Vixen BT81S-A Binoculars

[Bino Pete]

I might be able to get a pair of these binoculars - 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/all-binoculars/vixen-bt81s-a-binocular-telescope.html

Whats your opinions on these, they are described as second hand but like new! and come with the vixon fork mount and tripod.

Do I have to watch out for anything?

Thanks

 

[Charic]

3 hours ago, Bino Pete said:

Do I have to watch out for anything?

Cloud formations after purchase?

I'd be interested how the compare visually to our 8x40's. and more so if any planetary detail is evident on the likes of Jupiter.

[Stargazer McCabe]

I saw a set on Astro Buy Sell recently. Several “Google Searches” were enough to dissuade me.

A common theme in reviews was bad ghosting and very noticeable light scatter. To the point one Cloudy Nights reviewer returned his...

Might be worth doing the same searches. 

Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t press ahead. But you’d be able to know what to look for. Or, like me, you might hear too loud an alarm bell...

[SteveNickolls]

Hi Pete,

Thanks for the post. I've had my pair of Vixen BT81S-A's with fork mount and tripod since November 2014 and enjoy using them. I also have 10 mm, 15mm and 25mm Vixen SLV eyepieces to give a nice range of magnifications on different targets.

The only 'trouble' I have had is related to the fork mount in that the swivel bearings holding the binoculars need tightening periodically to hold the binoculars steady, not an onerous task with an Allen key.

As for comparing them to some 8 x 40's I can helpfully confirm they are somewhat heavier and different in colour scheme. 

Should you not get on with them you can decide to send your's back to FLO for someone else to snap up. 

Good luck in your decision making.

Best Regards,
Steve

[Bino Pete]

24 minutes ago, SteveNickolls said:

Hi Pete,

Thanks for the post. I've had my pair of Vixen BT81S-A's with fork mount and tripod since November 2014 and enjoy using them. I also have 10 mm, 15mm and 25mm Vixen SLV eyepieces to give a nice range of magnifications on different targets.

The only 'trouble' I have had is related to the fork mount in that the swivel bearings holding the binoculars need tightening periodically to hold the binoculars steady, not an onerous task with an Allen key.

As for comparing them to some 8 x 40's I can helpfully confirm they are somewhat heavier and different in colour scheme. 

Should you not get on with them you can decide to send your's back to FLO for someone else to snap up. 

Good luck in your decision making.

Best Regards,
Steve

Thanks, what magnification would you get with those eyepieces? Would you see any planetary details etc?

[SteveNickolls]

11 minutes ago, Bino Pete said:

Thanks, what magnification would you get with those eyepieces? Would you see any planetary details etc?

Hi,

The magnifications would be x48, x32 and x19 for the 10mm, 15mm and 25mm eyepieces respectively. While I mostly look at DSO's with these binoculars in my observing log for 4th June 2017 I wrote, "As the evening began to close in I was able to observe the Moon and Jupiter again for around 20 minutes using the Vixen binoculars (x48) until around 10.10 PM. The two principal bodies were separated by around 9 degrees, still in the constellation of Virgo. The increasing amount of light on the Moon’s surface had removed the shadow from Mons Piton the previous evening but different craters were now highlighted across the terminator region. Banding was seen across Jupiter and the four main moons were more spaced apart than the previous evening."  Again on the 5th August that year I observed Saturn with the following entry-"Another clear night and I used the Vixen binoculars at x48 to view Saturn which was placed in the southern sky. The planet was quite small at x48 but the ring system was distinctly separate from the planet body."

Hope this helps you :-)

If you were really after more detail or larger images then perhaps a telescope would be better given the cost of the binoculars? As I have poor eyes I find binocualrs best for viewing however I also have a less used 9.25" SCT and on occasions the detail on Jupiter can be very clear and withstand a lot more magnifcation.

Best Regards,
Steve

[Bino Pete]

1 hour ago, SteveNickolls said:

Hi,

The magnifications would be x48, x32 and x19 for the 10mm, 15mm and 25mm eyepieces respectively. While I mostly look at DSO's with these binoculars in my observing log for 4th June 2017 I wrote, "As the evening began to close in I was able to observe the Moon and Jupiter again for around 20 minutes using the Vixen binoculars (x48) until around 10.10 PM. The two principal bodies were separated by around 9 degrees, still in the constellation of Virgo. The increasing amount of light on the Moon’s surface had removed the shadow from Mons Piton the previous evening but different craters were now highlighted across the terminator region. Banding was seen across Jupiter and the four main moons were more spaced apart than the previous evening."  Again on the 5th August that year I observed Saturn with the following entry-"Another clear night and I used the Vixen binoculars at x48 to view Saturn which was placed in the southern sky. The planet was quite small at x48 but the ring system was distinctly separate from the planet body."

