Binocular Reviews | Binoculars and Telescopes for Birdwatchers and Astronomers

New product. Visionary Fieldtracker Emerald ED Binoculars

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Reviewer

Released in 2011, the Visonary Fieldtracker Emerald ED binoculars are at the high end of the range, yet within the budget of many.

Features ED glass, BaK-4 phase corrected prisms, fully multi coated optics and nitrogen waterproof. Housed in a stylish and attractive double hinged body, they will appeal to a large audience.

Available in 8×42 and 10×42. Priced at £289.99 – £299.99

These have had great reviews in bird watching magazines and represent excellent value for money.

Buy the Visonary Fieldtracker Emerald ED binoculars online here

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New Visionary Wetland 32mm Binoculars

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Reviewer

New for 2011. Visionary have added 8×32, 10×32 and 12×32 binoculars to the Wetland range. As with others in the range, you get nitrogen waterproofing, BaK-4 prisms, multi coated optics and twist eye cups.

The 8x and 10x will make great all rounders, while the 12x are maybe more suited to long distance or plane/ship spotting.

Competitively priced at £79.99 – £99.99

Purchase Visionary Wetland binoculars online here

Posted in Product updates, Visionary Binocular Reviews | Tagged 10x32, 12x32, 8x32, binoculars, visionary | Comments Off

How to check binocular optics. The Lamp Post test

Posted on September 16, 2011 by Reviewer

Whenever I field test binoculars, I do the lamppost check. Believe it or not, such a simple thing like a lamp post can reveal a lot about the optical quality of binoculars.

First test is to centre the lamp post in he centre of view and focus sharply. What you are looking for here is chromatic aberration (false colour) on the edge of the post. This will be a blue or green. With some budget binoculars this will be quite a distraction. With mid priced optics it will be very minimal. Then with high end ED glass it will not be visible at all. So how is this a benefit ?. With less chromatic aberration the image will be much sharper and brighter, plus any contrasting colours on animals will be sharp and well defined.

Next, without adjusting the focus move the lamp post to the edge of view. By doing this you can do three more tests shown below

Check for false colour as above
Check if it is in focus. Due to the construction on lenses the edge of field focus may be slightly out when compared to the centre of field. This is quite common, but will be less evident in higher end binoculars. You will often hear the term flat field mentioned in some reviews. Binoculars with a flat field will give better even focus to the edge. 7×50 binoculars give very flat fields.
Image curvature. In the centre of view the lamp post will be a straight line. However if you place on the edge of view to will notice it bend (image curvature). Once again, with more expensive binoculars this will be less pronounced, leading to an overall better image

Buy great quality binoculars online here

Posted in User Guides and Tutorials | Tagged testing binoculars | Comments Off

North Lincolnshire Astronomy Society

Posted on September 16, 2011 by Reviewer

New for 2011, the North Lincs Astro group meets at the Far Ings nature reserve at Barton Upon Humber on the first Monday of every month from 7pm till late.

This is a friendly group that will make any new member welcome. Does not matter if you are a seasoned pro or complete novice, all are welcome

Price for entry is £3 per meeting, which includes refreshments and a ticket for the raffle prize. Prizes donated by the club and Northern Optics.

In case of bad weather there is a large meeting room with large screen Internet access. So there is always something to keep you occupied on a cloudy night.

Northern optics will have a selection of accesories on sale each meeting at discounted prices.

Celestron Ultima spotting scope Vs Hawke Optics Nature Trek spotting scope

Posted on September 13, 2011 by Reviewer

For this comparison I used the Celestron Ultima 80/45 and a Hawke Optics Nature Trek 80/45. Both were non ED models.

First of all lets start with the optics. They both use the same 80mm objective and 20-60x eyepiece. So no difference there.

As for the Price. At £199 the Hawke is more expensive than the £165 Celestron. So lets go through what extras you get for the premium of £34.00

Lens shade. The Hawke has a pull-out lens shade. Ideal for keeping out stray light, and dust on a windy day. Also helps protect the vulnerable lens from straying finger tips. The Celestron lens shade does not pull out
Stay-on-case. With the Celestron Ultima, it is more of a carry case that can be used as a stay-on-case. You will need to slide your hand down inside the case to access the focus wheel. With the Hawke, you get all the holes in the side of the case for easy access.
Rubber covering. The Hawke seems to me to be the better quality.
Aluminium case. The Hawke comes with a superb aluminium case to keep everything safe in transit. The Celestron only comes with the stay-on (carry case)
Cleaning cloth. The Hawke comes with the best microfibre cloth I have ever used. So another tick for the Hawke
Warranty. The Celestron comes with 2 years parts and labour. The Hawke comes with 10 years parts and labour
Eyepiece case. OK here,s where the Celestron gets one over on the Hawke. It comes with a plastic protective case. The Hawke does not have a separate case for the eyepiece.

