Talk me out of spending more money and expanding my collection?

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rocdoc
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Talk me out of spending more money and expanding my collection?

#1

Post by rocdoc »


Yeah, sure, I've definitely come to the right place for that....
Here are the details: I'm on a bit of a binocular astronomy kick. And decided to round up my collection. I acquired an excellent Oberwerk 8x42 Sport ED, which is way better for astro applications than it has any business being, and is amazing for terrestrial use. I then decided to upgrade my main grab-and-see bino and added on the Ultra 10x50, which is on its way. I already have the 25x100 Deluxe (can you tell I like Oberwerk?), which is a serious DSO instrument. And now, I can't help but think about the 20x65 ED Deluxe, which everyone is raving about, and Kevin recommends as the one significant potential upgrade to the 25x100. It would also fill a space between the 10x50 and the big one, by being a bit lighter and easier to transport - in addition to what some call the best image in this price range.
Wouldya do it? Am I crazy? (don't answer that truthfully). Seriously, any thoughts? Personal experience?
Thank you!
Properly collimated cornea-lens-vitreous optical apparatus, projecting on retinal sensor slightly limited by deuteranomaly, feeding through stock optic nerves into functional primary cortex, processed through frequently misfiring and buggy integrative cortex.
Other instruments: Skyline 8" Dobsonian, on a dob pod; Celestron Omni XLT 120 w GSO crayford focuser and Meade 5000 diagonal on Stellarvue M2C mount and Meade LX70 tripod; Oberwerk Binos: 25x100 Deluxe IF on Benro tripod with Oberwerk 5000 head or Farpoint parallelogram; 10x50 Ultra, usually on 3 Legged Thing Punks Trent monopod with Dolica trigger grip head; 8x42 Sport ED hand held. Main EPs: ES 82º 24mm and 11mm, Celestron Luminos 19mm and 10mm, Meade UWA 14mm, Meade HD-60 6.5mm. Filters: UHC, 13%, blue. Finders: RACI, Telrad, RDF, reticle.
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Thefatkitty Canada
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Re: Talk me out of spending more money and expanding my collection?

#2

Post by Thefatkitty »


Now what fun would that be if I tried to talk you out of it? :lol: I'm on the "go for it" page.... You know you want to.... ;)

Enjoy them when they arrive,
Mark

"The Hankmeister" Celestron 8SE, orange tube Vixen made C80, CG4 & AZ-EQ5 mounts.
Too much Towa glass/mirrors.

H/A - PST stage 2 mod with a Baader 90mm ERF on a Celestron XLT 102 (thanks Mike!)
Ca-K - W/O 61mm, Antares 1.6 barlow, Baader 3.8 OD and Ca-K filters with a ZWO ASI174mm.
W/L - C80-HD with Baader 5.0 & 3.8 Solar film, Solar Continuum 7.5nm and UV/IR filters with a Canon EOS 550D.

Oh yeah, and Solar Cycle 25 :D
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helicon United States of America
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Re: Talk me out of spending more money and expanding my collection?

#3

Post by helicon »


One can never be too rich or too thin, or have a giant collection of binos. I'd go for it.
-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
rocdoc
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Re: Talk me out of spending more money and expanding my collection?

#4

Post by rocdoc »


I'm trying to be fiscally responsible, and some help you guys are :)
[mention]Thefatkitty[/mention] of course I want to, that's the problem! [mention]helicon[/mention] , see, that's the issue: being rich and having a giant collection of Binos are directly at odds with each other :)

Any personal experience with the 20x65 Deluxe ED from anyone?
Properly collimated cornea-lens-vitreous optical apparatus, projecting on retinal sensor slightly limited by deuteranomaly, feeding through stock optic nerves into functional primary cortex, processed through frequently misfiring and buggy integrative cortex.
Other instruments: Skyline 8" Dobsonian, on a dob pod; Celestron Omni XLT 120 w GSO crayford focuser and Meade 5000 diagonal on Stellarvue M2C mount and Meade LX70 tripod; Oberwerk Binos: 25x100 Deluxe IF on Benro tripod with Oberwerk 5000 head or Farpoint parallelogram; 10x50 Ultra, usually on 3 Legged Thing Punks Trent monopod with Dolica trigger grip head; 8x42 Sport ED hand held. Main EPs: ES 82º 24mm and 11mm, Celestron Luminos 19mm and 10mm, Meade UWA 14mm, Meade HD-60 6.5mm. Filters: UHC, 13%, blue. Finders: RACI, Telrad, RDF, reticle.
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JayTee United States of America
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Re: Talk me out of spending more money and expanding my collection?

