Centre vs EP focusing

[argonaut]

Yeh,Steve you've got it right there. I think we all expect too much for our money. Nothing wrong in that though

I think collimation and eye placement plays a huge part in binoculars.

Martin,

Thanks for the update. Hope it goes better this time. It will be interesting to see just how much of that large field is useable. Mind you,it does depend on our eyes.

Glen.

[FLO]

It will be interesting to see just how much of that large field is useable.

I am currently using an Opticron 8x40 Aspheric WA, the outer 20-25% suffers but the central image is excellent, better than anything else I have tried around its price. Its a pity they don't offer a 10x50!

[argonaut]

Now a nice 10x50 with a 6-6.5° field would be very nice

70-75% usable on the Opticron sounds very good for the price.

Glen.

[ONSLOWE]

Steve you are absolutely right that when you look at the price compared to a refractor scope we are lucky to get anything usable for my budget, though there was a definate fault with the Pentax 12 x 50's. I have now got the Opticron 8 x 40 WA's (£40 from Camera World, £8 next day delivery) and though not as well built as the Pentax they are a bargain. The case is much better quality for a start (no eyepiece cover, or rainguard, with them) and they are well built for the money. Inside the barrels are not completely black with some unpainted dull metal on show, slight play in the eyepiece focus bar and the diopter adjustment is quite slack. These do have a tripod mounting thread built in which is not mentioned in the adverts. They are not lightweight but are comfortable to hold, coatings appear good but not a match for the Pentax. Only had time for a brief nightime view between the clouds and they are very sharp in the centre of the field, maybe sharp across 60% but quite a bit of the flaring at the edge which is to be expected. The best thing is the amount of sky you can scan with an 8.2 degree field with the most usable portion being about 5 degrees which is quite impressive. I bought these for dual use, astro and wildlife and they are a bargain for the price I paid. In combination with my 20x80's I reckon I have a good complimentary set up for a bargain price. Thanks for all the advice.

Regards,

Martin

[beetlejuice]

Just a quick update on my Pentax 10x50 PCF WPII's. Work and dodgy weather have limited my experimentation with them, + it doesn't really get fully dark around here at this time year. However, overall impression is positive. There is very slight colour haloing around bright objects depending where they are in field of view but, unlike Martin, I don't seem to have any flaring issues. The image seems consistent in both barrels. Stars are sharp across about 90% of the field which is not too bad at all (compared to my Viking 7 x 40's which is 75-80%). The only slight problem I have is obtaining a comfortable IPD as the largish rubber eyeshields get in the way. Clicking the eyeshields out half-way is the best compromise for me, though this means that my eyes are not tight to them and that lets in extraneous light sometimes. Focussing is smooth and the focus lock is very useful. The diopter click-stop adjustment though is a complete PITA as it is far too stiff making adjustment a bit of a chore. Only need to do it once though. Overall they are nicely made apart from the cheapo lens covers. With internal focussing they are well sealed and they come with a 30 year guarantee. Optically, they are a slight improvement on my Bresser 10x50's (but they never want to stay in collimation) and are massively better than my Practika 20x50's in they provide a bright well corrected image in daylight and a wholly acceptable view of the stars. For the money (around £135) they are good value.