Celestron 15x70s returned

[Woking]

Hi

Just received my Celestron 15x70s from Amazon today. First thing I noticed was the standard amazon delivery box had been bashed at one end, inside the bins box did'nt appear damaged but it was only contained in brown paper package filler.

So, decided to a quick test at lunchtime using the excellent evaluation guide in one of the sticky links in this sub-forum.

All seemed well with checking the build and focus but when trying the horizontal collimation test it appeared to my non-expert eyes well out. At one point I was actually seeing the overlapping vertical images! I used the top of a building with fencing and was seeing double on top of eachother!!

Unfortunately due to the lack of observing opportunites this and probably next week (damn cloud), I can't get a second opinion so sorted out returning to Amazon.

Amazon is pretty good for returning stuff and have already started the process of sending out another delivery (they don't wait to receive the return but will charge for both items if they don't get it back!).

Will see if I fare any better with the second pair but if not will claim the refund and order from an astro retailer (more expensive option but if they check collimation before dispatch it's a no brainer).

Shame FLO no longer sell these but guessing they may have had similar QC issues in the past?

Odd thing was that I did check the reviews and there were only a couple that were negative and regarding collimation, so just unlucky I guess. Or Amazon are selling these at £59 to get rid of known defective stock?

Anyhow, will see how the next pair measure up and go from there. |Putting aside the collimation issue they do look very good bins for the price.

[tony4563]

Hi Woking

Also got mine from Amazon a couple of days ago.

Mine are spot on though. Sharp and contrasty.

Amazon are great. Give them a ring directly on 0800 496 1081 and they should send you a replacement pair by First Class delivery. (You then have to send your faulty ones back within 30 days or you'll be charged) *EDIT* Looks like you've done that already!

Great bins, but keep sending 'em back until you get a good pair!

Tony

[JonF]

If you don't get the second pair in good collimation, take a drive round to Dorking. Astronomia sell them, you can get a pair checked at the shop. Alternatively, a bit further round to Telescope House in Lingfield. They sell the same bins for a tenner less, badged as Revelation.

[neilm]

If you don't get the second pair in good collimation, take a drive round to Dorking. Astronomia sell them, you can get a pair checked at the shop.

I second that, I've bought Helios bins from Astronomia (not ones they usually stock so to special order, took a couple of days) and a WO Megrez scope, good service, good people and they're only down the road from you.

Cheers

Neil

[Woking]

good advice, cheers

I visited Astronomia earlier this year, so if the 2nd bins are no good will pay them another visit.

What's Telescope House like? do they have much display stuff in their show room? I bought an EP online from them and could'nt fault them for price and delivery.

[JonF]

What's Telescope House like? do they have much display stuff in their show room? I bought an EP online from them and could'nt fault them for price and delivery.

It's not a huge shop, it's in a former off licence! However, their distribution centre is only a couple of miles away, so if you ask them in advance I'm sure they can bring whatever you're interested into the shop. They usually have a range of scopes in stock, a few bits of vintage kit (including a very eye catching brass refractor in the window) and various accessories. Staff are enthusiastic and knowledgable.

[Woking]

Will def pay them a visit then. Better than the usual weekend shopping experiences I dragged on lol

[JonF]

I actually popped in today (it's next door to the place I buy my weekend papers - that's temptation for you!). They had Revelation 15X70s on display, a couple of pairs of used monster bins, probably 30 scopes including a couple of solars, a couple of decent second hand ones as well. Wide range from beginner stuff to advanced. Good range of eyepieces on display. There's a free car park just around the corner as well.

[Big_Daz]

Most standard bins can be collimated with little grub screws to line up the prisms after knocks, drops, postage ect. see here -

Did this to mine after they got knocked off a table and one of the prisms got knocked out of alignment, a couple of turns later they were back to perfect. Hope this helps.

[BinocularSky]

see here -

A hell of a lot better than nothing, but it's worth being aware that, unless you are very lucky, collimating like that will at best get you conditional alignment, not full collimation, i.e. it's OK as long as you don't need to change the IPD. Obviously not a problem if you are the only person that uses the binocular.

[Patbloke]

I recently bought a pair of binos and lent them out to a couple of friends so they could test them on the stars moon etc... I tried them myself before I lent them and I noticed that I got one moon, one fence, one bird on the washing line... however, when I checked the view against the stars I reckon I was seeing two for every one... Is it just my crazy eyesight or could this be a collimation issue?

[Big_Daz]

A hell of a lot better than nothing, but it's worth being aware that, unless you are very lucky, collimating like that will at best get you conditional alignment, not full collimation, i.e. it's OK as long as you don't need to change the IPD. Obviously not a problem if you are the only person that uses the binocular.

Agreed, as I had noticed a mark on the binocular casing, I only adjusted the one prism closest to the mark which brought it back into alignment. Three people have used them since so I think I have been lucky with the adjustment as the IPD had to be changed to suit the viewer. The video helped me as it may help others in a similar curcumstance however, as tetenterre said, it may only be conditional alignment and maybe not worth doing on new binoculars.