#5

Post by JayTee »


There is not much difference between 20 and 25X, so the 20X65s are a non-starter for me. So don't think I telling you to hold off on buying yet another pair of Binos, oh no!

Instead, I would definitely get the Obie 15X70 Deluxe. There is a bigger difference between 10 to 15X than from 20 to 25X. I own the Ultra 11X70s and they are my best pair of binos hands down.

Cheers,
JT
∞ Primary Scopes: #1: Celestron CPC1100 #2: 8" f/7.5 Dob #3: CR150HD f/8 6" frac
∞ AP Scopes: #1: TPO 6" f/9 RC #2: ES 102 f/7 APO #3: ES 80mm f/6 APO
∞ G&G Scopes: #1: Meade 102mm f/7.8 #2: Bresser 102mm f/4.5
∞ Guide Scopes: 70 & 80mm fracs -- The El Cheapo Bros.
∞ Mounts: iOptron CEM70AG, SW EQ6, Celestron AVX, SLT & GT (Alt-Az), Meade DS2000
∞ Cameras: #1: ZWO ASI294MC Pro #2: 662MC #3: 120MC, Canon T3i, Orion SSAG, WYZE Cam3
∞ Binos: 10X50,11X70,15X70, 25X100
∞ EPs: ES 2": 21mm 100° & 30mm 82° Pentax XW: 7, 10, 14, & 20mm 70°

Searching the skies since 1966. "I never met a scope I didn't want to keep."

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rocdoc
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Re: Talk me out of spending more money and expanding my collection?

#6

Post by rocdoc »


[mention]JayTee[/mention] , thanks. I was actually aiming for the 15x70 Ultra initially. I talked to Kevin at length, and he thought that other than the lower weight, there wasn't any additional benefit over the 25x100 - except of course filling an intermediate magnification niche. He actually brought up the 20x65 ED instead, as a potential upgrade to the 25x100, as he thinks (and reviews appear to confirm) that the contrast and color accuracy jump would be noticeable (and they are lighter, although by I smaller margin than the 15x70 option).
Properly collimated cornea-lens-vitreous optical apparatus, projecting on retinal sensor slightly limited by deuteranomaly, feeding through stock optic nerves into functional primary cortex, processed through frequently misfiring and buggy integrative cortex.
Other instruments: Skyline 8" Dobsonian, on a dob pod; Celestron Omni XLT 120 w GSO crayford focuser and Meade 5000 diagonal on Stellarvue M2C mount and Meade LX70 tripod; Oberwerk Binos: 25x100 Deluxe IF on Benro tripod with Oberwerk 5000 head or Farpoint parallelogram; 10x50 Ultra, usually on 3 Legged Thing Punks Trent monopod with Dolica trigger grip head; 8x42 Sport ED hand held. Main EPs: ES 82º 24mm and 11mm, Celestron Luminos 19mm and 10mm, Meade UWA 14mm, Meade HD-60 6.5mm. Filters: UHC, 13%, blue. Finders: RACI, Telrad, RDF, reticle.
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Caddman United States of America
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Re: Talk me out of spending more money and expanding my collection?

#7

Post by Caddman »


The 20 X 65s look pretty impressive. The reviews look pretty good.
I personally am looking at the 20 X 80 Deluxe III. I'm looking for a little more aperture and I'll save over $100.
I think that it would interesting to compare the two.
Glenn

Telescopes; Stellarvue SVA130T, WO GT71, Orion SkyQuest XT10, Orion 10" f/3.9 Astrograph
Mounts; Atlas EQ-G, Celestron CGX-L
Binoculars; Oberwerk LW 11 X 70, Oberwerk 25 X 100
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Bigzmey United States of America
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Re: Talk me out of spending more money and expanding my collection?

#8

Post by Bigzmey »


Hi Rocdoc
Looking at your binos collection I believe you would benefit from 15-20x 60-70mm binos.

They will gather significantly more light compared to 8x42, but will be light enough to use free hand or on a light monopod/tripod.

Not sure if I would go for ED, I have achro (albeit good quality) 15x70 and I hardly see any CA.
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: Talk me out of spending more money and expanding my collection?

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Post by pakarinen »


Do it.
=============================================================================
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: Talk me out of spending more money and expanding my collection?

