[Review] Vixen SG 2.1x42 Widefields

[Stratis]

These binos became available some time ago, yet still I don't see many people admitting to owning any and nobody I have shown them to showed even the slightest recognition. The few reports I could gather seemed to relay near-magical experiences, light pollution vanishing, old youthful eyesight restored.... hyperbole probably but then not outside the realms of probability for this type of optical system. 

I resolved to pick up a pair, and after a much longer than usual wait, they arrived from First Light Optics. I won't waste time introducing the design or the history of these, there's plenty of information out there already. The important question is, should you get one, and I hope to answer that in this review.

So! Here we go.

Construction

These binoculars are beyond solid in their construction; they feel like they have been hewn out of solid obsidian. Not a single piece vibrates, rattles or moves in any way without direct human force, and those parts that are designed to move do so with a stately, assured pace. It feels like something a master thief would use to crack an elaborate safe mechanism.

On the downside, all this style has slightly impeded substance, as the surfaces are all a bit smooth and slippery, and the sheer density of the thing can make finding a decent grip difficult. Once they're up and on your cheekbones they rest quite naturally, but they do require care to get in and out of a pocket or their own carrying pouch without slipping free of your grasp.

I am honestly considering modding mine with a couple of discreet patches of rubber tape, as I can see tears before bedtime on a long cold night with numb fingers trying to wrestle these free of a zip pocket.

Mechanics

Physically, the binos are extremely simple; only two things actually move.

The intra-pupillary distance is adjustable by a simple hinge; as stated, this moves nice and slowly, and once set it does not require a locking mechanism (fortunately, as there isnt one) to maintain position. It is a simple and elegant solution. Built into this hinge is a standard bino tripod thread, but to be honest with these it would be total overkill.

Each individual eyepiece has a focus adjustment; this is slightly more eager to move than the hinge mechanism, and can get slightly misaligned when returning it to the case or handing it to someone; this leads to somewhat more fiddling with focus wheels than is strictly ideal, but once you get the hang of it refocusing takes just a second or two.

As the temporary owner of perfect vision, I cannot comment on eyeglass compatibility... I suspect it to be limited, as with all Gallilean eyepiece designs the pupil must physically enter the concave eyepiece lens to fully appreciate the field of view, which is after all the whole point of these.

Optics

The optical surfaces have some reasonably-aggressive multicoatings to cut down on reflection, although I am fairly sure the glass itself is 'Special Dispersion' at best; while false colour isnt a problem with these on-axis, I doubt we are dealing with top-shelf ED optics here. In the end, whatever glass is in use proves to be a fine choice, secondary spectrum only becomes apparent far off-axis, at which point the Gallilean eyepiece concept itself breaks down as it was never really designed to be used in that way.

The lenses are large, sharply curved and attract fingerprints like a baby DeLorean in a petting zoo. I would suggest carrying a microfibre cloth around at all times if you want to use these throughout the night, grease does impact the view quite noticeably. 

The View

So, technicalities aside, what are they like to look through?

In several words, absolutely flipping sensational, in the most literal sense of the word.

Let me be clear; if I could buy no other gift for an astronomer, young or old, it would be a pair of these. They are just wonderful, and let me tell you why.

The ultrawide field of view is enough to take in the entirety of Ursa Major, and the view seems as natural as your own eyes. Your brain knows how to interpret images like this, without the contortions of a large f-ratio, or a narrow field of view, or many mirrors and lenses all conspiring to focus on your retina; this is simply like having natural vision only much, much better.

Not only can you see the Great Bear, you can see Alcor and Mizar individually. There is no need to try to guess the physical reality of this pair, it is plainly apparent alongside the other stars of the asterism, and so many more tiny pinpricks of light in between! I don't mind saying, these binoculars have sort of changed my perception of the night sky, in a similar way to my first widefield apochromat after a year of SCT viewing.

Navigation is not only effortless (just move your head, you simply cant get lost), but it even helps you to navigate in your other telescopes! Need to find that pesky DSO? Starchart not helping? No trouble, just locate the rough spot in the Vixens and it is much easier to centre it in the main scope. I find I don't really need a finderscope if I have these, the main trouble I have is being pointed at the right patch of sky. With the Vixens, I never wonder what the main scope is looking at, it is perfectly, inescapably apparent!

The Milky Way through these is just beyond belief... thousands upon thousands of tiny stars flood the field of view... everywhere you look are tiny asterisms, doubles you didnt know existed, bright and dark lanes... I have handed these to my non-astronomer friends during a poker night and had difficulty getting people back inside. Nobody I showed these to had any idea such a thing was visible with two bits of glass.

Deep Sky objects are obviously going to be a challenge, but anything that is advertised as 'visible to the naked eye' in a 1980s star atlas is visible to the naked eye through these today... the main effect is simply to combat light pollution and increase visual resolution. I had never managed to see M31 or even M13 with the naked eye, not since I was a child in the North of England with much reduced light pollution and a dark back garden. With these, M13 was located in rapid order by my girlfriend who didnt even really know where to look, and after a few minutes hunting through the most light-polluted and smog-ridden portion of the Oxford sky, I was even able to find and observe the Andromeda Galaxy. From a dark sky site, I can only imagine the experience to be heightened further still.

All this with something that fits in a jacket pocket and requires no supporting apparatus at all.

