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what binoculars do you own


jango fett

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The Helios Apollo 15X70 HD Binoculars are the best binoculars in the world, got a pair and there more there amazing!!! :)

Matt, I see from your avatar that you have them on what looks like the Paragon mount. May I ask how you balance them, please. I have recently acquired the Virgo Astronomics  "original" of the Paragon and find that the counterweight is slightly too light, so I have to tension it up a bit with the Apollo 15x70.  (Which is not surprising, given that the mount is rated for 5lb (2.3kg) binocs and the Apollo weighs 2.5kg (5lb 8oz).)

Edited by BinocularSky
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Hiya, I got the Orion Optics Paragon mount and it has an adjustable set of legs and has a counterweight at the end but it's not visible on the photo but it's a single weight to balance things, the only problem is when I want to try and lay back on my reclining chair I can't really use them on the mount as such but it's not a huge problem as I normally have to adjust the legs and the height through a handle which I have to turn and place the mount with the binoculars in to a suitable position up against the side of the reclining chair and then have to loosen all of the screws and bring the binoculars forward while I lay back on the chair which can be a little uncomfortable but the mount normally is leaning forwards when I am looking at an object like for instance comet jacques in cassiopeia which is quite high up so sometimes the mount ends up against the side chair which means the mount sometimes has to tilt towards me and then one of the legs of the mounts ends up lifting from the group. Hope I have explained it clearly though and also have my Skywatcher Powertank 7AH to the side with a small hairdryer for any dew that may get on the lenses on the Helios Apollo 15x70s HD. Thinking of also getting the Helios Apollo HD 20X110 or the Helios Apollo HD 28X110  :)

post-16429-0-80527300-1408589369.jpg

Edited by Matt2011
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Sorry, Mark, I was obviously unclear. When I asked about balancing, what I meant is this:

Even with the weight fully extended, if the tension knobs are slackened the 15x70 drops and I have to tighten the knobs to prevent this. This means that I don't get the "floating in the air" experience that I have got used to with the UA mount.

Re dew: the hideous green dew shields that I describe in the September S@N mag recently kept my 15x70 objectives clear for over 4 hrs.

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  • 2 weeks later...

10X50 Olympus for me, Ideal for starting out on your observations of the cosmos. Once you are comfortable with observing with these and you become more knowledgable of the constellations etc, then think about upgrading to 15x70 etc. 10X50 are relatively cheap aswell. Good set will cost about £50-£70.

Just my pennies worth, have fun

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@Steve and Matt

Talking about the Orion Paragon parallelogram mount: I know it comes with a 'L' bracket for binos that use that, but would it also take a bino clamp that fits round the hinge, like the Opticron one you recommend on your site, Steve? Would love to be able to use my 10x50's on that, as well as the Helios Apollo 15x70 when FLO gets new stock in.

Mark

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Hi Mark,

It could be quite easily adapted to do, but (assuming the business end is similar to the Virgo version that I have), you would need to find a bit of 1/4" Whitworth studding (or decapitate a 1/4 Whit bolt) as both parts (mount block and hinge clamp) would have 1/4 Whit female threads.  You would also probably also need to shim it with washers to get it to fit square on so that it's looking straight back over the mount. A better solution would be to make an adaptor like the one we were discussing in this thread (or use a 1/4 Whit male-to-male adaptor - some have a locking ring so that you can determine the angle at which the mounted appliance sits).

Depending on the weight of the 10x50, you might be able to get away with mounting the hinge clamp on the paragon's L-bracket, but I imagine the vibration would be quite pronounced and difficult to damp.

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I have a superb pair of Bausch and Lomb Classic 10x50s. They have a pretty wide field of 7.5 degrees and an extremely bright image. The stars are not pin sharp to the edges but I have had some very impressive deep sky views and have not found another pair of 10x50s as good, although I have never had the opportunity to compare it to really top quality binocs.

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I use this neck mono pod thingy for mounting the binoculars rather than a tripod, I find it more convenient.

attachicon.gifimage.jpg

Avtar

Nice pod (& collection) Avtar :) I may well have to try one of those for my Quantum 15x70....costly?

Steve

My 'astro' bins are:

Helios Quantum 4 as above

Helios Aquila 10x50

Strathspey Marine 7x50

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Nice pod (& collection) Avtar :) I may well have to try one of those for my Quantum 15x70....costly?

Steve

My 'astro' bins are:

Helios Quantum 4 as above

Helios Aquila 10x50

Strathspey Marine 7x50

I bought them from Amazon - 7dayshop neck tripod £8.71

Avtar

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Forest Optics ED Compact 10x25

Top oem Chinese binoculars purchased second hand  with missing lugs and thus no lanyard. I paid £30 for these, a real bargain !

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Zeiss  8x20 Classic Compacts

I find these true pocket sized binoculars  great to use on bright summer scenery.

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Nikon 7x35 Action Ex  

Heavy and very well built wide angle binoculars.  

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Leitz Trinovid 8x40B

Purchased for £40 in a charity shop, battered exterior but optically perfect,  My favourite binoculars !

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Darling and Rowe  4x22  extra wide  angle binoculars.  The best extra wide angle binoculars with IF  (no longer available new)

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Opticron Traveller 6x32  Mg

The lightest  and smallest 32 mm objective binoculars available in the UK

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Helios 7x50 Naturesport Plus   porro binoculars,   

A pair of very high resolution  and high  light transmission binoculars.  Great views on a tripod !

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Konig neck thingy arrived today from Camarthen Cameras via Amazon (next day free delivery, nice!) - pretty darn cool for the money! As a wee grab n go support this will be great for throwing in the suitcase when travelling lightish rules out my Manfrotto monopod.

It's not the most substantial bit of kit, but for a tenner all in? Bargain :)

Right, sorry for thread hijack - back on topic.

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Leica 8x20 BA

Leica 8x20 Ultravid

Leica 10x32 BA

Leica 8+12x42 Duovid

Leica 8x50BA
Zeiss 7x42 FL

Zeiss 15x60 B/GA T*

Celestron Regal LX 8x42

Eagle Optics 10x50

Canon 10x42L IS

Although I have owned larger binos in the past, I find, for me at least, that if I need to drag out my parallelogram binocular mount to hold a large binocular, I'd rather set up a telescope and use the binoviewer for its flexibility in magnification. The Canons have been a deal changer for me, nice Canon L glass and with the IS I definitely see more detail than more expensive glass hand held.

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