Bino Stuff

[Nightspore]

127mm Sky-Watcher Mak with William Optics bino, WO diagonal and 20mm WO SWAN's.

 

 

20mm SWAN's

 

 

Elephant case with bino stuff.

 

Edited March 19, 2019 by Nightspore

[Doc]

What a great set up, how do you find binoviewing compared to normal viewing?

[Nightspore]

3 hours ago, Doc said:

What a great set up, how do you find binoviewing compared to normal viewing?

Thanks. Binoviewing has advantages and disadvantages. The main advantage is that it feels more natural and due to the 3D effect you can often see more detail. Although apparently it isn't a true three dimensional view but the parallax difference between the two eyepiece views tricks the brain into thinking it is or something lol.

 

 

There are a few disadvantages, primarily with focusing in some scopes and merging the images. Merging the images is essential for binoviewing and it isn't like viewing with a pair of binoculars. It's more of a learned thing and the eyepieces used are as important for being able to merge both images properly. I find anything smaller than about a 12mm focal length can be problematical.

 

 

I use the William Optics bino with my Mak's or SCT mainly for lunar/planetary viewing. Some bright DSO's are good though, particularly M42. Because of this I usually use this modified WO Amici prism diagonal for a naturally oriented image.

[+Bino-viewer]

Welcome to EMS ?

I rather like the 2 eyed view for observing myself, and i now observe with both eyes nearly 100% of the time.

I've had Catadioptric set ups in the past, but prefer now to bottom out on the magnification for low power, rich field views,

with my Newtonian or refractor.

 

How do you find the views through the Mak with that configuration above ?

 

 

 

 

[Nightspore]

1 hour ago, Bino-viewer said:

Welcome to EMS ?

I rather like the 2 eyed view for observing myself, and i now observe with both eyes nearly 100% of the time.

I've had Catadioptric set ups in the past, but prefer now to bottom out on the magnification for low power, rich field views,

with my Newtonian or refractor.

 

How do you find the views through the Mak with that configuration above ?

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the welcome. The WO bino is pretty good for one of the smaller units. I'm partially paralysed in my right arm and hand so a smaller bino is preferable as it's easier for me to physically manipulate. The 20mm SWAN's are new but there were two similar 66º WO EP's that were originally supplied with the bino. They were a bit borked with visible debris so I went through three or four years of trying loads of different pairs of EP's. I even have a pair of 19mm TV Panoptics, although I find the combined pair a bit weighty.

 

 

These 15mm Altair (GSO) SuperViews are OK although I think the SWAN's give a brighter image. I don't know whether that's better quality glass, coatings or less lens groups. The WO bino can only handle about 66º FOV but that isn't a problem for me as I only use it for lunar/planetary, and then only really with the Mak.

 

 

I have three GPC/Barlows, 1.6x, 2x & 2.6x. All but the 2.6x are WO, the 2.6x was from TS Optics. I don't know the manufacturer, it doesn't look GSO. The WO are almost certainly Kunming Optical. The bino configuration works OK for bright planetary objects or the Moon, it's probably what Mak's are best at anyway. 

 

 

This was the state of the Elephant case in late 2015 lol! The original supplied eyepieces are in the second from the top row. The top two were 9mm SWAN's. David Knisely called the 9mm the 'runt of the litter' although he liked the 20mm. The 9mm SWAN's weren't very good and I don't have them anymore (well ... I have the drawtubes still lol).

Edited March 19, 2019 by Nightspore

[Nightspore]

Only one 24mm Pan ...

 

 

... at the moment. 

[+Bino-viewer]

A man after my own heart.

 

I haven't found yet a better combination for binoviewing than 24 & 19 Panoptics.

Perfectly designed with their tapering tops so your nose (no matter how big) fits perfectly in between.

They really do tick every single box.

 

But the 24s push the boundaries with their 27mm field stop.

Only the Mk V will accommodate that.

 

[Nightspore]

I usually use the 19mm singly. They are very nice though. The undercut has a tapered lower lip (like GSO's) so isn't a problem. In fact, the 19mm Pan is one of my most used EP's. Ergonomically it's virtually perfect.

