Vixen BT81S-A Binoculars

[SimonA]

I'm considering purchasing a new set of Vixen binos (for example the BT81 model) - mostly for terrestrial use, but also basic astronomical work. I'm keen to hear from anyone with an opinion on their performance, in particular the best FL eyepieces, maximum practical magnification etc.. Simon

[Wavytone]

Have you read this - and all the links it contains ?
The vixens are good but how deep are your pockets - it seems you could spend more on a set of eyepieces than the binocs...

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/450982-vixen-bt-81-or-apm-semi-apo/

Looks like Kowa > Oberwerk or APM > Vixen

The Kowa have superior transmission .. the Oberwerk are big heavy and have marginally better optics (triplet objectives and bigger prisms) than the APM ones (doublets) and both better than the Vixen cans.

The premium Japanese optics are still supreme over Chinese stuff but at a price.

[Hoges]

I have a friend with a pair and he might be selling them....if you want, I could put you in touch with him and I could probably get a photo of the bino's and email it to you. Personally, I much prefer my ed80 and binoviewer though - which gets more use during the day with an erecting prism than it does at night with a star diagonal. (I did have to cut a few inches off the tube to get it to focus though :)

[Wavytone]

My own preference is a small ED APO - for example my 70mm is able to resolve Neptune and Uranus as tiny disks. Can't do that in binocs.

But then I don't have binocular vision either so how would I know.

[SimonA]

Thanks for the info and yes, I would be interested in talking to your friend about the binos if you could pass on his details to me, or vice versa.

[Hoges]

Simon - sent you a PM