Just recently purchased a C.Zeiss BV from Denis Levatić, and as a newcomer to the BV world I have to express my satisfaction with the acquisition of the premium piece of equipment.
Actually;
more with the whole experience of the sale/purchase which was the "full monty"; combination of hospitality, thorough/patient/detailed explanations to the novice of my caliber, and sound advice given to me by the Man himself.
Being happy owner of an APM ED Binocular for some time, my hunger for more resolution/clear imaging & more power (provided by good quality refactor telescopes) has grown as time has passed, and consequently I have expressed the desire of purchasing one.
Since I live near by Denis, not far from Istra peninsula in Croatia, and at the same time becoming aware of his reputation "as an expert" in the mater, here on Cl.Nights forum, I've contacted him in search of an advice.
To my surprise, Denis invited me to visit him in his home in Umag (no strings / expectations of any purchase attached)...which I gladly accepted.
Waited shortly for an opening in my schedule, jumped in may car and after 3hrs of enjoyable drive, I was there…greeted by unexpected hospitality.
Luckily, his wife was not there at that time, since She wont tolerate a complete stranger spending more than 7hrs!!? in her house, discussing wit her husband technical staff; his wishes/preferences…triggering Denis to dis-amble and again assemble CZ BV's at his disposal, testing them endlessly in his Telescopes, going through long Q&A sessions, etc.
Not only that, but Denis wont let me go without eating something, so we together devoured at least a kilo of His home made Kulen
(local delicacy), accompanied with fresh paprika, onions, local cheese, delicious pastry and lots of beverages (in the between).
Long story short; we finally drafted a plan for me acquiring a decent refactor system which included his high quality supercharged CZ BV as well…for a reasonable (high value for money invested) price.
So very quickly I have become a proud owner of 130mm APO EDT refactor, personally acquired, inspected and BV adapted…BY Mr. Binoexpert himself.
Being extremely satisfied with the purchase.
Now to the point!
The one thing that I want to emphasize (which I will not be aware without Denise's advice/recommendation) is the fact that You have to be able to easily collimate the BV by yourself…when need for that arises.
As Denis advised; "what is the point of having a quality piece of equipment as BV, if you must send the **** thing (now & then) for expensive collimations to the manufacturer, paying for transport in both directions & waiting for weeks to arrive back, still not sure that collimation performed, will be exactly to your liking!?"
He assured me that C.Zeiss BV he sold me, can be easily collimated by myself at any time, and that this simple fact/ability to do that is something worth having…which I'l appreciate when times come.
And surely, as He predicted - it did come!
After playing with my new toys for quite a bit, I was unable to merge images at high magnification using EP's of 4mm and shorter…which was little bit frustrating.
Since being a complete novice to the world of refractor telescopes & BV's (NEVER owning one before, NEVER using a BV before - NEVER, EVER IN MY LIFE!! Not to mention the fact of not collimating the **** thing EVER…) i was a lite bit nervous of massing something...so I contacted Denis, to help.
His response was instructive, surprising…and eye-opening, at the same time; "don't be a chicken…you can do it! Simply read the short instructions I have send you with the certificate, and try! If unsuccessful, call me…but first try to collimate that thing by yourself!"
And I did…I read the short instructions in less than a 2-3 minutes, followed them to the letter (they are quite simple), and collimted the CZ BV PERFECTLY!!! (to the spot!!) at highest magnification…in less than 2 minutes!! LITERALLY!!!
IT WAS THAT EASY!!!
Me!!
The guy without any previous experience whatsoever!!!
I can only thank Denis for the fine piece of equipment he supercharged for me…enabling me at the same time to take care of it - BY MYSELF (IN NO TIME!!!)
Btw; after contacting him again, bragging about my accomplishment; He calmly concluded; "imagine that you had to send that same BV for a collimation far away, spend unnecessary hundreds of $ for the service, wait a long time to come back…wondering how good and lasting that collimation will be!? Instead you yourself accomplished that same thing in a minute. Enjoy!!"
Well…Denis, thank you one more time!!
Sincerely!
Not only for an excellent BV https://www.cloudyni..._304_123269.jpg …but the whole package.
PS.
A piece of advice to You from Me (as an outside observer); You are in wrong business, Buddy!! Your BV's may be supreme, but your home made Kulen is a SUBLIME!!! Believe me! I know what excellent homemade delicacy is!! If by any chance you decide to produce that Kulen in huge quantity and sell it...you'l make a fortune!
Edited by Rexadria, 20 November 2023 - 03:57 PM.
