Hi all,
I wanted to make a quick note about the Barska
15X70's Rick Bish originally asked about. After
seeing Rob's pair at a recent club meeting and
hearing how much they cost (~$85 shipped if I
remember), I couldn't resist and ordered a pair
from Heartland America's web site. His may have
had a different brand name than Barska, I don't
remember, but come from the same far east (or
Russian?) factory I'm pretty sure. I have long
wanted to pick up a similar sized pair of Fuji's,
but always seemed to have something better to
do with the >$500 they cost. I used to have a pair
of Celestron 20X80's (still do actually), but the
focuser mechanism pretty much just disoved on
me a few years ago and I never got them fixed.
They were so heavy, you really had to have a
tripod and I didn't use them much. My
Barska's took about a week to show up at
my door, which was sooner than Heartland said
they would be there. Out of the box, they
looked just fine, but were a bit out of colimation
for my eyes. I had read a web site about lining
its two scopes up and quickly had the problem
fixed. I would rather have them out of line with
a way to adjust than have them perfect with no way
to adjust, so I was happy. My Celestron 20X80's also
came out of alignment after years of use, but I don't
know how to adjust them (very anoying). In the short
time since aligning my Barska's, they have kept
their alignment well. My impression so far using
them has been very favorable. They have great
light grasp, far above that of my Orion 10X50
Vista's. Their exit pupil is in the sweet
spot for my eyes between 4 and 5 mm, and
so the images are both bright and sharp. For my 42
year old eyes, greater than 5mm and I start to get
astigmatic effects. Image sharpness accross the
entire field is superior to my Orion Vista's. There
is only a little degredation at the outer 5 deg or
so of the field and it is not enough to notice
unless you go looking for it. The field itself is
quite wide. I do not know what it is, but would
guess it's pushing 60 deg. The central sharpness
is not high-end refractor sharp, but is still excellent
and good enough for me to be able to make a clear oval out
of Saturn. Overall, they are probably the best binoculars
I have ever owned. Mind you I am not a bino connoisseur.
However, I have generally been disapointed with most
binoculars I have owned regarding their optical quality.
That may have to do with my refusal, so far, to spend
as much on them as I would a scope (or Nagler). I
have been thrilled with the performance of my Barska
15X70's though. I would have been happy with them even had
I paid between $300 and $400 ( don't tell Heartland!).
Also, they are light enough I can hold them for short
periods with good effect, especially if I brace my arms
on something. A couple of last notes. Their coatings apear
to be standard MgFl (not multicoated). With 70mm lenses,
this is probably not too important and as I said the
images are quite bright. I remember no ghosting or
obvious false color either. The focus mechanism has
Chinese style goo grease that turns to glue when it gets
cold. I cleaned as much off as I could and relubed with
some teflon grease and they are much better. Took about
a minute. They come with caps, a soft case and the obligatory
wiping cloth (throw it out, use kleenex or an old white
T-shirt that has been through the wash a few hundred times).
I don't much care for the eyelens cap. Notice I made the
word "cap" singular. It is an oval shaped thing you have
to push over both eyepieces at the same time. I'm a bit
clumsy I admit, but I have a hard time with this for some
reason. Lastly, if you order from Heartland America over
their web site, expect to get junk e-mail from them for the
rest of your life. In fairness, I could probably tell them
to quit, but I like seeing all the other stuff they sell
real cheap too.
All in all, I would recommend these binos to most anybody,
especially for the price.
Richard
--- In backbayastro@..., George Reynolds
<pathfinder027@y...> wrote:
Thanks, Kent, for the great info on binoculars. If anyone is in the
market for a pair, the Orion 8x42, normally selling for $139, is on
sale on the "Clearance" page on Orion's Web site for $111.20.
George
"S. Kent Blackwell" <kent@e...> wrote:The Orion Ultra series are
made by Adlerblick, as are the top on the line Celestron's. Adlerblick
(German for eagle-eye) is a little-known optical company, which is a
division of Carton. They utilize BAK-4 glass which has a very high
refractive index. I have a pair of 10x50 Adlerblicks and are optically
superb. They are about the lightest 10x50's out there, but seem a bit
fragile to me. I have had to collimate them twice in their lifetime.
Isn't it amazing?...I have a pair of US-made Bausch & Lomb's, made in
1942 which have NEVER slipped out of collimation. They are simply
dazzling, both optically and mechanically. I think the B&Ls knock the
pants off any other glass I've seen. And they made it through a World
War unscathed. I've always been an advocate that a high degree of
polish on a lens is more important than fancy multi-coatings. The B&L
are very heavily coated with a deep purple magnesizm fluoride, which
predates multi-coatings by 40 years. The Germans actually invented
lens coatings, but leave it to the good ole fellas at Bausch & Lomb to
come up with a coating that didn't wear off. The German binoculars in
the era after 1941 were coated, but only the inside surfaces because
they were not "hard coated". If you cats out there really want a super
pair of binoculars check out Pentax's image-stabilized models. The
10x30 are highly recommended, not very expensive and light as a
feather. Because of their stabilization, I can see stars every bit as
faint with the 10x30 as with the non-stabilized 10x50 Adlerblicks,
despite the fact the 50mm objectives of the Adlerblicks gather 2.8x
more light! To add to their strengths the Canon's are very good
optically. Stars are pinpoints nearly to the edge of the field. Please
don't get me started talking about binoculars. I love them. Kent
Blackwell Check out these sites:
----- Original Message ----- From:
George Reynolds To: backbayastro@... Sent: Thursday,
February 27, 2003 9:26 AMSubject: Re: [backbayastro] Dale Carey's
Binoc's
Rick,
If you don't yet have a good pair of binos, a good all-around pair
is the Orion 8x42 Ultraview. Here is something I wrote a while back,
and it still holds:
Alan Adler's great article on binoculars in the September, 2002
issue hit the mark for me. I had a cheap pair of Simmons 10x50's
($24.95 at Wal-Mart) and last year, on the strength of Alan Adler's
review in a link off the Todd Gross Weatherman web site*, I purchased
a pair of Orion Ultra-View 8x42 binos and use them regularly in my
observing. I enjoy the bino views of M6, M7, M45 (The Pleiades), the
Double Cluster in Perseus and of course, M31 The Great Andromeda
Galaxy, as well as just wandering through the Milky Way. I also use
them consistently to find targets to point my scope at. I wish my
finder scope had the good contrast the Ultra-Views have. Alan could
have included "8x42" in his "Astro Index" table on page 96. It would
fall between the 7x50 and 9x63 binos, with an astro index of 50.
*"The REAL Scoop on Binoculars" Superb article by Alan Adler on
George Reynolds
"Rick Bish <2bookworms@c...>" <2bookworms@c...> wrote: Hey Dale,
were you able to use the Barska 15 X 70's much before the
flood hit Tidewater? I believe you were the one who got a good deal
on them online (Jan. meeting). What have you seen in them? Are you
happy with them? I've been kicking around getting a pair, but I'm
not
much of an "equipment person" though they might come in handy in
getting my Lunar Cert.
Rick Bish
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George Reynolds, Deputy Commander, Tidewater South Section Royal
Rangers
Visit my Web page:
"Solar System Ambassador" for South Hampton Roads, Virginia
Member, Back Bay Amateur Astronomers (BBAA)
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Rangers
Visit my Web page:
"Solar System Ambassador" for South Hampton Roads, Virginia
Member, Back Bay Amateur Astronomers (BBAA)
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Kent Blackwell