Telescope Reviews: New Glass in Portugal

New Glass in Portugal - Garrett Signature 22x85

Greetings from Portugal!

After having used a bad pair of 16x50 binoculars for more than 10 years (they had very severe collimation problems, were blury, had fungus on the inside, etc) I decided to buy a new pair.

After researching on the Internet and on cloudynights, and especially after asking on the cloudynights forums the general opinion (20x80 or 30x80 with Front Surface Mirror), I decided to buy a pair of Garrett Optical Signature Series 22x85 plus a Manfrotto 3246 tripod and 501 fluid head. Yes Mr. Edz, your article on tripods and mounts was read most carefully. I also read Glassthrower's reviews and opinions on these big binos with great interest, (Garrett Optical Signature 22x85mm - New Glass!). He seemed satisfied with his purchase, and Garrett has a great reputation, so off I go.

Since I live in Portugal it was important to me that the binos came perfectly collimated, as I would have a hard time returning them. That is also why I decided to go with Garrett Optical, as they make sure everything is OK before shipping. Also, these binoculars are quite sturdy, so I had little to worry.

I received them almost two weeks ago, but I have noticed some issues, and so I would like to ask the forum's opinion, as I haven't the experience that many of you do.

When looking at the exit pupils from arms distance, I noticed that the right eyepiece did not give a perfectly round exit circle. Wait, that is not entirely correct, it is round but is slightly cut off on the lower left quadrant.

I emailed Mr. Garrett and explained the issue, complaining that in was probably a collimation issue. However, he assured me that Mr. Suddarth collimated them perfectly throughout the entire length of the barrels, and that he himself personally checked them twice before shipping because he knew that I would have a hard time returning them in case I found any defects. And he was right, I could and still cannot find any collimation problems, even when looking at a star. He pointed out, and I quote, that "There is some very slight prism cutoff visible in some of these units, but it is not due to prism cutoff or miscollimation, it is an internal mechanical issue."

For those of you that never had a pair of these binos in your hands let me assure you that they are built like a tank. Very sturdy, heavy, and with no loose parts. So I doubt very much that the long transport to Portugal did anything to them. They came double packaged, in a big cushioned box, and arrived well.

Now that I think about it, if it were a case of 'cats eye' then the exit pupil should be (according to what I have read) slightly squashed on two sides, which these aren't. Also, the cut out isn't perfectly round, but is composed of two, maybe three straight lines that make a curve. The photo above isn't very clear, so here is a better example of what you really see:

When viewing, if I place my eyes up against the eyepiece and my nose nicely nudged between both eyepiece barrels and open my eyes I notice that my left eye seems to be dead center on the left eyepiece, but my right eye appears to be slightly off center of the right eyepiece. It is very very slight, and only after using them for a while and over the course of a few days does it become apparent. In order to get the right eye on the center I have to push my face and my nose slightly to one side against the eyepiece. I had to press my eyes into the eypiece to see the edge of view in order to come to this conclusion.

If you look down the barrels (from back to front) you should see the miniature image of the eypiece. Mine isn't perfecly centered in either barrel, but it is a bit worse on the right barrel (now on the my left since I am looking in the reverse direction). In order to get the round white miniature exit image when viewing through the back I have to position myself like so:

Has anyone ever noticed this before on big binos? Glassthrower, you got a pair of these around last October, did you notice any such issues? I am just concerned that these are less then perfect, even though they perform quite well.

Images look great through these binos. As a matter of fact I didn't even notice these issues until almost a week after I got them, and if it were not for the fact that I was looking thoroughly at them with the intent of providing cloudynights with a (amateur) review then I probably would not have noticed them.

A more complete review will follow but for now I must say that so far customer support from Zach Garrett has been fantastic.
He personally answered all my questions, and took care of all aspects of the purchase. I do not believe any other company would give such a personalised and thorough support to a customer.

Clear skies everyone, and thanks in advanced for any input.

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