Bino-viewrs - Worth it???

[Mav359]

Hello peeps

i really like thew idea of a bino-viewer but are they worth the price of doubling your eyepiece collection?

[brianb]

Some people "get" the synthetic 3D given by a good binoviewer, some don't. I don't, I believe in having as little glass as possible between me and the target. Even avid proponents of binoviewers admit they're worse than useless on DSOs because of the light loss - splitting the light two ways reduces the light grasp by 0.7 magnitudes, about the same as a 40% reduction in apreture. And there are issues with getting to focus and vignetting caused by the extra optical length of the device ... some refractors come in special short tubed versions to allow BVs to be used, otherwise only Maks and SCTs with moving primary mirror focusing have enough back focus to make a BV focus - without inserting an additional element which increases the focal ratio & therefore spoils your calculation of which eyepieces you will want to use with the thing.

Far more trouble than they're worth, IMHO.

[JamesM]

Provided you can get on with them (some people can't) then the fact that you are using both eyes to collect information and that it avoids the strain of having to close one eye for long periods at a time then I'm sure they have real benefits. Not to hijack your thread but what I'm not sure of is the real difference between the WO priced versions that are relatively cheap and the really expensive versions (televue etc) and if that price difference is worth it.

James

[Mav359]

Sounds like maybe they arent worth the extra cost, i think i'll stick with the "Top 10 Useful Inxepensive" #6: Pirate eye patch.

Pirates & Astronomy, how can it get any better - lol

Cheers Guys

[ollypenrice]

Try by all means at a club or star party. As Brian says, some rave about them.

I find them an unmitigated pain myself so it depends on the individual, it seems.

Olly

[Dave Smith]

Well, I just love my binoviewers. I am lucky enough to have some (Baader BVs) that focus readily in both my refractor and SCT. I particularly like them for viewing the planets or the Moon. I have a pair of TV 8 - 24 mm zooms + a pair of TMB 6mm planetary eyepieces to cover the range.

A group of people at Kelling in Sept looked through them at Jupiter and declared that it was the best view of it and the GRS they had ever seen.

Dave

[brantuk]

Yup I'm with Dave on bv's - brilliant they are. If you do get them, but don't get on with them, they'll still have a very good resale value. But you just have to try them