My Celestron 15x70's arrived today, but..

[Brainstorm]

I got my bins today, but on closer inspection, it seems there's a flat spot on the focusing ring, like they have possibly been bashed. One would assume this should be completely round.

Also, there's quite a bit of movement on the eyepieces too.. I can easily move them with my fingers up and down like the whole assembly is loose..

I'll phone the shop I got them from tomorrow and see about getting them replaced, but I wanted to check here first to see if that might be the way they have all been manufactured, or if they are actually defective.

[John]

That does not sound right to me. I had a pair of those and thought the focusing mechanism pretty solid, for what they cost. The focusing wheel (ring) should be circular as I recall.

I'd get in touch with the dealer and ask for a replacement pair.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Both the Celestron I had and the replacement Omegon have quite some play in the focuser. Having said that, I have yet to encounter a central focuser that I really like.

[Brainstorm]

here's a couple of photos of the focus wheel.. I sent them over to the shop I got them from, and they said the following:

Checked two pairs and they do seem irregular there, if bumped my guess

would be the surround would be damaged and it would not rotate smoothly.

We can exchange for you but our samples show similar finish, if yours are

operating well optically I would consider carefully before shipping that

distance.

which is fair enough, but still unsure what to do.

and rotated away from the flat spot..

[UTMonkey]

Did they mention the ones they looked at were "loose"?

[S.A.M]

I have just looked at my Celestron 15x70mm binocular's. The focus wheel is generally round and both eye pieces are moveable but not what I would call loose. They are attached to the centre pin of the focus mechanism, so you will have some movement there. If you are not sure with them, i would return them as you have a good case for replacement ones.

The binoculars do give sharp images of the moon and pin points for the stars.

Hope this helps you?

Peter:icon_salut:

[Brainstorm]

I got my replacement bins through today and they're even worse than the ones I initially bought.

The wheel has even worse flat spot and the rubber coming away, and the rubber coating also feels loose around the objective lens tubes. Both pairs suffer from chromatic aberration.

I have both pairs here and I'm to return one, so I'm thinking of sending the newer (worse) pair back.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I got my replacement bins through today and they're even worse than the ones I initially bought.

The wheel has even worse flat spot and the rubber coming away, and the rubber coating also feels loose around the objective lens tubes. Both pairs suffer from chromatic aberration.

I have both pairs here and I'm to return one, so I'm thinking of sending the newer (worse) pair back.

Or return both and get a refund. If it does not work to your liking, you are entitled to that. I do spot some chromatic aberration in my Omegons, but they are still OK, especially given the low cost (I have had much more than 89 euro worth of fun with them ). I am starting to get a bit annoyed at the focuser, so I am going to replace them in due course by a pair of APM or TS 15x70 "marine" versions, with individual focusing.

[MrsR]

So sorry you are having to go through this.

[ollypenrice]

Just had a look at my supposedly similar Revelations and they have none of the defects you describe. The EPs are pretty firm (after seven years) and all is cosmetically fine as well.

Olly

[Brainstorm]

I decided to keep my original pair and live through the defect. I didn't want to risk another pair of seconds being delivered, and really couldn't go without. As a potential customer, this ordeal has certainly cemented why I won't be buying my next telescope from there. However, I'm not going to name and shame for one isolated incident.

Anyway, I tightened the adjustment screw and reduced the wobble. If only there were some Revelations available when I bought mine, as they were my initial choice.

That said, I did have a really satisfying night last night with the bins and some really dark skies. That was of course until the moon reared its huge bright head and ruined all the fun.