WO Binoviewers one of my best buys

[Gadget]

Having now had the chance to try my new WO binoviewers i can now say they are all that i hoped for they have been on my must get list for so long but now i have them i really wish i had got them sooner rather than later they really are one  astro item you can buy that gives you a lot for your hard earned i mean a real nice quality bino unit 2 very nice eyepieces a 1.6 barlow/nosepiece and a nice box to store it in all for the price of a med end single eyepiece

I had no trouble merging the images and once focused in the views of the moon are awesome was amazed how much fine lunar detail is resolved and looks so much better with 2 eyes and the image scale seems so much bigger really in your face so to speak all the folds and creases in the surface just seem to jump out more where as i usually spend a few minutes looking before the goto is whizzing off to something else i pulled up a chair for this one and spent a good hour studying the lunar surface the more i looked the more amazing the view became no doubt it was nothing i had not seen before at the eyepiece but due to the larger image scale and using 2 eyes every little detail just seems to pop out that much more  

My next decision is what to do about maybe some more eyepieces for high power it would be logical to double up something i already have which are a TV 11mm plossl a WO spl 12.5 or a Pentax xf 12.5 all which i would assume would all be of suitable quality to just pick up  s/hand one to make a matched pair ?  but i also have a TV 2.5 powermate which works very nice with my set up so maybe i should be looking at the other end of the scale for some low power viewing what do you think? i have read that i should get away with 25mm eyepieces ok just wondered if anyone has pushed it to a 32mm with this unit and had decent results ?  

If you have been thinking about getting some binoviewers get them sooner rather than later    

Kev   

[Fish]

Had mine a few months now and wish I had purchased them a long time ago. I use mine for solar as well and can not describe how fantastic the view is. I have a 2.5 powermate and use it to gain focus in my small fracs and I have had the 1.6 and powermate on with the 20mm eyepieces , I think that gives me about the maximum I want. I use two 25mm plossls as well from time to time and they work well.

[denis0007dl]

Yes, Plossls 25mm are minimum of magnification you can use on WO binos without vignette.

[rikroe666]

I have a set of these and love them, i sold my Celestron X-Cel LX eyepiece's as they were a bit big and heavy to use with them and my nose was getting in the way

I just bought a pair of classic 26mm celestron silvertops which i still haven't had chance to try yet but should work well, the 20mm that came with them and i am considering a couple of baader classic ortho's as my next purchase, all small in size and light weight. 

[Space Hopper]

Glad you like the binos kev. I love using them.

Quick point :

For a high power set with a 2800 fl i wouldn't want to go past a 16mm pair of eyepieces. This should give 175x which is plenty for most UK nights.

You'd be wrong if you were thinking your current 20mm set were giving you 140x magnification. (this is a pretty high power in itself)

All to do with the 'long lightpath' you inevitably have when using binos in a standard  SCT configuration.

Once you get past a certain lightpath length the actual focal length of your scope will increase too, and i bet you're working at close to 3 meters fl, so magnification is in the 150x , maybe more, range.

This doesn't sound a problem but other issues this causes are aperture reduction (around 1 to 1.5 inch loss) which makes the central obstruction seem larger, resulting in a dimmer, over magnified view.

The work round for this is to keep the lightpath length as short as you can when bino-viewing with SCT / MCTs. Various ways to do this.....

Bino-viewing can be complicated with plenty of issues to overcome, but as you've seen, the results are well worth it.

So, i'd say go no lower than 16mm.

[ian_bird]

Plus one. I love mine!

Cheers!

Ian

[MoonNut]

I have had mine for about 6 years, love them!

Fish. Not tried them for Solar yet, never even thought about it, but I will now

I was so impressed with WO build quality (for the price) that I ended up buying WO UWAN  4 & 7mm  and a  2" 25mm  SWAN EPs and I am very impressed with them as well.

[Space Hopper]

Solar viewing through bino-viewers will blow you away. 

You don't need high powers either. 

In fact seeing plays a big part here.

