John Hoare
seantoir
Reged: 04/25/04
Posts: 8873
Loc: Area 14, Kildare, Ireland
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Special coming up at a local store:
8-24x50mm Porro Prism Zoom Binoculars, BK7 lens, blue tint, 20 (approx $26). Anyone recognise the model, would they be any use?
The same store recently sold off a batch of Meade ETX70ATs for 170 (approx $225) each.
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John
Watery Glebe
Puddlestown
Co. Kildare
Chaos is the rule of nature
Order is the dream of man
Henry Brooks Adams
IFAS
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Erik D
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/28/03
Posts: 2561
Loc: Central New Jersey, USA
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John,
Don't have experience with the zoom bino you mentioned but judging from the price I don't expect them to be anything other than JUNK!
I think zoom binos are a great idea. I really like the ability to increase power to match sky conditons. Just haven't read any postive comments except one: Forum memer Brocknroller has a pair of discountinued Nikon 8-16X40 XLs and he likes them. Price was around $600 USD. You can find more disscussion of zooms in the "best of" section.
My own experience with zoom includes two models: 1. Tasco 7-21X40 purchased for $70 in 2001. Dim image and poor resolution as low power. Just about useless above 15X. RDA was inadquate for my eyes. It's sitting on a shelf collecting dust.
2. My friend's Oberwerk 12-36X70mm. Useable a low power but narrow FOV. Resolution breaks down above 25X. RDA was not sufficient. I can no get my -3.75 righ eye to focus at all if center focus is set for my left. I don't think my friend has used his for over two years.
I like using zoom optics. Just wish somone will offer a good pair for about $300-400 in 40/50mm size.
ERik D
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John Hoare
seantoir
Reged: 04/25/04
Posts: 8873
Loc: Area 14, Kildare, Ireland
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Well, I'm not inclined to expect miracles. But at twenty bucks what would you expect? Knowing the store in question I'd expect them to be end of line items manufactured in Russia or one of the new EU countries. I think I'll take a peek because they might be OK for daytime use, but the FOV is about 2/3 that of my trusty 10x50s so I wouldn't expect to use them at night.
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John
Watery Glebe
Puddlestown
Co. Kildare
Chaos is the rule of nature
Order is the dream of man
Henry Brooks Adams
IFAS
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BillC
on a new path
Reged: 06/04/04
Posts: 2110
Loc: Washington, USA
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Quote:
John,
Don't have experience with the zoom bino you mentioned but judging from the price I don't expect them to be anything other than JUNK!ERik D
AND, if they very expensive ZOOM binoculars, just expect them to be expensive junk.
Cheers,
Bill
PS The Leica DUOVID is NOT a ZOOM binocular. It is an 8 AND 12 power binocular.
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William J. Cook, Chief Opticalman, USNR-Ret.
Founding Editor, Amateur Telescope Making Journal
20-year vet. of Captain's Nautical Supplies, Optics Dept. Mgr.
Optics Machanic, WG11-3306, Ft. Lewis, Tacoma,WA
Yata, Yata, Yata . . .
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sftonkin
sage
Reged: 02/25/04
Posts: 395
Loc: Kent, UK
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Quote:
would they be any use?
Oh definitely -- as paperweights, window ornaments, something to hurl at the neighbour's dog when it attempts to foul your lawn ... but not as an optical instrument.
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Stephen
Hindsight: The only truly diffraction-limited system
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Scott Beith
SRF
Reged: 11/26/03
Posts: 33077
Loc: Gulfport, MS
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John,
If nothing else, for $20.00 you can write a review on them and share your impressions with the rest of us. After that, sell them to someone else on Astromart and break even. 
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  Scott
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." -- Edmund Burke.
"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell
"The measure of a mans greatness is not determined by what he accomplishes for himself, but by what he accomplishes for others. -- Some Bald Guy
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Scott Beith
SRF
Reged: 11/26/03
Posts: 33077
Loc: Gulfport, MS
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Remember: I'm from the Government, I'm here to help...  
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Scott
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." -- Edmund Burke.
"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell
"The measure of a mans greatness is not determined by what he accomplishes for himself, but by what he accomplishes for others. -- Some Bald Guy
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John Flannery
sage
Reged: 12/03/04
Posts: 303
Loc: Dublin, Ireland
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Quote:
Special coming up at a local store:
8-24x50mm Porro Prism Zoom Binoculars, BK7 lens, blue tint, 20 (approx $26). Anyone recognise the model, would they be any use?
The same store recently sold off a batch of Meade ETX70ATs for 170 (approx $225) each.
hi John,
I bought a pair of the Lidl binoculars in Dublin for 25 last May just before going over to the RTMC Astro-Expo and found them quite good. The coating is different to the zooms that are being offered next Monday and they were fixed 10x50mm. Some nice views of the Sco-Sgr region along with the Veil Nebula in Cygnus; I was really impressed with them for their price and didn't mind them getting thrown about a bit in the case during the trip around California.
