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Hi Profiler,
Ive been in and out of astronomy and telescope making, for over 50 years now. About 2 years back I became aware of the binoviewing concept. Began to look into what it was all about, read all the literature, read the rave reviews etc, and looked at the options and pricing, out there in binoviewer world. Initially three things put me off, (I tend to look out for the negatives first). First up was the price tag, most units were from $500-$1500 when fitted up with neccessary correctors and a set of suitable oculars. Secondly, would I have trouble "merging the two images", it seems some people do have. Thirdly I was concerned about the light loss due to the beam split. Rather then forking out $500 plus I thought,"why not try out something I had seen on Ebay": ie had seen a binoviewer package,(Williams Optics), which included:bino body, pair of 20mm 66deg eyepieces, and a 1.6x corrector/barlow, all for US$199 plus $14.99 postage. I thought if it dosent work out then I wont have burnt too much cash. WELL, its the best item of astro kit I have, (after my scopes). My expectations were far exceeded. 99% of lunar and planetary is via these binos,(the views are out of this world 3-D effect,contrast and resolution greatly enhanced). Also very good on globs and nebs. Use binos 50/50 on DSOs. Cyclops better on fainter objects, and low power wide field "sweeping". I actually purchased two complete packages, as I know quality control varies between units, and in fact for one unit it was a little difficult to merge images, and images didnt focus as sharply as the other. Managed to quit the underperforming package at purchase price. For me binoviewing has revolutionised my solar system observing. Hope this helps.
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