I think I've done well on Ebay? Helios Stellar 20x80.

[Chris]

I saw a pair of Helios Stellar 20x80 on Ebay so I thought i'd do a bit of research to see if I should bid on them.

I found a couple of reviews, the jist was that the build qualitly was great but they suffer from poor eye relief, and norrow FOV, there was also some talk about the possibility of the objectives being stopped down? as they didn't give as bright an image in a comparison to a pair of TS marine 15x70's. I was a little put off but I decided to watch them and if they were cheap anough I'd go for it. I found that the price new was 300 pounds. I checked last night and also this morning and the price was around 30 pounds so I thought I'd just go for it! Despite a bit of a close call at the end I had the winning bid, yipee! 46 pounds plus 18 postage.

I love my smaller bins so I'm quite excited by the prospect of these, whilst I'm waiting for them to arrive then another week of cloud for buying optics, can anyone tell me anything about these bino's? Are they really lacking in eye relief, FOV, and image brightness?, I'm hoping the eye relief will be ok as I don't generally wear glasses but I'm just guessing.

I'd love to hear form anyone with experience with the Helios Stellar range.

Many Thanks

Chris

[Pingster]

I hope you have a tripod cos x20 will need them. I have heluos q7.4. From sam

Manufacture so hope they are simular quality vuews for you.

[Chris]

Hi Pingster, I have a camera tripod which can hold my WO66 comfortably so I'm hoping it will handle the extra 1kg until I can build a P-mount:) I've heard that the quantum are great, I can't remember off the top of my head what spec the 7.4 are?

Chris

[Peter Drew]

If you roll the rubber eyecups down it improves the eye relief.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Great bargain you got there. I would get or build a parallelogram mount for them. Very comfy.

Regarding the TS Marine 15x70: they are the same as the Helios Apollo 15x70 HD, and they are a cracking pair of bins. The difference in brightness can stem from a number of factors, the first and foremost being the fact that the 15x70 has the larger exit pupil (4.67mm) whereas the 20x80 has an exit pupil of 4mm.

[Chris]

Peter- thanks:)

Michael- I'll take your advice on that one:) I'll be building me one of those for my next project after the obsy's finished:) yeah when I read about the brightness I thought about the slight exit pupil although this wasn't mentioned, It was put down to possible stopping down of the optics and the coatings not being as good as the TS which is fair enough, Hopefully the main reason is like you say the exit pupil and hopefully they perform as well as any other 20x80's in this price bracket, not that I can complain with the price I paid:D

Chris

[John]

The price is good and they are decent quality binoculars but you will definitely need a tall and sturdy tripod to get decent astronomical views from them (or any 20x80's for that matter). Hand held just won't cut it with these things.

I found that a tripod that was tall enough (I'm 6 foot tall) and sturdy enough to hold such binoculars, for astro purposes, cost around twice as much as you have paid for the Helios 20x80's.

In the end I downsized to 15x70's which I could hand hold for short periods at least, which made them more flexible.

Nothing wrong with the Helios Stellar's though - all 20x80's need a sturdy tripod for astro use.

[Chris]

Hi John, I've been out twice so far once hand held and then with them on a 20 quid camera tripod just as a test. I used a sturdy metal angle bracket from B&Q to connect the two which works very well. The tripd is surprisingly ok with them I was not expecting much but it seems fine if your sitting down with the tripod in front of you. I think the biggest probelm I've found is that I cannot see that far above the horizon without feeling very uncomfortable in the neck department, so its comfirmed for me that the P-mount is the way forward combined with a reclining chair.

I found hand held ok for a little while if I slumped back on a camping chair so my head was on the back rest, obviously plenty of stars wobbling around from the 20x mag but I still managed to bag M13, M31, coathanger, albereo, and a couple of nice open clusters like this, definately a bit of a workout though so I can see why you settled on 15x70's:)

As for the quality of these bins, I am over the Moon! they feel very well built, the focus is smooth and snaps into focus easily and the same for the dioptre. The optics are very immpressive in my opinion, great sharpness across much of the FOV, I cannot detect any CA even when used in the daytime! M13 was a great sight showing up as a bright round fuzzy object, it showed a nice gradient of brigtness from the core to the outer attenuated stars. Albereo was easily split, and M31 showed much of the extended disc especially with averted eyes, very pleased with this purchase so far I think the're keepers:D

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Good to hear you like them. With a p-mount these are killer bins.

