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Hi Marc
I have the Vixen 30x125 binocular and they are fabulous for wide, sweeping views of the Milky Way and some deep sky objects such as M42, Eta Carina, Omega Centauri, etc. I have them mounted on the Vixen forks and they have a 45 degree eyepiece which makes zenith viewing quite feasible, although it is much more comfortable to limit the viewing to around 70 degrees to avoid raising the tripod too high and having to sit low down.
The x30 mag is very restrictive on the Planets – I can make out Saturn’s rings and the Cassini Division and you can see the Galilean moons of Jupiter and some banding, but if you want to see nice detail on the planets, then in my opinion, x30 is insufficient.
Mounting is a major issue. Unless they are well mounted, easy to carry out, set up and operate smoothly they may soon fall into dis-use.
I use the Kendrick dew heater system on the objectives and eyepieces and this prevents them from dewing up. The Vixens also have a 7x50 finder scope which is required to locate objects, despite their 1.6 degree field of view.
Cheers
Dennis
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