Premium binocular question

[dcnicholls]

The comet has got me thinking about binoculars again. I have a pair of 10x50 Hoya wide angle binos which I bought in Singapore back when it was a cheap place to buy stuff (ie long ago). The'ye stood by me well, and are convenient for looking at comets

I also have a pair of the monstrous 45-deg 25x100 "Oberwerk" type binos from Andrews. Very nice indeed but heavy heavy heavy - require a military campaign to move them around.

So I was thinking about something in between - provoked partly by a Buy/Sell/Trade post this morning on IIS including Andrews 20x80 binocs (now sold).

What I want is something that's light enough to hold without a tripod, but bigger than 50mm diam objectives - 60 or 70mm would be obvious choices. And probably 10 to 16 mag. It *must* be wide angle - I don't have any desire to look down a narrow "tube".

The Hoyas always struck me as excellent until I mounted them on a pantograph mount, whereupon I found they were rather poor (actually, very poor) at the edges of the field. So I'm looking for somethign with a usable wide field.

One other thing to go into the equation: value for money. I'm not necessarily only looking at the cheap end of the market.

So Fujinon FMT-SX 16x70s or MT-SX 10x70s aren't completely out of the question (especially if I buy them from the US - US$600). But I thought I'd canvas opinions on options here.

The parameters again: wide angle, 10-16x, 60-70mm, light enough to use w/o a tripod, good sharp edges.

Anyone want to offer some thoughts?

DN

[Satchmo]

The new Military style 15 X 70 binoculars from Andrews would probably win hands down . Rated nearly as good on Cloudy Nights reviews as the Fujinon 16 X 70 for about 1/3 the price ( @ AUD $450 ?)

Mark

[dcnicholls]

Thanks, Mark. What brand were they sold as in the US, do you recall?

DN

[dcnicholls]

I think I found some of the reviews. They are Oberrwerk Ultra or Garrett Signature 15x70s.

DN

[anj026]

I think Astrophysics sell these too (in the US).

[skies2clear]

I think that's right, Astro-physics endorsed these, so they must be pretty good. AOE also sells the same bino. A friend over here just bought the 15X70 from AOE, and says they are pretty damn good, and he is a very critical observer and also critical of optical quality.
Sounds like the best buy around, even at $450. He decided to go for the 15X70, rather than the lower mag (10.5 or 11X think), because of the much wider apparant field of view and the more practical and smaller sized exit pupil, versus the lower mag (and therefore easier to hold steady).
Cheers

[dcnicholls]

Thanks, s2c (let us hope you forum name is a prediction!), useful advice.
I like the look of the Fujinons, but performance/price ratio is hard to argue with. Another good reason not to buy a Ferrari/Lamborghini/Zonda. But how many heads are turned by such cars? <whimper>

DN

[skies2clear]

Hey, you could get the Fujinons and drive down the street wearing them in your Toyota and see how many heads you turn. Ah well, never mind!

We are lucky we have some kind of alternative choices, but what alternative is there for Ferrari, Lambo, Zonda or Bugatti? What a pity!

Cheers

[dcnicholls]

I just did a quick visual comparison with the Hoya binocs and a couple of eyepieces: A Nagler (82*) and a Meade 5000 series (68*). Interestingly the apparent field of view for the Hoyas is abut 75 degrees. That's wide. cf the Fujinons at 64* AFOV. I may have some trouble finding anything that approaches the Hoyas.

DN

[matt]

Quick question:

Who sells Fujinon and/or Hoya binos in Australia?

From whom would you buy them on-line OS?

[dcnicholls]

Originally Posted by matt

Quick question:

Who sells Fujinon and/or Hoya binos in Australia?

From whom would you buy them on-line OS?

In Australia, so far as I can discover, Fujinons are sold by Astronomy Online (York Optical)
http://www.astronomyonline.com.au/De...tID=863&cid=28
(only the 10x model)
and Andrews http://www.andrewscom.com.au/site-co...-celestron.htm

There are several dealers in the US (eg Amazon) but I've not explored whether they can sell outside the US.

The Fujinon prices are much higher (more than twice) here than in the US, whereas the "Kunming" Astrophysics/Garrett/Oberwerk/Andrews 15x70s are very competitively priced here compared to the US. Andrews and AOE sell them (Andrews is cheaper but AOE sells them with a metal case, according to their websites).
http://www.aoe.com.au/15x70mx.html
http://www.andrewscom.com.au/site-co...11-andrews.htm

As for Hoya, I've not seen any mention of them still making binocs. Mine date from 1980.

DN

[skies2clear]

I can confirm that AOE do in fact sell their 15X70 with a decent metal case. Had a look at my friends as mentioned before. IMHO, better than the soft cases supplied with many binos that don't offer much protection.

[yagon]

I've got the astro-physics 15x70 and can vouch for their outstanding performance.

I'm very keen to buy the 28x110 from kunming:

http://www.united-optics.com/product...Series/BA8.htm

Does anyone know where I can buy these binos in Australia?