Telescope Reviews: Bausch & Lomb vs Pentax?

Ok....the B&L Legacy in either the 8x40 or 10x50 incarnation is pretty decent for the $..both have nice wide fields...a noticable amt of field curvature and some edge softness, but not a real drawback, especially considering the 8x can be had for $90-100 and the big one for
$100-120 quite easily. The eye relief is one of the big drawbacks to both, but if u have 20-20, no sweat. The armoring is nice on both and they seem fairly stout. I got one (10x)for a friend on ebay from Jack's Camera in Ohio for $119 and he's really satisfied. The Celestron 8x40 Ultima is another fine performer...I've seen it for about $140 at Christopher's Ltd web site...optically a little better than the B&L, great eye relief but only a 6.6*fov. Once you use a WA bino for a while, you dont wanna go back to a "standard" field glass, i.e., one with less than about 55* afov (seems like yr lookin' thru a keyhole vs a picture window).The Swift Ultralites (in 7,8 &10x configurations) are virtual clones of the Celestron Ultima with the same virtues and fov drawbacks, altho they're about $70-80 more expensive. Pentax turns out some fine glasses also, but they have even narrower fields, so really can't recommend those. I'm only mentioning porro units here, due to 1)they are better performers for the $ spent than comparable roofs and 2)nearly every roof glass I ever owned or tried out had diffraction spikes when viewing bright objects, like Mars or Vega...inherent in the design with an out of phase reflection (even phase coating doesnt fix it). The only exception to this is the Canon 15x50 IS...that shows none, but it is pricey. I assume astronomy will be yr primary use here, ergo my preferences. Now if u can go up to the $250 range, there are some stellar performers available (sorry for the pun...couldn't help it). These wd be the big Swift Audobons (8.5x44 and 10x50) and the new B&L Discoverers (8x42 and 10x42). All offer very wide afov (around 70*), have premium coatings and glass, armoring and fine handling. Well, let me back up....all have those virtues except the Swift 10x50...it still has the conventional pebble-grain vinyl-covered body with rubber obj rings, along with roll down eyecups (vs popups on the other 3). But never mind that...IMHO it is the most underrated glass on the market. It has the "easiest" view of any bino I've ever used (just put it in front of the eyeballs and the whole expansive vista is there, no strain). It's a very nice glass to handle if u have even moderately sized hands, focuses very smoothly, gives clarity and resolution and brightness second to none. Did a side by side with a Nikon 10x42 Superior E, generally considered to be the benchmark for 10x units...The Audobon more than held its own. Was slightly brighter, noticably wider fov (7* vs 6* for the SE), just as good a resolution...drawbacks include a little more edge curvature and a slightly "warm cast" to the view...by that I mean a very subtle yellow tone (as this is primarily a birding glass, may hv been intentional, as that can enhance brightness and contrast on overcast days, showing more detail). But you don't notice this unless you do a direct comparison with a totally color-neutral unit, which the Nikon is. The Superior is also built like a vault, but at the price point differences ($225 vs $800) the Swift is very fine indeed. I got one about 2yrs ago on ebay for $160...was new but had a slight flaw in the covering. Swift sells units like that to an ol' boy in Rhode Island who in turn puts them on the web at very good prices (with full warranty). The other Swift and the new B&L's I mentioned will offer comparable performance, but you probably won't find them at comparable savings. Hope my several cents worth here was helpful....Doug