AT NEAF this year I visited the Burgess stall and was amazed at the many quality binoculars (and other goodies) on display. I already own Bill's 20x80LW's and his short tube 102mm refractor and am pleased with them. I also have a set of Tak 22x60's and wanted more aperture for deep sky observing so I checked out his Top of the Line (improved) Astros and ordered them. They arrived a few days ago and I checked them out in the daytime and was pleased with their clarity and power. Last night I finally had a few hours to spend with clear skies (Long Island's brand of clear skies); removed these 13 pound slick beauties from their custom case; inserted the 20x eps and mounted them on Bill's included Magnesium heavy duty sturdy mount and tripod. Wow! I removed the felt lined end caps, slid the integral dew caps forward and positioned my "Hands On Optics" astro chair and checked out Venus at 9:30. Sharp view with very little purple - much less than I expected from non apo binos. (My Taks show no purple haze, looking at Venus, with their fluorite objectives). Each ep adjusted individually and I was impressed with their fine focusing ability. I replaced the 20x with the 40x and Venus looked larger and still sharp - with almost no haze - just to the right of the cresent. Next Off to Jupiter. Great view with both EP's - again very little color - no more than a quality ED refractor. Enjoyed seeing pinprick moons and the bands clearly. Began deep sky panning for an hour just to enjoy the views. Found a Globular Cluster (M13?)(just 6 feet east of the Big Dipper at 11pm)and changed EP's and was amazed at the Stereoscopic view of the Glob with pinprick stars all around it. Wonderful orange, blueish and bright white stars. Called my wife outside and she was equally amazed with the view.
(She loves her Canon 10x30IS' and was amazed how things looked through these giant Shiny Metallic Silver Beauties). She finally gave me permission to continue my "spacewalking" and I panned the skies for the next hour and finally put them away until the next night. Yes, they are a little heavy at 13 pounds, but since Bill includes this heavy duty mount (with an extra mount plate) and padded carry bag I might add)in his price it can be the Deep Sky bino of choice for anyone who wants larger diameter (did I say multiple lensed ED glass?) at the business end of his pair. I will treasure these for years to come. Can't wait to set them up at a truly dark sky site in the next week (weather permitting of course). Clear Skies.
Edited by geomason (05/19/04 05:46 PM)
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