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Originally Posted by mickoking
... Is it possable to get a mini review on both your Binox (20x90, 12x60) as I have been interested in the large aperture inexpensive binoculars for some time now but wasn't sure how good they are  |
Of course the binos are not flawless, but they are amazingly good considering how much they cost. Both have excellent coatings and give very high contrast with stars against a dark background sky (as light pollution allows). The barrels of the 20x90 are very well blackened and baffled; but the inner walls of the 12x60 are black but reflective. You can see some stray light on bright targets, but it's no big deal.
It shows me heaps more stars and DSOs than the 8x42 Fujinons (as you'd expect from a 12x60). You can see the field stop of the 60+ degree FOV, but there is significant darkening in the outer 15-20% of the field which makes the FOV look a lot smaller than it is. But these are $119 binoculars that atm come with a heavy duty metal tripod adapter! It's a no brainer unless you are looking at spending hundreds more. And they are still quite hand holdable lying on one's back. Some chromatic aberration on Moon and other very bright targets, with green-violet fringing. But it's not an issue normally.
The 20x90 displays no vignetting and no reflections. Mine is a bit miscollimated (15-20 arc minutes mismatch between left and right), but as I understand this that can be adjusted. I just haven't gotten around to contacting AOE about it yet and I don't want to tinker till I do. There is some field curvature with softening towards the edge of field, but it was no real concern. The real concern was lack of comfort with the thing on the camera tripod. I need to get a more comfortable mount.
Eta Carinae looks stunning in this pair, as do many clusters. Stars look very nice and sharp. Not really suited to planetary viewing but Saturns rings easily visible (and they are not all blurred together with the rest of the planet), but I struggled to see banding on Jupiter. Bad neck pain with Jupiter high in the sky made me give up pretty quick on that one. Jovian moons stood out clear and sharp. And as I already mentioned, it pulls the galaxies extremely well. I cannot wait to try it out on the full Virgo cluster. Chromatic aberration is respectably kept under control. It's at least as good as the 20x80 triplet in this regard.
Look what you made me do now! That's it.
But in summary: it is hard to believe you can get binos like these for what they cost. They are certainly awesome value with a lot of observing potential.
At $119 the 12x60's look very tempting.
Mick
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