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davekelley

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Everything posted by davekelley

  1. Finally my Canons arrived, they have been so out of stock during this lockdown. It's thick cloud tonight but I've had a chance to play with them before dark and I'm slightly underwhelmed. I owned some of the original square chunky versions back in the day and was amazed by them but since then I have purchased some Nikon Monarch 7 8x30 bins and optically I think those are far better than these Canons for less than half the price, plus smaller, lighter and with a wider fov. The Canons are showing a lot of colour fringe around anything against a bright background, I'm used to better. The stabilisation is great and definitely makes a difference in terms of seeing detail but it's not a 100% steady image, definitely not like tripod mounted bins. I need a clear night to check these out on the night sky where the Nikons are pretty much useless as you need a steady image for astronomy and I can't hand hold them. I probably expected too much. I do remember being amazed by the original 12x36 is but I didn't own the Nikons at that time! I'll get back after I've had more time to evaluate and consider the advantages/disadvantages. Cheers Dave
  2. UK Heads up. Tonight we have the moon, jupiter and saturn lined up beautifully and the ISS will pass directly across the face of the moon at 22:36:20. Times may vary depending upon your location but not by a lot. Check Stellarium. Clear skies, enjoy. Dave
  3. To be fair I'm not sure my Skymax 127 can take any higher mag than 150x in normal circumstances, so I'd really be looking at the zoom as a 10-20mm! Still, with the 24 Hyperion and then the zoom that does cover every focal length I ever need. I still think I'll be looking out for one, maybe a used one.
  4. Well after much agonising and being unable to try out either pair of bins due to no stores locally carrying them in stock, I bit the bullet and ordered a pair of the 12x36. What will now become of my Nikon Monarch 7 8x30's remains to be seen. I will post further after I've had a play with the 12x36 is iii. I'm quite excited waiting for them to come
  5. Thank you. My mind is made up and the price difference is ridiculous. I owned a pair ofthe very first 10x30 and didn't like those then bought the original 12x36 (very peculiar shape but I loved those). I expect the mkiii will be even better.
  6. So, I'm after learned opinions, but I think my mind is made up. I want some IS binoculars. I'm certain of that much, I want IS. I think they will mostly be used for birding, wildlife, watching planes etc but definitely for a bit of stargazing as well, although I have a telescope so it'd just be locating objects and scanning around when I can't be bothered to get the scope out. So, I am almost certain the 12x36 iii at such a bargain £625 are the ones to buy. I did think I wanted 15x50's but they're probs big and heavy and won't be taken out so much? For the price of the 15x50, (£899, a LOT more than the 12x36), there is a dealer nearby with some used 10x42L which is bothering me a bit cos it gives me a dilemma, and on ebay there are some 18x50 for a little less at £799. People criticise the fov on the 12x36 is it really so bad? (I'm not concerned about close focus and I probs wouldn't be able to see the difference in quality in the 10x42L, although I'd like the fov (but maybe 12x is better than 10x with IS? I should get the 12x36 iii? I'm right aren't I? Thanks everyone dave
  7. Yes you're right I wont risk it. Also, there's a proper camera dealer selling some used "good condition" 18x50 IS at £650. That's very tempting but would I always wonder if I should've just spent the extra for the 15x50? Dilemma's.....
  8. Cheers, it's such a lot of money I'll not chance it. Also Curry's/PC World is literally a stones throw from me should I have any problems! (I'd prefer to buy from a proper astro or photo shop but 7% off is 7% off, plus the convenience.)
  9. Hi all. I hope I'm not breaking any rules by posting this link. I am looking to buy some canon 15x50 is and the best price anywhere is £899. I can get 7% discount from Curry's PCWorld through my works perks and that's what I was planning to do. However I've just seen this! Has anyone heard of this website? It looks too good to be true? Is there something dodgy going on here? Or should I snap them up? (as soon as I have the money together)....it makes me suspicious as the price is too good to be true...........https://www.onbuy.com/gb/canon-15x50-is-binoculars~c3264~p19768391/?exta=gshp&stat=eyJpcCI6Ijc0OS45OSIsImRwIjpudWxsLCJsaWQiOm51bGwsInMiOm51bGwsInQiOjE1OTEzNTMxMzIsImJtYyI6MH0=&gclid=Cj0KCQjwoub3BRC6ARIsABGhnyYoB6QJ0anO-EEYG7vVJ-IeJ4YWsuLQxZsxHJ0nmazD0-wTJJaVwT8aAmzREALw_wcB&exta=sdgl&irgwc=1 Thanks Guys Dave
  10. Yes I find I always remove my specs. and tweek focus a bit with any eyepiece or binoculars I can't get along with viewinf wjile wearing my specs. Of course it won't be such an issue when I'm not constantly swapping eyepieces I suppose.
