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Ordered Orion Giantview 15x70s
Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2021 3:48 pm
by pakarinen
Pulled the trigger on a pair to replace my Celestron Skymasters. I had a couple of AMZ gift cards so I figured, why not. One thing I like is they're IF instead of center focus. Getting the focus set correctly for both eyes has been a challenge at times with my CF 10x50 Nikons. And the Giants come with a Fancy Dan case.
We'll see how these work out. I just hope the collimation is / holds better than the C-trons.
Re: Ordered Orion Giantview 15x70s
Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2021 4:40 pm
by Ylem
I have had good luck with Orion binoculars.
I have 2 Mini Giants, a pair of 8x42s and bought my dad a pair that I don't recall the model, but they are nice.
Enjoy
Re: Ordered Orion Giantview 15x70s
Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2021 4:42 pm
by helicon
An upgrade over SkyMasters....
Re: Ordered Orion Giantview 15x70s
Posted: Fri Feb 19, 2021 1:16 am
by Bigzmey
Congrats Pakarinen! I had good luck with Orion binos as well. Older Little Giant II 15x70 is my favorite pair.
Re: Ordered Orion Giantview 15x70s
Posted: Fri Feb 19, 2021 2:04 pm
by pakarinen
It took awhile for me to sort user reviews out - Giant Views, Little Giants, Jolly Green Giant...
Supposed to arrive in a couple of weeks- I have to drive to Iowa for a quick trip, so maybe I'll get a chance to try them in some dark skies.
Re: Ordered Orion Giantview 15x70s
Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2021 3:13 am
by pakarinen
And they arrived this afternoon, just in time for a (very close to) full moon.
Fit and finish is good. Don't remember what the Skymasters weighed in at, but these are noticeably heavier, especially toward the objective end. Anything more than a few minutes use will probably require a tripod. I do prefer the individual focus to center focus.
My metal bino mounting bracket broke so I tried using an old plastic bracket. Ummm, no. Things vibrate like Jello, so I'll order a new heavy duty bracket.
Took them out briefly tonight. M42 and sword stars look pretty good. Sharp and bright. I also had a look at the Praesepe but it's pretty washed out in the moonlight. I'm anxious to see how they perform under darker skies. If I wake up early enough and skies are clear, I'll try them out on Cygnus and Sco tomorrow morning. Moon should be well hidden behind houses by then.
Re: Ordered Orion Giantview 15x70s
Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2021 7:47 pm
by helicon
pakarinen wrote: ↑Fri Feb 26, 2021 3:13 am
And they arrived this afternoon, just in time for a (very close to) full moon.
Fit and finish is good. Don't remember what the Skymasters weighed in at, but these are noticeably heavier, especially toward the objective end. Anything more than a few minutes use will probably require a tripod. I do prefer the individual focus to center focus.
My metal bino mounting bracket broke so I tried using an old plastic bracket. Ummm, no. Things vibrate like Jello, so I'll order a new heavy duty bracket.
Took them out briefly tonight. M42 and sword stars look pretty good. Sharp and bright. I also had a look at the Praesepe but it's pretty washed out in the moonlight. I'm anxious to see how they perform under darker skies. If I wake up early enough and skies are clear, I'll try them out on Cygnus and Sco tomorrow morning. Moon should be well hidden behind houses by then.
Congrats on the arrival of the new glass.
I took my 15x70's out to a very dark location and I was able to see structure in the Flame Nebula as well as a tiny notch next door in a glowing cloud of gas (the Horsehead). Haven't taken the Oberwerks to a dark sky location yet but I am looking forward to it sometime. The Flame is not even visible (at all) from home.
Re: Ordered Orion Giantview 15x70s
Posted: Sat Feb 27, 2021 8:23 pm
by pakarinen
Just noticed the right barrel is printed "25x100".
Hope that's not an indication of the level of their QC.
Received the aluminum mounting bracket I ordered - much better than the plastic one. Hope to spend a little time in Tau and Ori tonight if the clouds hold off.
Re: Ordered Orion Giantview 15x70s
Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2021 3:37 pm
by pakarinen
Made it to one of my dark sites last night. Bino performance was really very good. Easily found a bunch of clusters - M36, 37, 38, 41, Beehive, Double in Perseus and a couple more that I have to look up in my atlas. Pleiades and Mirfak assoc. were stunning and all of Orion was gorgeous.
I really like the individual focus. But a tri-, bi-, or monopod is a must given the weight of these things. I used my lightweight Benro, which worked ok, but adjusting the column height was kind of a pain. Next time I'll try them on my Manfrotto since it has a geared center column.
Re: Ordered Orion Giantview 15x70s
Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2021 3:43 pm
by StarBru
Congrats on the new Orion Giantview 15x70's!
Re: Ordered Orion Giantview 15x70s
Posted: Mon May 03, 2021 8:14 pm
by Refractordude
pakarinen wrote: ↑Sun Mar 07, 2021 3:37 pm
Made it to one of my dark sites last night. Bino performance was really very good. Easily found a bunch of clusters - M36, 37, 38, 41, Beehive, Double in Perseus and a couple more that I have to look up in my atlas. Pleiades and Mirfak assoc. were stunning and all of Orion was gorgeous.
I really like the individual focus. But a tri-, bi-, or monopod is a must given the weight of these things. I used my lightweight Benro, which worked ok, but adjusting the column height was kind of a pain. Next time I'll try them on my Manfrotto since it has a geared center column.
I have a pair of 20x80 binoculars that are center focus. The true
aperture of these 20x80 binoculars is actually 72mm, which I am happy with. However, I do not like the center focus. What is the true
aperture of your Giantview 15x70 binoculars? Thinking about selling my 20x80 binoculars and buying the Giantview 15x70 for the individual focus advantage. Thanks
Re: Ordered Orion Giantview 15x70s
Posted: Mon May 03, 2021 8:52 pm
by pakarinen
Refractordude wrote: ↑Mon May 03, 2021 8:14 pm
What is the true aperture of your Giantview 15x70 binoculars?
The quick and dirty flashlight trick gives me around 65mm, but I can't say how trustworthy that number is.
Re: Ordered Orion Giantview 15x70s
Posted: Mon May 03, 2021 9:05 pm
by Refractordude
pakarinen wrote: ↑Mon May 03, 2021 8:52 pm
Refractordude wrote: ↑Mon May 03, 2021 8:14 pm
What is the true aperture of your Giantview 15x70 binoculars?
The quick and dirty flashlight trick gives me around 65mm, but I can't say how trustworthy that number is.
Thanks