Hope this helps you :-)

If you were really after more detail or larger images then perhaps a telescope would be better given the cost of the binoculars? As I have poor eyes I find binocualrs best for viewing however I also have a less used 9.25" SCT and on occasions the detail on Jupiter can be very clear and withstand a lot more magnifcation.

Best Regards,
Steve

Thank you for this information, it has helped me a lot. 

[BinocularSky]

Just t add to the above, I seem to recall reading about some issues with some eyepieces that have step or tapers on the barrels; something to do with them not lining up properly with the compression rings, resulting in a tilt and, therefore, slight miscollimation. I think the BT-70ED uses the same design of prism box; you can read about the ghosting issues in my S&N review (last page): https://www.vixenoptics.co.uk/PDFs/Product Reviews/Sky_at_Night_BTED70SA_Feb14.pdf

[SteveNickolls]

As BinocularSky notes you need eyepieces that have straight barrels to prevent any problems with improper alignment.  Vixen SLV's are fine.

 

Cheers,
Steve

[Chris]

I've owned a pair of these. Mine were ex display and turned out to have one or two issues with one of the focusers and IPD adjustment. I wasn't as discerning back then and it took me a while to realise things weren't right, but when I did I decided to sell them on the second hand market cheap with disclosure of these issues. The chap looking to buy them (who I'd met and trusted to play with them for while) persuaded me to seek a refund or repair under warranty. 

I wasn't that impressed with Vixen/Opticron UK to be honest, who they were returned too via FLO. They were 'repaired' and sent out again still not right. I'm rusty on the fine details as it was a few years back but in the end FLO were absolute stars throughout, and ended up giving a refund as well as spending some time mediating between us and Vixen UK. 

Anyway, the chap I was looking to sell them too was clearly more discerning then me, and was impressed enough with the potential that he chose to buy a brand new pair with mount. Now, I've got a very strong feeling this is the setup you're looking to buy  as I've seen the chaps ad on abs.

Now if this is indeed the guy, I don't know him that well, but I found him to be trust worthy and very discerning with my dealings with him. 

When I had a pair I used them with Vixen SLV's as you definitely need straight barrel eyepieces so they sit concentrically. I had some problems using tapered barrel EP's. The views were nice, If memory serves a bit of fringing on bright objects as you would expect, but I remember being impressed once everything was tweaked up and adjusted where I wanted it. I can't specifically remember seeing reflections? but again I wasn't quite as discerning back then.  

I did an unboxing and review thread when I first received mine, so it might be worth reading my thoughts at the time: 

  

[Bino Pete]

1 hour ago, Lockie said:

I've owned a pair of these. Mine were ex display and turned out to have one or two issues with one of the focusers and IPD adjustment. I wasn't as discerning back then and it took me a while to realise things weren't right, but when I did I decided to sell them on the second hand market cheap with disclosure of these issues. The chap looking to buy them (who I'd met and trusted to play with them for while) persuaded me to seek a refund or repair under warranty. 

I wasn't that impressed with Vixen/Opticron UK to be honest, who they were returned too via FLO. They were 'repaired' and sent out again still not right. I'm rusty on the fine details as it was a few years back but in the end FLO were absolute stars throughout, and ended up giving a refund as well as spending some time mediating between us and Vixen UK. 

Anyway, the chap I was looking to sell them too was clearly more discerning then me, and was impressed enough with the potential that he chose to buy a brand new pair with mount. Now, I've got a very strong feeling this is the setup you're looking to buy  as I've seen the chaps ad on abs.

Now if this is indeed the guy, I don't know him that well, but I found him to be trust worthy and very discerning with my dealings with him. 

When I had a pair I used them with Vixen SLV's as you definitely need straight barrel eyepieces so they sit concentrically. I had some problems using tapered barrel EP's. The views were nice, If memory serves a bit of fringing on bright objects as you would expect, but I remember being impressed once everything was tweaked up and adjusted where I wanted it. I can't specifically remember seeing reflections? but again I wasn't quite as discerning back then.  

I did an unboxing and review thread when I first received mine, so it might be worth reading my thoughts at the time: 

  

Thank you, I have already read your review (a very good read). I'm in two minds what to do as I was thinking of selling my CPC800 for these binoculars.

[Chris]

6 minutes ago, Bino Pete said:

Thank you, I have already read your review (a very good read). I'm in two minds what to do as I was thinking of selling my CPC800 for these binoculars.

Two very different beasts big binos and an 8" SCT! really depends on what objects you like viewing. I guess in a perfect world you'd have both if like me