6 replies to this topic

[hboswell]

I've had my 10x50 Ultraviews for many years, and really liked them. However, when I got them my primary requirement was eye relief, because I had so much astigmatism that I needed to keep my glasses on when using them. Now I'm 8 months past cataract surgery and free of astigmatism. So are there better 10x50s for me now, without spending several hundred dollars? Did the Ultraviews compromise somewhere to get the long eye relief?

 

Thanks,

Harry

[Jon Isaacs]

Harry:

 

I have a pair of older, made in Japan 10x50 Ultaviews.  In their price range, I think they are as good as you will get.  In my comparisons with Nikon 10x50 AEs, the Ultraviews seemed sharper off-axis and a little brighter.

 

Recently production was moved from Japan to China, the price dropped $30-$40 and there may well be a changes in the optics and the mechanicals.

 

Jon

[alder1]

I’ve had both the Japanese and now the Chinese version. ( l won’t say what happened to the earlier pair. Very embarrassing.) I find the recent version excellent. I suspect you’d have to spend quite a bit more to get better binoculars. Although I wear glasses, I use them without, and find them very comfortable.

[nowhere]

I have a pair that I bought along with solar filters specifically for the eclipse a few years back. Japanese made. Decent, light binoculars. I had previously owned a pair of Fujinon Polaris 7x50's for several years - until they were stolen. My memory of the Fujinons says that they were better than the UltraViews, allowing for the fact that one was a 7x and the other a 10x. Just a couple of days ago I got to try a pair of Nikon 7x50SP's (aka Prostar) and back to back comparison (again taking into account the magnification difference) they were definitely better than the Orions. They were just over $700 US though. Fujinon 10x50's go for about $700 US at the big online camera stores too. I don't think you're going to do significantly better than the Orions unless you want to spend that kind of money.

 

I went with the Orions for the eclipse trip because they were reasonably priced and I could be certain that the filters were going to fit properly as Orion was selling them as a set. I also figured that if they got lost, stolen or damaged on the trip to Oregon and back I wouldn't be out too much money. I was pleasantly surprised at how good they were when I pointed them at the sky. Ever since the Fujinons were stolen (yeas ago) I've been dithering, trying to decide whether to get another higher end conventional binocular  or stabilized binoculars. I still haven't done either of those things, though the recent look through the Nikons is tempting me to go for them.

 

Good to hear the cataract surgery was a success and fixed you astigmatism too! I had the surgery two years ago. No astigmatism to correct in my case but it's wonderful not to have to wear glasses anymore. It's kind of amazing really - you go in to correct a problem and along the way you don't just get back to normal, your eyes come out better that they were before the cataracts started forming.

[BRCoz]

I also had cataract surgery in 2019.  I had a good pair of 10x50s and I went with the 20x80 LW Oberwerk. 

If the Orion you have still work good for you maybe get a different size.

[hboswell]

I have a pair that I bought along with solar filters specifically for the eclipse a few years back. Japanese made. Decent, light binoculars. I had previously owned a pair of Fujinon Polaris 7x50's for several years - until they were stolen. My memory of the Fujinons says that they were better than the UltraViews, allowing for the fact that one was a 7x and the other a 10x. Just a couple of days ago I got to try a pair of Nikon 7x50SP's (aka Prostar) and back to back comparison (again taking into account the magnification difference) they were definitely better than the Orions. They were just over $700 US though. Fujinon 10x50's go for about $700 US at the big online camera stores too. I don't think you're going to do significantly better than the Orions unless you want to spend that kind of money.

 

I went with the Orions for the eclipse trip because they were reasonably priced and I could be certain that the filters were going to fit properly as Orion was selling them as a set. I also figured that if they got lost, stolen or damaged on the trip to Oregon and back I wouldn't be out too much money. I was pleasantly surprised at how good they were when I pointed them at the sky. Ever since the Fujinons were stolen (yeas ago) I've been dithering, trying to decide whether to get another higher end conventional binocular  or stabilized binoculars. I still haven't done either of those things, though the recent look through the Nikons is tempting me to go for them.

 

Good to hear the cataract surgery was a success and fixed you astigmatism too! I had the surgery two years ago. No astigmatism to correct in my case but it's wonderful not to have to wear glasses anymore. It's kind of amazing really - you go in to correct a problem and along the way you don't just get back to normal, your eyes come out better that they were before the cataracts started forming.

Mine are not only better, they're *much* better!  The optho has measured me at better than 20/15 in each eye, I can see amazing things now!

 

Harry

[nowhere]

Mine are not only better, they're *much* better!  The optho has measured me at better than 20/15 in each eye, I can see amazing things now!

 

Harry

I'm not quite that eagle-eyed but my distance vision meets the requirements for driving and being a private pilot without corrective lenses now. The big pleasant surprise in my case is that my near vision is still good enough that I don't need reading glasses either. The surgeon said that when I chose distance correction that I would probably need reading glasses after the surgery. Pre-surgery I was so nearsighted that I had to wear my distance correction glasses in order to read (without them I had to hold a book no more than two or three inches from my nose in order to read so the possibility of needing reading glasses didn't concern me too much. Still a peasant surprise though.

 

Back to the binoculars - as I said I've recently had the chance to compare my Orions with a pair of Nikon Prostars. The Nikons were better but the Orions held up well. Fujinon or Prostar quality is a definite step up but so is the price. I just now decided to go and get a pair of the Nikons for myself but it took awhile for me to decide it was worth the money. I'm keeping the Orions though. Aside from the fact that at the moment they're the only way I have of viewing the Sun quite often my wife and I stargaze together and it will be nice not to have to trade the binoculars back and forth. I really wish we had two pairs of binoculars back when comet Neowise passed our way for example.