First light with a Bino Bandit and some cyclops wide field

[RobertI]

Had an enjoyable session trying out my new Bino Bandit with my 10x50s. To cut to the chase, if anyone uses binoculars or binoviewers for astronomy, even a bit, I would say this is a MUST HAVE accessory. It cuts out all stray light from the peripheral vision and creates a wonderful immersive experience. Having used it for a good hour whilst reclining in my Nadira observing chair this evening, I removed it and wondered how I ever observed without it! It’s now permanently attached to the binocular and I will be getting another one for my binoviewer. 
 

Last time I was out a couple of weeks ago, I was comparing the views through my the ZS66 + 38mm Panaview (giving 10x mag) with my 10x50s. I was curious to see the strengths of each at the same magnification and FOV. The conclusion was that the 10x50s were far more immersive, giving a darker sky and seemingly brighter stars. The ZS66 gave sharper stars and could obviously be mounted more easily, but the views were just washed out. I concluded that this was because of the 6.5mm exit pupil versus the 5mm of the Bino, which made the sky brighter, and potentially I was losing some light because my own pupils were not that dilated. Tonight I tried the 24mm 68 degree ES, giving 16x, and the results were much more pleasing. Darker skies and seemingly more vibrant stars, though interestingly still not the dark skies or vibrant stars of the binocular.  But at 16x many clusters are being resolved and more objects are visible, so the experience is different to the binos anyway. I’m thinking that my 17.5mm Morpheus could even better - next time. 
 

I had an enjoyable time scanning around Orion, Gemini, Taurus, Auriga, Perseus and Cassiopeia with my two optical friends, orienting myself with the binoculars and then investigating further with the telescope. Perseus yielded a lot of interest, especially the double cluster with Stock 2, a very large open cluster nearby in the same field of view, and Trumpler 2, a very small sparse cluster also nearby. It started to get late, Leo was rising quite high now. Time for bed.

Edited December 26, 2022 by RobertI

[Nik271]

I love the bino bandits! I have three pairs permanently attached to my binoculars.

[Stu]

Great report @RobertI. I tend to favour the sharper stars and more comfortable viewing position given by a scope, but binos can be very relaxing and engaging as you say.

I’ve just ordered two of the Bino Bandits for my binoviewers! I do a lot of solar observing so these will really help cut down the glare hopefully 🤞 👍

[Highburymark]

I use them for solar binoviewing too. They’re great for eyepieces like the 25mm microscope pairs pictured left and centre which don’t have deep eyeguards. Also long eye relief eyepieces like 25mm orthos and 32mm Plossls. One of those simple ideas which should have been commercialised decades ago.    
But EPs with long eyeguards/deeply recessed lenses, like the Leica pair on the right, don’t need any further light blocking, I find.