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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

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  1. B

    Observing the Moon with a spotting scope

    It is not just my eyes. Rev Dawes of the Dawes limit used 420x for his drawings of Mars and Jupiter and its moons. With his fine 6.3 inch refractor. He saw detail on Jupiter's moons, which I haven't. He was, I think, very short sighted and could not recognise friends walking by. My starting...
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    Observing the Moon with a spotting scope

    With a spotting scope, maybe, but not with an optically excellent astro scope. My Pentax 100mm f/12 certainly was used visually on planets at 300x and tested at 400x. The image did not break down at 0.25mm exit pupil. Even large telescopes do well at 0.5mm exit pupil. My 317mm Dall Kirkham...
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    Opinion on CN

    There is a big difference in buying from an established respected brand name rather than new names that keep popping up on the internet. Especially if the products are direct from China. I don't know about Banner Cloud as this is new to me. I think it takes at least ten years for a brand to...
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    Opinion on CN

    The Smyth field flattener dates from about the 1870s. Hardly a Swarovski invention. Swarovski did have two layer coatings in about 1948, but this came from Liechtenstein. It reminds me of Leica claims. Leica invented the 35mm still film camera. They didn't. There were much earlier examples...
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    Celestron Spotting Scope advice please?

    I don't think other makes are any better. In my opinion it is essential to test the scope you want to buy. Although I don't buy anything on the internet, if you buy a scope untested and then find it to be poor, return it. Another way, is to buy a very good secondhand scope from an astro...
  6. B

    Nikon SE

    I have seen hundreds of glass lenses, glass binoculars and glass scopes ruined or destroyed by fungus. Actually, the new telescopes by Taylor in the late 1800s did dissolve more in humid locations. They had to be repolished every few years until they became unusable. Regards, B.
  7. B

    Celestron Spotting Scope advice please?

    Hi and welcome. There is probably a lot of sample variation with Celestron. I have used a C8 poor, C5 poor both f/6 and f/10. C90 fair. C70 very poor. My friends have used 90mm refractor excellent, C14 excellent. C 9.25 excellent. The C14 may still be made in the U.S.? So it would definitely...
  8. B

    Information on these binoculars if possible please.

    I also thought it might be early 1960s or even 1950s, but gave 1970 before I tried looking for JB numbers. 7x-12x35 is also unusual as they are usually 7x-15x35. Certainly £18 is a low price. If made today, probably £250 to £300 new. Regards, B.
  9. B

    Information on these binoculars if possible please.

    Very good condition, wide eyepieces. Magnesium body, maybe high quality product. Perhaps c.1970. K optical company? There may be Japanese marks on the front or inside the front objectives. I hope that it is well aligned and has no internal problems. Regards, B. P.S. The top two stars in...
  10. B

    Vintage binos???

    Here, charity shops have numerous old binoculars from £2 to£20. I take a torch and ball bearings to inspect the inside and do a quick star test in sunshine. Or just read print over the road. My friend goes to boot fairs and has never spent more than £15 on binoculars, some of which are normally...
  11. B

    CZJ T3M

    Camera lenses have to cover much wider fields than binoculars, at least with standard and wide angle lenses. The TTH patent 3 layer coatings were tunable depending on application. I am surprised to see a Zeiss 1935 coating on a binocular, although some lenses had internal coats in 1933, but...
  12. B

    New but probably wrong insight about lowlight

    I think what is being discussed as brightness is in fact surface brightness. The pupil size does oscillate slightly and is not constant in size. The eye is a good photometer when it comes to comparing luminosity. Accurate to about 9% or 10% with an experienced viewer, but not everybody has...
  13. B

    Opinion on Celestron C5

    Thank you Ruff-leg. That is a good and fair review. Incidentally, I easily split both components of epsilan Lyrae, around 2.4 arcseconds with a Vivitar 600mm f/8 solid Cat lens at 180x and less well with an Optomax 500mm f/8 mirror lens at 150x. My friend uses 185x with a Skywatcher 102mm...
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    Opinion on Celestron C5

    I have used the C5 years ago for mainly astro use. But they vary in quality, although they may now be generally good. I have used the f/6 and f/10 versions, maybe now they are only f/10. They are I think SCT telescopes with a thin front corrector. If this breaks, it is probably cheaper to get...
  15. B

    How do you pronounce Leica

    Ten love forty two. I wonder why the Rolls Royce Silver Mist didn't sell well in certain countries? Regards, B.
  16. B

    Recommendation for a binocular

    Soviet 10x50 or 7x50 good secondhand. Pentax, Olympus 10x50. Regards, B.
  17. B

    New but probably wrong insight about lowlight

    Not really. Much fainter stars are visible in a 20x50 compared to a 10x50 because the sky background is darker. In fact, stars twice as faint are visible in the 20x50 or about 0.7 0r 0.8 magnitude fainter. In addition, many binoculars are vignetted, so 10x50s are typically 10x47. The Optolyth...
  18. B

    How do you pronounce Leica

    Except in Danish and Finnish. Leica is pronounced differently. The name Tycho Brahe, his first name is pronounced quite differently in different languages. At least three different versions. There is a large rayed crater on the Moon named Tycho, so I suppose that has multiple versions. I don't...
  19. B

    Vintage (?) Carl Zeiss Binoculars

    Hi and welcome. Ask East Coast binocular repairs, the Zeiss repairer. Regards, B.
  20. B

    Eclipse

    So long as the solar filters have the necessary EU or US standards marked on them. Filters have a shelf life of 5 years for the ones used as glasses. They should be checked for pinholes, and if there are any pinholes the filter should be permanently discarded. There are unfortunately fake...
  21. B

    New but probably wrong insight about lowlight

    Actually it depends what you are looking at. If you want to see fainter stars then 10x42 is better than 8x42 by about 25%. If you want to see extended faint detail then 8x42 is better than 10x42. In addition, eyes vary a lot. At age 60 my pupils were 6mm and my friend's still 7mm at that...
  22. B

    Best marine binoculars?

    'Nobody's perfect' Ending, Some like it hot. B.
  23. B

    Best marine binoculars?

    I am pretty sure those Zeiss WW2 binoculars, if not made under pressure, are better optically than any modern binocular, except maybe the Zeiss 20x60S and Nikon WX. I have 3 or 4 Zeiss Telikon 75cm f/6.3 lenses from the Zeiss RMK survey camera (Made by Busch or Zeiss). The camera weighs 75kg...
  24. B

    Best marine binoculars?

    Actually the darkest conditions are not at star parties, but under cloud cover, either on the ocean, say the North Atlantic, or at high altitude dark sites under cloud. With clear skies, airglow, the Milky Way, even Venus or Jupiter give illumination. Venus can easily cast shadows, as can...
  25. B

    Sightron SII Blue Sky HD 20-60X85

    Enjoy the view from Geiranger if you are near there. Regards, B
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