osbourne one-nil

Surely Vixen prices are high enough already?! I suspect Vixen don't agree.

Wise words from someone just up the road - thank you!

I pondered the same question after visiting Hartlepool not so long ago.

I had to make my excuses at a meeting once and said I had to leave early because I had morris dancing and bell ringing that evening. No one batted an eyelid. I was mortified.

Yeah, ok, but apart from those things..... What a mess! Perhaps I should swap hobby and become a Morris Dancer. I think the UK is the world's leading sticks and bells manufacturer.

That's good to hear although my transaction isn't with Bresser directly so I'm reliant on my supplier who perhaps simply doesn't know much more than me as to where things are! Hopefully it'll be here soon.

Poor them - that's far more important than a telescope mount...and I'm being entirely serious! My eldest son was beside himself when his latest Lego purchase was delayed...and he's 21.

Thanks all - I'll hang on as ultimately I want the mount and once it's here, I'll forget about the numerous crystal clear nights I've had since ordering it* They allow for returns within 30 days of you receiving the package so I'd be ok there but yes, a very good reason to pay with a credit card. I just absolutely loathe being misled. I don't do it to my customers (if I've forgotten to do something I say so...shuts them right up!) but the last couple of answers make me think this really is beyond their control. I wish Vixen still distributed from within the UK. Perhaps I can have a career change! How I'd love that....and how my clients would too. *this is, of course, a lie.

Oh, I’ll just cancel it if I get any grumpier! Im sure they’d not quibble. I’m just gauging whether I’m being unreasonable or not given the current state of things.

It did strike me that if it turns up soon it will have taken around the same time as the other suppliers quoted. Maybe it’s just a coincidence. Maybe....

Early in the new year, I started doing what I seem to do every January and pondered a new purchase. This year is was something I’ve listed after for as long as it’s existed; a Vixen mount equipped with Star Book Ten. I settled on an SXD2 and made enquiries with all the normal sources. They all said at least 6 weeks except one who said The distributor in Europe, Bresser, had one and it would take about two weeks. In my mind I allowed for a bit longer, but I placed the order. When chased, I’ve always had swift and polite responses but they’ve always felt a bit vague. The order had been accepted, it was due to ship, it had shipped but got sent back by customs, it was due to ship again...and now, nearly 7 weeks after placing the order, I get some orders are being received and we expect yours will be coming soon. I know Brexit and Covid have greatly changed the landscape but it’s the lack of anything other than vague “holding” answers that makes me wonder if I was told what I wanted to hear so I pressed the button. Does 7 weeks and counting for something supposedly in Germany ring true?

How nervous were you lifting it onto the mount?

Love your site Steve! I think I'm fairly set on keeping the Canon 10x42s (and my 8x32 Trinovids). I just want the simplest set up possible and the Canons give me that as I can just pick them up and go on my evening walk. It's taken me over 40 years to realise that what I really love about astronomy is being outside at night in the countryside and having a bit of a look at things...not being stuck to a telescope.

I only got the 10x42s yesterday so haven't really had time to assess but my initial thoughts are that the 10x42s are essentially perfect optically whereas the 12x36 are just "very very good". I'm a sucker for low power wide-field views anyway, so am naturally drawn towards the the x10 pair, and whenever I turn on the image stabilisation through the x12, I can always tell something is going on in the background. The 12s are certainly less weighty and smaller though, by quite some way, but I'd be surprised if it wasn't x10s which I'd always reach for.

At the moment, I have these...mostly as a result of trying to decide what works best for me, but something will have to go at some point.....probably.