[+Bino-viewer]

FYI,

I've just listed a pair of RKE 28s on SGL

 

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/332528-edmund-optics-rke-28mm-pair/?tab=comments#comment-3620865

 

 

 

[Nightspore]

They look interesting. I bought these 20mm ES but returned them as one of them had visible debris.

 

 

In reality I would have sent just one back but the retailer got a bit weird about it, so I just had them refund my money.

 

 

I originally bought these 25mm Astro Hutech ortho's for the bino. They merge well.

 

 

I was once tempted to buy another of these 35mm Baader Eudiascopics to make a bino pair.

 

 

These possible Masuyama clones have been sold under a few names, including Celestron. They're popular as bino pairs Stateside I believe.

Edited March 19, 2019 by Nightspore

[+Bino-viewer]

You have a very interesting set of eyepieces, thats for sure !

 

We have an eyepiece guru on here , Pete (aka Tweedledee) who i'm sure would be interested in your collection.

 

 

 

(if anyone was interested in the RKEs in my above post they are now sold, sorry)

 

 

[Nightspore]

Thanks, I've collected a few over time.

 

 

I don't have that many 2" eyepieces.

 

 

I have a lot of Barlows (including 2" GSO & Luminos).

 

 

These are only a few of what I've got.

 

 

Some are in pieces lol.

 

Edited March 19, 2019 by Nightspore

[Nightspore]

Oh yeah, the two 15mm TV Plossls in the picture of the set were originally for the bino. They were good but the 10mm eye relief wasn't too conducive to merging. It could be achieved but was sometimes a bit of a strain. My 16mm T5 Nagler has a 10mm eye relief, which kind of rules it out as a potential bino candidate lol.

[+Bino-viewer]

Yes, i believe thats why the N16 isn't so popular, certainly for binoviewing.

Some observers use them though.

 

Its also the reason why i've sometimes struggled with my own N13s which have been 

my main high power set for a good few years now.

 

The N13 has a listed eye relief of 12mm which i find a bit on the tight side.

But the 82 º fov is a nice thing to have.

And in that time i think i've adapted to them, although for me, they are not my favourites.

I've thought about selling them once or twice, but always backed off.

 

The 19 Panoptics are only listed as 13mm eye relief themselves yet i find them much more comfortable to observe with.

 

Then theres the issue that i often find the jump up from 19mm to 13mm quite a large one.

With that in mind, i decided to look at buying a mid to high power set somewhere around 15mm.

 

A few months ago i purchased a pair of Denkmeier D14s 

 

 

Another thread to do with my current eyepiece pairs below

 

 

At the same time i purchased a used 9mm Nagler to use and try out as a high power option.

I have not yet got hold of another to pair it up.

 

And this....

 

Back in February at the London Astrofest show i had a good chat with David Nagler 

and he set me up a pair of their new 'Delites' on a Tv bino and refractor combo.

These were 15mm power, and i was very impressed with them.

Very nice 20mm of eye relief.

I now own a pair of those as well !!

As they are new i haven't had chance to give them a first light yet.

I can merge them ok, but aesthetically, for me, like the D14s, they are a little on the large size.

Over the summer, i plan to do some tests with the N13s, D14s and new DL15s and finally

make a decision on which pair i want to keep long term.

 

[Nightspore]

I usually find 13mm to be the ideal eye relief length. Although OEM's tend to tell porkies about eyepiece specifications. I think some 'bend the rules' when measuring lol. I once compared several 15mm Plossls and the apparent magnifications of one or two of them differed to my eyes. This is indicative that they weren't all exactly 15mm. 

 

 

I have a DeLite. It Barlows and reduces well, which surprised me.

 

 

I acquired the 4mm Vixen SLV above today. I now have three for my Newtonian. They have shiny field stops so aren't so hot for lunar viewing. They are excellent planetary EP's though, very orthoscopic-like. They'd make decent bino EP's probably with 20mm eye relief. FOV is only about three degrees more than most Abbe ortho's.

Edited March 20, 2019 by Nightspore