There are limitations; do not expect these to be like having flawless robot vision. The edge of the field is distorted badly, stars elongate substantially the further out you go. The intended use of this EP design is to move the head rather than the eye. Don't peer around inside the binos expecting them to perform like a pair of TeleVue Ethos, you are only courting disappointment and ignoring the laws of optical physics. The wide field, when your eyes are on-axis where they belong, serves to immerse you entirely in the view and avoid the tunnel-vision inherent in most bino systems.

Conclusion

In conclusion, if you can possibly, buy a pair of these. I can almost guarantee that, once you learn to accept the difference between these and a 'performance' optical system, you will never regret the decision.

Quite simply, unless you are a hardcore photometrist or a career comet-hunter, these binoculars will simply make you happy viewing the night sky, in all its breadth and wonder. No fiddling with focusers or worrying about image scale or Dawes limits, no deep-rooted anxieties about your choice of scope or the seeing conditions or should-I-give-collimation-another-go....

It's just you and the night sky, very nearly the way our ancient ancestors saw it, and possibly a little better.

Seriously, give them a go.

[Helen]

Thank you!  you reminded me about my pair which haven't been out for a while, and I've just had a fun 15 minutes cloud dodging.  They really are fun aren't they!!  I'd already planned to take them on holiday, and now even more looking forward to using them at a few dark sites in rural France

Helen

[Damo636]

Excellent review, thanks for sharing!

[John]

Thats a great write up

I handled a pair of these at the last SGL star party but did not actually get a chance to look at the night sky through them. I will at the next opportunity

[BinocularSky]

Nice review! Pretty much mirrors my experience with them. Be interested to know if you are still as knocked out by how wonderful they are after you've used them a few dozen times (I am - it just doesn't wear off).

[Helen]

Thats a great write up

I handled a pair of these at the last SGL star party but did not actually get a chance to look at the night sky through them. I will at the next opportunity

I'll bring mine along in September John

[laudropb]

Very interesting and well written report. Thanks for posting.

[damnut]

Thats a great writeup, friend down the road has them and reckons the best £240 quid he spent. At a dark site they are very good on widefield, and bring out the milky way.

[Roy Challen]

Excellent review! I'll admit to being very tempted - need to raise some funds first though.

[DirkSteele]

Sounds like your experience is very similar to mine.  Loved them immensely when i put them through their paces in Namibia and still use them a lot back in the UK.  Quite a few of my astro friends have gone on to purchase a pair after borrowing mine.  I really believe the Vixen SGs are the most interesting (and fun) astronomy equipment I have used in years.

BTW, love your keyboard!

[Chris]

Really great read, very well written. I remember being very tempted when these first appeared, I'm now tempted again after reading your review

[jkwhinfrey]

Nicely put. I particular agree with your comments about moving your head.

My wife bought me a pair of these for my last birthday as a surprise with help from FLO.

They take a bit of getting use to, and it's a strange experience viewing the night sky through them (totally unlike the other bins or scopes I use) but it always makes me smile

James

[John]

I'll bring mine along in September John

Thanks Helen - I'll look forward to that

[Mark at Beaufort]

A very good review of these binoculars. I bought mine about 15 months ago and really like them. I took them to the Canary Islands and California to study constellations below -30 Dec and they were so easy to use with a star atlas. When hunting dowm DSOs I use them to view the night sky putiing a RDF in the FOV - makes star hopping to your choosen objects so much easier.

Initially when these Binos came out they did not have the rubber eyecups which Vixen has now sorted.

Matthew (Dirk Steele) also did an excellent review of these Binos which I believe in on FLOs website.

[ghostdance]

I adore mine and your excellent review sums my feelings about these little frog-eyed cuties exactly...They are delightful. Thanks for a scrummy review!

[Stratis]

Initially when these Binos came out they did not have the rubber eyecups which Vixen has now sorted.

...rubber eyecups? 

Mine don't seem to have any of those, do other models have them?

[Alien 13]

...rubber eyecups? 

Mine don't seem to have any of those, do other models have them?

I am sure I read somewhere that FLO had talked to Vixen and are now supplying them with rubber eyecups.

Just found this http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/231295-vixen-21-x-42/page-2

Alan

[Stratis]

Awww.... I feel left out now, rubber eyecups would make these so much better with streetlights around :'(

[BinocularSky]

Awww.... I feel left out now, rubber eyecups would make these so much better with streetlights around :'(

No, they don't make much difference to that at all; "cups" is probably a bit misleading. What they do is cover the metal eyecups so that they don't freeze to your eyelids in cold weather.

[ghostdance]

No, they don't make much difference to that at all; "cups" is probably a bit misleading. What they do is cover the metal eyecups so that they don't freeze to your eyelids in cold weather.

Absolutely - they do insulate very well Certainly kept the 2.1's glued on my ugly mug for a lot longer in winter - for which I was most grateful!

But lessen LP? Uh-huh. No-sirree bob...not their purpose.

[BinocularSky]

Should add that, if you retro-fit the rubber eyecups, then the eyepiece caps don't fit any more - fortunately I found some that did in the junkbox.

[PeterW]

What effect would try have under light pollution? Trying to find an excuse for not getting a pair.

;-)

Peter

[BinocularSky]

If you mean "What effect would they have...", they reduce the effects of it (aperture does - which is why it is possible to see some of the brighter stars with telescopes when the Sun is above the horizon). So, sorry, no excuse there - you'll have to try a lot harder than that!