"Bushnell" 10-180x90 HD binoculars - fakes or genuine?

[Pranay]

I just purchased these from http://www.dinobuy.com/p/p6159865-bu...d-hd-zoom.html ... a decision born of impatience, naivete and inexperience. Are these fakes? Should I cancel my purchase right away and start trying to get a refund?

Has anyone here heard of "Comet" brand binoculars? I recently had the chance to look through their 10-70x70 zoom model and was impressed by its ability to pull in detail over large distances with acceptable sharpness and clarity.

I have read the cons of zoom binoculars but need the magnification to view the detail on distant subjects. I can live with their limited FOV.

Please advise, thanks.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

To be honest, I would cancel the order. These binoculars are certainly not what they claim to be. 180x out of bins with an aperture of at most 50mm (not 100 as per spec) is idiotic (and unlikely: 18x zoom range is unheard of). I am not sure the Bushnell logo is correct either. These sound like the usual unusable kind of zoom bins flogged cheaply.

You stand a much better chance of getting something decent if you get the cheap Lidl 10x50 Bressers. You can also get some very good deals on www.astrobuysell.com/uk/. ANY second-hand pair of 10x50s or 7x50s (even old 1970-1980 vintage) is likely to be miles ahead of these zoom binoculars.

[Pranay]

To be honest, I would cancel the order. These binoculars are certainly not what they claim to be. 180x out of bins with an aperture of at most 50mm (not 100 as per spec) is idiotic (and unlikely: 18x zoom range is unheard of). I am not sure the Bushnell logo is correct either. These sound like the usual unusable kind of zoom bins flogged cheaply.

You stand a much better chance of getting something decent if you get the cheap Lidl 10x50 Bressers. You can also get some very good deals on www.astrobuysell.com/uk/. ANY second-hand pair of 10x50s or 7x50s (even old 1970-1980 vintage) is likely to be miles ahead of these zoom binoculars.

Thanks for your advice. I have looked through some 10x bins in the past and was not satisfied with the amount of magnification or detail they provided on distant subjects (mostly some distant mountain ranges in my case). When I tried looking through the Comet 10-70x70 at max zoom at a house on a hill about 2-3 km away (barely perceptible with the naked eye), I found I was able to distinguish between people standing on its terrace. I could not do that when I tried the same test with 10x50 bins, not even close. However I was unsure of the "Comet" brand and did not buy the bins.  I now foolishly ordered these fake Bushnells from a shady site that will certainly not refund my money if I cancel my order. I may just have to wait for these likely crappy "Bushnell 10-180x100" bins to arrive and hope they at least perform as well as the Comet... :( Well, lesson learnt I guess... I know zooms are universally frowned upoin but I do need high magnification. My subjects are usually Himalayan peaks with me situated on a parallel mountain range in India about 100km away... I do not want to carry a telescope.

[Pranay]

One other reason for my looking at zoom bins: While I often do need extreme magnification as stated in my last post, there are also situations when I do not need such extreme magnification. For instance when looking at some flora/fauna on a hill 1-2 km away... I do not want to fiddle with changing eyepieces and find the zoom lever a handy tool to get at the "right" magnification in such cases...

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

For high magnification you need a solid mount. I would almost suggest getting a cheap spotting scope (these handle zooms a lot better) and getting a second-hand pair of 10x50 (or smaller).

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I have moved this thread to the "Discussion - Binoculars" forum, where more people can give advice

[Chris]

I agree with Michael, if you want high and low mag you would be better off with a spotting scope or a maksutov telescope both of which give correctly orientated image and can handle the mag better. There is no such thing as a good zoom binocular especially in that price bracket, please trust us on that one

Check out this site for info on binoculars,

http://binocularsky.com/binoc_choosing.php

Check out some of these as an alternative:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/celestron-spotting-scopes.html

If you want to use both eyes I would buy a dedicated low mag pair of binos plus a pair of high mag binos. 

Hope this helps

Chris

[Pranay]

I agree with Michael, if you want high and low mag you would be better off with a spotting scope or a maksutov telescope both of which give correctly orientated image and can handle the mag better. There is no such thing as a good zoom binocular especially in that price bracket, please trust us on that one

Check out this site for info on binoculars,

http://binocularsky.com/binoc_choosing.php

Check out some of these as an alternative:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/celestron-spotting-scopes.html

If you want to use both eyes I would buy a dedicated low mag pair of binos plus a pair of high mag binos. 