  11. Thanks. I'll have a play with the cheap nasty £20 zoom and see how I get on with 40 degs at 24mm and 60deg at 8mm and I suspect I may be happy with the Baader plus my 24mm Hyperion. I want to simplify. I also intend to seel my other eyepieces and save and buy some Canon 15x50 is bins. That'd be my total kit, stripped down to basics, 127 mak, 24mm Hyperion, Baader Zoom, Telrad, 9x50 90 deg finder, hand controller, Canon 15x50 bins! (I have the azgtiwifi but I prefer using the hand controller rather than messing about with mu phone and the goto is rubbish anyway but tracking is nice to have). Just need some clear, dark(ish) skies now! (we get about 4hrs at this time of year!) Cheers Dave
  12. Yes thanks. I have a 24mm hyperion and that gives excellent views In the F12 Mak as a finder and thinking of the zoom as an 8-20 that's still a nice ep. Also, my tfov may be a little larger because I have replaced the diagonal with a Tak prism which I believe shortens the light path so therefore the focal length of the scope a bit (enough to notice?). Thanks for that.... Dave
  13. Thanks for reading, I am trying to establish the fov at 24mm for this ep? Baader say 48deg but I have seen independent testers clain it is as narrow as 40deg! (other testers seem to confirm 48degs!) Can anyone confirm which is correct please? that's quite a difference! I think 48 deg at 24mm to 68 deg at 8mm sounds excellent. 40 deg might be a bit rubbish so it's a deal breaker. (I have ordered a cheap £20 8-24mm from Ebay that's 40-60 deg to give me an idea of what to expect, which will help me to decide). I don't do a lot of stargazing due to weather and time constraints and I tend to spend more time trying various different ep's and popping in the binoviwere just to compare etc, than I do actually observing! This zoom could maybe replace all my other ep's apart from one widefield to use finding objects. I had a tv 8-24mm a long time ago on an 8 inch F5 dob and I remember that was great fun especially on the moon, but now I've got a 127mm mak so fov will be tighter due to higher mag. Thanks everyone!
  14. I want some Canon IS binoculars for stargazing. I have some Nikon 8x30 Monarch 7 I enjoy for out in the field birdwatching and stuff so if I were to go for the 12x36 I S, I think that might make the Nikons redundant and I bought them less than a year ago so that would be annoying but not the end of the world. The 15x50 IS are like 50% more expensive and £899 is an awful lot of money for a binocular but I could save up, sell a few bits and stretch to it. I know the 12x36 are fantastic I have used them before out birding and loved them to bits. I could far more easily afford the 12x36 (especially if I sell the Nikons which would be basically redundant). So the question is, are the 15x50 much better for general astronomy? I have owned 15x70 bins but they required a tripod and I have a 127 mak if I want to start with tripods. The joy of binoculars is the freedom to handhold. Leaving aside the element of cost I can choose to sell the Nikons and buy the 12x36, an all round compromise I can take out birding and use on the night sky, or I can keep the Nikons for field use and break the bank for the 15x50. Are the 15x50 worth paying twice as much for as the 12x36? (would cost me twice as much because I'd sell the nikons to get the 12x36). I hope someone has experience of the 15x50's? Thanks everyone Dave
  15. So you have not found a problem with focus drifting in and out when using the 12x36 for astronomy? A lot of people on here have referred to it and I found it to be a major issue in mine, although they were incredible in daytime use! Perhaps it is a qc thing. They are available at a great price now and I'm hugely tempted. I can't even hand hold my nikon monarch 7 8 x 30 steady enough for astronomy use. (I didn't want to start a new thread so I used the search function on here I don't know if that's the better way or if I should always start a new thread?) Cheers dave
  16. I agree about the 10x30. They get fabulous reviews but mine were quickly sold as images were lacking in brightness and contrast and I saw a blueish cast in daytime viewing. 12x36 were a massive improvement in daytime but IS wasn't great at night and seemed to fade in and out annoyingly but that is going back to the days of the original model 12x36 that were a ompletely different design. I am now seriously considering buying the mk3 12x36. The price of the 10x42 is a shame. Just too much to pay no matter how great they do sound.
  17. Not in the UK they don't. That's a very unusual type of cable.
  18. Cheers everybody I am up and running installing the upgrade now. The controller should have come with one of these cables! It cost enough and these things are quite unusual...... They ship out some complicated kit with no instructions whatsoever!!
  19. Thanks. I think my old flatbed scanner might use one of those type ports...if I can dig it out....
  20. Hi guys. I have the azgti wifi but purchased a hand controller because I get tired of fiddling with my cell phone. I notice the handset (brand new V5) has out dated firmware (04.30.04) and I have searched for instructions on how to update this. I keep finding instructions that refer to very unusual connections and cables and adapters. (All of them refer to a power cable which this controller doesn't have for a start). I can only assume (hope) that I am looking at out of date instructions and this version of handset does not require the additional weird connections. Please can anyone point me to some up to date instructions so that I can get the best out of the hand controller. Thank you everybody. Should I also be updating the azgti wifi mount firmware as well? Dare I even attempt such a thing? Clear skies all. Dave
  21. Thank you. 2 x 16.8mm super abbe ordered today. If I like and I'm sure I will, I'll order the 24mm. I'll then have to sell a 17mm Nirvanah and a 25mm starguider which will be surplus to requirements
  22. I have the 127mak with the azgti wifi. I'm not very technical minded, but that's why I chose this option. Tracking is very nice to have but I get no accuracy from the goto feature it doesn't even get close to target so that's a massive disappointment for me. It may be a lot more to do with incompetence on my part than the ability of the mount mind you. I hope that helps? Dave
  23. That looks very interesting! They don't seem to do the 24mm any longer though and that'd have been my 1st choice! thanks
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