guyinthesky
sage
Reged: 04/13/07
Posts: 330
Loc: western ma.
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can anyone help identify what year these were made, the brand (will post nametag in next post) and what they might be worth ? there are crosshairs and numbers so i guess they are not suited to astronomy. maybe the ojectives would be good for a telescope project? any info appreciated.thanks, john
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Zhumell 12" dob
celestron c100ed-r gt cg-5
meade 5" telestar reflector
just enuf naglers
astro-tech 66ed
celestron C9 1/4
oberwerk 100-45
ALVAN CLARK and SONS 3 inch refractor
canon 350d
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guyinthesky
sage
Reged: 04/13/07
Posts: 330
Loc: western ma.
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heres the nametag. looks like nh5 or nhb. john
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Zhumell 12" dob
celestron c100ed-r gt cg-5
meade 5" telestar reflector
just enuf naglers
astro-tech 66ed
celestron C9 1/4
oberwerk 100-45
ALVAN CLARK and SONS 3 inch refractor
canon 350d
Edited by guyinthesky (04/27/08 12:59 PM)
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guyinthesky
sage
Reged: 04/13/07
Posts: 330
Loc: western ma.
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heres a better look.
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Zhumell 12" dob
celestron c100ed-r gt cg-5
meade 5" telestar reflector
just enuf naglers
astro-tech 66ed
celestron C9 1/4
oberwerk 100-45
ALVAN CLARK and SONS 3 inch refractor
canon 350d
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RobertPL
newbie
Reged: 03/04/08
Posts: 4
Loc: Austin, TX
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Those letters actually stand for 'PNB'. More info here:
http://www.telescopes.ru/product.html?cat=3&prod=4
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guyinthesky
sage
Reged: 04/13/07
Posts: 330
Loc: western ma.
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thanks robert 
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Zhumell 12" dob
celestron c100ed-r gt cg-5
meade 5" telestar reflector
just enuf naglers
astro-tech 66ed
celestron C9 1/4
oberwerk 100-45
ALVAN CLARK and SONS 3 inch refractor
canon 350d
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Reverie
member
Reged: 03/27/08
Posts: 28
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It is notable for its "excellent" optical performance. In some countries, most likely countries armed their forces with Soviet weapons, stargazers there would try to get one for themselves. Hence, these giant binoculars are getting rare in those nations. In a way, those are collector items now.
I don't know how "excellent" that would be, as it contains so many elements. However for those unable to get giant binocular other than this one, they think it excellent with no doubt. That is the situation during cold war era.
Thanks for the link, I have never heard of band-new items being sold on Net. 
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Airrider
member
Reged: 04/27/08
Posts: 12
Loc: Waiting In The Air (damn altit...
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First time I've ever seen a pair that big!
Or mounted.
...or...well, either of those things, ever, connected to a pair of binoculars.
...and that it looks like Johnny 5's head.
Are there many other sets like this?
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"What've you been doing for the last fifteen years? Driving 'round tight bends on television going 'POWERRRR!'..."
~James May, to Jeremy Clarkson~
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holger_merlitz
sage
Reged: 02/08/04
Posts: 281
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These PNB are extreme wide angle binoculars (90 degs. AFOV) with very sophisticated eyepieces (7 lens elements if I remember correctly). In reasonable condition they can still sell for 2000 US$, so better leave them in one piece. The objectives have a short focal length and are non APO, so there is a considerable amount of chromatic aberration, that's why they are not usable as telescope optics. At just 15x power they are OK.
It must be nice to use them under dark skies to observe the milky-way or comets, although I guess the stars would look somewhat distorted towards the edge of field (I never used these binoculars for astronomy though).
Best,
Holger
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Vincent33
member
Reged: 09/18/07
Posts: 95
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Quote:
These PNB are extreme wide angle binoculars (90 degs. AFOV) with very sophisticated eyepieces (7 lens elements if I remember correctly)
I think they can be found here:
http://www.telescopes.ru/product.html?cat=3&prod=5
There is the optical schematics, too.
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holger_merlitz
sage
Reged: 02/08/04
Posts: 281
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Yes, thanks, here one can see the details. If the sketch is correct then there is a large air gap between both objective lenses - a tele-objective design which allows for a shorter body length. The prism is a roof, but a very unusual design - perhaps first introduced by Emil Busch with their 10x80 during the 1930s? I am not sure about that.
Actually I had come across this web page. One year ago (or little more) I tried a couple of times to contact these guys in Novosibirsk to inquire about the price of these binoculars. I never received any response.
Best,
Holger
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Vincent33
member
Reged: 09/18/07
Posts: 95
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Quote:
to inquire about the price of these binoculars
Hi Holger,
someone seems to sell them, apart of the Novosibirsk guys. But its price IMHO makes it out of range ...
http://www.opticsale.com/newcon-optik-binocular-15x110-bigeye15x110-tripod-giant-binoculars.html
http://www.binocularsdirect.com/NewCon_Binoculars/dpbilczlcymclj.html
Here a review in Italian ( :-) :
http://www.binomania.it/binocoli/15x110/15x110.php
... Google translated in English:
http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.binomania.it%2Fbinocoli%2F15x110%2F15x110.php&langpair=it%7Cen&hl=it&ie=UTF-8
Bye.