As ever though, take GREAT CARE when viewing the sun. Make sure your filters are up to the job. 

[Radders]

I brought a set of these in June and I haven't even used them yet!

Paul

[Mark in Macc]

I use these with a C9.25 and think they are excellent value for money. The stock eyepieces are very good and I use them a lot. I then bought a pair of 25mm TV plossls which are excellent and work really well with the binos. I also have a pair of 15mm Vixen NLVs, which are really nice but are quite wide at the top. My nose only just fits in between - beware when considering eyepieces for binos. I don't use these too often as the magnification I get is quite high. This is down to the binos extending the light path by quite an amount, which means that you have to refocus by quite an amount, which changes the focal length of the OTA by quite an amount. I would get a longer focal length pair of eyepieces to start with (25 mm) and see how you get on. I wouldn't go any lower than 15 mm with your OTA and, even then, it may be too much.

[Northern Soul man]

HI Kev - nice thread - just like to re - iterate everything that's been said about the Binoviewers - we have the same set up and as already mentioned - its nice just to stick with the supplied 20mm ep's and I find that using these in conjunction with the x 1.6 Barlow (that also came with mine), last  year, gave me the best views of Jupiter I had seen for a very long time - I know that Jupiter was riding very high in the sky last apparition - which I think added to the stunning views, also the colour was exceptional, the GRS was really distinct and very noticeable, as were the numerous white ovals, barges and just general detail on the surface was the best for me for such a long time.

There is a debate going on about the set up altering the focal length due to the longer light path - this just adds to the mix - for being better for Luna/Planetary - I think you will get away with the cheaper ep's - I also use a pair of Meade 26mm 4000 Super Plossl's - I don't think that you can go wrong with these at around x 107 and then with the 20mm's with the 1.6 Barlow this ramped up to around x 224 - this mag for me was just about ideal - on a comfy seat with my eyes "pinned" into the ep's together with the 11" aperture keeps the image nice and bright at this sort of aperture - making up for the dual light path really doesn't make a great deal of difference to me - the detail, even at the more polar latitudes was very nice.

Just having the 2" diagonal and the relatively light, small Plossls in the Bino hanging off the back of the scope made for a nice combination, also when rotating the Bino's "around" in the diagonal - the whole package felt very secure when trying to get a nice comfortable seated position.

As said, I think the height of Jupiter in the sky had a lot to do with the views - but having 2 eyes scrutinise over mono view really does make all the difference - as said, the main gain for me was depth of colour - very nice.

I think Jupiter will be nice and high again this apparition coming, but Saturn is well South of the Ecliptic - but I bet the ringed wonder would be just as amazing well North of the Ecliptic.

Paul.

[Gadget]

I use these with a C9.25 and think they are excellent value for money. The stock eyepieces are very good and I use them a lot. I then bought a pair of 25mm TV plossls which are excellent and work really well with the binos. I also have a pair of 15mm Vixen NLVs, which are really nice but are quite wide at the top. My nose only just fits in between - beware when considering eyepieces for binos. I don't use these too often as the magnification I get is quite high. This is down to the binos extending the light path by quite an amount, which means that you have to refocus by quite an amount, which changes the focal length of the OTA by quite an amount. I would get a longer focal length pair of eyepieces to start with (25 mm) and see how you get on. I wouldn't go any lower than 15 mm with your OTA and, even then, it may be too much.

Thx Mark     have heard lots of good things about the TV 25mm plossls and binoviewing but a couple of those even s/hand will prob be out of my price range but hopefully  a couple of cheaper plossls around the 25mm mark will work ok for me

Kev

HI Kev - nice thread - just like to re - iterate everything that's been said about the Binoviewers - we have the same set up and as already mentioned - its nice just to stick with the supplied 20mm ep's and I find that using these in conjunction with the x 1.6 Barlow (that also came with mine), last  year, gave me the best views of Jupiter I had seen for a very long time - I know that Jupiter was riding very high in the sky last apparition - which I think added to the stunning views, also the colour was exceptional, the GRS was really distinct and very noticeable, as were the numerous white ovals, barges and just general detail on the surface was the best for me for such a long time.

