Nuri
09-09-2006, 03:36 PM
I finally decided on this (http://www.andrewscom.com.au/site-content-section-11-andrews.htm) bino from Andrews (manufacturer details here (http://www.binocularschina.com/binoculars/100mmfocuser_45.html)) for wide-field viewing to start me off in this hobby. I made the purchase yesterday along with a couple of 15mm GSO superview eyepieces to give me 40X in addition to the 23.9mm eye pieces that come with it (25X magnification). The binos are essentially two 100mm F/6 achromats side by side. The entire package, including wooden tripod and carrying case are top quality despite their Chinese build. However, contrary to Lee Andrews' comment that these were triplet binos, I couldn't find any such spec on the manufacturers website.
Last night I set it up in my backyard in Homebush Bay and my first target was Jupiter. The 23.9mm EPs that come with it leave a lot to be desired. They are not comfortable on the eye and the difference in clarity to the GSO superviews is like light and day. However, using the GSO EPs at 40X the views are crisp and clear. I could clearly see two bands on Jupiter along with the four moons. With the limited seeing in Central Sydney, I had a great time scanning the sky. Wherever I pointed my new toy, I could see dozens of stars, even where there were no stars visible at all with the naked eye.
The wooden tripod/mount is top notch and very sturdy (and also very heavy!). You can quickly turn either of the greasy smooth Alt/Az knobs (think of those large Hi-Fi volume knobs) and lock the OTA firmly in place. Pointing the binos to the opposing side of the sky and locking it in is achieved in a matter of a few seconds.
Then I noticed the moon had appeared out of nowhere above my house and I quickly pointed it that way. This view people, blew me away! It was so bright I squinted for a second. I could clearly see very fine details of the moon which at 40X covered about 40% of my field of view. There was slight purple/green fringing in averted vision but even still, the view was breathtakingly bright and I couldn't stop looking at the moon for about half an hour!
As an experiment, I looked through one eye for about two minutes to compare monovision and as soon as I opened both eyes, another dimension magically appeared! The easiest way to explain the difference is, with stereovision I felt like I was actually there at a point X kilometers away from the moon. It made me remember from my highschool biology class that the reason humans and other animals have stereovision is so that their brain can instantly calculate the rough distance of the object they see.
Now... I need more magnification...The manufacturer site says they will introduce 125X EPs for it. What do you guys recommend?
Last night I set it up in my backyard in Homebush Bay and my first target was Jupiter. The 23.9mm EPs that come with it leave a lot to be desired. They are not comfortable on the eye and the difference in clarity to the GSO superviews is like light and day. However, using the GSO EPs at 40X the views are crisp and clear. I could clearly see two bands on Jupiter along with the four moons. With the limited seeing in Central Sydney, I had a great time scanning the sky. Wherever I pointed my new toy, I could see dozens of stars, even where there were no stars visible at all with the naked eye.
The wooden tripod/mount is top notch and very sturdy (and also very heavy!). You can quickly turn either of the greasy smooth Alt/Az knobs (think of those large Hi-Fi volume knobs) and lock the OTA firmly in place. Pointing the binos to the opposing side of the sky and locking it in is achieved in a matter of a few seconds.
Then I noticed the moon had appeared out of nowhere above my house and I quickly pointed it that way. This view people, blew me away! It was so bright I squinted for a second. I could clearly see very fine details of the moon which at 40X covered about 40% of my field of view. There was slight purple/green fringing in averted vision but even still, the view was breathtakingly bright and I couldn't stop looking at the moon for about half an hour!
As an experiment, I looked through one eye for about two minutes to compare monovision and as soon as I opened both eyes, another dimension magically appeared! The easiest way to explain the difference is, with stereovision I felt like I was actually there at a point X kilometers away from the moon. It made me remember from my highschool biology class that the reason humans and other animals have stereovision is so that their brain can instantly calculate the rough distance of the object they see.
Now... I need more magnification...The manufacturer site says they will introduce 125X EPs for it. What do you guys recommend?