anything optics>>>

[Kestrel]

Orbital

-----

Hadn't planned until now, but I guess I can add my new Vortex Ranger 1800 laser rangefinder to the thread;

https://www.dropbox.com/s/e4tm8swapq...61955.jpg?dl=0

Never having owned a laser rangefinder, it was a little smaller & lighter than I expected.
6x, 22mm objective; The reason I went with this model is that it has a tripod attachment point on the bottom, which is critical for my expected uses.

The one bummer is that the entire product segment seems to have been designed around CR2 cells; there is really no reason they can't bump measurements out by a few mm so as to use CR123's:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/izaj5bgowq...63321.jpg?dl=0
Interchangeability would have been great for my SF T1A Titan & Minimus headlamp, for example.

[nbp]

I am no optics expert at all, but I have wanted a pair of decent bins for a while for hiking, camping etc. Vortex is located about 1.5 hours from me so a couple weeks ago dad and I drove out there to check out their showroom. Very cool. Their building is set right next to a nature conservancy and sprawling farmland so you can test all the optics you want at basically any range you want. I was able to take a bunch of different bins outside to try them out and settled on the Diamondback HD 10x42. I found a good deal on them from a dealer online when I got home (they don’t sell out of that showroom, it’s basically a distribution warehouse). For my simple occasional needs they are terrific.

[hsa]

Waiting for delivery (Friday) of an Orion Grandview ED 65 spotting scope that accepts 1-1/4 astronomical eyepieces and I have a bunch of those. Also a Tritech fluid panhead tripod. I have had good luck with Orion stuff before but don't know what to expect here. Anyone have experience with either of these?

[Tasky]

Nothing too exciting I'm afraid...
We do a lot of hiking and I am one half of the forward observation team (one of the dogs is the other) for when we're scoping out the terrain ahead, spotting footpath signs, IDing landmarks, or finding ice-cream vans parked at viewpoints.

I have some Westinghouse M3 6x30 artillery binoculars dated 1943, which are in pretty good nick. There's some dirt/grit inside but for the most part they're very usable. The reticle in mills for correcting mortar splash is a cool feature. They survived WW2, and whatever else they went through before I even got my hands on them, so they're a bit precious to be taking out into the field.

Instead, I'm quite a heavy user of my Hawke Nature-Trek monocular - I have the Mod 35-211, which is 10x25.

I mainly wanted something with reasonable magnification and optics quality a couple of steps up from the cheap 8x22 Miranda, the generic £20 folding binocular things I'd been using thus far. The Mirandas weren't actually that bad as I'd had them since the 90s, in the days before cheap tat on Amazon dominated the lower end of the market... but they were old, a bit clapped out and the rubber casing had started to peel. They're also non-servicable, from what I could see... and of course 10x is better than 8x, innit!!

Being the Hawke brand I typically associate with decent shooting scopes, I found them pretty good. A lot better than reviews suggested, with very little chromatic aberation and then only in very bright light... and since this is England, we don't really see much of that!

But they are still cheap, so certain things needed modding. There is no ¼" thread for a tripod, so I made up a cobra-weave paracord strap with a loop at the end, to give a variety of handhold options for viewing stability. Also, the lens caps are cheap junk and only one is actually attached, so they were replaced with rifle scope flip covers. The twisting eye cup alters eye relief, but the focussing collar is immediately in front of this and can be fiddly to use, so that got wrapped with a rubber-backed cable tie for easier reach.
The whole assembly sits in one of those 'tactical flashlight pouch' jobs, which wouldn't actually suit anything thinner than a Coke Can flashlight but is an excellent fit for a monocular. There's a Spudz cleaning cloth

I'd still love sonething with higher magnification but size is a factor, as is price - I need something pocketable that I can use one-handed, and I prefer it not be too expensive to replace in case I break it!!

[orbital]

+

Spotting Scope Manufactures that use standard 1.25" telescope Eyepieces

Celestron

Orion

Pentax

SVBONY


Magnification of eyepiece is as follows:

The focal length of the spotting scope divided by the focal length of the eyepiece (in millimeters mm) Ex: 480/15= 32X magnification
... then 80mm objective/32X mag. gives you 2.5mm exit pupil


_______________________________________________

Important note: must read specifications for each model of these manufactures,
to confirm adaption of the standard 1.25" eyepiece

[Kestrel]

I have some Westinghouse M3 6x30 artillery binoculars dated 1943, which are in pretty good nick. There's some dirt/grit inside but for the most part they're very usable. The reticle in mills for correcting mortar splash is a cool feature. They survived WW2, and whatever else they went through before I even got my hands on them, so they're a bit precious to be taking out into the field. [...]