There is a debate going on about the set up altering the focal length due to the longer light path - this just adds to the mix - for being better for Luna/Planetary - I think you will get away with the cheaper ep's - I also use a pair of Meade 26mm 4000 Super Plossl's - I don't think that you can go wrong with these at around x 107 and then with the 20mm's with the 1.6 Barlow this ramped up to around x 224 - this mag for me was just about ideal - on a comfy seat with my eyes "pinned" into the ep's together with the 11" aperture keeps the image nice and bright at this sort of aperture - making up for the dual light path really doesn't make a great deal of difference to me - the detail, even at the more polar latitudes was very nice.

Just having the 2" diagonal and the relatively light, small Plossls in the Bino hanging off the back of the scope made for a nice combination, also when rotating the Bino's "around" in the diagonal - the whole package felt very secure when trying to get a nice comfortable seated position.

As said, I think the height of Jupiter in the sky had a lot to do with the views - but having 2 eyes scrutinise over mono view really does make all the difference - as said, the main gain for me was depth of colour - very nice.

I think Jupiter will be nice and high again this apparition coming, but Saturn is well South of the Ecliptic - but I bet the ringed wonder would be just as amazing well North of the Ecliptic.

Paul.

Thx Paul    not had a chance to try out on Jupiter yet cos of weather but am looking forward to that one sounds like you have had some great views the Meade 26mm sound good even new are not a bad price 

Kev

Glad you like the binos kev. I love using them.

Quick point :

For a high power set with a 2800 fl i wouldn't want to go past a 16mm pair of eyepieces. This should give 175x which is plenty for most UK nights.

You'd be wrong if you were thinking your current 20mm set were giving you 140x magnification. (this is a pretty high power in itself)

All to do with the 'long lightpath' you inevitably have when using binos in a standard  SCT configuration.

Once you get past a certain lightpath length the actual focal length of your scope will increase too, and i bet you're working at close to 3 meters fl, so magnification is in the 150x , maybe more, range.

This doesn't sound a problem but other issues this causes are aperture reduction (around 1 to 1.5 inch loss) which makes the central obstruction seem larger, resulting in a dimmer, over magnified view.

The work round for this is to keep the lightpath length as short as you can when bino-viewing with SCT / MCTs. Various ways to do this.....

Bino-viewing can be complicated with plenty of issues to overcome, but as you've seen, the results are well worth it.

So, i'd say go no lower than 16mm.

Hi Tubby Bear     Yes I thought maybe that my FL had changed a little plus I also have a Crayford style focuser (great addition)  on back as well so with binos my FL may have altered by more than I thought so thinking about it now all my high mag stuff is covered with the 20mm 1.6x barlow and TV powermate so I think I wll try and get couple of eyepiece's around the 25mm mark

Kev    

[Mark in Macc]

Stirling plossls are supposed to be pretty good for the money. Another SGL member uses 25 mm BST Explorers. They will vignette slightly, but are apparently very good in the WO binos. At F10 you shouldn't need premium glass.

[Chris]

Very nice report of you first binoviewing experience Kev  

For me the only thing that even comes close to using two eyes are 100 degree eyepieces. Both give superb contrast and are very relaxing, comfortable to use and give a total sense of being absorbed in space (like dipping you eyeballs in space as I call it ).

I've not long sold my WO BV's, but only as I'm eventually going to get some Maxbrights. I've been told these will give the shortest light path with my C8. I'll miss the brass compression rings of the WO's though!

For low power I use my Vixen 81mm f/6 binocular telescope and very much enjoy using this with either my of 15mm Vixen SLV's or 25mm SW Plossls. I've been giving serious thought to getting a pair of BCO's, either 10mm or 18mm also, very tempting    

[rikroe666]

Very nice report of you first binoviewing experience Kev

For me the only thing that even comes close to using two eyes are 100 degree eyepieces. Both give superb contrast and are very relaxing, comfortable to use and give a total sense of being absorbed in space (like dipping you eyeballs in space as I call it ).

