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Opticron Oregon 15x70 Binoculars Review


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Around the time of Comet ISON approaching perihelion I rediscovered my enjoyment of scanning the night sky with a pair of binoculars, using the very same pair of 10x50s that belong to my father that I first learnt the night sky with a quarter of a century ago.  I decided that I would add a pair of binoculars to my own observing kit and began searching across a variety of price points.  However, before I could make a decision, I actually won a pair of Opticron Oregon 15x70s in an astronomy themed pub quiz.  Over the last year and a bit I have found myself reaching for the Oregon’s when I all I wanted was a quick look and now I have put all my thoughts into a review which you can find on the link below.  Hope you find it useful and always appreciate any feedback.

http://alpha-lyrae.co.uk/2015/07/04/opticron-oregon-15x70-binoculars-review/

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Clear Skies,

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An excellent reveiw again Matthew - thanks for compiling it and posting the link :smiley:

These Opticron 15x70's seem to share the strengths and weakenesses that the Celestron Astromaster 15x70's have. I wonder if they are the same unit under different branding ?

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Nice review, I have just received a pair of these from FLO. 

The first pair were slightly out of collimation resulting in double stars everywhere, but Martin quicky swapped them out for a replacement pair which were absolutely fine.

I'm still a newcomer to astronomy, but have had some great observation sessions with these binoculars, some sessions have been even better than I've had with the 8" scope.

Thanks for the informative review as there is very little information out there about these binoculars.

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I've found that I needed a tripod to get the best from 15x70 binoculars for astronomical observing. I could hand hold them for short periods but you could see more with them when they were on a nice tall tripod :smiley:

Matthew covers the support methods he used with the binoculars in the review.

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I've found that I needed a tripod to get the best from 15x70 binoculars for astronomical observing. I could hand hold them for short periods but you could see more with them when they were on a nice tall tripod :smiley:

Matthew covers the support methods he used with the binoculars in the review.

Thanks.  I thought so.  My problem is I tend to speed read.  Will give it another go  :hello:

Cheers,

Mark

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Thanks for the positive comments.

As John mentions, I also believe to get the most out of them, some kind of support is needed.  Its not that they are heavy, at 1.4kg they are far from it, but the body's natural movement can hide the finest details with that movement being magnified 15x.  I tried using some of my photo tripods but none were tall enough to allow for easy viewing of the zenith so I tried a cheap Giottos monopod and joystick head and found the combo works really well.  That section is just before the conclusion if you want more details on the specifics.

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Nice review, I have just received a pair of these from FLO. 

The first pair were slightly out of collimation resulting in double stars everywhere, but Martin quicky swapped them out for a replacement pair which were absolutely fine.

I'm still a newcomer to astronomy, but have had some great observation sessions with these binoculars, some sessions have been even better than I've had with the 8" scope.

Thanks for the informative review as there is very little information out there about these binoculars.

And that is why you should always buy from a quality retailer who can support you after the sale.  :laugh:

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Thanks for the positive comments.

As John mentions, I also believe to get the most out of them, some kind of support is needed.  Its not that they are heavy, at 1.4kg they are far from it, but the body's natural movement can hide the finest details with that movement being magnified 15x.  I tried using some of my photo tripods but none were tall enough to allow for easy viewing of the zenith so I tried a cheap Giottos monopod and joystick head and found the combo works really well.  That section is just before the conclusion if you want more details on the specifics.

I caught that bit.  Thought a tripod might by better.  Know what you mean about looking straight up.  (Neck bending)

Cheers,

Mark

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I used the Horizon 8115 tripod with my 15x70's. It seemed to work well but on balance I think I'd go for binoculars with 45 or 90 degree eyepieces for more viewing comfort. I found tilting my head back to view though "straight through" binoculars rather uncomfortable after a while. Thats not the fault of the binoculars though but more that I'm 6 foot tall with dodgy neck muscles :rolleyes2:

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Wouldn't you just know it, but I had just finished writing a review-come-first light report of exactly this binocular last night when I found this thread! :rolleyes2:  There's a fair bit of overlap in the comments and it seems redundant now, so I shan't post it. But for the sake of the statistics I will just add that my pair seem to be perfectly well collimated, straight out of the box. And that for £89 from The Binocular Shop (FLO's new sibling) they seem to be an absolute bargain.

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Wouldn't you just know it, but I had just finished writing a review-come-first light report of exactly this binocular last night when I found this thread! :rolleyes2:  There's a fair bit of overlap in the comments and it seems redundant now, so I shan't post it. But for the sake of the statistics I will just add that my pair seem to be perfectly well collimated, straight out of the box. And that for £89 from The Binocular Shop (FLO's new sibling) they seem to be an absolute bargain.

If you feel like posting it anyway Huw I'm sure folks would like to read your views even if they do overlap to some extent with Matthew's. The more reports on equipment the merrier IMHO :smiley:

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Wouldn't you just know it, but I had just finished writing a review-come-first light report of exactly this binocular last night when I found this thread! :rolleyes2:  There's a fair bit of overlap in the comments and it seems redundant now, so I shan't post it. But for the sake of the statistics I will just add that my pair seem to be perfectly well collimated, straight out of the box. And that for £89 from The Binocular Shop (FLO's new sibling) they seem to be an absolute bargain.

I second John's sentiment.  The more reports the better in my opinion.  My review is just one data point but a second will give potential purchasers more comfort that their money will be well spent. 

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