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WoodNight
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Reged: 11/13/10
Loc: Arizona
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What to do with this Bino?
#5313674 - 07/12/12 01:29 AM
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Greetings all....
I wasn't sure if this post was a better fit in this forum or over in the ATM/DIY forum but here it goes....
I have a pair of Alpen 10x50 Binoculars. I've had them about a year and while they have great light throughput and a nice sharp field, their collimation is way off. I should have returned them right away but the thought of dealing with Optics Planet customer service again was just too much. (they were terrible)
The optics though have real nice coatings but to be honest I'm just not willing to put the effort into the fiddly work of trying to collimate them myself. This is especially true since my 35.00$ Bushnell 10x50's are spot on collimation wise.
My question to you more Binocular savvy types out ther would be this:
If I were to take the Alpens apart to use one of the objective lenses to build a mini rich field refractor out of, is there a way to determine what the focal length of the objective is before completely dismantling the whole thing. If the F.L. wasn't at least 200mm, I don't think I'd want to go this route as the C.A. at anything over 10 to 15 x mag. would be a bit much. Plus the light cone would be too wide to fit the 1" diagonal mirror I allready have to make a little box-refractor out of it.
Mathematically speaking, the only way I could think of to know the main F.L. would be to first know the F.L. of the eyepiece. (also unknown)
I could measure the exit pupil but I still don't know if that would get me what I wanted to know.
I kind of assumed that most 10x50's should have a focal length of around 200-220mm based on the size of the lenses of the eyepiece, but that would be a guess which could be wildly off.
would anyone out there have a better educated guess than I could come up with?
Thanks for any replies.
Robert
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hallelujah
Post Laureate
Reged: 07/14/06
Loc: Colorado Rocky Mountains
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Re: What to do with this Bino?
[Re: WoodNight]
#5313767 - 07/12/12 05:53 AM
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http://www.bowhunting.com/publisher/hunting-news/2011/7/28/alpen-optics-introduces-no-fault-lifetime-warranty--no-receipt-required
http://www.alpenoptics.com/Contact.html
Stan
Edited by hallelujah (07/12/12 05:55 AM)
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Mark9473
Postmaster
Reged: 07/21/05
Loc: 51°N 4°E
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Re: What to do with this Bino?
[Re: WoodNight]
#5313816 - 07/12/12 07:23 AM
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Quote:
I kind of assumed that most 10x50's should have a focal length of around 200-220mm based on the size of the lenses of the eyepiece, but that would be a guess which could be wildly off.
As a first approximation, the objective will not be far away from f/4.
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Rich V.
Post Laureate
Reged: 01/02/05
Loc: Lake Tahoe area, Nevada, USA
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Re: What to do with this Bino?
[Re: WoodNight]
#5313934 - 07/12/12 09:12 AM
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I'd go the route Stan has pointed out; send them in to Alpen and get them repaired or replaced. Roof prism binos don't make a great DIY project, IMO.
Rich
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BillC
on a new path
Reged: 06/04/04
Loc: Lake Stevens, WA, USA
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Re: What to do with this Bino?
[Re: Rich V.]
#5314003 - 07/12/12 10:13 AM
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"Roof prism binos don't make a great DIY project, IMO."
Piece of cake for Cory.
BillC
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WoodNight
member
Reged: 11/13/10
Loc: Arizona
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Re: What to do with this Bino?
[Re: Rich V.]
#5314023 - 07/12/12 10:22 AM
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Thanks for the replys,
This pair I have are a Porro prism model. If they are F/4 I might try to make the refractor out of it.
Yes sending them back (if they will indeed repair them without the original receipt) would be the "sensible" thing to do but I doubt that I'll actually do that for three reasons:
1) With the Collimation being painfully bad on the Alpens, the Bushnell 'cheapos' I bought to replace them for everyday use turned out so well, I really don't need another pair of 10x50's.
2) I don't like the idea of "making it easy" for a manufacturer to 'fix' problems with their products in the feild. I realize that it's good to back up ones defective products with service, but wouldn't it be even better to not have angry customers in the first place. If they had someone do a better job with quality control in the first place I would'nt have to think about spending another ten to fifteen dollars to send them somewhere.
3) Why would I want to deprive myself of the joy of 'punishing' this inanimate object by tearing it to peices after causing me agravation and cross-eyed vision for over a year. One must relish the good times of life 
I'll think about it some more, the sensible side of me might win out in the end. A cute little box refractor would make a fun little project though....
Robert
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Jon Isaacs
Postmaster
Reged: 06/16/04
Loc: San Diego and Boulevard, CA
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Re: What to do with this Bino?
[Re: WoodNight]
#5314358 - 07/12/12 01:47 PM
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Just a quick comment...
Color correction depends on both aperture and focal ratio, large scopes show more false color, faster focal ratios show more as well.
A 50mm F/4 would be similar to an 80mm F/6.4, definitely colorful at higher magnifications but quite acceptable otherwise.
Jon
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BillC
on a new path
Reged: 06/04/04
Loc: Lake Stevens, WA, USA
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Re: What to do with this Bino?
[Re: Jon Isaacs]
#5314592 - 07/12/12 03:35 PM
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Woodnight wrote:
". . . but wouldn't it be even better to not have angry customers in the first place. If they had someone do a better job with quality control in the first place I would'nt have to think about spending another ten to fifteen dollars to send them somewhere."
Spoken like a true OLDER person; just be thankful you don't know just HOW BAD it is. It would make your blood boil!
I'm not at the end of the line . . . but I can see it from here!
Stand your ground. We may not win the fight; but we may influence the generation that does.
Fifty years ago, it wasn't an issue. But, now with people jugding bino quality by the cheapness with which it can be purchased, I'm afraid the problem is here to stay.
BillC
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