Helios Apollo 15x70 (Unboxing & First Light

[durr]

Hi as any one used these binoculars while wearing glasses? I just received mine last week from FLO and I had a lot of difficulty with huge amounts of stray light blocking what appears to be a superb clear image. I contacted Steve from FLO and as is usual with a first class company they are on the problem. It would be interesting to hear from anyone else who wears glasses while viewing through these binoculars, this does not appear to happen when looking through any other pair of binoculars so I am hoping there is a flaw with this particular pair. Steve.

[Stevp]

Hi all,

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, I'm looking at buying these Binoculars from FLO, can anybody link me to a specific trigger grip / monopod that they use with these?

Cheers

Stevp

[BinocularSky]

I use the following:

Trigger Grip (Very adjustable tension, so you can tweak it to be ideal for your binocular.)

Monopod (Superb quality; adjustable tension in the leg clamps. I also fitted a spiked foot.

This monopod was adequate for about a year, but the (non-adjustable) clamps eventually didn't grip tightly enough. If you use a monopod that doesn't have a 3/8" option, you will need one of these to mate it to the trigger grip.

HTH

[Itabot]

 Thinking of getting a pair, Damo636's unpacking photo.....are the Helios 15x70 supplied with a Tripod Adapter ?

[dezzie]

I have had my helios 25x100s a few weeks now, they're fab, was looking at allsorts last weekend at my local club, sky was clear but lots of lp and damp air, still saw Andromeda and sister galaxy, the usual star clusters, etc and could see satellites no bother, I recommend them, as for mount I was using my borrowed manfrotto on a pan tilt head, not the most stable platform and looking at stuff straight up was a killer on the knees and neck, I recommend a p mount, mines built and get my first look at it on sunday to test it before final adjustments and paint, bonus is the bloke wants £55 quid all in including the old eq3 mount its based on, the work done and the metal and knurled wheels supplied, he has spares left over of course but its a bargain!

[Roger Fairhurst]

.... Thanks for the review,and also the pic of the monopod/ballhead set up,which we have Steve to thank for pointing both of us to! I'd recommend that set up to any would be bino Astronomer.

Which monopod is that may I ask?

I have the trigger head and 2 "normal" monopods, one with leg clamps and the other rotate to lock type. The "automatic" Manfrotto ones I've seen online look to be the best bet but are relatively expensive.

My experience with "manual" monopods has been a bit frustrating so far, trying to get the leg length sorted then the grip angle, leg length again - so how do you guys go about ?

Kind regards

Roger

[rory]

Very nice looking bins. I noticed you had a comparison picture with some Olympus dps . How did they perform for you ( obviously not compared to the Helios). Interested as they seem to pop up quite cheaply now and then .

[Damo636]

Very nice looking bins. I noticed you had a comparison picture with some Olympus dps . How did they perform for you ( obviously not compared to the Helios). Interested as they seem to pop up quite cheaply now and then .

I found the DSP-1 a capable binocular for the price Rory. Previous to it, the only other 10x50 I had owned was a Lidl job and the Olympus was a definite step up. The views are nice and bright and I consider it excellent value for money if bought at sub £50.

[rory]

Damo , thanks for the reply. I'm keeping an eye for some bins and need a short list and these are now on it . ( the Olympus unfortunately not the Helios) many thanks .

[BinocularSky]

On 09/01/2013 at 13:33, Damo636 said:

I plan to use these mostly on the monopod with a modified reclining lounger. When I say modified, I mean I have big hole cut in it right between my legs to allow the monopod to fit through

I did the same (OK, melted a hole with the soldering iron). Then I discovered that the binos were just as steady with the monopod going down the side of the lounger - that's when I realised that monopods don't need to be vertical to work. 🙂