Hope this helps

Chris

Are zoom binoculars made by Celestron as bad? I could get these: http://www.celestron.com/browse-shop/astronomy/astronomy-binoculars/skymaster-20-100x70-zoom-binocular from Amazon India for the equivalent of 160 USD.

[NGC404]

looking at the images, these are certainly 45-50mm objectives and not the 90mm quoted

[BinocularSky]

I echo all the concerns expressed by others on here. Everything about that Bushnell screams "don't buy me!".

First off, avoid zoom binoculars. It is impossible to make a good zoom binocular for this sort of price (or, in fact, for any sort of price that most of us would not find prohibitive). Think about it: these budget binoculars are often out of collimation when they have a fixed focus of 10x -  exactly how is it even remotely possible that a zoom, which has more moving parts, will maintain collimation when tolerances need to be (in the case of the Bushnell) eighteen times tighter?

Secondly, the aperture is most definitely not 100mm (look at the images: if that aperture is 100mm, then the inter-pupillary distance is more likely to fit your ears than your eyes!

Thirdly, the supplied bracket is one of those vile plastic abominations. They flex in use to a degree that is infuriating at 15x; I cannot imagine how annoying they would be at any greater magnification, but I would hazard a guess that, at anything over x30, they'd be effectively unusable.

Twenty years ago, J.W. Seyfried (who knows more than most about binoculars) declared outright that zoom binoculars are a gimmick; I have never seen anything since that even hints that he is wrong.

As for the Celestron ones, let's just get some perspective:

Looking at prices on amazon.in, it costs only slightly more than a single medium quality astronomical eyepiece. For that price, you are getting two eyepieces, two objectives, two different focusing mechanisms, two prism housings, the cheapest possible zoom mechanism, and associated tubes/housings. Exactly what quality (and, more importantly, quality control, do you think it is reasonable to expect?

Add to that the fact that fixed-focus Celestron Skymasters are over-represented on "how do I fix...." threads on astronomical forums, and you'd be better off spending your money on a barge-pole so you can practice not touching zoom binoculars with it.

Please, if you want a zoom instrument, take the advice of Michael and Chris and get a spotting scope - and, even then, limit the zoom to around the aperture of the scope in millimetres (e.g., if it's a 60mm, don't go much over 60x).

[Chris]

Are zoom binoculars made by Celestron as bad? I could get these: http://www.celestron.com/browse-shop/astronomy/astronomy-binoculars/skymaster-20-100x70-zoom-binocular from Amazon India for the equivalent of 160 USD.

The entry level Celestron Binos arn't that good even with a fixed maganification e.g. 15x70, with these entry level BA1 binoculars from Celestron, Revelation etc they have to keep the costs down and they do this by letting the customer do the quality assurance. This means in practice that these BA1 class binocular often arrive out of collimation or with a focuser fault etc, still good for the price if you are happy to send a pair back and wait for a working pair to land on your door step. Add to this that fact they are a zoom version which adds complexity to the manufacturing plus I repeat there is no such thing as a good zoom binocular.

Having said this you seem to have your heart set on zoom binos, so if I had to pick out of the two mentioned I would pick the Celestrons as they have 70mm objectives although these will be stopped down to something more like 63mm.

I just have a feeling that you might have to learn the heard way if you are set on zoom binos

Chris

[Pranay]

Thanks a ton for sharing your wisdom guys, I'll take it and steer clear of zoom binoculars. Instead, I'll wait a while and then buy the best 10x50 bin and spotting/terrestrial scope I can afford. I am planning to visit Kaziranga National Park, Bhutan, Sikkim around November 2014 and that's when I'll need bins next. So I have some time to save up and then shop.

I generally tend (and hope!!!) to buy things that  I won't outgrow for about 4-5 years, even if it means plunking down significant moolah upfront and needing to race up the learning curve that comes with owning a more sophisticated instrument.

[BinocularSky]

Good decision, Pranay!

[Psychobilly]

Glad you decided against the Zoom bins..

If space is at a premium and you don't mind paying for a decent instrument then you wont go far wrong with the Nikon ED-50 Spotting scope - it's a fair investment as the EP's cost as much as the scope but until the light starts to fade it punches way above it's 50 mm aperture would suggest...

http://nikon.com/products/sportoptics/lineup/scopes/ed50/

It's a not insignificant investment but I wouldn't part with mine...

Peter...