So summing up. They both have the same optics. So if this is the only thing that is important to you, go for the Ultima. If you all the extras you get with the Hawke is important, you will find from the above that you get A LOT more for the extra £34.00.

Buy Hawke and Celestron spotting scopes online here

Posted in Celestron Spotting Scopes Reviews, Hawke Optics Spotting Scopes | Tagged celestron, hawke, spotting scope | Comments Off

Celestron Eyepiece and Filter set . 1.25″ Updated version

Posted on September 13, 2011 by Reviewer

The Celestron 1.25″ eyepiece and filter set has been upgraded in 2011 with an improved choice of eyepieces and a new colourful display box. The old box was plain white.

Yet the RRP has been reduced by £40 !

See the full specs and purchase online here

Posted in Product updates | Tagged 1.25", celestron, eyepiece, filter | Comments Off

Celestron Skymaster 15×70 Vs Visionary HD 15×70 binoculars

Posted on September 10, 2011 by Reviewer

In Optical quality the Visionary HD 15×70 binoculars have the edge over the Skymasters. Build quality is also better on the HDs

So where else are the differences. Well for starters the Visionary is twice the price, but does have a couple of improvements. I found the “V” imprinted on the Visionary body gave a much more grippy feel to aid confidence. Also the warranty is slightly better with the Visionary. They both have 2 years parts and labour warranties. But the HD 15×70 has a further 8 years “parts only” addition to the guarantee.

The Skymaster comes with a free tripod adapter, where as the Visionary does not.

Both come with the same budget soft case

So summing up, the Celestron wins hands down on value for money. Go for the Visionary HD if you want the peace of mind of the better warranty and superior optics

Buy the Visionary HD and Celestron Skymaster 15×70 binoculars online here

Posted in Celestron Binoculars Reviews, Visionary Binocular Reviews | Tagged 15x70, celestron, hd, skymaster, visionary | Comments Off

Celestron Skymaster 15×70 Binoculars Review

Posted on September 9, 2011 by Reviewer

The Celestron Skymaster 15×70 binoculars are the preferred choice of many customers looking for a starting point in astronomy. Although I find them easy to hand hold, they do come with a tripod adapter if needed.

As for the optics, you get a clear bright view with a good field. Them is some chromatic aberration, but not enough to distract. Ideal for plane spotters, ship spotting , and of course astronomy. The magnification is good enough to see craters and mountains on the Moon. Jupiter’s Galilean satellites are easy to track. Providing you can get to clear skies, many star clusters and Nebulae are within reach.

Handling is excellent, and can be used with gloves on. They are not nitrogen waterproof, so be aware of this if using on long damp nights.

Unlike the Skymaster 25×70 and 20×80 I found the eye relief good enough to be used with spectacles on. The soft rubber eye cups are easy to fold down and pop back up.

They are not close focus. So if you are looking for a pair of binoculars for looking at birds in the back garden, they will not be for you.

A stronger neck strap and tripod adapter is something I would recommend upgrading.

At around £65.00 (price correct at Sept 2011) they represent excellent value for money.

Buy the Celestron Skymaster 15×70 binoculars online here

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Celestron Outland X Binoculars

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Reviewer

Released September 2011, the Celestron Outland X binoculars have great features at a price to suit most bird watchers. Boasting BaK-4 prisms, Nitrogen waterproofing, Twist eye cups and Multi coated optics.

Yet the prices are only around £49 – £75. Outstanding value for money. (2012 prices)

Available in 8×25, 10×25, 8×42, 10×42.

Click here to buy the Celestron binoculars

Yet the prices are only around £49 – £75. Outstanding value for money. (2012 prices)

Available in 8×25, 10×25, 8×42, 10×42.

Click here to buy the Celestron binoculars

Posted in Celestron Binoculars Reviews | Tagged 10x42, 8x25, celestron, outland X | Comments Off

Hawke Prostalk 8MP camera

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Reviewer

Hawke Prostalk 8MP stealth camera released September 2011. New flagship model now boasting a quality 8 mega pixel processor. Perfect for high definition stills and movies of wildlife.

For more information visit Northern Optics on the link below

Buy the new Hawke Prostalk 8MP camera online here

Posted in Product updates | Tagged 8mp, camera, hawke prostalk | Comments Off