Opticron Oregon 15x70 Binoculars - First Light

[hgjevans]

... well, first four lights, to be accurate.

[seems these Oregons are a popular choice here on SGL!  ]

I finally decided it was time to fill the gap between my normal binoculars (8x42) and my scopes, where the lowest magnification is four or five times greater. One of my favourite stargazing activities is just surfing through some dense Milky Way constellation and soaking up the view full of bright sparkling stars. And it seemed to me I could take that to another level with a bit more aperture and magnification in the binoculars. So, not wanting to spend a fortune, and trusting FLO's opinion that the Opticron Oregons were 'the UK's BEST <£100 observation binocular', I ordered a pair of 15x70s last week from TBS, just in time to take advantage of their June offer for SGL members.

They arrived the next day, beautifully packed. (And I do mean beautifully - whoever packs for TBS does the Christmas presents in their house, I reckon.) Included with the Opticrons were a soft pouch case (basic, but adequate), a neck strap (could be longer for my preference, but otherwise fine), a rain-guard for the eyepieces (doesn't always stay in place in practice, because the slot that the neck strap goes through doesn't line up ideally), objective caps, and finally a little cleaning cloth.

My first impression was surprise at how light they were, and how much easier to hand-hold than I was expecting - comfortable too. I don't have very steady hands, and this had been one reason I had held off buying some observing binoculars until now. I've had 8x bins for the last forty-odd years and was happy to stick at that magnification because I didn't think I would get on very well with much more than that. But, setting these up in the daylight, I was able to satisfy myself that I would cope well enough. I did find setting the Inter-Pupilliary Distance a little tricky - the hinge is quite stiff. (But better that than too loose.) It took a few attempts to get it right, because it was hard to make small adjustments. And in fact when I eventually got to viewing the sky that evening I decided I still hadn't got it right and changed it again. It's set just fine now, and at least I can be confident that it should stay like that.

We've had some lovely clear nights here recently, and I've now had four good little sessions with the Opticrons since they arrived a week ago. Of course it's still more or less the middle of summer, and the moon was full or nearly full for each of those sessions. Add in the usual suburban light pollution here, and really I wasn't expecting great things. But obviously I wasn't going to let those little details prevent me enjoying some new optical gear on a cloud-free night.

And I'm happy to report that, for less than £90 they seem to be a bargain. I haven't tried any other observing binoculars, so I can't absolutely confirm FLO's verdict on the Oregons, but from my experience so far I don't feel inclined to doubt it. To begin with, they were collimated as near to perfectly as I can tell, straight out of the box - something that seems to be a common issue with budget binoculars. They produced lovely clear, crisp views across most of their FoV - which was a good deal wider than I had expected. Towards the outer field sharpness drops off rapidly, but I didn't find this detracted from my viewing experience in practice - the central 80% or so is adequately free from significant aberration, as far as I am concerned. I did find myself refocussing more than I would have expected, which perhaps is indicative that the construction isn't the greatest. But in general it wasn't a problem.

What was a problem though, was how easy it is to mark the objective glasses - albeit this was down to the defective nut behind the eyepieces, rather than poor engineering. I'm used to photographic optics, where a deep lenshood will keep most things away from the front surface, but of course binoculars don't have them. I managed to put a stray finger mark on the coating on the first night, which resulted in an early clean, but no lasting damage. Then on the third night I somehow got two massive and very permanent-looking scuff marks on the other front glass. An initial clean made absolutely no difference at all, and I feared the worst. Eventually, some Eclipse fluid almost entirely shifted the marks, so crisis over. But hopefully now I'll be wary enough to avoid it a third time.

I'll give a list of some of the main objects I viewed over the four nights at the end, but suffice it to say they included a couple of wide double stars, a few open clusters, a bunch of globulars, the odd planetary nebula, a few of the brighter galaxies, and even a brilliant fireball, which shot though my FoV while I was surfing around the southern end of Lyra, heading in the direction of Ophiuchus, and left a magnificent glowing trail which lasted five or six seconds before it faded from view.

The highlights for me (apart from that fireball) were discovering that I could hand-hold 15x70s well enough to clearly separate the components of Albireo, being able to pick out M27 despite the waning gibbous moon rising underneath it, and the views sweeping down through the dense star fields of Cygnus, which never disappoint. Overall - great: possibly the best value £89 I've ever spent. Certainly the Opticrons don't compare for quality with my 8x42 bins, which cost ten times that, even a decade ago. But with expectations firmly under control I'd say they did an excellent job, and gave me some exquisite views of some marvellous objects, at a time of year and the lunar cycle when I probably wouldn't have bothered setting a scope up at all, unless it were to view the moon. That's good enough for me!

Objects viewed (not exhaustive): Saturn, the Moon, Albireo, Zeta Lyrae;
Messiers 3,5,8,13,14,15,17,18,22,24,25,27,29,31,51,81,92;
Also just about detected (but I could hardly say 'viewed'), M57 and M82.

(I didn't think that was bad for summer twilight and a nearly full moon! )
 

[DirkSteele]

Very nice report.  Interesting that you found setting the inter-pupil distance a little stiff.  On mine the movement was very smooth but certainly highlights some of the variation between identical models at the budget end of the pricing spectrum.  We both seem to suffer from a slightly weak bridge which results in the need to refocus and I believe a common issue among the crop of budget binos.

Once again, really good read and thanks for sharing.

[hgjevans]

Thanks Matthew. Yes, I think the engineering of the eyepiece bridge is probably a bit basic. But OTOH, when Lidl were doing an offer on Bresser 8x60s the other week I found a review on YouTube which showed the bridge rocking like a child's see-saw under the lightest of fingertip pressure, and the Opticrons I think are nowhere near as bad as that. So I'm guessing they're probably towards the top of the budget binocular category. I only found I needed to refocus between views, rather than during, if you see what I mean. 

[Itabot]

Thanks....excellent informative review.

[laudropb]

Thanks for a very good review. I am thinking of getting a pair for the dark nights.

[Alkaid]

Great report Huw, thanks.

[hgjevans]

Thanks everyone - glad it was of some interest. All I can add after a couple more sessions is that they have only grown in my estimation - they're not the highest optical quality but they're adequate to the task, and at a superb price point. And they have become absolutely my first choice for a 'grab and go' instrument.