AOE binoculars

[anomaly]

I am looking for a first pair of binoculars, and have read some good things about AOE in these forums. However, more of the comments seem to be about the excellent quality of service rather than the quality of the optics, and I have not had much luck finding comments or reviews of the products.

Can anyone give comparisons of the AOE products with the more "known" brands? For example, price difference notwithstanding, if I were looking at roof prism binoculars, how would the AOE 10x42WPMKIII or the various members of the AOE Odyssey range stack up against the Nikon Monarchs? Or for porros, how would the AOE MX Ultra compare against the Nikon Action Extreme?

Any comments and experiences would be appreciated.

[Gama]

Well, my string is about ..THIS LONG... ..

What ?, you dont know what i mean by THIS LONG ?.. Thats because what i percieve and know is not the same for you. You would be best to look thru them yourself and make your decision. Your eyes are different to others, and its not just how sharp the bino's make an object.
I have some 30x80 Fujinons i bought years ago, and they are very good. But a friend of mine complained all night !. Just remember many use achromatic lenses, so depending on others ability to see the amount of blue fringe around objects, may be different to you.

Theo.

[sheeny]

Yes, I agree. It's best to look through a set first if you can.

Having said that, both my sets of binos I've bought without looking through them before!:P My first pair of binoculars were the Pentax 7x50s. They were superb when new - razor sharp to the edge of the FOV. 25 years on they are still pretty good:thumbsup: but maybe they could do with a service/collimate;).

I also have the 20X80 AOE triplet binos. For the money, I reckon these are great value, however they aren't in the same optical league as my old 7x50 Pentaxs. The middle 1/3 to 1/2 of the FOV is sharp, and just a touch muddy around the edges with maybe a little bit of coma. Generally the CA is good until you get onto something really bright like the moon - I often notice some yellow or purple fringing around the moon, but the surface of the moon appears sharp. It's rare to notice the CA on any other objects.

Hope this helps,

Al.

[janoskiss]

Roof prisms of that type I've tried are not too crash hot (and if I'm not mistaken I tried that very model you're looking at), especially for astronomy. Stray light / reflections / prism cutoff... Stick with porro or pay big bucks IME.

The MX Ultra is better than the Action Extreme - but a lot heavier!

The less expensive porro prism binos (ie the HR and WP) from AOE are also surprisingly good. The very cheap WAs are a bit dodgy but usable and for the money you really cannot complain about them.

[mercedes_sl1970]

G'day

Agree with what the other posters say about having a look through some binos if you can. Some shops may also let you try a binocular out overnight which can be another option. Maybe you could get in contact with the people at AOE - the comments about their excellent service are highly justified and they may be able to organise something for you.

Oh yes, one general point, you will always (except for say with a Leica or Zeiss) get better value for money with a porro prism compared to a roof prism.

Regarding the Nikon Action Extremes, I had a look through them in daylight and I personally wasn't all that impressed. There was a fair degree of light fall-off and aberration away from the centre. Here's a review of the Nikons:

http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=165971&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=all&vc=1

I had a brief (daylight) look through the 10x50 Ultras once and they were terrific and they are supposed to be excellent at night. I do have the 10.5x70 version and really like them - they are very sharp - even close to the edge, contrasty, little aberration. etc. I've looked through a number of "high-end" binos now and these rate very highly.

There are several reviews of the MX Ultra line here:
http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/821155/Main/821130#Post821155

and:
http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/1,2,3,4,5,8,9,10/Number/1000900/page/0/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/all/fpart/all/vc/1

and:
http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showthreaded.php?Cat=0&Number=1122774&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=all&fpart=&vc=1&PHPSESSID=

You might also be able to find some information about other binos amongst this huge range of reviews on Cloudy Nights:
http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/63783/page/0/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/all/fpart/1

And finally, if you can't find what you want, have a look at Excelsis:
http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/section.php?sectionid=21

Good luck!

Andrew

[Chippy]

I'm curious to know if there's any difference between the AOE binos and the very similar ones sold by Andrews. I know they are both Oberwerk and perhaps AOE check collimation more than Andrews...? But can anyone tell me if there is any physical difference (ie. with the coatings)? I suspect they are the same - but not sure. Andew binos have "Fully Coated" printed on them - does this mean they're not "fully multi-coated"?

I've heard Oberwerk manufacture different grades with different coatings etc (but don't know if there's any difference between ANdrews and AOE versions).

From what I've seen and read these (Oberwerks) are good binos for the price in any case. I'd check them out first, before purchasing more expensive. :rolleyes: