janoskiss
29-12-2006, 01:20 AM
I know a lot of people incl myself are often curious about the budget-end of usable quality gear, so my post is for them.
AOE recently introduced a new line of binoculars, the WAs (AOE Wide Angle), which come in 7x35, 8x40 and 10x50. I bought the 8x40 as a xmas present for someone who I hope will use it for astronomy but maybe not. I briefly tried out the binos to see what they are like.
Optically they are very nice. Coatings are very good (amazingly so!), contrast is excellent, and the wide FOV is illuminated well.
The cheap in these binos is in the mechanics. Specifically, the focusing and dioptre adjustment. The latter is flimsy and moves under any pressure from your face against the eyecups. You can work around it, but IMO it is a serious flaw in the binos. But it is the only serious flaw, and the binos are still very much usable. At just $59 a pair something had to give I suppose.
I've tried quite a few binos from AOE, and they are always great value and AOE are great to deal with. If you can afford to buy one of their HRs, do not even contemplate the WAs. But if you only have $60 to spend, these deserve a serious look. Otherwise, there is the Celestron UpClose range, which is mechanically superior but has inferior lens coatings. I personally do not know which way I'd go with just $60. At around $100, there are many more 2nd hand and some new options well worth spending the extra $$ on.
AOE recently introduced a new line of binoculars, the WAs (AOE Wide Angle), which come in 7x35, 8x40 and 10x50. I bought the 8x40 as a xmas present for someone who I hope will use it for astronomy but maybe not. I briefly tried out the binos to see what they are like.
Optically they are very nice. Coatings are very good (amazingly so!), contrast is excellent, and the wide FOV is illuminated well.
The cheap in these binos is in the mechanics. Specifically, the focusing and dioptre adjustment. The latter is flimsy and moves under any pressure from your face against the eyecups. You can work around it, but IMO it is a serious flaw in the binos. But it is the only serious flaw, and the binos are still very much usable. At just $59 a pair something had to give I suppose.
I've tried quite a few binos from AOE, and they are always great value and AOE are great to deal with. If you can afford to buy one of their HRs, do not even contemplate the WAs. But if you only have $60 to spend, these deserve a serious look. Otherwise, there is the Celestron UpClose range, which is mechanically superior but has inferior lens coatings. I personally do not know which way I'd go with just $60. At around $100, there are many more 2nd hand and some new options well worth spending the extra $$ on.