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Helios LightWing 8x42 ED, Unboxing & First Light


Chris

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After using a pair of 10x50's hand held for the last year and finding the mag a bit shakey, I decided to look for a pair of 8x42 and try out roof prism binoculars for the first time. As my 10x50's were also budget, I was also looking for an increase in optical quality. 

I was immediately taken by the Helios LightWing HR 8x42, as the spec looked very good for the price (>8 degree FOV, phase & dielectric coated prisms, magnesium alloy body rather than polycarbonate, and a price of £139). For an extra £30 they sell a model with ED glass which is the model I ended up not being able to resist:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/helios-binoculars/helios-lightwing-hr-42mm-binoculars.html

The package arrived soon after ordering, and was well protected with a thick layer of bubble wrap and a large box. The packaging gave me confidence with regards to collimation. I liked FLO's "may contain snow" sticker on the box - very festive :) 

I was surprised by how well finished the binoculars look. They have a weight of quality about them, and all the adjustments feel firm but smooth, very nice.

First light came late that night, plus another quick session the following night where I took them over the fields near our house away from the street lights. 

The very first object I pointed the binos at was the Moon. At just 8x I didn't expect a great deal but I was very nicely surprised. The contrast and sharpness was really quite stunning enabling me to see subtle shades of grey and almost brown. I was very surprised by the level of detail seen at just 8x, and there was zero chromatic aberration on axis which gave the impression of the Moon just hanging there in space. I moved the Moon to the edge of the FOV and was again surprised my how sharp the Moon remained out pretty much to the edge. There was just a touch of lateral chromatic aberration on the limb of the Moon when viewed at the edge, but nothing more than I've seen on axis with budget binos.

After grinning at the Moon for a couple of minutes I moved over to Orion which was poking out the roof of my neigbours house. I was able to see 3 trapezium stars and a touch of nebulae surrounding them. Orion was still very low in the murk so I didn't expect masses of nebulae, especially with just 42mm ED objectives, but the stars were really quite pretty and tight and vibrant. Moving up to Taurus things just got better. Aldeberan the eye of the bull was a rich yellow, and tiny pin prick stars were starting to appear on the edge of vision behind the brighter stars giving the whole constellation quite a bit of depth. 

I moved westward and hunted down Andromeda which for some reason I never seem to find that quickly, despite having 8 degrees to play with! After 60 seconds or so I'd nailed down a well defined core plus faint limbs coming off either side. I finished the night with M45 which was framed so well in these binos, but quite high as to put strain on my neck. another quick grin at the Moon and I called a night, very pleased with these binoculars.

Second light was kind of brief, but away from the house in the adjacent fields, plus no Moon. Orion showed a bit more nebulae, not bad considering the very modest aperture, and I also picked out the fuzzy patches which I believe to be M35 and M36, no stars resolved off course at just 8x, but definite patches. I did try for M81/82 but these were in the light pollution. I returned to Orion and enjoyed Betelgeuse's bright yellow glow then called it a night.

 

Conclusion:

Really happy with 8x for hand holding bino's, I feel this is right for me. I also love the feel of roof prism bino's in the hand. I also conclude that it is very much worth while trying to buy the best optics you can afford, no matter how little the aperture. 

I'm very pleased with these binos! :) 

Oh and the captive objective caps are just a great idea!

Edit: not sure where the picture of the objectives went, but they are very nicely applied purple coatings.

 

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Very close weight. The granites with the way the middle bar is two bits for my hand size works for me. Those Helios look a super price. They are great for bird watching too and I loved following comet lovejoy. Hope yours give as much enjoyment.

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They look and sound like an excellent buy Chris. Having the ED optics is a great bonus and that's a really good price for the spec. I do like the 8x42 format, much easier to hand hold than x10 or x15 but enough mag and light grasp to show a decent amount.

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