[BinocularSky]

it may only be conditional alignment and maybe not worth doing on new binoculars.

Quite so -- if they are under warranty, get the vendor to ensure that they are properly collimated with a bench collimator. One of the possible side-effects of DIY collimation is that you get it good enough that your eyes can compensate for miscollimation, but not so good that it doesn't strain them to do so. If you DIY-collimate, seem to fix the double image, but find that using the binocular gives you head-ache, eye-ache or nausea, you are most likely "nearly, but not quite, there".

Is it just my crazy eyesight or could this be a collimation issue?

Collimation. The night sky is a much more stringent test of binoculars (and telescopes) than is any casual daylight test.

[Big_Daz]

One of the possible side-effects of DIY collimation is that you get it good enough that your eyes can compensate for miscollimation, but not so good that it doesn't strain them to do so. If you DIY-collimate, seem to fix the double image, but find that using the binocular gives you head-ache, eye-ache or nausea, you are most likely "nearly, but not quite, there".

No head-ache, eye-ache or nausea yet but thanks for the tip, if I get any problems I will drop you a PM. Great website by the way, really informative, bookmarked. Thanks.

[Woking]

Replacement bins arrived today and another quick lunchtime test showed what I believe to be good collimation, so well happy with them and the amazon returns system.

Just need to properly test them on the night sky but unsuprisingly the forecast this week is woeful.

tetenterre, big thumbs up for your website, it's been a really great help!

[BinocularSky]

Great website by the way, really informative, bookmarked. Thanks.

tetenterre, big thumbs up for your website, it's been a really great help!

Thanks, guys. Much appreciated.

[Woking]

Just had a quick look at the moon and Jupiter through fleeting breaks in the clouds and not bad at all.

Got pretty good focus on the moon, with mares and larger surface features apparent.

Jupiter showed a smallish disc and can just make out the bands in between the shakes. 2 of the moons showed up too, on the right hand side of the planet. Going to have to get used to everything being the right way round compared to the scope, brilliant!

That's about it as it's completely clouded over again before trying the bins on some clusters

[Big_Daz]

Ganymede and Callisto are really close together tonight so are Europa and Io so you may not have been able to see all four especially with the moon being so bright.

Glad to hear you got your bins sorted though, all the best and wishing you clear skies, Daz.

[Omega]

Was going to pick a pair of these up due to the very attractive price, but have seen mixed reviews. Is it really a case of pot luck with these? I've heard people complain about collimation issues...?

[Graytalon]

On the US side of the lake they had them for $49.00US. I can't pass that opportunity up.

GT

[BinocularSky]

Was going to pick a pair of these up due to the very attractive price, but have seen mixed reviews. Is it really a case of pot luck with these? I've heard people complain about collimation issues...?

Very much pot luck. Think about it: semi-decent eyepieces have become pretty cheap in the last decade or so; these cheap 15x70 binoculars (2 objectives, 2 eyepieces, 4 prisms, plus focusing mechanism, hinging, right eyepiece dioptre adjustment, and housing) cost less than two semi-decent eyepieces -- what sort of quality do you realistically expect? They are made to a (very low!) price, not to a set of optical and mechanical standards.

The manufacturers admit this here: http://www.binocularschina.com/binoculars/MS.html :

For years, the international markets are flooded with unbelievably low-price Chinese binoculars and some of the users have been complaining or bashing loudly about the quality control consistency of Chinese binoculars for a while. Actually, it's quite simple to improve the quality consistency: spending much more time in grinding and selecting glass, spending much more time in training the workers for assembling the binoculars, and spending much more time in the final quality check - then, a much better quality binocular will be made, however, at the tradeoff of much higher production cost.

[Caveman]

Amazon is pretty good for returning stuff and have already started the process of sending out another delivery (they don't wait to receive the return but will charge for both items if they don't get it back!).

Hi there, was thinking of getting a pair of these binos from amazon.co.uk, seems a bit hit or miss so do you have to pay the return postage each time you send them back a faulty item?

Can work out expensive at £9 a time!

[Caveman]

Amazon are great. Give them a ring directly on 0800 496 1081 and they should send you a replacement pair by First Class delivery. (You then have to send your faulty ones back within 30 days or you'll be charged) *EDIT* Looks like you've done that already!

Great bins, but keep sending 'em back until you get a good pair!

Tony

Agreed! keep sending them back, but do you have to pay the postage back each time? Could work out very expensive!

[johninderby]

I believe that FLO used to check every pair of these bins before shipping. Might be worth checking to see if they still do if anyone is thinking of getting a pair.

John

[Woking]

Hi

Amazon cover all returns P&P. With the bins they actually arranged for courier collection, excellent service.

When I was looking, FLO had stopped selling these but would have obv preferred to buy from them if they checked every pair prior to dispatch.