I'm actually really interested in what these are like, and would be most happy to know more or see pics.

[Tasky]

I'm actually really interested in what these are like, and would be most happy to know more or see pics.

I'm not really a photographer and the best 'camera' I have is an old Samsung S5, but I'll put a link to a few snaps below.

As for what they're like... I have kept them pretty mucky on the outside as it's part of the history of previous owner(s), a bit like patina. Who knows where they went before I got them!

The central spindle has graduations which seem to correspond to IPD, which is pretty cool. This part is quite stiff, so retains its settings very well. The downside is that the reticle is fixed, with no apparent method of rotating it, so if your IPD is much over 62, your sighting marks will be badly on the conk!

There's no actual focus wheel, but each eyepiece is individually adjustable, so I guess that's your dioptre and focus. The adjustment range is marked from -4 to +4, but really the range is closer to 12 at either end, based on how much further the cylinders turn. The threads on these are buttery smooth, but also exceptionally light. It only takes the touch of one finger to move them, which means they are easily knocked and you'll forever be fiddling with them each time you raise them to your eyes!
The objective ends have screw-off collar caps, which hold little plastic insert rings against the objective lens. I've no idea what either of these do, but it looks like the innards are sealed with some kind of plastic putty and then the caps and rings tighten everything down while it cures. Not something I'm willing to mess with without more research or professional advice, though.

Eye relief is good, with and without glasses. Field of view is about 8º and sufficient for purpose (ie ranging targets and directing mortar fire). My lenses are flecked with grit inside, but there's no real perceptible chromatic aberation that I can detect. They're really quite good, I find.
In the left side is the reticle, which comprises horizontal deflection and vertical ranging scales in mils, which correspond to traverse and elevation on the mortar sight. I've included a shot of this, though it wasn't easy trying to hold binoculars and phone camera, and keep the view aligned, and keep it steady enough for a shot, all without disturbing the focus!

Anything else you're interested in, I'll do my best to answer, but in the meantime... Hopefully you can see these: https://imgur.com/a/ytxTLEX

[Kestrel]

Thanks for that, including the reticle photo in particular - really interesting to see that.
(The other thing is that I'm /really/ big on 6x binoculars. )

[Tasky]

Thanks for that, including the reticle photo in particular - really interesting to see that.
(The other thing is that I'm /really/ big on 6x binoculars. )

I'm always happy to geek out over my 'stuff'!
You can still find these and other artillery optics for sale at fairly reasonable prices. They were in high demand during WW2 and several makers were contracted to meet demand, so there's a good number floating on the market today. I have a 'matching' compass, too.

TBH, I really like the reticle. I'd be delighted if optics started featuring similar things, even if just ranging marks, as I find them quite useful at times. I expect they're mostly just on high end shooting scopes and maybe some spotting scopes though, neither of which are really practical to carry for general outdoor pursuits!

[orbital]

Thanks for that, including the reticle photo in particular - really interesting to see that.
(The other thing is that I'm /really/ big on 6x binoculars. )

+

Guessing you already know of these 6x: https://mavenbuilt.com/collections/b...x30-8x30-10x30

Vortex always listens to customers,
wonder if they'd reconsider doing some more 6x30s'

[Kestrel]

Guessing you already know of these 6x: https://mavenbuilt.com/collections/b...x30-8x30-10x30

Ya, since I posted about them back at #12, lol.

There is a new US manufacturer that not many people have heard about yet; Maven Optics

https://mavenbuilt.com/collections/binoculars

A hunting friend here is getting ready to purchase a set; when we have some hands-on experience, I will post an update.

Very attractive design & appearance, certainly designed for the US market.
They are stepping in where Leupold exited (), making a top-quality binocular domestically.
Unlimited lifetime warranty like Leupold; we'll just hope they end up being around for the long term of course.

The attraction to me is that they have a mid-size 30mm-objective model, including the elusive 6x magnification - like my Lp Katmai & Vortex.

Vortex always listens to customers, wonder if they'd reconsider doing some more 6x30s'

Am just not interested in Vortex binoculars since they moved all of that production to China; I'll be happy to stick with my Philipine-mfg Vortex DB 6x's.

[Owen]

Oh, no. Where did this thread come from?

+

How about a thread on anything optics related,,
from binoculars/monoculars, hunting scopes, spotting scopes & everything else.

What you have, what you are looking to get, what you used them for or adventures, reviews, general questions and tips.
~all welcome

pictures =

I fell into the optics rabbit hole over a decade ago.
I'd had cheap 7x35s when I was a kid, and had used Steiner 7x50s in the military. They were the only "real" bins I'd used, so I suppose it was natural that I bought Steiner Military/Marine 8x30s for personal use. Had those for maybe 15 years, and at some point became interested in upgrading.
Getting into optics had a lot in common with flashlights, but if you want to see people freaking out over binoculars, you go to a birding forum.
Much like with flashlights, cheap is cheap, no matter what. There were lots of budget options that got rave reviews, but didn't hold a candle to higher quality products.

