Anonymous
Unregistered
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I received my new pair of 20x80 oberwerk binos last week. I got the deluxe version with the broadband coating and built in tripod adapter. The binos came extremely well packed and arrived on the day that the rep from Big Binos said they would. A good start. now to first light. I found there to be absouletly no problem with collimation and noticed no what I call color fringes around bright stars. M 42 was very nice and covered the entire field of view. The trapezium was not resolved probably due to the poor seeing. M33 stuck out like a sore thumb. I could detect hints of spiral structure and the nucleus was plainly seen. M 35 boggled my mind. I could count about 30 resolved stars. NGC 2158 was visible at times as a ghostly glow with averted vision. M 78 was seen but only fleetingly. M 79 was seen but appeared only as a fuzzy star. M 36 37 38 were all equally impressive open clusters. Well I don't think I could be happier with the new binos and can't wait to get them out again. 
Roger
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Fiske
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 03/14/04
Posts: 2230
Loc: Missouri / United States
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Roger:
Congratulations on your new binoculars. 20x80 is an ideal combination for a larger binocular in my opinion. I compared a number of different sizes before purchasing a pair of 20x80s.
I imagine you have fairly dark skies at possum poop holler. Guess that makes it a bit tricky to avoid stepping in it? 
--------------------
Fiske Miles
Nikon 8x42 LX / 12x50 SE Binos
Mini Borg 60ED, TV-101, AT80Ach, XT-8, C11/CI-700, 22-Inch Dob
Way too many Nagler eyepieces
http://www.fiskemiles.blogspot.com/
www.fiskemiles.com
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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You have no idea of the tribulations. Not only possums but deer, coon, turkey, skunk, fox, bear, coyote. Bear is the worst for obvious reasons.
Roger
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Congratulations on your purchase Roger. The Oberwerk 20x80 deluxe II binocular is one that I have been considering as my next acquisition. Your first impressions are encouraging. Enjoy!
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Glad to hear the glowing review. I am going to order either that one of the 20x80 standard on Friday. My only concern with the 20x80 Deluxe II is the center bar and the built-in tripod adapter. I recently had to return a pair of the 25x100 IF that is using the same design of the 20x80 Deluxe II because there was significant sideways play when trying to adjust the focusers, which made them very difficult to use. Kevin told me the 20x80 built in tripod adapter and thumb screw do a better job of stabilizing the bino. What have you found? Also, are you able to pull your binos in all the way to the narrowest IPD setting w/o the objectives hitting the tripod head? I'm using the 501 and that was another issue I had with the 25x100. In order to use the entire IPD range I had to slide my adapter plate all the way forward, which made them very unstable.
Shawn B
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Shawn, I have been looking at the 25x100 IF model as well. Can you describe this "sideways" motion more? I don't clearly follow. Also, when using the 25x100 did you need to use the smallest IPD? If you didn't have this problem during normal use, then why was this a concern?
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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By sideways I mean it rocked back and forth from left to right. When I was focusing an eyepiece, it pulled to the direction I was focusing. The thumb screw has a small plastic tip and prevented sliding forward and backward, but seemed undersized.
The IPD was a concern because my wife has an IPD of 56mm which is just under the 58mm the Obies will adjust down to. She is able to overcome the 2mm but it was so off-balance because the binocular was all the way to the front on the center bar and the 501 mounting plate was pushed forward as well. If I had an offset bar to raise them a few inches, it would not be an issue.
Maybe I'm just lazy or spoiled, or both, but I prefer the center focus method instead of IF. I know everyone says IF is better for astronomy, but these will also be used by the entire family, with my supervision of course, for terrestrial viewing, and center focus is really a must for those applications and also with kids involved.
Optically, the 25x100 were fine although I did see some flaring and slight CA aroud the edges of the moon at dusk. Maybe that is to be expected when viewing a full moon in daylight hours with 100mm or larger binos. At night they were awesome.
Shawn B
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Thanks for the greater detail. I have owned the 22x100 Oberwerk bino coupled to the 501 head and never experienced what you did, but then again I never changed the IPD. That's unfortunate concerning the rocking. Thanks for sharing.
I am impartial when it comes to center vs. IF. I can understand why it could be prefered for astronomy though. There hasn't been many, if any I think, astronomy reviews with the 25x100 bino. Too bad you had to return yours. You could have been the first!
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Erik D
Post Laureate
Reged: 04/28/03
Posts: 4066
Loc: Central New Jersey, USA
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I share Shawn's preference for CF binos. I have had pair of Celestron 10X40 waterproof RP, IF bino since the mid 1980s . Carried it on many overseas trips and an Alaska Inside Passage cruise. I tried to use it when I started birding in 2003. Found it really akward when I have refocus quickly....
I find myself "fine tuning" the focus frequently even when I am viewing DSOs in different parts of the sky so I am partial to CF binos. If optical quality is the same I would prefer the Burgesss Optical S2 CF over the Oberwerk 25X100 IF.....but again one can never be sure about Burgess delivery status.
IF is the only choice for anyone thinking of getting the Oberwerk BT 100, Kowa HighLander or any of the Miyauchii binos with angled EPs.
Erik D
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