Sharpest binocular.

[tico]

Hello,
Beyond personal tastes, what has been the binocular that has seemed to provide a sharper image?
I do not know if this will depend on the exit of the pupil or the luminosity of the binocular in question ... or the quality of the lenses ..?

Thank you
Paul

[Vixen4eva]

I have a pair of Vixen (Japan) B type 20 x 80s which are superb and from what i can gather quite rare.....

Alan

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

For me the Helios LightQuest 16x80 HR. Absolutely superb. My previous Helios Apollo 15x70 came close, but the LightQuest is definitely sharper. I did once compare the 15x70s to Olly's Leica 8x42, and the latter were sharper, but not by a very big margin. I haven't had the chance to do a head-to-head between the Leica and the LightQuest (which would be a very, very tight race, with the 16x80 winning hands down in terms of limiting magnitude, but the Leica giving a much wider FOV).

[billyharris72]

Out of the ones I've tried properly, the Swaro EL 8.5x42 has been the best by a way, but my only comparison has been vs Helios Apollos and some decent Opticron 8x56s. No visible chromatic aberration (at all, on anything), and tack sharp almost to the edge. The extreme outer edge (maybe 1 or 2%) has a tiny drop off in sharpness , but that's the worst I'll say for them.

[Rainmaker]

I have only owned Nikon, Pentax, Bushnell and Miyauchi (recent purchase).  Nothing expensive so far.

The sharpest are the current Miyauchi EXLD 8x42 ED,  on axis and out to about 75% of the field they are very very good.  Out on the edge there is a little field curvature but still fine.

[Alfian]

I've not had the opportunity to use any what might be termed "high end"  binos but the Williams Optics 10x50 ED never failed to impress, always gave that wow factor. These are in the same series as the Apollos that Michael mentioned so do have a certain  pedigree. Not sharp across the whole fov, they drop off noticeably in the outer 10% ( -ish) but the rest was very nice. My Pentax 20x60s that I have just sold also very sharp and flat and punched well above what their 60mm would suggest but the narrow fov, although not a problem for me personally, is not to everyones taste.

 

[Saraneth]

My Nikon Action EX 10x50s seem very sharp although I have nothing to compare them to since they are my first.

[ollypenrice]

The sharpest I've tried have been Zeiss Victory. They were sharper and more contrasty than my Leica Trinovids. However, I'm not sure that I preferred them. I found the view a little stark and less natural than that in the Leicas. I've never tried Swaros but would like to do so.

Olly

[HAsun]

My Takahashi 22 x 60 Fluorite Asrtronomer, APM ED 100 with 24mm Panoptics attached and My no longer owned 25 x 100 Somet binoculars.

[Doc]

I have the 10x50 Swarovski EL Swarovision and they are pretty damn sharp.

[DirkSteele]

I have had a bit of time with Swarovski ELs and they were fabulous. Sharp almost to the edge and really quite special compared with even binoculars considered pretty good.

 

Woukd love to try the Nikon WX though. They are clearly the Bugatti Veyron of the binocular world. Only exists because Nikon decided they could. But at many thousands of pounds rather hard to justify.

[BinocularSky]

+1 for the Tak Astronomer, Swarovski EL, and Olly's Leica.

Also my Vixen 6.5 x 32 and Lunt Magnesium 16x70. My favourite is the "Cunning Little Vixen" - something special about a sharp 9* FoV. 

[ollypenrice]

11 minutes ago, BinocularSky said:

+1 for the Tak Astronomer, Swarovski EL, and Olly's Leica.

Also my Vixen 6.5 x 32 and Lunt Magnesium 16x70. My favourite is the "Cunning Little Vixen" - something special about a sharp 9* FoV. 

I loved your little Vixens. So nice on the sky and, for me, just what astro bins are all about.

Olly

[spike95609]

I haven't had the opportunity to look through any other high end binoculars, but the original Swarovski EL 10x42s were something to behold. When I was testing it against my Vanguard Endeavor's, I found that sharpness is really the wrong term as you can get any decent pair of binoculars to get a sharp focus. What it really comes down to is resolution, and as they were 5x the price the grind on the Swarovski lenses naturally goes further and much more fine detail leaps out at you. It's a subtle but noticeable thing. It took me time to figure out what it was; looking at the moon they were both sharp but I just had the idea that the Swarovski's were revealing more. In daylight I realised it was the resolution when I started looking at saw dust that insects had dug out of a dead tree some 15 yards away; with something so small and fine you could clearly see the higher quality lenses were dragging out more fine detail; even though the overall image seemed pretty much identical at a glance. Is it worth £2,000? If you are happy to throw that much money at it then yes, if not then you'll be completely happy with something less.

[melsky]

Has to be Swarovski Swarovision 8.5 x 42's ultra sharp right to the field stop, I made the mistake of looking through a pair and five minutes later I'd bought them ?

[A40farinagolf]

7 x 50 Fujinon - I have yet to look through a better pair of binos. I've tried Swarovski and Leica and they are very comparable  but perhaps my eyes are now the weakest link.

 

[Chaza]

On 24/01/2019 at 15:30, Vixen4eva said:

I have a pair of Vixen (Japan) B type 20 x 80s which are superb and from what i can gather quite rare.....

Alan

I have just bought some 20 X 80s,I did a trial run with them at the moon. I nearly broke my neck looking through them.  How do people manage with bins. Even with a tripod I would  have to be laying back 45 deg, and even then with a straight  tripod, I find it impossible to do any lengthy  watching. 

[BinocularSky]

18 hours ago, Chaza said:

I have just bought some 20 X 80s,I did a trial run with them at the moon. I nearly broke my neck looking through them.  How do people manage with bins. Even with a tripod I would  have to be laying back 45 deg, and even then with a straight  tripod, I find it impossible to do any lengthy  watching. 

Parallelogram and recliner (see avatar).

 

[Chaza]

Thanks for that,  I haven't had a clear night to do any gazing,  but I suspect I'm expecting too much. I did look at the moon tne other day,  it was cloudy, but I didn't see detail of tne moon as I expected to. I don't know what to expect, but if I find Saturn for example, will be any be to see its rings. I know I won't be able to see what the probe saw as it passed, but I want to see more than a white speck in the sky, the same white speck I can see with my eye. 

[BinocularSky]

5 minutes ago, Chaza said:

 I don't know what to expect, but if I find Saturn for example, will be any be to see its rings. I know I won't be able to see what the probe saw as it passed, but I want to see more than a white speck in the sky, the same white speck I can see with my eye. 

At 20x, it will be difficult and you'll require a night of good seeing (i.e. steady air). I have, on a couple of occasions, managed to fleetingly see dark spaces between the ansae and the planet's disc with a mounted 15x70, Also made difficult at present by Saturn's low declination.

Think of a 20x80 as being a great instrument for open clusters, that will also enable you to detect other DSOs. Markarian's chain is now available - on a dark transparent night, you should be able to see more galaxies than you can count.

 

[Chaza]

Thanks for that,  it doesn't fill me with vim, I think I'll be disappointed,  but I'll wait till I get so e clear skies.  What is tne best time to go watching,  midnight,  4 am,  what.