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Post by JayTee »


rocdoc wrote: Fri Jul 31, 2020 2:47 pm @JayTee , thanks. I was actually aiming for the 15x70 Ultra initially. I talked to Kevin at length, and he thought that other than the lower weight, there wasn't any additional benefit over the 25x100 - except of course filling an intermediate magnification niche. He actually brought up the 20x65 ED instead, as a potential upgrade to the 25x100, as he thinks (and reviews appear to confirm) that the contrast and color accuracy jump would be noticeable (and they are lighter, although by I smaller margin than the 15x70 option).
Hi RD,
The one thing that was not brought up in your discussion with Kevin was that there is a significant difference in weight. You and I both know that weight is the bugaboo of binoculars. The lighter they are the easier things are in general.

Cheers,
JT
∞ Primary Scopes: #1: Celestron CPC1100 #2: 8" f/7.5 Dob #3: CR150HD f/8 6" frac
∞ AP Scopes: #1: TPO 6" f/9 RC #2: ES 102 f/7 APO #3: ES 80mm f/6 APO
∞ G&G Scopes: #1: Meade 102mm f/7.8 #2: Bresser 102mm f/4.5
∞ Guide Scopes: 70 & 80mm fracs -- The El Cheapo Bros.
∞ Mounts: iOptron CEM70AG, SW EQ6, Celestron AVX, SLT & GT (Alt-Az), Meade DS2000
∞ Cameras: #1: ZWO ASI294MC Pro #2: 662MC #3: 120MC, Canon T3i, Orion SSAG, WYZE Cam3
∞ Binos: 10X50,11X70,15X70, 25X100
∞ EPs: ES 2": 21mm 100° & 30mm 82° Pentax XW: 7, 10, 14, & 20mm 70°

Searching the skies since 1966. "I never met a scope I didn't want to keep."

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Re: Talk me out of spending more money and expanding my collection?

#11

Post by Ylem »


I think buying them would be a very smart financial thing to do (as long as you can at least buy some rice and beans to eat).

Think how much money you will be saving over buying a fancy APO!!
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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pakarinen United States of America
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Re: Talk me out of spending more money and expanding my collection?

#12

Post by pakarinen »


I once told a coworker I had made a big pot of red beans and rice for dinner. She said something like, “Really? Can’t you make some decent food?”

I had to explain to her that I *like* red beans and rice. And Hoppin’ John too.
=============================================================================
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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OzEclipse Australia
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Re: Talk me out of spending more money and expanding my collection?

#13

Post by OzEclipse »


Hi Rocdoc

I have three pairs of bino's.

A pair of Pentax 8x25's that are good for wildlife spotting when travelling. Small, light portable and sharp.

A pair of German 7x35mm which I found in a box left behind when I bought a property many years ago. I have never heard of the brand but they are beautifully sharp. These are a traditional design and as such are almost as big as a pair of 7x50's.

I also have a pair of Orion 9x63 binos which are a long way down the quality scale over the Oberwork 20x65. However I would note that the 9x63's are on the limit of what I can handhold, the primary reason I bought them is the grab and observe nature of them. Unless you have very steady hands the 20x65's won't be able to be handheld. If you have to set up some sort of support, why not set up your bigger 100mm binos? Note that I don't have any 50mm binos but you do. I don't think the step up from 50 to 65mm is such a big one. I was looking for 50mm binos when I bought the Orion 63's. I have since lost the desire to buy any 50mm bino's.

Hope this puts you off.

Joe
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Amateur astronomer since 1978...................Web site : http://joe-cali.com/
Scopes: ATM 18" Dob, Vixen VC200L, ATM 6"f7, Stellarvue 102ED, Saxon ED80, WO M70 ED, Orion 102 Maksutov, ST80.
Mounts: Takahashi EM-200, iOptron iEQ45, Push dobsonian with Nexus DSC, three homemade EQ's.
Eyepieces: TV Naglers 31, 17, 12, 7; Denkmeier D21 & D14; Pentax XW10, XW5, Unitron 40mm Kellner, Meade Or 25,12
Cameras : Pentax K1, K5, K01, K10D / VIDEO CAMS : TacosBD, Lihmsec.
Cam/guider/controllers: Lacerta MGEN 3, SW Synguider, Simulation Curriculum SkyFi 3+Sky safari
Memberships Astronomical Association of Queensland; RASNZ Occultations Section; Single Exposure Milky Way Facebook Group (Moderator) (12k members)
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