39 replies to this topic

[Spartinix]

For me yes, and I prefer them over mono for solar system objects.
For anything else, even with relatively big scopes, I can not deal with the loss of brightness.
That's why binoscopes are made.
 

[faackanders2]

So I am planning to get a Baader Mark II BV, but due to shipping, planet season will probably be over when it gets here if I buy now. So from your experience, do BVs also enhance and "wow" views of other objects like doubles and DSOs? Or maybe I should just postpone my purchase and wait when planet season again gets near and use them on the "Big 3" of Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter-- and the Moon of course

Only if you have a small scope.  With my 17.5" Dob I won a manual messier marathon with Denk II and power switces.

[oldphotonm]

A good binoviewer along with a pair (or pairs) of good eyepieces will definitely give you a different way to observe sky delights.

 

Not just for planets, they can provide a nearly 3D experience on big, bright DSO's like M13 or M27.

 

When I pull out my Tele Vue/Denkmeier and pop it in my 20" Dob with a couple of 19mm Panoptics, I can get lost in M13.

 

The moon is breathtaking in a binoviewer and when the atmosphere cooperates, Jupiter and Saturn can reveal more detail than a single eye can grasp.

[Sebastian_Sajaroff]

So I am planning to get a Baader Mark II BV, but due to shipping, planet season will probably be over when it gets here if I buy now. So from your experience, do BVs also enhance and "wow" views of other objects like doubles and DSOs? Or maybe I should just postpone my purchase and wait when planet season again gets near and use them on the "Big 3" of Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter-- and the Moon of course

They're awesome in solar as well.

[Roman M]

For the first time, I looked through my friend's binoviewer at the Orion nebula through a telescope 10". The feeling of volume made a strong impression on me. The nebula seemed to hang in space. The feeling of comfort and relaxation of the eyes made it easier to see all the details. All this did not take me long to think and I immediately ordered a binoviewer. As the aperture increases, the number of observed celestial objects increases markedly, and globular clusters are just an incredible sight!

[ABQJeff]

I am completely sold now on using binoviewers for double stars.   I observed Sirius and the Pup tonight and even in average seeing it was so easy in my C11 it was almost laughable.  When I closed one eye, it was much much harder to spot the Pup.  Can’t believe how many times I struggled to see the Pup with one eye when all I needed was my BVs!!

[Highburymark]

I still use single eyepieces for critical planetary detail - XO 5.1 and Tak TOEs. But I’m pretty much 100% binoviewer for solar and lunar. I like a mix of eyepiece options - Zeiss, Leica, Tak TPL, then Nagler 13s and Delites for wider fields. Never used two eyes for double stars, but then I’ve never seen the Pup from my northerly location - sounds like I should try with a binoviewer.

[tturtle]

I have the Maxbright II binoviewer and it is simply superb and highly recommended. I bought a used classic refractor a few weeks ago and have been working on refurbishing it for the last several weeks so this plus other Astro projects meant that I had put my binoviewing aside for a while and sort of forgot how stunning the views with a BV can be.  I have pretty much got this old 80s refractor cleaned and aligned now and the views with several mono eyepieces are sharp as a tack and extremely pleasing.  Yesterday I decided on a whim to attach the binoviewer on this old scope for the first time and was blown away by the overall quality of the views.  Your ability to discern detail is dramatically higher and the typical comments about views being dimmer is really not an issue. I use the binoviewer with all my SCTs and now this classic f11 refractor and love it.

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[faackanders2]

So I am planning to get a Baader Mark II BV, but due to shipping, planet season will probably be over when it gets here if I buy now. So from your experience, do BVs also enhance and "wow" views of other objects like doubles and DSOs? Or maybe I should just postpone my purchase and wait when planet season again gets near and use them on the "Big 3" of Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter-- and the Moon of course

Definitely not, with my 17.5" Dob I won a messier marathon competition with binoviewers.  Good for all types of objects except for very large or very dim objects, which may require single eyepiece to see them.

 

That being said my best detailed view of Jupiter was with binoviewers, and others also commented on the amazing level of detail using both eyes.

Edited by faackanders2, 20 April 2024 - 06:27 PM.

[Orion68]

My experience with the WO binoviewer is that it works great for star clusters as well. I recently viewed M67 in Cancer, which is an open cluster that is not terribly bright in a small scope.

 

First I viewed it with a single eyepiece and then decided to put in the binoviewer - the difference blew me away. So much more contrast and even the brightness seemed greater.

 

Your mileage may vary, for me it was like night and day.

[paulsky]

And for terrestrial observation? 

[echvoyager]

I would say it's more of a personal preference rather than some inherent properties of binoviewing. It also depends the specific binoviewer/barlow/scope combination that you have. It's certainly possible to have a great wide field viewing experience with binoviewers if paired optimally. Very compact compared to true binoscopes.

[Bob4BVM]

For me the planets and most everything else fairly bright, the 2-eyed difference is off the charts. Lunar is just nuts. My first view of M42 in a BVer pretty much set the hook for me some years ago, and the rest is history.  Nowadays the entire Universe, bright, dim, whatever, is a new playground for me, using both eyes, with zero disadvantages of any kind.

Very little cyclops-anything these days !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[faackanders2]

They're awesome in solar as well.

I have a Solarmax 40mm and prefer to use single possil eyepieces vs, binoviewing for solar.

Belore 100AFOV I was almost exclusively binoviewing all objects with my 17.5" f4.1 dob.

[faackanders2]

For me the planets and most everything else fairly bright, the 2-eyed difference is off the charts. Lunar is just nuts. My first view of M42 in a BVer pretty much set the hook for me some years ago, and the rest is history.  Nowadays the entire Universe, bright, dim, whatever, is a new playground for me, using both eyes, with zero disadvantages of any kind.

Very little cyclops-anything these days !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

steens camp4.jpg

this is binocular telescope viewing (less tubes), not binoviewing.  I like the weight efficiency of your setup but I assume it is highly sensitive to light pollution even though it has the two side panels for the diagonals.