In barely a year, I went through:
Browning 8x32(Bushnell Legend)
Eagle Optics 7x50 and Ranger 8x32
Pentax PCF WP 7x50
Pentax DCF SP 8x32 and 12.5x50
Steiner Safari 8x22
Vortex Razor HD 8x42
Meopta Meostar 10x42
Pentax DCF ED 8x32
Vortex Stokes DLS 10x42
...and escaped before springing for Meopta's new-at-the-time 8x32s, which were touted as being competitive with Swarovski's EL(Meostars actually *are* competitive with Swaro SLCs, IMO, but the ELs I checked out were like the Holy Grail).

And two spotting scopes:
Leupold 15-30x(ehhh), then Pentax PF65 EDII and a couple of XW eyepieces(awesome), as I briefly flirted with the idea of digiscoping.

I sold off almost all of it, upgrading along the way. The EOs weren't very good, the Razors had quality issues(tried twice), both 7x50 porros had wide FOV, but narrow AFOV, the Safaris were small and light, but sucked(like most compacts-I don't even like the high end ones), while the Meoptas were fantastic, but seemed big and unwieldy, at least as I recall, and suffered from too much CA.
Tripods went to a photographer girlfriend, while the Browning 8x32s(surprisingly good, just needed better coatings like the DCF SP to deal with glare), and a pair of 10x50s I don't remember the specifics of, went to my parents.
The DCF ED and Stokes DLS were maybe "too good" for me(?). Lots of detail, great color separation, much less CA than any of the others. I imagine the problem was me, something to do with my vision or brain, but "glassing" for any length of time was fatiguing for some reason. Like I got sensory overload from my eyes trying to focus on too many things at once. I don't know, it reminded me of looking into a kaleidoscope after a while.

The Pentax DCF SPs always felt comfortable, relaxed, and "right", even if they were inferior to the ED glasses in optical quality, so those are what I kept.
The 12.5s(and a monopod with a binocular rest) live in my kitchen, and are mostly used for watching birds, squirrels, and the expressions on the faces of my neighbors' dogs.
I often take the 8x32s places I'm being touristy, sporting events, out on open water, and occasionally when dayhiking in certain places.
Sometimes I still wish for a compact 20-22mm bin when backpacking out West, like when I see a mountain goat or bighorn sheep, but that's rare enough to keep me from buying any.

It's hard when you're constantly reading about things that are "better" online, then going and auditioning bins with quadruple digit price tags, but I probably should have stopped with the DCF SPs, as I was mostly content with them.
I'd still like a pair of those $900 8x32 Meopta MeoStars, though.
Thanks for the reminder...I think
^^not happening!

[orbital]

+

Very comprehensive post Owen

The forum you mentioned I became a member of a long time ago, posted a couple dozen times in total.
Problem was, there was a certain percentage of people who had this idea that it was alpha bins or nothing & after while it just left a bad taste in my mouth.
..so I left it.
Optics are tricky, in that yes, you get what you pay for,, but also you can have very good optics for a far better value.

It's a fine line,,, literally in your view.

I find it really interesting you have a Pentax scope that takes 1.25 eyepieces. I made the plunge into that area starting last year & very much enjoy it.
Purchased a SVBONY SV406P 80mm ED glass unit & the view is very good, focus is super smooth & fine. Got it for $280
(I did carefully remove the o-ring in the housing to allow eyepiece to seat fully,, no biggie)

If you get the urge to get an optic,, the Celestron 1.25" Ultima Edge Flat Field Eyepiece - 18mm is a razor sharp view & really a pleasure to use.

got it here:: https://agenaastro.com/celestron-1-25-ultima-edge-flat-field-eyepiece-18mm-93452.html

[harro]

Hi everyone, does anyone else enjoy spotting scopes/digiscoping? I carry this econokit when the wife and i travel. It is used for general spotting and birding, points of interest etc. Its a Vanguard Endeavor HD82A. The tripod is a Vanguard Veo2 235APB ball head and the case is a pressure relieving Vanguard 46 case. I could never afford one of the Euro ' big three ', and indeed i probably wouldnt use it enough to warrant the cost. Just about to buy a Phoneskope digiscope adapter for it after mehhhhh results handheld.

[hsa]

That is a nice spotter. Let me know how the phonescope adapter works. It's pretty hard to handhold the phone with good results. I just bought an Orion Grandview 65 ED for use at the range and it is working out nice. For birding I will probably use an Explore Scientific 24 mm 68 degree eyepiece. This scope takes telescope eyepieces and I have a bunch. I'm using a fluid panhead.

