BinocularSky

+1 for the Heritage 130P - it's a very capable little scope and, being dovetail-mounted, it can also be used on an Altaz (+GOTO) mount if you like (not a GEM, though: the eyepiece position is fixed and could get into some seriously awkward positions. Not so keen on the 100P for adults - the finder position makes it very awkward to use. However, the 130P boxed takes up quite a bit of space for a small camper. We have a Merc Vito conversion; I find 16x70 binos + monopod/triggergrip to be ideal and easily stashable out of the way.

Optrep. https://www.opticalrepairs.com/ (No connection, etc...)

I have the 20x80 (and 15x70) Skymaster Pro for review at the mo. If you can hold on for a couple of weeks, I'll let you know in detail what I think.

Thanks. The southern Milky Way on these summer nights is ideally orientated for this. Don't know why I haven't thought of writing it up before. 🙂

The latest edition of the Binocular Sky Newsletter is ready. As well as the usual overview of DSOs, variable and double stars, this month we have: * Astronomical darkness returns * Three lunar occultations (all dark-limb disappearances) * See both ice giants * Review of the Manfrotto Magic Arm I hope it helps you to get the best out of these short summer nights with your binoculars or small telescopes. To pick up your free copy, just head over to http://binocularsky.com and click on the Newsletter tab. You can also subscribe (also free) and have it emailed each month.

Nah, there's an occultation in progress.

Blimey, you guys are so negative! Here's what you get with zoom binoculars: * A gorgeous soft-focus, usually associated (or so I am told) with the type of movie you wouldn't take a maiden aunt to see. * Low magnification "vistas" that save you the trouble of travelling to Cornwall (and the danger of being Darwinned by a train) if you want to know what it's like to look along the BrownQueen Tunnel. * Two images for the price of one. * And, as long as you get the ones with "the latest ruby coatings", you get to see exactly what the world would look like after a zombie apocalypse. What's not to like? Huh?

Tomorrow at Fordingbridge Astronomers, we are delighted to welcome Pete Williamson who will be telling us about "Deep Sky Imaging Using Remote Telescopes" Do you get fed up with light pollution and/or the great British weather? One solution is to use a telescope somewhere else, from the comfort of your own desk. Pete is the Deep Sky imaging consultant with the Faulkes Telescope Educational Project that has 2 metre, 1 metre and 0.4 metre class telescopes across the globe in both northern and southern hemisphere locations. http://fordingbridgeastro.org.uk/programme.php

Yes, I really like it. I'm reminded that most large military observation binos have some species of eye-shield.

The latest edition of the Binocular Sky Newsletter is ready. As well as the usual overview of DSOs, variable and double stars, this month we have: * Uranus and Neptune are back (just!) * A couple of Mira variables near maximum * Ceres is still available * Review of the Bino Bandit I hope it helps you to get the best out of these short summer nights with your binoculars or small telescopes. To pick up your free copy, just head over to http://binocularsky.com and click on the Newsletter tab. You can also subscribe (also free) and have it emailed each month.

Ridiculous! The sooner packagers have to pay the full environmental cost of packaging and its disposal, the better!

I have been told that there is a sound financial reason for this wasteful practice: Apparently, by having only a few different carton sizes, they save due to quantity discounts. But you'd think those adapters could have been sent in one of those tear-strip cardboard envelopes that they use.

Yes I have three that I currently swap amongst seven binoculars. But I'm going to get 4 more as funds permit.

+1 for the Pentax 20x60; very nicely made bit of kit, although the case and thoroughly irritating lens caps are nowhere near the quality of the binocular itself. My review of it is here.

Hi Todd, Welcome to the forum. Also try the "Observing with Binoculars" forum; there tends to be a bit of crossover with this. The Oberwerk branding is American - I think the brand is Kevin Busarow's "property". The binoculars are made by United Optics in Kunming, China. The same binoculars here (UK) are (mostly) branded Helios. The manufacturer's designation of the Oberwerk Ultra brand, for example, is a United Optics BA8; it is also branded Helios Apollo, General Hi-T, Garrett Signature, APM-HD, AP, Orion Resolux, TS-MX, and probably others, (+ the Delta Extreme and William Optics, which are essentially the same binocular, but with ED glass in the objectives). You'd be brave to put the 28x110 on the Unimount Light - over the limit. See if you can get a used T-mount or Millennium (or even a Sirius) - you won't get new, now that Larry Patriarca has retired. I'm pretty sure someone on here had the Helios Apollo 28x110, who might be able to advise you; a search on that might help. One other (picky) thing: it's not actually that the prism doesn't catch as much light in the 25x100; there is a diaphragm at the entrance to the prism housing that cuts off the periphery of the light cone, so it doesn't get as far as the prisms. I'm pretty sure they do it because it (a) eliminates the worst aberrations, which arise from the peripheral rays, and (b) allows the use of smaller prisms - cheaper all round. You find it a lot: most of the cheaper 15x70s, for example, are actually 15x62; I have one BSO (binocular-shaped object) in which the 70 has been stopped down to 49mm, and I tested a so-called 10x50 that was 10x39.I've written a bit more about that sort of thing here. Good luck with getting the Fujinons - but why not aim for 40x150 - your eyes will accommodate the exit pupils further into old age. And here's how to mount it:

I have used (but never owned) several sets of the 10x50; always a crisp, clear view and have a satisfyingly robust, if lightweight, feel about them. Smooth focusing, decent resistance on the hinge. Good budget bino.

