Binoviewers - just go and buy some !!!

[Telescope40]

Hi All. i have just come in after a couple of hours observing with a pair of 2nd hand binoviewers I got today. To put it mildly, I have been blown away with the results.

They are a pair of Burgess Optical Bak 4 prism Binoviewers. Have seen much better days and i havent even attempted to clean them up. They came along with a pair of 20mm Burgess Optical labelled eps. They employ the the plastic grubs (3x) screw method of securing the EP's to the viewers. Got them via the ABS website. I did have a pair of viewers a few years ago and never got on with them. They were sold on after a couple of attempts to use.

I have previously got myself a pair of 10mm amd 25 mm SW superplossl EP's, as I had a pair of binoviewers on my wish list. Everyone knows how poor these are but I was curious if they would work in a satisfactory fashion.

Used my C100ED 4 in APO tonite. My 200p will have to wait to be married up to the binoviewers.

Popped in the 20mm's and slew to Jupiter. Already fitted the OCA which came with the viewers. All i can say is "BOOM" !! Absolutely awesome.

Guessing the mag was somewhere around the 150x mark. Then I compared this with my 8mm Hyperion with an FTR fitted - mag 167 x - this EP was blown out of the water by the binoviewer. Next I fitted my 2x Meade shorty barlow to the mix. I know I was pushing the envelope a bit. My sky tonite was not the best and Mr Moon was slowly but surely creeping up on me. Just had to see how far I could go.

However, after getting comfy with the barlow fitted, I was just sat there with my mouth open. Guessing mag may have been at the 250x mark. I really do not know for sure. Up to a few weeks ago I owned a 10 in Meade SCT and never recall seeing the detail with that scope that I saw tonite.

Afterwards I played around with the barlows and the SW 10mm ep's. Still pretty impressive results. Then tried the 25mm's on a few Messiers. M 36, 37 and 38. Looked at Castor. Could have driven a London bus thru the separation.

I was still a happy chappie.

Having to have a think now as doubling up on a couple of my Hyperions may be the way to go.

I have never written up a report like this but had to share my nites viewing with you all.

Chuffed for sure !!

Regards John

[twotter]

I've wondered what it would be like using bino-viewers. With posts like yours I think I should go and try some!

[Space Dragon]

I can't view with one eye anymore, bino just blows it out the water for me.

The Hyperion 24mm are a good choice but make sure your IPD and face will fit them ok, they're a bit fat as you know but the rubber shoulder will come off if need be.

By the way, it's best to barlow for high power rather than go below 10mm focal length EPs as they will show up any mis-collimation in the Bino.

Some folk don't go below 16mm.

Have fun.

[SteveNickolls]

Yes two eyes are the way forward. I use my binoviewers on my SCT and binoculars for everything else.

Enjoy!

Cheers,

Steve

[Mark at Beaufort]

John a very enjoyable and informative thread. I bought a pair of AE binoviewers about 15 months ago together with a pair of Antares 25mm plossls. The view of the Sun through the Orion white light filter and the Moon were mind blowing. I then bought a pair of 15mm and 9mm Skywatcher wide field EPs but found the 9mm too large a magnification with the 1.6x barlow which I need to gain focus.

At Astrofest a few weeks back I upgraded the binoviewers to some Skywatcher with the compression ring adapters and I was given a pair of Revelation 9mm plossls FOC. Well despite what I just said above I used the cheap Revelation plossls last night to view Jupiter through my 4" APO frac. I estimate that the mag was about 150x so I placed my Nagler 3-6mm zoom to compare the image. I have to say that the cheap Revelation plossls gave a better view and more surface detail than the Nagler.

Over the past 15 months I have thought about other EPs to use with binoviewers and some EPs are just too fat so I have decided that I either get some 11mm Televue plossls or maybe a pair of Orthoscopic EPs like the new Baader BCO.

So the conclusion that I have reached is if you like solar, lunar and planetary observing then a pair of binoviewers should not disappoint.

Mark

[E621Keith]

Binoviewers is wonderful on bright objects like moon and planets and it is true two cheap eyepiece can outperform an expensive one. When you view with both eyes the brain can utilise its full image processing power, that's a big advantage over viewing with one eye.

However, I feel binoviewer loses too much light on DSO and it's much better to do go cyclops on dim objects

[Mark in Macc]

I've just started using binoviewers as well and find the difference amazing. I had my eyes tested last week and it was obvious that reading the letters with both eyes was much easier than with either the left or right covered, even after the optimum lenses had been inserted. For detail, 2 eyes are better than 1.

[Mark at Beaufort]

However, I feel binoviewer loses too much light on DSO and it's much better to do go cyclops on dim objects

I totally agree Keith. When I use my 10" Dob for hunting down DSOs I will use my Ethos and Nagler EPs. Although you can see the brighter DSOs with the binoviewers the FOV is much less because I need to use a 1.6x barlow to gain focus. Its the faint DSOs at the edge of the limit of the 10" scope that cyclops comes into its own.

Mark

[Telescope40]

Hi Guys. Enjoyed reading your views.

Yes Space Dragon. I will need to be careful with the IPD. Thinking of buying another Hyperion to match one I already have. A bit chunky and may not work due to their size. I have a 21 17 and 13 mm and trying to decide which one to plump for. Thinking 17 so far - may be best to go "middle ground" power as I can always play about with the barlows I currently have.

Mark - seems like you have had a very similar experience to myself. As you say, to have your Nagler coming in 2nd when viewing Jupiter, does seems rather odd !!

I think the EP limits need to be a max of 25 and a minimum of 10. Any more either way would be the wrong way to go ?? I've not had chance to try the viewers with my 200 p as yet. They may not work at all with that scope but fingers crossed they will.

I only gave the Messiers a shot as i was curious. Will go back to cyclops mode when looking at DSO's. Totally agree the binoviewers will not be best for this type of target.

Regards John

[SkyGibbon]

15mm - 32mm is a good range for me. 20mm eye relief fits my eyes perfect. I wear glasses. Also, I pull my eyecups off before using, using a balled up fist if need be. Way more comfortable viewing. The super plossls work great for me and are fairly inexpensive for a pair. Still go cyclops for DSOs, except for the brighter ones in which binos look killer.