Binoviewers?

[PaulConfused]

Good evening ladies and gents

I've been reading a great deal about the benefits of binoviewers over the last few days, and after seeing that a lot of the scopes at our local observatory use them too, I'm sorely tempted.

My wife is having optical surgery soon so anything that causes less stress on her eyes, and at the same time makes my viewing more pleasurable is a win win.

So, are there any recommended brands? Do you buy an adaptor and then put 2 identical eyepieces in?

We'll be using them on a Mak 127 which I believe is supposed to be ideal for binoviewing.

 

Thanks in advance!

[MarsG76]

5 minutes ago, PaulConfused said:

Do you buy an adaptor and then put 2 identical eyepieces in?

Yes.. and that will make observing much more comfortable, especially viewing the moon and planets.

 

[Peter Drew]

Try some on your next visit Paul.  ?

[Trikeflyer]

There are some for sale on ABS http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=138684

I have no link with the seller. I have Williams Optics and love them. Don't do much mono viewing of planets and the moon now. 

The ones for sale are probably not top brand but at the price, they might be worth a punt.

Steve 

[Ricochet]

I believe that all the Chinese models are supposed to be optically much the same. Of these the TS binoviewers are supposed to be the ones to get simply due to having the best eyepiece clamps. To get a step up in optical quality you would need Baader Maxbrights (if you can find a pair) or MarkVs (if you have deep pockets). There are also a few other premium binoviewers but I don't know that they are readily available in Europe. 

Although you can reach focus natively with a Mak, you may want to use a low powered barlow as a large change in focus from the design position will result in an increased in spherical aberration. 

[25585]

I recently got a pair of TS bino viewers from recommendations on this forum. Very pleased with them so far. ☺ 

[PaulConfused]

15 hours ago, Peter Drew said:

Try some on your next visit Paul.  ?

I certainly will, Pete! Which make do you have up there?

[Peter Drew]

Revelation, Celestron, William optics and Denkmeir.

[Louis D]

It really depends on your budget.  I bought the Arcturus unit which is similar to the Astro Buy/Sell unit.  It works great as long as you don't exceed the 22mm clear aperture.

If you have the money, the Denkmeier Binotron 27 Super System is very popular here in the states.  The power switch makes switching powers quite easy.

[PaulConfused]

At the moment I'm torn between 2 options.

1: The William Optics bundle from Rother Valley which comes with 2x20mm ep and a barlow.

2: A TS optics one, but then I need to buy 2 ep, so there isn't much in it price wise.

I may as well also take this opportunity to upgrade the diagonal.

[tooth_dr]

From my own experience - I bought the SW ones with the twist lock eyepiece holders. They came with a Barlow GPC and I use 26mm Meade 4000 EPs (about £25 each).  They work perfectly and the two views merge easily into one. I also briefly had a pair of WO ones, but to be honest they were no better (in fact worse, but could have just been that pair). 

[tooth_dr]

Dip your toes in, with the ones above on ABS for £80, and get a couple of used EPs for £50, and you won’t stand to lose much. 

[PaulConfused]

I think my fear was that if I got terrible ones it might falsely cloud my judgement on them as a whole.

[tooth_dr]

7 minutes ago, PaulConfused said:

I think my fear was that if I got terrible ones it might falsely cloud my judgement on them as a whole.

The ones for sale are likely no different internally to my SW ones and prob the TS ones too. I use mine for Solar observing and I get a lovely full disc with my setup.  

Its your money ? but I know that’s what I’d do 

[PaulConfused]

sorry to sound like a noob (which I am), but, those would be ok for my Mak127? SO I'd just need a couple of eyepieces?

[Ricochet]

The Starguider binoviewers (on ABS) do come with a pair of 30mm ish Plossls so you could just see if you like using those and buy better eyepieces if you like it. Note, however, that they don't focus at the same point as normal eyepieces. The two gpc/barlow units are not good though. I use an AE 555 nose piece (usually available from astroboot) on mine which is much better quality. 

[tooth_dr]

9 minutes ago, PaulConfused said:

sorry to sound like a noob (which I am), but, those would be ok for my Mak127? SO I'd just need a couple of eyepieces?

They are all better suited to a MAK due to lots of inward focus travel. I struggled to get them to work with my Newtonian unless barlowed 3x.

If you already have one eyepiece, just buy another identical one.  

[Waldemar]

Denis Levatić [denis0007dl@gmail.com] is the binoviewer expert on the Cloudy Nights forum, and very thrustworthy.

I have done bussiness with him and got great deals. He can tell you all you need to know about bino's, but maybe it would be smart to check the bino forum @  Cloudy Nights first. Denis is very active there.

[PaulConfused]

1 hour ago, tooth_dr said:

The ones for sale are likely no different internally to my SW ones and prob the TS ones too. I use mine for Solar observing and I get a lovely full disc with my setup.  

Its your money ? but I know that’s what I’d do 

By the time my registration to ABS was approved he'd sold them! Ah well, back to choice A and B

[Louis D]

The generic 22mm clear aperture binoviewers of which there are many brandings do indeed come to focus just fine in 127mm Mak.  I know, I've done it with my Arcturus unit and Celestron 127 Mak.  The increase in focal length was quite acceptable once focus was reached.  You don't need any OCS/GPC to reach focus.  Just make sure to get the collet type eyepiece holders, or you will have no end of issues with eyepiece alignment.

For starters, just buy a pair of 23mm 62 degree aspheric eyepieces off of ebay for about £16.  They work great at f/12 and will give you the widest field possible without vignetting in these binoviewers.  They're my preferred set for this purpose.  I much prefer them to 26mm Sirius Plossls of which I have a pair.

[PaulConfused]

Ok...Order finally put in. After the advice from so many of you and from the chap on the CN forum, I've ordered the TS Optics pair and a pair of TS Optics Ultra Wide 20mm ep.

Many thanks again for your help.

Now, to decide if I need to upgrade my diagonal!