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holger_merlitz
sage
Reged: 02/08/04
Posts: 281
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Yes, the price of 6000+ $ is overinflated. I think it was about half of that for a new unit not so long ago (of course the Dollar has dropped a lot during the last 2 years). Anyway it may be wiser to purchase them directly in Russia, but I am not sure if they are still made.
Cheers,
Holger
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Reverie
member
Reged: 03/27/08
Posts: 28
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I received a very bad comment on it.
"Forget it. Its performance is really really bad. I once used it in XingLong just to discover that it had very low contrast and poor color correction.
Needless to say it gave me a very bad experience in star gazing. Only few stars were observable inside the binocular despite its 5 inch aperture. I soon realized that it is the special coating and poor prism that contribute to its incompetence. ( I mean in astro-usage. )
This is not difficult to understand - the first priority in military item is robust, not comfortable and charm in viewing."
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Where are the stars now? Where would I have to go in order to see them?
I walk forth into this fractured world, yet my thoughts were forever of the sky.
~Reverie Planetarian~
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holger_merlitz
sage
Reged: 02/08/04
Posts: 281
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This may be a point - they were made for large angle terrestrial viewing and not for perfect star images. But could they be that bad? I remember they were fine during daylight, including CA which was visible in the outer regions of the field but absent near the center. Maybe, your friend had got a particularly poor sample, it won't be the first example for an excessive quality scattering with Russian optics.
No doubt, for astro use and when considering the price tag of this unit, there are plenty of better choices on the market.
Holger
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Airrider
member
Reged: 04/27/08
Posts: 12
Loc: Waiting In The Air (damn altit...
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I guess it'd work up to a point, where its sheer "I can now look farther" power doesn't also come with a drop in quality.
But nothing can beat a purpose-built set of lenses for star viewing.
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"What've you been doing for the last fifteen years? Driving 'round tight bends on television going 'POWERRRR!'..."
~James May, to Jeremy Clarkson~
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dOP
journeyman
Reged: 12/07/07
Posts: 44
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Quote:
I received a very bad comment on it.
"Forget it. Its performance is really really bad. I once used it in XingLong just to discover that it had very low contrast and poor color correction.
Needless to say it gave me a very bad experience in star gazing. Only few stars were observable inside the binocular despite its 5 inch aperture. I soon realized that it is the special coating and poor prism that contribute to its incompetence. ( I mean in astro-usage. )
This is not difficult to understand - the first priority in military item is robust, not comfortable and charm in viewing."
I wouldn't trust this source, this doesn't make any sense..
First sentence:
If a 110mm, $6000.00, military binocular with a 7.3mm exit pupil has very low contrast (at night or dusk), probably it is opaque.. Somebody confused black paint with MgF..
Second sentence:
Even the worst piece of junk I can find for $100.00 would show me at least as many stars as I can see naked eye (with the lens cap's off).
AFAIK, the only special coatings binoculars use, are there to maximize the light transmission, not the opposite (although it can work both ways if not applied correctly). Even $200.00 binoculars have fair coatings.
Third sentence:
Robustness, not viewing? Why not use a rock instead? It doesn't get more robust than that and according to the "review" it is as transparent as those binos..
Those Russians...
Edited by dOP (05/03/08 09:31 PM)
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Reverie
member
Reged: 03/27/08
Posts: 28
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Spending 6000 for just a 110mm is not make sense, either.
I have seen many cases in which Chinese, Russian or Japanese products (eyepieces, binoculars, EQ mounts, just name a few) being transported to western countries and sold twice or even triple of their original prices there. Strange is that people there still consider those are real bargains.
There are also 60mm refractors asking for $1999.
I won't judge products' performance from their prices.
Back to the topic, it is not a surprise that some military scopes tend to show low contrast or yellowish image, as they employ special coating such as Ta2O5, combining with SiO2, to ease the damage of vision caused by laser.
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Where are the stars now? Where would I have to go in order to see them?
I walk forth into this fractured world, yet my thoughts were forever of the sky.
~Reverie Planetarian~
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dOP
journeyman
Reged: 12/07/07
Posts: 44
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Quote:
they employ special coating such as Ta2O5, combining with SiO2
They use special and removable filters for that. It would be a bit silly observing the sky with them on...
Even if they are sold for $6000.00 and made for $1000.00, that's enough money in Russia to manufacture a decent thing. And if they are really made for the military, they can't be that bad.
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Airrider
member
Reged: 04/27/08
Posts: 12
Loc: Waiting In The Air (damn altit...
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Anybody got a sort of ballpark figure for when sheer magnification power like in one of these kinds of scopes starts to come at the cost of clarity?
You know, like relative size, length...what type, what kinds of filters...if any...
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"What've you been doing for the last fifteen years? Driving 'round tight bends on television going 'POWERRRR!'..."
~James May, to Jeremy Clarkson~
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dOP
journeyman
Reged: 12/07/07
Posts: 44
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The image starts to get darker from the moment the exit pupil gets smaller than your eye's pupil.
This means that if you're using a 10x50 during the day, you're probably wasting some light because your pupils are probably smaller than 5mm. During night, the story may be different obviously...
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