt. I did not want to over tighten the bolt for fear of stripping the thread but I needed to have it tight enough to stop the binocular from swinging around! Even screwed up as tight as I dare the binocular felt slightly wobbly on the tripod due to the single point of fixing. Any lateral movement clearly puts a strain on the tripod adapter It wouldn't take too much for it to break off completely shearing the bolt or something equally unpleasant!

Hmm… this worried me as I was not comfortable at the thought of taking the binocular out into the field at night in the knowledge of insecure fixing. Not a relaxing state of affairs!  I found that this problem became even worse when picking up the whole assembly moving to a different location or needing to slightly move to get a better position etc. Unless you pick up the whole assembly completely vertically (and with no other lateral movement)  the binocular will rotate, swing around and wobble causing further stress! Upon reading reviews of giant binoculars and associated mounting choices I did not notice this particular problem being mentioned,  only a general referral to sturdy tripods and suitable heads.  

Solution…I cut down, after measuring twice and cut once rule, (using a hack saw and a small grinder to get the required shape) a spare metal  L bracket binocular mounting that I had. Using the additional ¼” fixing bolt supplied with the video head I secured this extra bracket to the removable fixing plate to facilitate further support to the binocular. Now everything is completely stable and no problems when moving the whole assembly over rough ground. Even when tilting at zenith  I have complete confidence!!!! This is because it cannot now rotate or slip and swing round. Simples! A cheap and very effective way of making things work. Why this has not been designed into the binocular I don’t know. They are far to heavy for a single fixing. Okay for horizontal use  I guess. 

So first light.

Living in suburban skies means I have to get out, hence something grab and go-ish. Was the Apollo 20X110 too big for this purpose? Yes and no.

I love my 15x70 Apollos as I can use these on a mono-pod with a tilt head whilst sitting inside my car with the sun roof open. The 110mm are too big for this but setting up the tripod outside just takes a few seconds, including fitting the binoculars to the tripod and away I go. I have permanently secured the sliding quick release plate from the video head to the binoculars so it’s easy to attach to the head, even in the dark! Quick and easy. The video head is a Manfrotto MVH502AH with fluid drag control on the  altaz tensioner. This is a quality head more than capable of pan/tilting a 7kg giant binocular, however looking at zenith is perhaps the most challenging depending on how the drag control on the horizontal tensioner is set. I loosen this off when viewing at zenith but others may want to have it more resistant. The tripod is a Calumet  7800 geared centre column which is almost identical to the Manfrotto 475B  or the 028B tripods but at half the price!  This set up is perhaps a bit costly but I would, without a doubt, recommend this over the cheaper Horizon 8115 tripod and head. I use the latter for my 15x70 bins.  

Culmination problems?

I’m not sure whether this  particular binocular are properly culminated as initially I only saw double images in a north south orientation, one image slightly below and to the right hand side of the other. I initially set everything up and focused on a distant red light on top of Crystal Palace transmission tower (exactly 5.5 km away according to Google maps) but there was still a double image. Even my partner saw a double image.  I called Harrison Telescopes and explained my findings, they were happy to exchange but informed me that it could be a matter of getting used to the  ‘long focal length’ as the interpupilery distance between the eyepieces is critical with these particular binoculars. They also suggested I tested the binocular on stars as pin points of light was a better way to determine culmination. However I also perceive a difference in the quality of the left ocular compared to the right as the sharp image (on axis) slightly elongates and becomes progressively blurry moving out two thirds from the centre. This test does not seem to happen at all in the right ocular, the image does not change and remains in focus about 90% across the field of view!  

Then for some unexplained reason after practicing looking through them I was able to get both images fused to a single image and everything appeared to be okay. I did not alter anything on the binocular apart from adjusting the distance  between the oculars. This procedure was tough as the binocular is very stiff to move about its centre axis.  Perhaps my eyes and brain got used to the long focal length and that I have now managed to ‘tuned in’ as there does not seem to be a problem with double images. There appears to be no change however in the  afore mentioned individual ocular’s performance and quality of image,  I am hesitant however to send them back. Is it worth sending them back? Will the next pair be better? They might even be worse? However  when viewing the night sky proper for the first time last night I was amazed at what these bins are capable of. 

Everything I have seen in my 15x70 Apollo is significantly brighter and slightly bigger in the 110mm as one might expect and for obvious reasons too. However I noticed that I was able to discern  to a greater degree the subtle red colours of the older stars in the double cluster, this is a marked improvement upon the smaller binocular.  M13 was very bright and almost granular in appearance. M3 less so but still very bright. M51, although still faint  was readily identifiable as two merging objects. Obviously seeing conditions,  elevations and distant urban glow all impact on views but of course the question whether these 20x110 are significantly better than 15x70 and worth the extra money, weight and hassle etc… Yes.  

I am blown away with what I can see with the 15x70 with respect to M1, M3, M31 (truly amazing), M36 to 38 group,  M42, M44, M45, M51, M63, M65/66, M76, M101, M106. Given the same seeing conditions the 110mm is simply brighter and bigger. I have not managed to compare all the above as yet  but what I have seen and experienced with the 110mm Apollo  is excellent. It’s a great sensation to be completely immersed in binocular viewing, especially having homemade eye guards to stop stray light.  It’s almost a 3d experience. However not too good on planets though. CA is apparent on very bright stuff. 

They say the best binocular/telescope is the one you use/will use the most.  The 15x70 on either a monopod or Horizon 8115 tripod is very manageable as I can take them everywhere in a rucksack but this is not a feasible notion for the 110mm as weight and size  are just too much.  But still the 110mm are a grab and go for the car and are superb! They would be awesome in a really dark sky area.  

   

[Steve72]

Thanks for sharing. I have been contemplating purchasing a pair large binoculars and have been  trying to find that 'sweet-spot' between magnification and portability for grab and go quick viewing sessions. Your experience has confirmed what I was already thinking - that anything bigger than 70mm is probably too big for my purposes. As I'm  keen to use a monopod or fairly light tripod 15x70 seem to be the way to go (for me). My order is now  being placed!

Also, It sounds like the supplied case could be a bit light for purpose. If that's the case (pun intended) I'd be inclined to buy something a bit stronger. Imagine if the case burst open while being carried by the handle!

Steve

[spike95609]

Thanks for posting this. You have to do a lot of forum searching to find anything out about the performance of these giants, even then it doesn't mean too much as they're never compared to the 15x70s which most people could relate to - so a big thanks for doing that!

I had been considering the 28x110s until I got my 10" dob. Also I got the chance to look through the Apollo 22x85s and wasn't exactly blown away by the benefits although benefits were certainly there. Perhaps then the lower magnification of the 20x110s would be a better choice than the 28s which presumably kill more of that enormous amount of extra light they pull in. A quandry for another time I think - I've spent too much already this year! And good to know that the 502AH head can handle them well enough, because that's what I got.