Little Gem

[Les Ewan]

I picked up these little gems about a week ago. These 2X35 vintage opera glasses made entirely of brass cost me £10.99 from a charity shop. I bought them mainly through nostalgia because I used a similar instrument when learning the constellations back around 1971. These are  actually great fun to use, low power and super wide field. Last night for instance I got a unusual  breath taking view of the Moon and Castor and Pollux all in the same FOV. The FOV are a colossal 10 degrees.

Unique view of the Hyades, Pleiades easily fitting in the same FOV is a sight to behold. Being only  X2 instrument  some of the brighter deep sky objects are too small for these, (though the Beehive Cluster is excellent) but for extended   star fields such as around Mirfak they really come into their own. I cant wait to see the Scutum star cloud with these little wonders. A worthy addition to my binocular livery.

Although only X2 power they easily split the main pair of Epsilon Lyrae. Even last weeks large Sunspot was easily visible when held steady using both solar filter and by projection.

Simple optics of the Huygens and Galilean type give a sense of history, and the optics are easily taken apart for cleaning. Aberration is not such a problem as you would think and is most noticeable around the Moon and on the horizon when used terrestrially.

One symptom I had forgotten about using these- your fingers smell of brass afterwards!

I imaged them against my Clarke 7X50's for comparison. 

[Stephenstargazer]

I bought an Omegon pair of 2x41 and enjoy them for the same reason. Maybe a lot of  casual stargazers would enjoy modern opera glasses too, at little expense?

[Franklin]

Can't beat opera glasses for viewing large areas of the sky. I have a pair of the Vixen constellation binos SG 2.1x42 and they're amazing. Also, for the collection, picked up an old pair of Vixen 3x25 opera glasses and they're really tiny, shown next to the 7x50s for size.

 

[PeterW]

I use the Nikon and Orion 2x54 to imagine what the view from darker skies would be like and to spot Elon’s little satellites.

 

Peter

[F15Rules]

I read with interest your thread, as I bought a pair of opera glasses for my wife on impulse some years ago, probably at least 10 years ago.. intended use was for rock concerts - but she's never yet used them!..

They're a lovely pair of Hilkinson branded, stamped "Japan" on the centre hinge, with 3x magnification and 20mm objectives, complete with soft storage pouch and original box. I think I got them on ebay for under £10!

As you can see, they're in excellent original condition and still carry the original "Q.C. (Quality Control) Japan" sticker, although the text has faded now..I'd estimate these to date from the 1980s..

I've never thought to look at the night sky with them, I must try this and report back when the moon has gone!😊

Dave

 

[Stu]

I was just reaching into the crisping drawer of the fridge to pull out my finest lettuce when I realised I had misinterpreted the title of the thread….🥬🥬 (those are cabbages but I couldn’t find a lettuce emoji, surprisingly)

Rather more seriously, I enjoyed using these little Orion 8x20s for a while, handy to always have something with me and quite surprising what they would actually show under a dark sky.

[Merlin]

I bought an old opera glass ( again!) on a flea market  for a fiver, and the optics are better than on previous ones I’ve had. Many have atrocious optics.

The field of view is of course wide, but it’s still like looking down  a straw. There’s so much light pollution here on the edge of the town that I don’t get the full benefit of the opera glass.

[LukeSkywatcher]

I bought a lovely set of 2.1x42 bins a few yrs ago. Identical to the Vixen above, but about half the price. I can't remember what brand (possibly Omegon....I haven't used them in a long time). The low powered wide views are gorgeous. A lot of people on here said that they tried similar bins but didn't get on with them. I've had no issues. 

I must dig them out soon and get lost in the vista.

 

Edited April 20, 2022 by LukeSkywatcher

[LukeSkywatcher]

On 18/04/2022 at 08:45, Stu said:

I was just reaching into the crisping drawer of the fridge to pull out my finest lettuce when I realised I had misinterpreted the title of the thread….🥬🥬 (those are cabbages but I couldn’t find a lettuce emoji, surprisingly)

Rather more seriously, I enjoyed using these little Orion 8x20s for a while, handy to always have something with me and quite surprising what they would actually show under a dark sky.

Boba Fett's jetpack.

LOL

[JeremyS]

On 18/04/2022 at 08:45, Stu said:

I was just reaching into the crisping drawer of the fridge  

 

Ah,I can see you moved to the posh part of Somerset Stu.

