+Bino-viewer Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Been looking into a pair of large (ish) aperture binoculars for a while. Doc's recent purchase of his Swarovski 10 x 50 ELs have got me more interested. Despite the fact they look amazing, and optically in another league from what i'm used to (Canon 15x50) the cost frightens me somewhat. I really fancy something in the 70 - 80mm range, maybe even 100mm, but don't want to compromise on optics. These have been on my radar and with the € rate being favourable are only a little more pricy than the Swarovskys and double the aperture. I had a good look at a pair in February at Astrofest and was impressed. Enter the APM 100mm ED APO Binocular with interchangeable 1.25" eyepieces. http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p6587_APM-100mm-45--ED-APO-binocular-with-1-25.html A big + for me is i already have 3 sets of 1.25" Televues, and own a photographic tripod. The relevant exit pupil is doable too. A fork mount is available at reasonable cost. Not making any decisions yet ; more research will be needed. And probably a years worth of saving up. But they are on my wishlist...... apm100ed-bino-oben by rob.0919, on Flickr tuckstar and Tweedledee 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smithysteve Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Hey Rob, I hope your wish comes true! I had a look at the spec on these and it's very impressive, the recommended fork mount looks the biz too. Out of interest, Would you be also thinking of trying them on a goto type mount eventually? Anyway, I would love to have a look through these when you get them😊 cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted April 20, 2015 Author Share Posted April 20, 2015 You'd be welcome Stephen. No go-to mount option planned. I don't even have that with my refractor. These would be my grab & go bins Its the 2.8 deg fov that i'm interested in, although i wish it was a bit wider. My current set up (using the Mark V) gives me just over 1.7 deg fov with the 24 Panoptics. I need to do plenty of research and read some user reviews. I may look into seeing if i could pay to 'rent' a pair for a week from a dealer. Thats maybe a non starter though. The thing i need to know is how do they compare with a 132mm refractor & binoviewer ? Are two scopes side by side a better option ? How do they perform optically ? At F/5 i'm not convinced. Although the optics in my scope are not up there with Tak, Tec, Astro-Physics, APM etc, i do think its more than a decent performer. And with the best binoviewer on the market, it becomes a formidable set-up. If anyone on the forum has any thoughts or has owned / used a set of 100mm bins i'd be interested in your thoughts. Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweedledee Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Here's a thought WOW!!!! The 100eds look superb. You should get 1.15x the light grasp of the 132. 100mm bins have the light grasp of a single 141mm objective and unlike cheaper bins they are far better optimised to maximise that light for views with 1.25" eps. I'm not sure you'd notice too much difference between the quality of the views in the 132 and the 100ed bins. It should be easier to get the wider field of view in the shorter focal ratio bins than in the 132 with binoviewer. Though you could probably get an even wider field using the 132 and a single 2" ep. Having said all the above, I have never experienced a view through such excellent bins. If you are going to get some bins those look pretty much like the ultimate ones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 APM make great scopes so I see no difference with these bins. If I was going to buy a pair of large bins then these would be on my list, pretty near the top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Your 31mm Nagler will give you x30 mag and 2.73° Tfov in your scope Rob That's nearly as much as those bins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweedledee Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Your 31mm Nagler will give you x30 mag and 2.73° Tfov in your scope Rob That's nearly as much as those bins. Or using a 3" 100 degree 30mm ep you could have 30x with a 3.3 degree FOV. I think your scope has a 3.5" focuser doesn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweedledee Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Expensive, but still well within your budget even with a 3" diagonal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Now that would be a thing of beauty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted April 20, 2015 Author Share Posted April 20, 2015 I've not made any firm decisions yet. Thank you for your posts everyone. There is however more than one way to skin a cat. The main issue i would be concerned with with these 100mm bins is optical quality with an F/5 focal ratio. These APMs are a doublet design. Whatever they state, the FK-61 glass in the rear element of a doublet F/5 won't match a fluorite type (read FPL53) optimised triplet optic working at F/7 for colour correction. I can detect no false colour on the moon with my FLT132 at all. Considering the cost of these bins, there may be a better way. Another wish list item for me (and its the same cost give or take) is the Takahashi FSQ-85ED With the Mk V / 24 Pans i could get a whopping 3.62 degree FOV, compared to the stated 2.8 degree FOV of the APM 100mm bins And unparalleled optical quality in the Tak 4 element flat field design. Its an imaging scope of course, but i've read it bino-views very well. It has ample focusing travel. And i'd love to image with it as a beginner. Loads of accessories available with Tak too, i.e. reducers / extenders. Looking at it now the FSQ-85ED makes a lot more sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted April 20, 2015 Author Share Posted April 20, 2015 Or using a 3" 100 degree 30mm ep you could have 30x with a 3.3 degree FOV. I think your scope has a 3.5" focuser doesn't it? Yes the Feathertouch is indeed 3.5" (and a very useful 4.5" draw tube , hence the FT3545 name) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted April 20, 2015 Author Share Posted April 20, 2015 Expensive, but still well within your budget even with a 3" diagonal! As much as i'd love a go with a 3" eyepiece / diagonal it would probably be a marriage breaker if my wife ever saw it. No, i must, must do this hobby with both eyes. I hardly ever use the 31mm Nagler anymore. Tweedledee 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 If you had the 100° 30mm EP in the Tak 85mm it would give you x15 mag and a whopping 6.66° TFOV. Tweedledee 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Now that's got to be tempting Rob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweedledee Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 (edited) As much as i'd love a go with a 3" eyepiece / diagonal it would probably be a marriage breaker if my wife ever saw it. . I'm only talking about one of those cheap 50 quid ones from the states Maybe some of us aren't as honest as you Rob. Edited April 20, 2015 by Tweedledee Smithysteve and +Bino-viewer 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted April 20, 2015 Author Share Posted April 20, 2015 Thats funny, all of my little 1.25" eyepieces cost £50 too ! Only the 31mm cost a bit more.....and that was a one off buy. Smithysteve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted April 20, 2015 Author Share Posted April 20, 2015 If you had the 100° 30mm EP in the Tak 85mm it would give you x15 mag and a whopping 6.66° TFOV. Thats a no go lol Think the FSQ85-ED focuser is 2" max. That 3" monster would probably damage the draw tube bearings.....! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweedledee Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 That 3" ep is 2.5kg, the 3" diagonal will be approaching the same, but the FSQ85 ota is only 3.9kg If it did all fit together you'd probably need a 4kg balance weight on the objective end! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smithysteve Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 Well, all the hardware above is making my head spin, but I think you are still aiming a bit low 😃 the Hubble space tel is going to be available in 5 years time ðŸ”😊 don't know if it will end up on Astro buy & sell though 😚 I,m still wondering how I can approach the subject of buying some decent ep's with swmbo 😊😀👠+Bino-viewer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz Type-R Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 (edited) I,m still wondering how I can approach the subject of buying some decent ep's with swmbo 😊😀👠Do what I do, turn off paper bills for your credit card, purchase said EP, then tell her it's one of those cheap £50 ones from America! Works for me. Edited April 21, 2015 by Daz Type-R Smithysteve and Tweedledee 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted April 21, 2015 Author Share Posted April 21, 2015 Well, all the hardware above is making my head spin, but I think you are still aiming a bit low the Hubble space tel is going to be available in 5 years time don't know if it will end up on Astro buy & sell though I,m still wondering how I can approach the subject of buying some decent ep's with swmbo No.....Hubbles taken. Look at this webpage on the FLO website http://www.firstlightoptics.com/clearance/hubble-cassegrain-reflector-telescope.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now