Another peeve is my camera strap. In its "native" state, it is fiddly and time-consuming to get it off and, in particular, on the strap lugs on the camera. Obviously, the strap is useful for non-astro use when I neck-sling the camera, but is a right pain when I mount it for astro-photography. This solution seems to do it for me: OP/TECH Utility Loops (NB: Adapt-Its System Connectors don't fit the Canon 700D/Kiss X7i strap-lugs) and mini locking S-biners:

I've been mucking about with a Bino-Bandit on my Vixen 6.5x32 for a couple of months. Really good at cutting out peripheral light, comfortable to use, and also doubles as eyepiece caps in the field. Designed for birders/hunters, so naff camo livery, but who cares in the dark? So impressed that I got a couple more (I'll do a full review in the next BinocularSky Newsletter). Only UK outlet I've found is Vortex, but I got mine direct from the US. Also, I get fed up with the way neck-slung binoculars get in the way when I'm setting up mounted scope or binos; taking them off is an option, but a nuisance in the field: they have to be put somewhere. Tried out a Tract harness: no more swinging binocs (also a benefit when I'm out walking). It's elasticated, so fits comfortably over just a tee-shirt, or shirt, jumper and jacket without needing adjustment. I'll do a proper review when I've had it for a bit longer. On the Vixen 6.5x32: On the Vixen 6.5x32 - focusers are accessible: Also useful on the 2.1x42 (but does obstruct focusers, not that this is a huge hassle, since I don't change focus for astronomy 🙂 ): Tract harness on my "nature" binoculars: note how the BinoBandit doubles as field-use eyepiece caps:

You are correct. A Barlow increases the effective focal length of the system, not the primary. @Nigella Bryant It might help to visualise coma as a sort of lop-sided chromatic aberration. In the case of a Newtonian mirror, the surface is parabolised, but it only brings parallel rays to a point focus if they are parallel to the optical axis (the axis of the paraboloid). The further something is off-axis, the less well it is corrected. Similarly, the faster the mirror, the deeper is its curve, so coma is increased relative to a slower (shallower) mirror. A Barlow merely narrows the cone-angle of the cone of rays reflected by the mirror; it cannot correct for spherical aberration or coma. In the case of the Schmidt-Cassegrain, there is a fast, spheroidal mirror (approx f/3) and the correction is carried out by the corrector plate. In an f/10 SCT, the secondary mirror acts optically like a x3.33(-ish) Barlow, and makes the light cone narrower. Despite being f/10, the coma is about equivalent to that from a f/5 Newtonian of the same aperture. The job a coma corrector has to do in each instance (Newt and SCT) is slightly different, so a corrector designed for one is unlikely to do a good job on the other. If anyone really wants to get to grips with this, Rutten and van Venrooij's "Telescope Optics - Evaluation and Design" is an excellent resource. HTH

Ah. I suppose I must have missed the word "non-adjustable" in the original description of it. Ditto. Off-the-shelf plumbing parts, apart from the screen, which I cut from a plastic milk bottle.

How do you adjust it so that it's parallel to the OTA optical axis?

Hmmm. That only works if the binocular's centre of mass is on its hinge axis. Some might be, but many aren't, and changing the IPD will alter it anyway.

Lastly, I'm not sure how practical it would be to implement this sort of adjustment in wood (I'm no woodworker: my careful use of a fretsaw can look like something a blind monkey has done with a chainsaw),but this is the binocular bracket vertical adjustment on my T-mount - co-linearity of altitude fulcrum and binocular centre of mass enables 6kg binoculars to be perfectly balanced in altitude; the result is that they feel like they're floating in space: lovely to use like that. (The downside to perfect balance and very low friction is that, in a stiff breeze, you can have a windsock, not an observing instrument).

FWIW, here's a slightly different counterweighted option. Scott has the binocular above the fulcrum with the counterweight below, so that the counterweight is on the opposite side of th efulcrum to your head ? http://web.archive.org/web/20080720003005/http://members.aol.com/scottw8088/binoc.html

It seems from your photographs that the centre of mass of the binocular and bracket is not co-linear with the altitude fulcrum (bolt). That will automatically introduce an imbalance as soon as you rotate the binocular bracket assembly. Ideally, you need another degree of freedom, ie to raise and lower the binocular relative to the altitude fulcrum bolt, or a counterweight above the fulcrum so that the binocular is perfectly balanced in altitude when it is pointed at the zenith. Failing that, you'll be reliant on friction to prevent your binocular from slipping in altitude, I would be inclined to use a thin nylon (or similar) washer whose outer diameter is at least the width of the timber pieces. In the past, I have successfully made bearings like this from plastic document wallets. Also, to lock the bolt, you might find that, in the long term, two nuts are better than a self-locking (nylock, I presume?) nut (but, if you get it properly balanced, that probably won't be an issue). HTH