binoviewers. is there a difference?

[bill 212]

hi all, can someone please tell me if there is a difference between makes in binoviewers. is the televue better than a william optics or is it because it has green writing. i know theres a big difference in price but what about performance. dont know the difference between a william optics,televue or stellarvue.i have a 8" sct. your comments would be very much appreciated. Bill 212.

[toyos]

William Optics & Stellarvue bino's have the same body, made by the same manufacturer (I think) with nearly identical specs (other than the eyepieces & colours). They both cost around the same too, the Stellarvue are probably slightly cheaper but they only come with 2x 20mm 50deg ep's compared to 2x 20mm 66deg ep's with WO's (the supplied 66deg WO ep's perform pretty poorly by the way, the star images near the edges even look worse than the old basic no-brand ep's I came across).The TV bino's have a big aperture, around 26mm if I remember correctly, allowing you to use larger/longer ep's without significant vignetting that will become obvious on the WO/Stellarvue as soon as you start using ep's 25mm and above.

[wavelandscott (Scott)]

Originally Posted by bill 212

hi all, can someone please tell me if there is a difference between makes in binoviewers. is the televue better than a william optics or is it because it has green writing. i know theres a big difference in price but what about performance. dont know the difference between a william optics,televue or stellarvue.i have a 8" sct. your comments would be very much appreciated. Bill 212.

The simple answer is yes, without trying to be elitist, discriminating observers will see a difference and like many things in astronomy generally speaking you get what you pay for.

Is the difference large enough to justify the price difference?...I can't answer that for you as for you it may be yes and may be no...it depends on your preferences. After all what is (to pick a random number) 5-10% better in all areas worth?

That is not to say that the less expensive binoviewers won't give you some nice views and I am certain that there are many satisifed customers...but in many instances the more expensive gear is "better" (at least technically).

Since you are asking the question I suspect that you have not looked through many binoviewers...if you can, I'd strongly encourage you to get out and try some before you make any purchases.

I have a set of the Denkmeier Big Easy binoviewers that I enjoy using with my refractor and in my reflectors. I particularly enjoy looking at the moon. I have also used them in other people's SCT telescopes and found them enjoyable there too.

Good Luck!