Helios Stella ii 100mm

[mark81]

Hi all,

I've been looking at various 100mm bins (just out of interest at the moment) and noticed thar the price of these Helios Stella's have come down even more, making them appear very attractive - I realise that's not the way to go about buying astro equipment - but I couldn't find any real reviews concerning this one and just wondered...

Has anyone got any experience with them or opinions of them? 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/helios-binoculars/helios-stellar-ii-100mm-wp-binoculars.html

I do keep going back to the 100mm Lightquest - but at double the price you do begin to wonder....

Thanks

Mark

[PeterW]

.... think how you are going to stably mount them... I had a similar pair many years back and the tripod I had wasn’t ideal. Ended up selling them, though now I’ve just picked up some 45degree binoculars that work better on a camera tripod. You might need a few ££ to get the most from them. (Parallelogram mounts exist, but are hard to find and take up space).

Peter

[mark81]

4 hours ago, PeterW said:

.... think how you are going to stably mount them... I had a similar pair many years back and the tripod I had wasn’t ideal. Ended up selling them, though now I’ve just picked up some 45degree binoculars that work better on a camera tripod. You might need a few ££ to get the most from them. (Parallelogram mounts exist, but are hard to find and take up space).

Peter

Yea Peter, certainly something to think about.  I'm sure they would sit well enough on a Fotomate 680 - capable of holding a good 7kg, but of course these are straight through bins - so not great on the old neck.

Ideally I would go for an angled set but that's when the price really starts to take off.  I just see these as a reasonably priced binocular from a company with a good reputation.... But nobody seems to have a pair...

Mark

[PeterW]

Oberwerk seem to be cheaper than APM for the angles bins.

Peter

[BinocularSky]

On 10/01/2020 at 23:13, mark81 said:

Ideally I would go for an angled set but that's when the price really starts to take off.  Mark

Wex have a (lightly) used Altair with 45* angled EPs for approx the same as the Helios LQ. I reviewed the 90* one for S@N a few years back; pretty good.

https://www.wexphotovideo.com/altair-100mm-45-degree-giant-observation-binoculars-1630073/#product-tab-used-9+

 

Quote

I just see these as a reasonably priced binocular from a company with a good reputation.... But nobody seems to have a pair...

The Orion 9326 Giant View is the same bino (different livery) - you might find somethign on one of the US forums.

 

20 hours ago, PeterW said:

Oberwerk seem to be cheaper than APM for the angles bins.

There's a reason for that 🙂

[Ciaran Meier]

Hi Mark

I've a pair of Helios Stellar II 15x70's which I think you mention on another post.  If the 15x70's are anything to go by, 100mm would be a hefty piece of kit.  I can manage my 15x70's handheld well enough to be useful but they do need support to get the most from them.  The Stellar II 15x70 are a good binocular. 

Edited January 25, 2020 by Ciaran Meier
Error.

[bryand]

I have a pair of the Helios 20X100s and I'm very happy with them. The lens caps are a bit fiddly, as is the individual focussing (I would prefer centre-focus binoculars) but they are good to use with or without my glasses.

I mount them on an AZ5 manual mount from 365Astro, and use a red dot finder as a location aid. 

Handily, one full revolution of the mount's control knobs moves the binoculars through the same angle as their field of view (3.2°):

 

[BinocularSky]

@mark81 In case it's of interest, there will be a review of the Orion-liveried version in one of the astro mags in May. (Sorry, can't say more at this stage.)

[BinocularSky]

On 26/02/2020 at 13:54, BinocularSky said:

@mark81 In case it's of interest, there will be a review of the Orion-liveried version in one of the astro mags in May. (Sorry, can't say more at this stage.)

@mark81May Sky at Night mag.