[Pingster]

Starfox the Q7.4 are x25 100mm with 45 deg eyepieces. You wont regret building a para mount. You will love the bins even more. You will be suprised how good M57 and M31 will look in them.

[Charic]

Hi John, I've been out twice so far once hand held and then with them on a 20 quid camera tripod just as a test. I used a sturdy metal angle bracket from B&Q to connect the two which works very well. The tripd is surprisingly ok with them I was not expecting much but it seems fine if your sitting down with the tripod in front of you. I think the biggest probelm I've found is that I cannot see that far above the horizon without feeling very uncomfortable in the neck department, so its comfirmed for me that the P-mount is the way forward combined with a reclining chair.

I found hand held ok for a little while if I slumped back on a camping chair so my head was on the back rest, obviously plenty of stars wobbling around from the 20x mag but I still managed to bag M13, M31, coathanger, albereo, and a couple of nice open clusters like this, definately a bit of a workout though so I can see why you settled on 15x70's:)

As for the quality of these bins, I am over the Moon! they feel very well built, the focus is smooth and snaps into focus easily and the same for the dioptre. The optics are very immpressive in my opinion, great sharpness across much of the FOV, I cannot detect any CA even when used in the daytime! M13 was a great sight showing up as a bright round fuzzy object, it showed a nice gradient of brigtness from the core to the outer attenuated stars. Albereo was easily split, and M31 showed much of the extended disc especially with averted eyes, very pleased with this purchase so far I think the're keepers:D

starfox.........Hi,.... I know this is quite an old thread now, but that was a great price to pay. I purchased the 20x80's for £150 as they were mis-priced in the store? They even came with a free gift of a second pair of roof prism binoculars which work well too. The Mrs couldn't understand my excitement  and eagerness at buying these binoculars when I saw the price  in the display, as the cheapest at the time I could get elsewhere was no less than £254 if I remember. 

They were originally bought for Daylight aviation use. I could see the Rivets on the planes at 34000ft (well almost) but all the detail was there. truly amazing, and in daylight, easier to view with. At night unless supported ( I used an up-turned long broom handle to rest my arms whilst viewing, or the recliner chair method. I also leaned against many walls for support. That had left the slightest mark on the left barrel, which I reported during my ebay auction, some Years ago now, but I still managed to get near to the RRP at auction.  A short  term ownership and use, but able to see the aircraft, had a very narrow view at night, so couldn't take in the Constellations as a whole, but I remember seeing M31 and Jupiter.

[Chris]

Hi Charic, I'm ashamed to say I sold them in the end due to some one putting up a wanted ad for 20x80 bins and there was some other kit I wanted at the time, you know how it goes. Its one of my many regrets though like you say they weren't just good for astro use. I just have my 7x50 bushnells now which are also good but if I see another pair of bargain big bins I'll jump at it them and I urge others to do like wise if they see any. p.s. the broom handle is a good idea!

[Charic]

starfox......its our loss!  Ive been studying constantly for several  days now, and still cant decide on what to get next? I recently bought the Astro 15x70's and their no match for the previous 20x80s. Not sure I really like the Revelations now to be honest,  and bought them on advice / reviews,  but as they say, trying first would have been a better option!

I should test them a little more, when this weather clears, before I resign them? . I still get on well with my old 7x50s but I'm contemplating 8x42 or 10x50s next, and BaK-4 optics, also considering some water proofing/anti-foging due to the extremes of temperature change from indoors to outdoors during the colder Months.

Helios Naturesport plus  vs. Strathspey Marine are still on the cards at present,  but still not certain about the Marine IF(Individual Focus) system. If I get something along 8x40 then IF wont be a problem for Astro, but will be a problem if I get 10x50's as they would be used during the Day, and would require constant re-focusing!

The pentax PCF WP has just come off the list. Only Multi-Coated ? Too many choices, thats the problem, and market branding the other. With no specialist shops local, its often an on-line purchase for me.  Inverness has a gun shop with some optics, but if I recall, their optics are high priced with lots of ( dach ) roof prisms, for the sporting fraternity, although to be fair, thats where I bought my Helios Stellars from! perhaps the Deer hunters found them too big, and the reason I paid so little for them from the shop!