Telescope Reviews: Big Eyes and the Orion Paragon-Plus Bino Mount

Hi everyone,

After a somewhat successful first light report, no fault of the binoculars, I realized quickly the Z20x80s would need a different mount other than the heavy duty tripod I was using during the first light. So back to the Cloudy Nights binocular forum to research bino mounts and to determine which one would suit me and my viewing needs.

After much reading and following many links on different mounting options for my 20x80s I decided I would purchase a parallelogram style mount over any others mentioned. There are a few do it yourself options available, on the CN forum and elsewhere on the web, but I have absolutely no woodworking skills to speak of, so I ruled out a DIY project rather quickly. Luckily, Orion had their Paragon-Plus binocular mount (no tripod) on sale and the savings would cover the shipping charges, so in effect free shipping! The Orion mount comes with the proper attachment for binoculars having a front mounting type option but you will need to purchase a separate binocular mount adapter to mount the larger binoculars with a center post mount, as is the case for the Z20x80s. Ok, now with the additional purchase of the adapter ($30.00) I ended up losing the free shipping savings mentioned above.

Fed-Ex delivered the two boxes about 6 days later with no shipping damages. The assembly was very easy but I did need to remove the brass insert in the mount for it to fit my tripod. Also the mounting block for the binoculars was mounted backwards, not sure if it is for shipping purposes or a mistake, but was easy enough to correct with a glance at the accompanying instruction sheet.

After a few adjustments to the legs to get to a comfortable tripod height and a few adjustments to the included 8 lb. counterweight I knew I had a very stable combination. With some trial and error I adjusted the tension knobs on the parallelogram to smooth out the movement and my new binocular mount was ready to explore the night sky.

After dark I checked out several of my favorite binocular sights ranging from the Double Cluster (NGC 884 & 869) to Comet Holmes. For me the Double Cluster always looks best in a binocular field. The Hyades and the Pleiades, very high in the sky, turned out to be the test of my new mount. In my first light post on the Z20x80s I had to hand hold them to see either of them since they were almost overhead and my tripod would not allow me to point them that high in the sky. But with the new mount I was able to stand under the binoculars and view them easily. Again the 3.2° field of view is the only way to do justice to both of these objects. Now it was a different story when I tried to view Comet Holmes, I was able to detect it with my Scenix 10x50s but when I tried to locate it with the Z20x80s I couldn't. I tried several times to locate it but could not and eventually gave up. I am not sure if the field of view prevented me from seeing it or my lack of aiming and pinpointing the object was off.

The addition of the Paragon-Plus binocular mount with my heavy duty tripod is a perfect fix for the shortcomings I experienced with my standard tripod head in the first light report. Is it what you need? Each person observes differently and has certain limits, viewable directions, etc., and something that you will need to answer on your own. However, if like me, you lack woodworking skills or woodworking tools then I recommend you take a hard look at a parallelogram type mount to enhance your binocular observing experience. With this setup I was able to view objects from horizon to zenith in any direction. Once you have the binoculars aimed and focused at the object at zenith there is no arm strain but still some neck strain but more manageable for me than before. It has come to my attention after posting my first light report here that to obtain an increase in the altitude adjustment using my standard tripod head is to mount the binos backwards, towards the tilt/lock arm of the tripod head. I have not tried the suggestion since I am very happy with my purchase of the Orion Paragon-Plus mount.

One other difficulty has arisen when using my new setup and that is aiming at objects in the night sky. I am not sure if it's the narrower field of view between the Scenix 10x50s and the Z20x80s or the size of the objectives, meaning the 20x80s are so large it's hard to tell what I am pointing them at. I had become very proficient at pointing the 10x50s at bright stars and if needed star hopping to my desired target. But the Z20x80s are an entirely different matter when it comes to aiming them at anything.

It seems that I have a very difficult time pointing them at and recognizing the visible star field.

So what's next? A finder is what's next. I have ordered the Bino-Brac II with the Orion EZ finder from Astronomy-Shoppe and will report back my experience with it here. Tony at the Astronomy-Shoppe indicated I should have the items in a few days. According to the local weather I won't have clear skies until Monday or later.

Why "Big Eyes" in the title? It's really simple. I love to read and when I purchased the 20x80s I was in the middle of reading a book from the library titled The Last Ship a post apocalyptic novel written by William Brinkley. The book is written from the viewpoint of the ship's captain, Thomas, his last name is never given, as he and his crew aboard the Nathan James, a US destroyer, search for a habitable area after a nuclear exchange. During this search the crew mans a large pair of binoculars, the captian calls "Big Eyes", to search the shores looking for a safe place to start the human race anew. When I looked at the front objectives of the Z20x80s I could easily imagine that the crew had some type of large binoculars aboard the Nathan James just like my new Z20x80s.

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Richard H.

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Orion ShortTube 90mm f/5.6 Refractor
Meade Model 300 80mm f/15 Refractor
Tasco Cosmic 6TE-5 50mm f/12 Refractor
Orion SkyView Pro 8" Intelliscope
Orion Scenix 10x50 Binoculars
Zhumell SuperGiant 20x80 binoculars

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