High End Bino's

It would still be pretty low power for seeing any planetary detail.
But, it would be interesting to give it a try.  I think it would be more
useful for daytime viewing where light (or the lack of) isn't an issue.

Rich

On Mon, 13 May 2002 21:49:07 -0700, "Rich N." <RNapo*remo @znet.com>
wrote:



Hi.

I have purchased the Swarovski EL 8.5x42 and wondered if the doubler
would be alright for planet and star gazing. I am a complete novice.
Thank you for any advice.

Hi All,

Quick update , I ended up getting the Swarovski 8.5x Els. Reasons for
purchase: 8.5x , 7.4 degree FOV, optically incredible, New Swarobrite
coatings, very comfortable to use and I believe maybe the best resale
value of all the bino's I was considering....Thanks for all the
imput...Until my next astro purchase..Good Day (Probably next
week...This hobby is bad)....JIM

-snip

The Zeiss 7x42 Dialyt Classic is a fine binocular.   If you need a really
wide field, they may well be the best.

I just prefer a little more magnification, most of the time.

Rich

Jim,

I have and use the Swarovski SLC 10X50's and just love them for astro
viewing.  There is no yellow cast in mine.  Just vivid realistic
color.  I tried out high end binoc's in my local sporting goods store.
 This was a big building and poorly lit.  You can really tell the
quality of the optics in a poorly lit room.  The best ones are
"brighter."

My order of preference is in this order with miniscule differences
between them:
#1 Swarovski 10X50s #2 Nikon Superior E 12X50 #3 Leica Trinovid  #4
Zeiss.  All excellent, all worth the money.  I would have liked
preferred the Nikon Superior E best but they didn't have a 10X50.  I
did not like the 12X power because while stronger, you have less FOV.
I liked the light gathering and power combination of the 10X50.  You
get a little less light with the 10X42.  I use my binoc's on a tripod
quite a bit and find the 10X50's just right.

You have good taste and will find minimal difference in each of the
binoc's you are considering.

Good Luck.
David Smith

On 13 May 2002 16:42:57 -0700, chunk @aol.com (chunki) wrote:

-snip-

        Fujinon has thier own EBC (electron beam coating ) process
which is I believe propitary to them alone.  Comparing EBC Fujinons to
Phase coated bruntons, ti is very hard to see which is better.  Sort
of like asking, which is faster - a Dodge viper or a Porche.
:)

joe

http://www.oneilphoto.on.ca

Hi Jim,

I have a Swarovski EL 8.5x42.  I also have several Leica BAs & BNs
and Nikon SEs.

The Swarovski EL 8.5x42 is my favorite low power binocular for
astronomy.  It is also my favorite birding binocular.

I use the 8.5x EL for low power and either my 12x50 Leica or 12x50
Nikon SE for higher power.

Clear skies,
Rich

Jan,

Most of the stores I can view the binocs in are not open at night time. So
for me it is a gamble maybe on that aspect. Just have to trust the reviews
for that one.

BTW, who mentioned Nikon SP 7x50. I found a store that will get some in
stock for me to try no obligation to purchase. If they are better than my
Fujis I might put them up for sale. They would have to be a bit better
though at twice the price discounting for both.

In Oz we have late night shopping on Thursday night. That is maybe the only
chance to see get a look at the stars.

Regards, Craig.

"Jan van Gastel" <jhm.van.gas @mdw.vu.nl> wrote in message

Jim,

I have a Nikon 10x42 SE bino, it's great!  I used to own a Fuji 7x50
FMT-SX but sold it in favor of a Zeiss 7x42 Dialyt Classic.  The Zeiss
is nice for general use but I definitely prefer the Nikons to them for
handheld astronomy.  The 10x power makes a substantial difference over
7x in the appearance of the night sky and although 10x isn't very easy
for me to hold steady, in the case of the Nikon the problem is not
compounded by heavy weight, so it's doable.

I also owned and sold a Pentax 8x42 DCF-WP.  It was nice but not as
good as the Zeiss or the Nikon.  I think you'll be thrilled with the
Nikon for handheld astronomy.

Ritesh

That is interesting Alan. Maybe they have updated the coatings, glass types
or something else. I must say this is not from my experience but from a
review on the birding team that worked in consultation with Swarovski on the
revision of the SLCs. The article is on the net somewhere. I read the yellow
cast gives an apparent contrast increase under certain light conditions.
Come
to think of it I don't think I saw it in a pair of 8x30 SLCs I looked
through recently either. Maybe it is a myth but I know it has been referred
to a number of times in some articles.

The larger FOV is very nice and the Zeiss Classic BGA T 7x42 is very good in
that respect to and if I was going to spend that amount on the 8.5 ELs roofs
I would probably go for the Zeiss. For me it is very close and if the Fujis
weren't available I'd have a tough time making a decision.

