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First light review - Revelation 15x70 binoculars


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Service:

At £50 from Telescope House, and with a 10% bank holiday discount, these binos were a steal.

I received them 3 days after ordering (ordered Sunday, bank holiday Monday, received Wednesday), which was excellent service. 10/10

Out of the box:

They are very well packed - double boxed with plenty of bubble and foam to stop shaking. Included in the box was a carrying bag, a lens cleaning cloth, a very flimsy "strap" and a tripod adaptor. Fitted were a long eyepiece cap and objective caps. 8/10

Build:

First thing I noticed was that the velcro on the carrying bag was not sewn on properly (oops!). Small point, but clearly QC is not A1. Taking out the binos - they are huge compared to your average 10x50s, but are very lightweight. This is of course both a good thing and a bad thing! The binoculars appeared well collimated.

The objective barrels make a lovely "dong" when you tap them! Clearly not a very solid construction in these. Maybe not even metal. The body is covered in rubber, which gives them a good feel in the hand. Dioptre adjustment is quite stiff and sticky. This is fine for me as I don't want this subsequently adjusted anyway. Main focus knob has a good tension and a grippy rubber dotted surface.

Now for the worst part. This is the tripod adaptor. It is made of plastic, and is quite adequate on my 10x50s. With the larger binos, however, this adaptor is not sufficiently sturdy. Tapping the objective barrels lightly results in wobbles that took 7 seconds to die down. Tapping the body of the binos leads to 3 seconds wobble. This is likely to cause problems in wind. 5/10

First Light:

The targets can be viewed here, but I will now go into more detail on the views. Views in these binos were generally very crisp and clean. Viewing distant branches against a light sky, unimposing chromatic aberration was detected. Stars turned into seagulls at various areas in the last 40% of the view. This was neither consistent around the circumference, nor from objective to objective. Instead it was rather sporadic. In the worst case it was slightly imposing especially in the last 20% of the field. However, in use, this really doesn't bother me. What astounded me was the light grasp on these binos. Seeing M81/2 through them was quite surprising. All things considered - 8/10

Value for money:

If you've got £50 for accessories, forget OIII filters, dew controllers, or even a new eyepiece - get these! If you don't have the energy to set-up the scope, this is the next best thing! The other things can come later. 10/10

Total: 41/50 - 82%

Andrew

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Sorry. Wrong section. Please....?

Also, you might not consider it fair to include the service from the dealer in the review. I did this because these binos aren't available anywhere else. If you wish you can consider the binos to get 77.5% disregarding "service".

Thanks

Andrew

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Thanks chaps.

One further observation - the inside of the barrel has ribs, but is painted quite glossy black. This appears to lead to some (little) internal reflections in the views.

In retrospect I may have been quite harsh WRT 5/10 for the build quality. I have based this solely on what I have written, so feel free to make your own judgement on the notes.

Those who own the "Lidl" Bresser 10x50 binoculars will be interested to know that apart from the larger objectives and different eye cups, these binos appear identical. This should give you some idea what you're getting.

cheers

Andrew

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Andrew your reviews and observing reports are superb you have huge passion for this hobby and it reflects very well in your reports i look forward to the next one good work keep at it.

Mick.

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  • 2 months later...

just a note i got a pair of these on the back of this thread ,thanks everyone they are truly a superb value for money pair of binos.....i mean 50 quid delivered!!!!!!! :hello1:

,great for popping out for 10minutes to view whats about..... i have already bagged about mag 8 objects with them ,i find they help me to get to know a constellation ,they have proved great for daytime birdwatching as well especially at dusk

thanks again

rob

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Great review Andrew. Like the way that you put it all together, I'll try to emulate your reviewing style when I get around to marking up my experiences with some of my bits of kit.

A few things I would say about 15x70 bins from my experience is this:

They're BIG. Sure, we're not talking Helios Quantum 7's, but they're not really what I'd call 'handy'. I took mine with me to Sri Lanka and they were great for checking out the skies and spotting wildlife, but you'll need to clear some space for them in your luggage. They're not something you can pack as an afterthought. Also, unless you can find something to brace them on you'll need a (sturdy) tripod or a monopod.

Personally I like just laying back in my deckchair with a mug of coffee (black, no sugar in case anyone's buying) and using my 15x70's to browse the skies at my leisure. I use a rolled up sleeping bag to rest my elbows on for a comfy way to support my arms. I also brought a steel tripod adapter which is as solid as a rock.

However, I think I'll sell my 15x70's eventually and get myself something lighter, like a pair of Ultima DX 9x63's that are slightly smaller and maybe a pair of 25x100's that I can stick on a tripod. 15x70's are a good compromise though, especially if you plan on using them with a tripod and a metal adapter.

Mark

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