Walked right into...

[The Warthog]

When I stopped in the town of Wall, South Dakota, I had been feeling the need for a pair of binoculars to bring in distant objects. I bought a pair of generic 10x50s for $30, and carried them with me on the trip, to good effect in examining distant viewpoints. I've used them a few times for general stargazing, including a few nights ago when I lay back for an hour watching for sporadic meteors, and picking out various things with my binocs. I find that the stars are nice and pointy, without noticeable coma, but was wondering what I've got for my thirty bucks.

The brand on the binocs is Binolux, and the stamp says 10x50, field 7 degrees, which I found a little surprising, as I would have expected 5 degrees with 10 power. I also enjoyed looking at the nifty red coating on the front of the lenses, when I read tonight that a ruby coating is often a useless addition to cheaper binoculars that reduces transmission of some wavelengths. They don't appear to suffer from defects in baffling or prisms that the same book warned about, so I probably got my money's worth, and they do have a thingy to attach them to a tripod with.

I guess they are, as a friend of mine once said about another pair of cheap binoculars that I had, my best pair of binoculars, so I'll use them, emphasizing their good points, and ignoring the bad. I have no way of knowing what the exact light transmission through these is, and I'm not sure I want to know. I can see more with them than without them, and for $30, perhaps that's enough.

[philsail1]

Well "Warthog," that's the "acid test" as they say!

If you can see things OK through your "cheap" binoculars, then they must be good!

Clear skies to you,

Best wishes,

philsail1

(Connah's Quay, North Wales, UK).

[MikeP]

Well that brings back memories WH - I assume you bought them from Wall Drug.

Mrs MikeP and I called in there on our way back from Rapid City and were amused to watch an American recording a video of his breakfast .... his commentary went along the lines of "we're having ham, eggs, hash browns ...".

We could not help imagining him showing the video to family and friends.

Mike

[Sam]

Sounds like you got a good deal to me WH!!

[The Warthog]

Actually, I had them out with me last night, and although they do seem to give a bit of a bluish cast to the stars, they are tack-sharp, so I'm getting more and more happy with this little purchase. I should think these are the sort of binocs you get at Lidl's. They are quite OK.

I did get them at Wall Drug, BTW. Quite a place.