Binoviewer

[jabberwock48]

I have just aquired a secondhand LX200 Classic 12in which came with 3 eyepieces - all Meade Plossls 4000 26mm and 9.7mm and a Meade UWA 4.7mm. I have also bought a Meade 0.63 Focal Reducer on Ebay. All give good views.

I am temted to buy a Binoviewer - possibly a Seben or Antares. I would then double up on the Meade 26mm and 9.7mm eyepieces which seem to be readily available on Ebay.

Any thoughts on this from the more experienced members of the forum? Or would I be better off spending the money on a quality eyepiece of some sort?

[acey]

I've never used a binoviewer but would just point out that you don't get any more light through two eyepieces - the binoviewer just splits the available light between the pair. So the image in each will be slightly fainter than when using just one eyepiece. On the other hand, there can be an improvement in spotting detail when using two eyes rather than one. How these two effects balance will vary from person to person and with different binoviewers.

So I'd suggest you think about exactly why you want a binoviewer. If it's just for comfort and aesthetics then I'm sure it would be a nice thing to have. If you want to be able to see something that you can't see already then maybe you should try one if you can, and find out if it'll work for you.

Personally I'd always spend the money on one high quality eyepiece rather than two OK ones and a binoviewer to put them in.

[kniclander]

how experienced do we need to be to respond?

[steve51450]

it is not as critical at your focal ratio to have high end eyepieces so bino veiwing is a good way and you wont go far wrong with some 4000 series plossls to get you started

32mm are another good bet with an sct as well as something around 15mm for high magnification

I would sell the 4000 series 4.7mm uwa as its to much magnification for your scope and it also have a cult following with people who own the 14mm & 8.8mm version, this will fund your bino's

from early experience i would stay away from seban, no offence meant to anyone on here who has seban goods! Antares items i have always found very well made at reasonable prices

[acey]

how experienced do we need to be to respond?

Maybe not relevant in this instance, but I have lots and lots of experience of buying kit that I never really needed!

[TheThing]

Seben actually make (or market) good EP and I believe their bino viewers are good too (although I have no experieince of them).

I've heard that bino viewers are particularly good for viewing the moon, giving an almost 3D effect.

[Milamber]

I too am of the opinion that Seben optics are rather good... at least the "through glass" ones. Ther "reflecting glass" types may leave a little to be desired. IMO of course.

Arthur

[Izar]

I have the Antares, and really like them. Having said that. it seems to me that the Seben,

Antares and Telescope House units all look the same to me.

To get the best out of them, you really need a scope that is bino-friendly, If you have to attach

a Barlow then you start to get some very high magnifications indeed, maybe a bit too high.

The first time I used them to observe the moon, I was gob smacked by how much more detail and contrast

that they produced over the usual method. Even last night, the moon was simply superb in my

little 80mm scope and bino-viewers. Using both eyes certainly helps to see the finer detail.

[jabberwock48]

Thanks for the advice. I tried the 4.7mm UWA the other night on the moon (in conjunction with the 0.63 focal reducer) and thought the view superb. I guess it was a night of good seeing.

As a beginner I guess the fainter image in each eyepiece is relevant to deep space objects as oposed to planets