Not having spent any money on new gear for a few months, I decided to join in on the current fad of binocular buying
I settled on the AOE 15x70's as being a good comprimise between size, weight, usability and light gathering power. These binoculars appear to be the same as ones selling in the USA with the Oberwerk brand on them. The many favourable reviews on these convinced me.
Features:
broadband fully multicoating and bak4 prisms
Ribbed and blackened internally on the main barrels, much like an eyepiece filter thread.
slow focus adjustment making accurate focus easier
comfortable eye relief
4.66mm exit pupil to ensure your eye catches all of the photons
fold down soft rubber eyecups
lightweight at 1.6kg
Tonight was the first nights observing for me in months with a surprisingly mild night and clear skies for a change. I observed with my dob for a while but the highlight of the evening for me was lying on my back and scanning the scorpio and sagittarius regions at zenith with my new binos
I had a ball scanning the sky and checking out the many clusters and globulars in widefield splendor.
Im guessing that the AFOV is something like 60 to 65 degrees. Wide enough to give a pleasing view but I'll reserve any judgement on optical sharpness until I can get them mounted and avoid the shakes. Viewing is comfortable with ample eye relief and these binoculars are a joy to use.
On the downside, the right ocular seemed to move and focus would change if pressing against the eyecups as the focus bridge between the two oculars is made of a flexible plastic.
I then took them out into the street to check their performance with internal reflections. The only reflections I was seeing were those off the lens of the eyepiece from lights behind me that sneaked past the rubber eyecups. If I blocked those with my hand, only the faintest of reflections were visible with bright streetlights just outside the FOV. The multicoatings and internal barrel grooves have done a fine job
The general build quality is best described as adequate and certainly not a pair of binoculars you'll be handing down as a family heirloom, but for the specs, perfomance and comfortable wide angle viewing, they are a great bargain at $119.
I highly recommend these for anybody wanting dual purpose astronomy and handholdable (just), binoculars at a budget price.
I give them a rating of four out of five bananas
Hi Geoff,
Thanks for a nicely written review,I hope you enjoy your Binocular viewing,there is definately a place in Astronomy for binoculars.
Regards.John
Hi,
Great review - right on the money apart from the money!!!
The AOE price has risen to $149, I think Andrews has the same model for $139.
I too was one of the lucky 119ers!
They were a steal.
I've got Tripoditis - I hate having to hug the tripod and crane my neck so I'm hand holding these on a sun lounger - not perfect but acceptable.
Sweeping the milky way is a joy and the 15X mag cuts through the suburban light pollution quite well.
Cheers
Doug
The 15x70's are really (for me at least) the sweet spot for giant binocular observations. They are light enough to be handheld for brief sessions and yet when tripod mounted, they have enough light grabbing aperture to make DSO's look good....
Just got my AOE15x70s delivered today and am very happy so far with my purchase. Have only had them on the Tripod for 20mins or so but It is definately the way to go. Cant wait for it to get dark as I have only tried them out on the hills to my south but from what I have seen I am very happy (again) Will let you know how I go. Thanks for the review Starkler, they are just what I was after.
Can I ask why these models rather than the very near but distinct alternates say the:
High Contrast 11 X 70 Binoculars $139.00 AUD
High Magnification 15 X 70 Binoculars $139.00 AUD
High Performance Zoom 12~36 X 70 Binoculars $149.00 AUD
In particular mightn't the High Contrast or High Zoom ones be more useful or versatile? I was thinking of some retail therapy, and better binos seem a great next step. I'd really love to get your thinking on this, the zoom took my fancy - if it isn't a gimmick that sacrifices image quality; basically planets at 36x and everything else at 12x to get best field of view.
Are the exit pupil sizes the same on all these models at Andrews? Is the best model for astronomy actually the High Contrast ones at lowest magnification?
Your thoughts greatly appreciated!
* * *
Also are the truly giant binoculars say the 25 * 100 worth it at $499 - are they the ants pants so to speak?
Hi G_DAY,
I am Far from an expert on binoculars,but I do own most of the ones you mention,so Best I can answer is.
1: 11x70s,
I have a pair of these,and find them too heavy for handholding,exit pupil is 70mm/11 so around 6.3mm tends to lighten the background a little too much for my likeing.Much prefer 11x56s.
2: 15x70s,Great pair of binos,exit pupil,Well you can work it out now.
Good wide field around 4.5 deg,shows M42 nicely,good contrast.light enough to mount on the better/cheaper camera tripods.
3:Zoom Binos,
I have a pair of 10~30x60s,they are sharp as a tack, until you zoom them up to around 15~20x,very difficult to focus sharply.
One other MAJOR problem with ALL Zoom Binoculars is very small fov,even at the minimum magnification,contrast improves at the slightly higher mags.
MOST,of the experts opinions I have read,ALL seem to agree a fixed Magnification bino,is a better choice.
20x80s,
I received a pair of these for Xmas,Can be handheld,but WAY,WAY Better mounted,you can mount these on a heavier duty camera tripod,
fov,around 3.2 deg,
The moon,and M42 when I first saw them through these,just blew me away,
INMHO,STUNNING.
25x100s,
Now were talking WEIGHT,you had better be prepared to spend almost as much on the tripod as the binos,I have never looked through them,but fov at around 2.5 deg,might be a little restrictive,Thats Just MY opinion.
To sum it all up,
If I had to give up all of my 20+ pairs of binos,except 2,I would choose
11x56 for hand held.
20x80 for tripod mounted.
Hope this helps.
Happy new year.
Regards.
John
With well over 10,000 postings I have made in 6 years online (mostly in physics and PC forums) yours has been one of the most excellent, informative and pleasant toned responses I have ever received!
A sincere thank you for the effort and quality of reply!
Thank you for those very kind words.
It is nice to know I have at least helped someone.
Binoculars are a very personal choice,I like useing them,because of their much wider fov,s,Admittedly at much lower powers.and you can pick up the tripod,with binos attached,with one hand,and be out the door,and viewing in seconds.
Hopefully, I have attached a pic of my 20x80s,with red dot finder attached.
All the best.
Regards.
John
Will let you know how I go. Thanks for the review Starkler, they are just what I was after. 