I sort of feel that the zooms are cheap enough whereby it's no big deal if they are junk as they'll be handy for general daytime use. A few people on the www.irishastronomy.org forum will probably go for them. Just to add too; they are 20 for use but 20 pounds sterling in the North! Someone is gaining on the currency!
all the best,
John
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John Hoare
seantoir
Reged: 04/25/04
Posts: 8873
Loc: Area 14, Kildare, Ireland
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That's more or less what I thought, John. Zoom binos usually have a narrow field of view and lose contrast rapidly toward the upper end of the scale in low light, so they're not much use for astronomy except maybe for the Moon. On the other hand, in daylight the zoom is potentially useful for birdwatching, sightseeing and other applications.
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John
Watery Glebe
Puddlestown
Co. Kildare
Chaos is the rule of nature
Order is the dream of man
Henry Brooks Adams
IFAS
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John Hoare
seantoir
Reged: 04/25/04
Posts: 8873
Loc: Area 14, Kildare, Ireland
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Well, I took the plunge. The package includes a good soft bag with two utility pockets (one zipped, one net) and a special third pocket for the included photo tripod adaptor. They are more than adequate in daylight at all magnifications with or without eyeglasses. As dusk fell I had to reduce magnification to continue to see my chosen target, the cab of a construction crane half a mile away, until all but the nav. warning light disappeared in the dark. No apparent need to change focus after zoom. My existing 10x50s fare no better under the same conditions.
Negatives: only approx. 60% of the FOV of the 10x50s at 8x, and heavier by about 6 ounces. My primary uses for these will be higher power daylight observation of wildlife, aircraft and coastal traffic.
Might have clear skies on Wednesday to do night sky tests, but forecasts of clear or partially clear skies have been consistently wrong recently.
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John
Watery Glebe
Puddlestown
Co. Kildare
Chaos is the rule of nature
Order is the dream of man
Henry Brooks Adams
IFAS
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StarWars
Postmaster
Reged: 11/26/03
Posts: 11637
Loc: At The Movies
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Quote:
Special coming up at a local store:
8-24x50mm Porro Prism Zoom Binoculars, BK7 lens, blue tint, 20 (approx $26). Anyone recognise the model, would they be any use?
The same store recently sold off a batch of Meade ETX70ATs for 170 (approx $225) each.
John
Sounds like the Meade TravelView 8-24x50mm Zoom bino's
http://www.mashina.com.ru/meade%20binoculars.html
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John Hoare
seantoir
Reged: 04/25/04
Posts: 8873
Loc: Area 14, Kildare, Ireland
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Actually they are Tronic brand, but sourced from a factory in Kunming, China (the look of them is unique to that source, I googled...). They're hefty and rugged, probably an ex-military model.
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John
Watery Glebe
Puddlestown
Co. Kildare
Chaos is the rule of nature
Order is the dream of man
Henry Brooks Adams
IFAS
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John Hoare
seantoir
Reged: 04/25/04
Posts: 8873
Loc: Area 14, Kildare, Ireland
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OK, I've had a chance to try the Tronic zooms alongside the Bob Optics 10x50 set that I already have.
First off, the field of view is definitely limited to about 60% compared to the 10x50 set, so the design does defeat our particular purpose for binoculars. On the Plaeides, both are on a par at 10x except for FOV. The zoom set does reveal more of the Plaeides at higher zooms, although that stops at around 16x. Racking the zoom up all the way doesn't result in a noticeable 'loss' of stars revealed. On the bright Orion nebula, using some zoom makes it a little more visible but dimmer and it's not really discernable beyond 14x.
Comet Machholz was barely discernable using the 10x set tonight, whereas the zooms did reveal some more up to 13x after which it became much too faint and it was always fuzzy in both. I really have to get the C5 on that and have a proper look soon.
Internal reflections make it more difficult to use the zooms when trained near a light source compared to the 10x50s, but at 10x under daylight conditions both sets are equally sharp, and daylight also meant that the higher zoom magnifications don't dim the subject significantly. Which is not so bad because I bought them as a knockabout daylight set and the tripod attachment and bag together would be worth the 20 Euro I paid for the set.
The 10x50 set with its wide FOV still rules the night.
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John
Watery Glebe
Puddlestown
Co. Kildare
Chaos is the rule of nature
Order is the dream of man
Henry Brooks Adams
IFAS
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Bob W6PU
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/23/04
Posts: 2191
Loc: Springer-N.E.NM
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Here's an interesting observation...no pun intended I have a Yashica 7to16 X35 Zoom from the late 1950s or early 6os. At lower power it gives excellent center FOV images, albeit narrow field of view. At 16X it's still sharp but so dim as to be difficult to see with in day time usage. Here's the rub, at 16x it gives a better, star image, in or out of focus, than does my Swarovski 8x30W! Saturn, jupiter, and the moon, are sharp , and free of any comma! Go figure it? :shrug
Bob in NM
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Ray
member
Reged: 01/06/05
Posts: 10
Loc: New Jersey
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PS The Leica DUOVID is NOT a ZOOM binocular. It is an 8 AND 12 power binocular.
Well...You do have the capability of choosing any magnification within the 8 and 12 range. So I guess they could be a pseudo zoom? 
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EdZ
Professor EdZ
Reged: 02/15/02
Posts: 12592
Loc: Cumberland, R I , USA42N71.4W
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It is either 8x or 12x, dual power, but not zoom, nothing in between.
edz
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Teach a kid something today. The feeling you'll get is one of life's greatest rewards.
member#21
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