I've not long sold my WO BV's, but only as I'm eventually going to get some Maxbrights. I've been told these will give the shortest light path with my C8. I'll miss the brass compression rings of the WO's though!

For low power I use my Vixen 81mm f/6 binocular telescope and very much enjoy using this with either my of 15mm Vixen SLV's or 25mm SW Plossls. I've been giving serious thought to getting a pair of BCO's, either 10mm or 18mm also, very tempting    

These are my next purchase (BCO's), its taken a while but have finally decided  on the 18mm's.

These should be great in the bino's 

[Gadget]

Stirling plossls are supposed to be pretty good for the money. Another SGL member uses 25 mm BST Explorers. They will vignette slightly, but are apparently very good in the WO binos. At F10 you shouldn't need premium glass.

Have also been looking at the Meade 5000 26mm also has good bino use reviews and I assume that any eyepiece above the 25mm mark will vignette ? 

Kev

[Mark in Macc]

In general yes, but it will depend on the field of view of the eyepiece. Plossls in general have a 50deg field of view and that gives the widest possible view at 25mm with the WO binos. If you could find an eyepiece with a lower field of view, you could use a longer focal length than 25mm.

[F15Rules]

Chris,

I've got a pair of Maxbrights and they do have compression rings in the eyepiece holders :-)

Sending you a pm...

cheers

Dave

[Chris]

Hold that PM, I'm here 

Thats Great news! I will definately be getting them now! 

Much appreciated info Dave, cheers

[Space Hopper]

I've not long sold my WO BV's, but only as I'm eventually going to get some Maxbrights. I've been told these will give the shortest light path with my C8. I'll miss the brass compression rings of the WO's though!

Correct. You need the 10mm short T2 / SCT adapter (£25-£30 believe it or not, and a Baader T2 prism diagonal ( £80 ish, they also do a posher version for £180 ish)

You'll find Maxbrights now come with eyepiece compression rings. Each ring can use 3 screws but just using one is fine.

If you're shopping for Baader gear save yourself some £££ and try Telescope Express (based in Germany)

I made the mistake of ordering from the UK (i'm not mentioning any names) so was not only required to pay more (as we do) but also had to wait 10 weeks for my order. 

  

[JED-E3]

Hold that PM, I'm here 

Thats Great news! I will definately be getting them now! 

Much appreciated info Dave, cheers

If you just want the bare Maxbright binoviewer without glasspath corrector you could do worse than buying from Amazon though the price is a bit up and down, £147.90 at time of writing, I've not seen them cheaper in the uk.

James.

[JED-E3]

Or £140.65 if you don't want the 1.25" nose piece.

Amazon link

[Chris]

If you just want the bare Maxbright binoviewer without glasspath corrector you could do worse than buying from Amazon though the price is a bit up and down, £147.90 at time of writing, I've not seen them cheaper in the uk.

James.

Cheers James F15rules (Dave) kindly PM'd me the very same link last night.

Its a great deal! I probably got a little bit excited whilst on the subject of binos as I could also do with the ADM mini dovetail and clamps for piggybacking my WO66 on my C8. Then there's the BCO pair, and I also keep eyeing up the Orion G3 mono CCD/guider which is only 319 on Amazon I've just noticed.

I've got a few hundred in paypal from selling some kit, decisions? decisions?

oh yeah, sorry to the OP for going off thread a bit 

[F15Rules]

Chris,

Don't want to influence you but last night I got the most amazing BV view of M42..the amount of extended nebula visible was stunning and the Trap sat there in the middle of it:-).

Go on, you know you want to!!

Dave

[Chris]

Thats great Dave:) I had a similar experience with my binocular telescope and 2x Vixen SLV's last week. it was if I'd taken a 10 second exposure with my camera (apart from the colour of course) but I was seeing it in real time with my own eyes. When I closed one eye the detail and brightness dropped massively.

lol you're tempting me