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Vixen SG2.1 x 42 binoculars in LP?

kerrylewis

By kerrylewis
in Discussions - Binoculars

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kerrylewis

kerrylewis

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Thinking of a Christmas present to myself: has anyone had experience of using the Vixen bins in a suburban environment? I've read lots of good reports of how they perform so well but mainly under dark skies. Do they also offer an advantage under more 'normal' skies? By that I mean reasonable skies where the Milky Way is visible in good conditions but there is some LP. Interested to hear any experiences

Thanks

Kerry

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kerrylewis

kerrylewis

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The conditions you describe sound like my back garden. My experience is that they "counteract" LP, in that the sky overhead looks like it does without the binos from a darker site.

That's interesting Steve, and what I was hoping - thanks

Kerry

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ghostdance

ghostdance

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Kerry, if your skies permit naked-eye viewing of the Milky Way (in good conditions) then I'd think you'll just LOVE the Vixens. My

( innercity) view never allows me to see the MW, but what the Vixens do so well is give me an involving widefield view of the constellations including the dimmer stars that I just can't see naked-eye unless it is *exceptionally* clear (ie hardly ever) for example, Sheliak & Sulafat/parallelowotsit in Lyra - really is like having super enhanced vision as someone in another thread memorably put it. Diference between looking through a window and stepping outside. And I especially love em when looking at daytime clouds - I could get lost in there!

Sounds like a great present. You'll be thrilled once Santa's been...

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Mark at Beaufort

Mark at Beaufort

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Kerry I bought these binos back in the summer and have no regrets. I am guessing that they give me an extra 1.5 - 2 mags above naked eye. I use them to help with star hopping to locate certain stars and then use the finderscope then the eyepiece.

I recently took them to the Canary Islands and had great enjoyment locating constellations from Grus to Puppis and Vela.

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kerrylewis

kerrylewis

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Thanks Mark. I had read that review - it was one of those that I meant which mainly relate experiences under dark skies such as Namibia. I was therefore wondering how people found them in other circumstances. I think that I have enough responses to whet my appetite. They are obviously not something that I need, but definitely something that I want!

Cheers

Kerry

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jabeoo1

jabeoo1

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Even though I rarely view through them from my home back garden (mental note taken to remember to do more often), The Vixens & my 10x50's is my portable gear list.  

When abroad during the summer they paid their due back to me in a single 2 hour session under the milky way.  Absolutely spectacular & unique.  Kerry it's unlikely you will regret owning them even if they only get used occasionally on home turf.    

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  • 2 weeks later...
kerrylewis

kerrylewis

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It looks like the run of clear nights has come to an end so time for a quick report. 

I have given the Vixens a good workout from my garden on three of four nights. I must say that my initial impressions on the first night were slightly disappointing but I did realise that the sky was not all that transparent and I had to get used to the binoculars.

They clearly do give an uplift to the magnitude that is visible compared with naked eye and this is very pleasant. It is great to see whole constellations with more stars and also to easily see some of the fainter or more obscure constellations. I can see that I can re-learn, or learn, my way around bits of the sky that I haven't really studied to date. At the moment I find that it is a bit like my knowledge of central London - I know some bits very well but not necessarily how they fit together until I look at a map.  Similarly, I find that I know some areas of the sky quite well, especially along the ecliptic,  but not others. So I intend to spend some time with the Vixens and a star atlas, especially on those occasions when it may not be worth setting up a scope for some reason.

There is only one slightly odd feature that I have found: the sky does not look uniformly dark through them, but there is a sort of perimeter halo of slightly greyer background around the edge of the FOV. I have read reviews which point out that the performance is best over a narrower FOV than the one quoted but I did not expect this effect. I wonder if it is because I am not using them under dark skies? The effect does seem less marked away from lights. It does detract a bit from the 'immersive experience', if I can put it that way, but I will reserve full judgement until I can try them under better skies. 

Has anyone else had experience of this?

I hoping to get to a darker site in the next few weeks when the moon is out of the way, and will report further then. 

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ghostdance

ghostdance

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Can't say I've noticed what you described Kerry,but it may well be present but I've simply not noted it (I imagine my sky is somewhat lighter than yours which may explain it...)

Sorry to hear your initial disappointment - for me, in my poorer skies, seeing the fainter stars and whole constellation patterns is reward enough. How the 2.1s will be at a truly dark site is a lipsmacking prospect...it's been a long time since I saw the Milky Way (& that was in France)!

I hope the Vixens will offer more for you once the Moon hies off and darkness reigns again :)

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