Ordered Orion Giantview 15x70s

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Ordered Orion Giantview 15x70s

#1

Post 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. :dance: :lol:

We'll see how these work out. I just hope the collimation is / holds better than the C-trons.
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I drink tea, I read books, I look at stars when I'm not cursing clouds. It's what I do.
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AT50, AT72EDII, ST80, ST102; Scopetech Zero, AZ-GTi, AZ Pronto; Innorel RT90C, Oberwerk 5000; Orion Giantview 15x70s, Vortex 8x42s, Navy surplus 7x50s, Nikon 10x50s
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Re: Ordered Orion Giantview 15x70s

#2

Post 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 :)
Clear Skies,
-Jeff :telescopewink:


Member; ASTRA-NJ



Orion 80ED
Celestron C5, 6SE, Celestar 8
Vixen Porta Mount ll
Coronado PST
A big box of Plossls
Little box of filters
:D



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Re: Ordered Orion Giantview 15x70s

#3

Post by helicon »


An upgrade over SkyMasters....
-Michael
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
Camera: ZWO ASI 120
Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 48.7229° N
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Re: Ordered Orion Giantview 15x70s

#4

Post by Bigzmey »


Congrats Pakarinen! I had good luck with Orion binos as well. Older Little Giant II 15x70 is my favorite pair.
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2382, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 255
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Re: Ordered Orion Giantview 15x70s

#5

Post 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.
=============================================================================
I drink tea, I read books, I look at stars when I'm not cursing clouds. It's what I do.
=============================================================================
AT50, AT72EDII, ST80, ST102; Scopetech Zero, AZ-GTi, AZ Pronto; Innorel RT90C, Oberwerk 5000; Orion Giantview 15x70s, Vortex 8x42s, Navy surplus 7x50s, Nikon 10x50s
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Re: Ordered Orion Giantview 15x70s

#6

Post 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.
=============================================================================
I drink tea, I read books, I look at stars when I'm not cursing clouds. It's what I do.
=============================================================================
AT50, AT72EDII, ST80, ST102; Scopetech Zero, AZ-GTi, AZ Pronto; Innorel RT90C, Oberwerk 5000; Orion Giantview 15x70s, Vortex 8x42s, Navy surplus 7x50s, Nikon 10x50s
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Re: Ordered Orion Giantview 15x70s

#7

Post 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.
-Michael
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
Camera: ZWO ASI 120
Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 48.7229° N
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Re: Ordered Orion Giantview 15x70s

#8

Post by pakarinen »


Just noticed the right barrel is printed "25x100". :doh: 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.
=============================================================================
I drink tea, I read books, I look at stars when I'm not cursing clouds. It's what I do.
=============================================================================
AT50, AT72EDII, ST80, ST102; Scopetech Zero, AZ-GTi, AZ Pronto; Innorel RT90C, Oberwerk 5000; Orion Giantview 15x70s, Vortex 8x42s, Navy surplus 7x50s, Nikon 10x50s
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Re: Ordered Orion Giantview 15x70s

#9

Post 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.
=============================================================================
I drink tea, I read books, I look at stars when I'm not cursing clouds. It's what I do.
=============================================================================
AT50, AT72EDII, ST80, ST102; Scopetech Zero, AZ-GTi, AZ Pronto; Innorel RT90C, Oberwerk 5000; Orion Giantview 15x70s, Vortex 8x42s, Navy surplus 7x50s, Nikon 10x50s
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Re: Ordered Orion Giantview 15x70s

#10

Post by StarBru »


Congrats on the new Orion Giantview 15x70's!
Bruce

Refractors: Meade AR-5 127mm f/9.3, Meade ST-80 f/5 and Meade 60mm f/12, Jason 60mm f/15 #313, Jason 60mm f/12 #306 S7, Bushnell Sky Chief III 60mm f/15.
Reflectors/Catadioptrics: Meade 10" F/4 Schmidt-Newtonian, Galileo 120mm f/8.3 Newtonian, Meade 2045D 4" f/10 SCT, Meade ETX-90EC f/13.8 & Sarblue 60mm f/12.5 Maksutov-Cassegrains.
Mounts: Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro & Meade LXD55 Equatorial mounts, ES Twilight II and Meade 2102 ALT/AZ mounts, a modified 10" SkyQuest Dobsonian mount, various 60mm EQ mounts.
Misc: Celestron 20x80mm binoculars, Revolution II Imager/accessories, & lots of optical accessories/eyepieces.
Projects: 8" f/2.9 and 65mm f/10 reflectors, Dobson-style binocular mirror mount.
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Re: Ordered Orion Giantview 15x70s

#11

Post 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
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Re: Ordered Orion Giantview 15x70s

#12

Post 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.
=============================================================================
I drink tea, I read books, I look at stars when I'm not cursing clouds. It's what I do.
=============================================================================
AT50, AT72EDII, ST80, ST102; Scopetech Zero, AZ-GTi, AZ Pronto; Innorel RT90C, Oberwerk 5000; Orion Giantview 15x70s, Vortex 8x42s, Navy surplus 7x50s, Nikon 10x50s
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Re: Ordered Orion Giantview 15x70s

#13

Post 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
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