Olympus dpsi

[mro]

Hi,

after some research I came down to two choice of binos

olympus dpsi & nikon aculon 10x50

in the end I went for olympus as it seemed to have good reviews and for budget reasons.

I have had a look though and it all seems good, nice and sharp - and I'm largely happy but one thing is bugging me a little, I noticed a slight red fringe on high contrast things in the distance.

basically I was looking out towards some hills in the west where the sun was. so the hills were set against the blue sky. when I looked at the other side of the valley the red fringe seem to be there.

I did notice if I lift the binos up it;s red, and bring them down it's a kind of green fringe.

My wife had a look too and could see the red fringe.

It's not massively bad, but the thing is I noticed it pretty much after a few minutes.

I know I'm on the very low budget end of things here so suspect this might be a symptom of anything around that range - and that it's to be expected for the price?

I'm pondering on returning the olympus and paying £20 extra for the Nikons, I'm wondering though if this would be any different on the nikons, if there is anything to be gained by doing this - or if this is normal on this price range of binos (£60 - £100)

Any advice would be appreciated

Thanks

[mro]

oops sorry. when I talk about the 'other side of the valley' I meant, the red fringe is not there. just on the brighter side of the valley. Thanks

[Tinker1947]

If it's going to bug you then swap them or you will just be looking for the red fringe all the time and not the DSO's ect....i don't know how Bin's in that price range would perform so can't say if its expected or not.....

[mro]

Cheers - It was a little hazy last night but looking at the moon & a few stars the fringing didn't seem present from what i could see. Looking at a few reviews the aculons, some people say a similar thing so unsure at the mo. 

[pluton]

Hello,

 I have the 7x35 Dpsi  model and I am enchanted with this binoculars, for day is fantastic( birding) and for night ..a big 9.2º field!! for Milky Way a marvelous!!

regrads

Paul

[SpaceWalker]

Due to budget limitations I got the 10x50 DPS I a year ago or so and should tell that they are just so-so binos for astronomy. Not that bad optically, but nothing to write home about. A big drawback is they are not fogproof. When it's cold outside I can use them only 10 seconds after what the eyepieces fogged, so it's a MAJOR problem at least for me. I don't know, maybe I just spoiled observing for a decade through fogproof  binos.  But I wouldn't recommend them. You'd better look into Nikon Action Extreme WP or Pentax PCF, any size from 8x40 to 12x50. Buy fogproof!

I recently bought  the 12x50 Pentax PCF WP II since they are being replaced by a newer model and are on sale on Amazon. Optically they are just excellent, sharp from edge to edge! I can easily recommend these. And as I expected a smaller exit pupil is a benefit under my light polluted sky, the background is darker than in DPS I and the 12x provide better depth showing fainter stars. BTW, handshake not more than with the 10x50 DPS I what became a pleasant surprise to me. A slightly narrower angle (4.2* vs 5*) is an acceptable trade off, IMO.

Anyway, I'd suggest to do more research instead of wasting your money for Aculons or so, for example you may want to read nice detailed reports on many binocular brands from cheapest to quite expensive by Ed Zarenski if you follow next links

http://www.cloudynights.com/documents/nikon.pdf

http://www.cloudynights.com/topic/3770-best-of-the-binocular-forum-start-here/

[mro]

Thanks very much, it's funny you mention fogging - I noticed fogging when I went from inside a room to opening a window - so was a bit concerned about that as I'll be using them outside mostly- think I may return these and have a look at Nikons or pentax.

[BinocularSky]

I did notice if I lift the binos up it;s red, and bring them down it's a kind of green fringe.

Classic chromatic aberration. It's a consequence of the small focal ratio of the binocular objectives. It is present to some extent in all but the very best binoculars.

I'm pondering on returning the olympus and paying £20 extra for the Nikons, I'm wondering though if this would be any different on the nikons, if there is anything to be gained by doing this - or if this is normal on this price range of binos (£60 - £100)

I really wouldn't bother. You'll need quite a step-up in quality (and, therefore, price) to notice any real difference.

Frankly, although the Oly DPS-1 are not "good" binoculars (you just don't get "good" binocs for fifty quid), they are among the best I have seen in that price range; sharper and brighter than most. (However, I expect to be testing some others in the coming months, so may have other ideas then... )

[BinocularSky]

Sorry, my last post was cross-posted with yours.

Thanks very much, it's funny you mention fogging - I noticed fogging when I went from inside a room to opening a window - so was a bit concerned about that as I'll be using them outside mostly- think I may return these and have a look at Nikons or pentax.

Depends where the fogging was:

* If it was internal, binoculars that are waterproof and dry nitrogen purged will not fog internally.

* If it was external, it is not dependent on the type of binocular: it will happen whenever the temperature of the outer surface of the lens falls below dew point (easy to see when binocs that have been used outside on a cold night are taken indoors to a warm room). If objectives dew up, you can make rudimentary dew shields. If the eyepieces dew up, it may be because warm moist air from your eyes is condensing on the eyepieces. You can reduce this by folding/twisting down the eye-cups so as to improve air circulation between the eyepeice and your eye.