Regards, Craig.

It is important to test the bino's on a star before buying. Even high end
bino's do not always give coma free off axis star-images.

--
Jan
http://home.wanadoo.nl/jhm.van gastel/

chunki <chunk @aol.com> schreef in berichtnieuws
ead42d0d.0205111953.3ad98 @posting.google.com...

  I have the Pentax 8x42 DCF WP binoculars that are rated best buy by
betterviewdesired.com . I also have the Pentax 20x60 PCF-V binoculars
and the combination works great for astronomy. I use a HD Bogen tripod
with the 20x60's. You can also check out
http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/en try.php?sectionid=21&entryid=3 1 for more
reviews.

&nbsp;             Joe

Hello Craig, sounds like you did your homework and found what you were looking
for. I love the individualism in astronomy.

Jeff V.

Jim,

I highly recommend you personally try any binocular you are considering.
All of the binoculars you mention are very nice, but how a pair feels in
your hands is extremely important.  It sounds like you have found the ELs
are a good "fit" for you.  The 8.5x42s will show you a somewhat wider swatch
of sky, while the 10x42s will do a somewhat better job on objects due to the
slightly higher magnification.  You can get a rough comparison of
performance by multiplying the magnification by the aperture.  Higher values
are better.

If you are planning to handhold the binox check and see how comfortable you
are holding various powers under the night sky.  You may find you can hold
10x binox steady enough for your liking, but perhaps you will prefer the 8
or 8.5x.  I have a pair of 7x42s that I use for some astronomy.  I can hold
them quite steady, but they are even better on a tripod.  You might want to
consider how easily each of your choices fits on a tripod.  Swarovski has a
very nice, but somewhat pricey (about $95), quick release, tripod adapter.

Clear skies, Alan

I like using my AP refractor on my tripod but when comes to bino's I prefer to
hand hold them. I like the portability of light weight bino's. When you start
reaching objective sizes of 50mm or more they start getting heavy requireing a
tripod. I like to simply stand or lay back in a lawn chair and view the sky and
leave all of the set up stuff for larger scopes. True $1,000.00 bino's are in a
league of their own but if you actualy try a pair of 42mm Swift Ultra Lites
like a freind of mine urged me to do so you might be surprised at their
preformance and ease of use as I was. I know quality optics that is why I use
Zeiss and Pentax Ortho's with my AP refractor and AP binoviewer. Anyways I am
simply passing on my actual experiances for others to look into if they wish or
care to. I am not trying to imply that one bino is a better choice than
another. That is up to the buyer not me. Oh yea, the Swift's and the Clestrons
are not made by the same manufacture in Japan. First hand info is always better
than assumptions. FWIW

Jeff V.

I have the 10x42 Nikon Superior E and love them. They are my primary astro binocular. I have relatively small nighttime pupils so the 4.2mm exit pupil suits me well. I did buy the Nikon tripod adapter and it's well made too.

-Florian
 http://www.stargazing.com/

On 11 May 2002 20:53:59 -0700, chunk @aol.com (chunki) wrote:

        I use the fujinons you talk aobut, and a friend of mine has
the Swarovskis.  the later are more lightweight in the haneds, if that
is what you are looking for.  Both are great ont eh star, IMO.
        Nikon makes an awesome pair of 50mm for astornomy - I think
call the SP, but agian, I think they are only in 7x50 size.  Could be
wrong there.
        If you are looking for compactness, at the loss of a bit of
light gathering power, *any* premium brnd of roof prism binoculars in
the 42mm size actually works very nicely.

        Also remember if you are buying them just for astornomy, there
will be occasions you will wan tot use them elsewere just quite
naturally.  For exmpale, my 7x50 Fujinons are too heavy for daily use,
so I bought a pair of 6x30 Fujinon FMT-SX for everyday use.  If you
buy the Swarvoskis, you will use them all the time I think.
good luck either way
joe

http://www.oneilphoto.on.ca

Jeremy,

I think you will find the yellow cast you refer to in the Swarovskis was in
the older SLC models. Swarovski ELs are much more colour neutral now. I have
looked through them and quite a few of the others (Canon IS, Leica, Zeiss,
Fujinon, Pentax, Vixen etc.) and can say that they have excellent colour
correction. In Todd Gross's bino reviews he rated the Canon IS very high in
this respect. I can tell you that the three Canon ISs (2x 15x50 & 1x 15x45)
were very good as Todd stated but the Swarovskis were excellent. In fact I
had great difficulty in getting any colour at all. I had a bright cloudy
background and edges of office blocks and a billboard structure on top of
the building and I couldn't see any colour. Of interest though was I found a
very reflective street lamp fitting with the sunlight reflecting of it and I
could see a faint violet colour edge. I would say that the phase coatings
and colour correction on this model is extremely good with just a smidgen of
violet under extemely bright reflection. I don't think you will see it
normal use.