[harro]

That is a nice spotter. Let me know how the phonescope adapter works. It's pretty hard to handhold the phone with good results. I just bought an Orion Grandview 65 ED for use at the range and it is working out nice. For birding I will probably use an Explore Scientific 24 mm 68 degree eyepiece. This scope takes telescope eyepieces and I have a bunch. I'm using a fluid panhead.

No worries. I have tried the handheld method, but i'm just not steady enough to get anything other than blurred images. I am looking at Phoneskope's eyepiece adapter which fits the 52mm eyepiece of the Vanguard, and their universal phone holder for my old Samsung A21S and their bluetooth shutter release. The mono eyepieces would be nice, but as yet, Vanguard dont make them. Theirs is a 20x - 60x zoom which i guess is a good allrounder, but you will never get as good results as you do with mono eyepieces. Maybe down the track. The Orion is a nice looking scope. As a younger person a long time ago, i used to be into amateur astronomy, hence the 82 objective of the Vanguard, but my telescope then, had a 60mm objective, and it would let me see heaps invisible to the naked eye.

[troutpool]

I got interested in birding in the 80's, and I have done well with just three binoculars over the intervening years. First, I got a pair of Leitz Trinovid 10x40. These were slim and lightweight and had good optics for the time. I modified the neck strap so that I could either hang them around my neck or clip them to the D-rings on the shoulder straps of my backpack, always at the ready. Eventually, I decided to replace them with an 8-power pair, to lessen eye fatigue, and I bought the Leica BA 8x42. These were heavy but still a pleasure to use. When I decided to replace them, I sold them for exactly $80 less than I paid for them ten years earlier. So I figure that it ended up costing me $8 a year to use these fine binoculars. Now I have a pair of Swarovski EL 8x32. I got them as much for the 20mm eye relief they have as for their excellent optics. It is nice to be able to use them with sunglasses on for casual birding and still have a decent field of view. I recently had a minor problem with them and sent them to Swarovski for repair. They sent them back completely rejuvenated, readjusted, and better than new. I also had a Kowa scope for a number of years. I saw some good birds through it, but I hated lugging it and a tripod around. It was a pleasure to use on a window mount, viewing from the car, though.

[Bullzeyebill]

With my fading vision I wan some 6x binoculars that close up to 3feet.

Billl

[orbital]

With my fading vision I wan some 6x binoculars that close up to 3feet.

Billl

+

The 6x magnification is just rare,
guess there hasn't been enough 'Google Searches' for manufactures to warm up for more production.

Not sure of your price range, but these look nice: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ..._xd.html/specs

[harro]

Here are some pics with the Vanguard HD82A. Still hand held, not with a proper adapter, which i'm waiting on from PhoneSkope. The subject light tower is on a football oval and is 510M from the scope. Its still fairly hot here, so heat haze and dirty air dont help much either, but you get the idea. Ohh, and the blurriness is just from me shaking.

As the eye sees it


at 20x


at 40x


at 60x

[hsa]

Heat shimmer will always kill the image at that distance and mag. Looks good for handheld though.

[harro]

Heat shimmer will always kill the image at that distance and mag. Looks good for handheld though.

Thanks, yep, its not an ideal time for digiscoping here atm. Springtime with clean air and new birdlife etc. Will post some pics when the adapter and holder show up.

[harro]

Finally, my Phoneskope stuff showed up, i think Covid might have affected delivery, ohh well.

This is the phone holder and scope eyepiece adapter and the Bluetooth shutter remote, and an 18650 for scale.


The holder/adapter together and ready to mount on the eyepiece.


These pics are a 200' communications tower at 900M from the scope. Its a crappy, cloudy day here, so light wasnt too good. Ohh, the phone is a Samsung A21S. Pics are 20x, 40x, 60x on the scope. Forgive me, i am still learning how to take these pics. The 60x is blurry cause i think the phone was trying to focus as well as me focussing the scope. Ohh well, practice will overcome that.

[Owen]

Kinda makes me miss my spotting scope and tripod. Even just the tripod with a binocular mount, for what little I'd do with it.
I only tried with a smartphone once last year, and it was handheld, after sunset, and through a double-paned window, with my 12.5x50s.


Some years before, though, my P&S was a little Nikon P310 with only 4.2x optical zoom, and this is all it would do in this instance(these are downsized photos copied from facebook):


I thought it did pretty good with its little lens stuck in the eyepiece of my DCF SP 8x32s, and zoomed just enough to fill the screen(not a crop):


Y'all are gonna have me trying to capture closeups of birds on my deck