In the end, I got bored of reading internet reviews and comparing stats and playing with different scenarios in my head, and I bought a pair of 10x42 Canons. I'm going to live with them for a bit and figure, over time, I'll naturally grab the right ones for me more than the other(s). My initial thoughts are that the Canon 10x42s are beasts...absolute beasts. I'm all for form following function, but come on, these are ugly and heavy. The weight actually surprises me. They're only 300g heavier than my Noctivids, but they feel a world apart and I suspect some of that is down to the design which is, ergonomically, quite poor to my mind. I've large hands but these are uncomfortable to hold. They're also not going to be my pair for taking on walks in the Lakes (if we're allowed to again at some point in the future). Those are the bad points. The good points are they're optically exceptionally good. I've done some comparisons between them (without the IS on) and my 8x42 Noctivids and, apart from the magnification, I can't split them. In fact, I prefer panning about with the Canons than I do with the Noctivids, which have some curvature in the view (is this what they mean by pincushion effect) which doesn't really sit well with me. For some reason, despite their higher magnification and greater weight, I can hold them steadier than the Noctivids with no stabilisation activated. Seems counter-intuitive to me, but I definitely can. I thought I'd be able to see a clear difference between the Noctivids (which cost £500 more) and the Canons, but I can't, and I've tried to find one. The image stabilisation doesn't seem quite as quick as my Canon 12x36s in settling thing down, and there's an audible and tactile click which the 12x36s don't have; I actually like this. But once settled down, the stabilisation works perfectly and doesn't introduce any changes to the view; the sharpness of the view in my 12x36s definitely varies while stablisation is active. To answer my own question, I can definitely hold the 10x42s (and the 12x36s) MUCH steadier than I can the Noctivids on a monopod unless I'm sitting in a chair. But that requires a chair and a monopod, and I like to be mobile and unencumbered. So, do I need all three pairs? Nope. But, seeing as the 10x42s are much too heavy and big to be a real hiking pair, do I keep the 12x36s? They're light, have stablisation and a nice bit of magnification, but they're not waterproof and it (normally) rains a lot here. Do I keep the Noctivids which I just think are utterly perfect in aesthetics and performance, are waterproof, but are definitely a luxury item when the cost is factored in. Or do I sell them both, get a nice pair of 8 or 10x32s for daytime hiking and pocket the difference. Hmmmmm.

Well the monopod came and while sitting down it certainly makes a huge difference. While standing, I'm not sure it quite hits the spot for me. One slight problem is because the binoculars are secured with a strap, it does sort of squish them and affects the interpupillary distance. It looks like I've got a week of clear skies coming up so I'll certainly be able to out them through their paces. Anyone like to offer an opinion on how the optics of my Noctivids compare to the optics of the Canon 10x42s (ignoring the stabilisation)?

I've been out every clear night since getting them at the start of March. I would NEVER have done that with my dob. I only went for the Leicas because I needed to make a purchase of a certain amount at a certain time for a certain reason...but like a Takahashi I once had, they make me happy every time I see them use them whenever I can because they're just so nice. It's very very shallow of me, and I don't think they represent value for money at all, but by god they're good and lovely. Seeing how steadily I could hold them last night with no aid, I think with a monopod my Canon might be redundant soon. We shall see.

That looks a bargain! Berlebach have dispatched my monopod, so that's exciting. I went out last night and had a great time....in a field surrounded by ancient woodland just on the edge of the village. This is precisely what I am enjoying about binoculars; they give me access to such locations. I took a little camping stool and holding my 8x42 Leicas held relatively steadily, I am increasingly preserring the view through them than through my Canons. There's nothing wrong with the view through the Canons at all and the image stabilisation is remarkable, but I had the choice last night and I spent 95% of my time looking through the Leicas. It might just be a field of view thing for me. I enjoyed stumbling across M67, which is a lot prettier than the one through Manchester.

Indeed - but the thing I love about binoculars is the freedom to take them into the surrounding woods and fells. Portability is the aim.

Which I believe are the same as the APM branded ones? I'd buy them now if I knew when I might ever get paid again!

I hope so...I've ordered it. Who knows when it will come what with bank holidays, lock down etc...but I think it should work well. It's not as light as some but once you've factored in it's got a head built-in that seems ideal for what I want...I think it should work a treat. I wonder if they'd be up to supporting these....https://www.astroshop.eu/instruments/apm-binoculars-16x70-magnesium-ed-apo/p,53065

Nonsense...mirrors just get more distorted as we get older! This looks ideal actually. I love their stuff anyway and this has a built in head for vertical movement. They do a universal binocular holder too. https://www.berlebach.de/?bereich=details&id=257&sprache=english

Thanks both...I posted the wrong link as I'd just get the monopod itself. The foot element of it is just an add on, although it would allow the monopod to pivot round still, but I wouldn't go for that configuration. I like the fact that the monopod is 2m tall so would allow viewing standing up and also gives me scope for a growth spurt. As for the tripod adapter, alas the Lecias don't have a screw thread like most do. I'm guessing because they're only 8x42s that is considered superfluous.

We think along similar lines....as far as binoculars go anyway. I've been wondering whether a separate head is really necessary, particularly if I got something like this - https://www.3leggedthing.com/trent Now I either need to find a tripod adapter for my binoculars.