I was very tempted to go for the 8.5x42 ELs for a low power first binocular
but have decided to go with the Fujinon FMT-SX 7x50 because I prefer the
flat field and the price. They have a touch more colour and are a little
green but I really like there depth perception, depth of view and apparent
resolution.

Craig.

Chunki--

i own the Fuji 7x50 fmt-sx's and the Nikon 8x32 se's.  i've read in at
least two places on the web that the performance of the smaller se's is
very similar to the larger (10x42's).  and, these are really top notch
binoc's for astronomical work.  you see, i did a critical comparison at
my house, which suffers from local light pollution (neighbor's lights,
street lights, etc) that prevents me from becoming fully dark adapted.
and i can see the same stars in either the Fuji's or the Nikons.  so, i
use the Nikons at home.  when at dark sky sites, the larger aperture of
the Fuji's does provide a slight advantage (to my 52 year old eyes).
for a younger individual, i expect that advantage would be much greater.

as you point out, the Fuji's are quite heavy.  but, when looking up i'm
in a recliner, so that is less of a problem then it might otherwise be.
but, the Nikons are just a wonderfully light, comfortable fitting (in my
hands) pair of binoc's.

couple disadvantages you should be aware of:

1.  when i put the Fuji's to my eyes, it's like my eyes have magically
transformed into magnified lenses.  it's not even as if i have the
binoc's at my face, the view is so extremely comfortable (while wearing
eyeglasses).  however, with the Nikons, i have to be very critical about
the placement of the binoc's.  they have excessive eye relief, which
causes the image to black out.  i adjust the rubber eye cups to
correctly position the binoc's and that helps a great deal.  but, if i'm
sharing the binoc's with other folks, it's a nuisance for them (because
they're now doing that battle with the eye relief and they may not be
familiar with what's going on).  i've read that this eye relief issue is
a problem with both sizes of Nikon se's.

2.  the Nikon's don't come with a tripod adapter.  you can buy an
optional accessory, but i've seen a couple variants--some are fine (and
expensive), and some are pretty crummy (but cheap).  be careful if you
decide to buy the tripod adapter.

bottom line:  best, most "comfortable" image in binoc's i've ever had:
the Fuji's.  best, most comfortable-to-hold binoc's i've ever handled:
the Nikon's.

good luck in your choice!

clear, dark skies--

mark d.

Craig,

I have a pair of reasonably new (May, 2001) 7x42 SLCs, and I do not detect
any yellowish cast to the image.  These have the Swarobright coatings, and
the image seems neutral to me.  Although I bought these primarily for
birding, they provide a very nice view of a large chunk of sky.

Clear skies, Alan

"Craig Buckingham" <*remove_to_reply*buckingh @hotmail.com> wrote in
message [SNP}

On 12 May 2002 04:28:19 GMT, starv @aol.comlessjunk (Starvick)
wrote:



Swift Ultralites are quite nice, and moderately priced when compared
to Nikon SEs or Swarovski ELs, but there's a definite quality level
difference. They're more in the range of Nikon's E2 series, which are
also pretty nice.
If you're considering the Nikon SEs and Swarovski ELs, you should test
out a pair of Nikon Venturer LXs. They're a bit heavier and chunkier
than the Swarovski ELs, but in my opinon the images are just as nice,
and don't have that sorta warmish-yellow tint that all Swarovskis
have. They're also not quite as wide as the ELs, but they're nearly
half the price :-)

Oh, and for astro glasses, Swift makes a pair of Ultralite 9x63s which
I'd love to check out under a dark sky on a tripod :-) The only other
manufacturer that I know makes a 9x63 is Celestron, in their Ultima
line... In fact, looking through a catalog at both, they kind of
appear similar... Seperated at birth, maybe? (Like, at the same
factory in Japan? :-)
-Jeremy

Your choices are excellent. You are smart in choosing bino's in the 8X and 40
mm range due to their light weight if you are hand holding. Personaly I feel
you can't beat the Swarovski's or Nikon's except for the price is very high. A
good friend of mine who is an Astronomy retailer insisted that I try some Swift
fully multi-coated 8X42 ULTRA LITE'S when he heard I wanted to buy the Fujinon
7X50 fmt-sx. The Ultra Lites weigh only 22 oz. (much less than the Fujinon's)
and have good eye relief. He kept telling me that while you have your neck
cranked back looking at the night sky you gotta have light weight, he was
right. Great bino's, good optics, I can easily hand hold them at night for
extended periods without having the stars dance all over the place and great
light transmission. I have been using them for three years now and I have been
very pleased with them. FWIW

Jeff V.