[Stu]

17 hours ago, JeremyS said:

Ah,I can see you moved to the posh part of Somerset Stu.

Well, I say crisper drawer, but I really mean the bottom shelf in the hole in the dry stone wall, just near where we leave the milk churn out….

[F15Rules]

I found these Carton Japan "new old stock" mini bins online..I have no idea what they'll be like (I won't receive them for about 10 days), but the Carton Japan brand name tempted me..

If they aren't up to much optically I can always give them to my little grandson to play with😂..

Dave

[JeremyS]

37 minutes ago, F15Rules said:

I found these Carton Japan "new old stock" mini bins online..I have no idea what they'll be like (I won't receive them for about 10 days), but the Carton Japan brand name tempted me..

If they aren't up to much optically I can always give them to my little grandson to play with😂..

Dave

I see they come in a nice carton 

[F15Rules]

3 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

I see they come in a nice carton 

...but with no handle (a carrying strap doesn't count)..

[Franklin]

18 hours ago, F15Rules said:

If they aren't up to much optically I can always give them to my little grandson to play with😂..

I think they will prove to be quite smart.

[F15Rules]

44 minutes ago, Franklin said:

I think they will prove to be quite smart.

🤞🤞🤞😁

[Stephenstargazer]

I cant speak for the 8x20, or the 3x25 opera glasses but the surprise with 2X40 ish Vixen and clones is just how well they work with light polution - bringing a lot of fainter stars into view over about 25 degrees of sky. This explains why!

http://www.ianmorison.com/vixen-2-1-x-42-mm-wide-field-binoculars-review/

[JeremyS]

12 minutes ago, Stephenstargazer said:

I cant speak for the 8x20, or the 3x25 opera glasses but the surprise with 2X40 ish Vixen and clones is just how well they work with light polution - bringing a lot of fainter stars into view over about 25 degrees of sky. This explains why!

http://www.ianmorison.com/vixen-2-1-x-42-mm-wide-field-binoculars-review/

Now that is interesting about the benefits of these binoculars in LP skies.

I have had a pair of the Vixens for a few years and really enjoyed using them under dark skies, especially at more southerly latitudes 

[Stephenstargazer]

4 hours ago, JeremyS said:

under dark skies, especially at more southerly latitudes 

Mine will definitely go on next trip to NZ! Meanwhile it's beat the E.Midlands mirk.

Edited April 25, 2022 by Stephenstargazer

[F15Rules]

Well, the "new old stock" Carton mini binoculars arrived on Monday👍.

They are pretty tiny, just a tad larger than the opera glasses but lighter in weight.

Nicely made, clearly unused, but with a little "stickiness" to the touch, especially on the black rubber parts.. I've seen this before on older optical instruments, apparently it's some kind of reaction in the rubber, for example to UV light, which somehow makes the rubber sticky or even break down.

I've read that a gentle clean with a soapy water dampened cotton bud can help remove this "residue", and also alcohol based solution of more umph is needed..I'll give it a try, carefully of course.

Optically, I was pleasantly surprised..although, perhaps, being Carton branded, I shouldn't have worried. The spec is shown as 8x20, with a very respectable 7degree fov, and I can say that these little chaps are very sharp on axis and out to about 55-60% before blurring a bit. But the overall (daytime only, so far) view is pleasing and the very good near focus (I estimate c 3.5metres) means they are ideal for watching birds on the feeders from our kitchen window.

The lenses are all coated, being likely early 1980s these will probably be single coat MfG, applied to air facing surfaces only. Complete with lens caps for the eyepieces but not the 20mm objectives +these are recessed into the "turquoisey" coloured body of the bins by about 7-9mm.

I suspect, in a decent dark sky these will show some lovely, fairly wide field views of clusters, wide doubles and the Moon. I'll pop some impressions on when I've tried them at night.

Very happy with these, and of course I've added the little carrying strap so as to ensure Jeremy won't vex about them being dropped etc.

I've shown them for comparison next to my Orion Japan Mini Giant 9x63mm astro bins.

😊..

Dave

Edited April 28, 2022 by F15Rules

[DaveL59]

My fav carry-abouts are these. Think they're still available tho pretty pricey but the MC lenses do give a nice clear view.

with a natty little carry case that came with them

I do have a number of other micro binos from 5x to 15x along with regular ones, way too many pairs (30+) in fact lol but these are great to slip into a pocket or camera bag to have handy when the need arises 🙂 

Edited May 9, 2022 by DaveL59