Telescope Reviews: Zhumell Tachyson 25x100 on Ebay

Just to clarify a few points here .

In the past , I have RECOMMENDED both the Bresser 10 x 50 and Bushnell 8 x 42 H2O Porro to people looking for inexpensive hand - held binoculars , and stick by that advice .

That is why I mentioned them in my above post , precisely in that context , in CONTRAST to my NOT particularly recommending the 20 x 90 so I can only assume that Lowmal missed my point .

I've repeated several times on this forum that for over 30 years , I got by with single - coated 10 x 50s with barely a 5 degree TFOV and next to no eye - relief , and a self - converted 30 x 50 " toy refractor " using eyepieces from a junkyard 10 x 50 binocular .

These are neither the words nor actions of a SNOB whichever definition anyone wishes to choose .

I have not said a lot to this forum about my 20 x 90s , and I have also said very little about the Helios 15 x 70 I've had for many years .

That is because even when I conclude that a model is not what is was cracked up to be according to other , sometimes very experienced users , I am always reluctant to be the bringer of bad news , or open myself up to being mistaken for trying to " bash " any particular manufacturer or model .

A few weeks ago , for very good reasons , I had to send straight back a binocular that would have cost three times as much as the 20 x 90 , which I've seen recommended by several owners , but I refrained from passing comment about at all , as it was clearly both a bad sample and had been damaged in transit .

I did not wish to give that product a bad name just because of those possibilities , but declined the offer of a replacement , as I'd seen enough in the first one to realise it wasn't worth the money IN MY OPINION .

Is it snobbery to assert that an item is not worth the money being asked for it ?

A couple of years ago , I could have written volumes about the weakenesses of a couple of models which I've seen highly praised by others on this forum , but kept my mouth shut about that , too .

Frankly , I wouldn't pay for the delivery only of some of them , let alone pay for the products .

Just to inform Jonow , since he specifically asked about my 20 x 90 , for a start there are glaring reflections from the inside of the chrome coloured ring which attaches the objective cells to the barrels -- poor or complete absence of proper baffling .

The level of CA seen at full aperture in the daytime is alarming -- even worse than with the Helios 15 x 70 -- but I said I'd keep quiet about those , didn't I ? :-)

The 20 x 90s are NOT collimated -- they are conditionally aligned -- for someone with an IPD about 4mm narrower than my own .

The large , chrome - plated knurled thumbscrew that is supposed to tighten onto the central chrome support bar , was cross - threaded upon arrival .

It may as well be removed for what use it is .

The coatings on the objective lenses do not appear to be evenly applied , or particularly effective .

I can recognise my face through the eyepiece reflections .

The exit - pupils are not perfectly round , nor are they a full 4.5mm , as they ought to be .

Yes , I should have sent them back , like I should have sent back the £90 astro eyepiece adaptor from Zeiss , that took 8 months to arrive , and doesn't even do properly what it says it does on the tin -- but I didn't .

Last year , I had an item arrive from another " very expensive brand " manufacturer , which had either clearly not been inspected by anyone before leaving the factory , or was defective -- but no sooner had I so little as hinted at my disappointment on a relevant forum , in a relevant thread , than my post was deleted for " vendor bashing ".

I have written glowing reviews about binoculars which are priced well within the " mid price " range , making a point in one instance of praising the product as being superior in some ways to the only Zeiss binocular I own , which in spirit I'd been waiting more than 35 years to be able to afford to buy .

What can a man do ?

Kind Regards
Kenny

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If everyone is thinking the same thing , no-one is thinking - General George S.Patton

Zeiss 7 x 42 BGAT
Captain's Helmsman 7 x 50
Nikon 10 x 42 Superior E
Swift Audubon Kestrel 10 x 50
Helios 15 x 70 Observation
Strathspey 20 x 90
Televue 76 APO
Zeiss 85 Diascope
Helios 102 f5 refractor
Various eyepieces barlows tripods mounts etc.
Panasonic Lumix DMC - TZ5 digital camera