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  1. WJC

    19 years a member, trying to get in!

    I don't want to register for an account ... I HAD ONE FOR 19 YEARS!
  2. WJC

    Optical Accommodations

    Having frequented several binocular forums over the years, I’ve seen that virtually ANY complaint in the view is laid at the feet of the instrument. That is only partially true. Most of this relates to inexperience. The fact is many of these problems/frustrating anomalies rest with the observer...
  3. WJC

    The Cost of Lens Cleaners

    230814 With my last thread having been generally accepted and appreciated, I feel confident to offer the following. Science teachers have been known to say that if you drop a frog into a pan of boiling water he will instantly jump out, but if you put him in the pan and slowly increase the...
  4. WJC

    Collimation VS Parallax

    There has been much talk on this and other forums in which "collimation" and "parallax" are used interchangeably. They are NOT the same thing. Please see the attached. Bill
  5. WJC

    Kahles and Swarovski

    For almost 50 years, I have done the best I could to save people from themselves—relative to consumer optics—through my binocular books, ATMJ, magazine articles, and lectures. Further, I have promised myself I would do the best I could to help with the misinformation that abounds on the...
  6. WJC

    Optical Realities

    221026 Lately, I have posted some graphics that have gotten traction with the rank and file. So, here’s another. Dick Suiter created this for his book, Star Testing Astronomical Telescopes. While birders tend to blame almost all anomalies on some perceived fault with the binocular, the graphic...
  7. WJC

    Size of Field (Conversion)

    I was cleaning out my computer a few minutes ago and came across the image below and knowing some folks like to collect such trivia, I thought I would offer it to BF. Bill
  8. WJC

    Ted's question on the Mk5 Collimator

    220923 Hi Ted, I will try to answer since my answer did not go through yesterday. First, you are NOT intruding. Secondly, you asked, “Why are the Mk5s so important?” The Mk5s are NOT important! 3-axis COLLIMATION is important and the Mk5 is one of the fastest / simplest ways to make it so...
  9. WJC

    More to Close-Focus

    Close Focus: It’s amazing that a group of people who are so driven to achieve the non-extent “perfection” in binoculars consistently bemoan instruments that won’t focus just inches away. Part of the problem relates to the very definition of binoculars: “Binoculars are versatile tools that...
  10. WJC

    "Best" and "Vintage"

    “Best” and “Vintage” I realize that those new to binoculars have oversimplified thoughts on how to get many of their questions across. ‘Been there; done that. But ... Without being specific on the exact levels of performance being sought, the term “BEST” ... in each category, and in each price...
  11. WJC

    Roof Prisms Used in Binoculars

    After seeing how much trouble I got into just trying to explain dioptric accommodation and how much verbiage was wasted, I would just say what I wanted to mention was how the two prisms got around spiking on bright objects, and that I’ve have never considered myself a prism expert. I’m just a...
  12. WJC

    My Only Manifesto of 2021

    My only Manifesto of 2021 I would like to use another electric guitar analogy. Having owned 97 of the most sought-after, I feel confident I’m on solid ground. You’ll hear people insist their Fender “sounds better” than Gibsons or Guilds. Or perhaps their Schecter “sounds better” than someone...
  13. WJC

    BINO THOUGHTS #9, The Inexperienced Shopper

    BINO THOUGHTS #9, The Inexperienced Shopper Of all the binocular forums I’ve visited, BirdForm undoubtedly has the savviest of observers. However, while sorting my computer today, I found the following snippet that was written 21 years ago but was left out of my first bino book. Possible of...
  14. WJC

    Bino Thoughts # 8, The Fakes?

    Bino Thoughts #8 I keep seeing, on this and other forums, that people often worry about whether or not some instrument they have seen—or are planning to buy—is a “fake.” Of course, there’s always a chance. But let’s add a drop of realism to the picture. It costs a fortune to engineer and...
  15. WJC

    Bino Thoughts #7

    201101 Sorry to have so many of these bunching up. But I am going to try to get this one taken on by a higher-order publication and I would appreciate it if those who like to pick at me would be so good as to save me from myself. Since the stroke, the fingers are reluctant to work on command...
  16. WJC

    Bino Thoughts #6

    Bino Thoughts 6 MORE ON THE VALUE OF THINKING A LITTLE DEEPER As I was finishing Bino Thoughts #5, I was running out of day. I have two important examples to support the same concept. The first clearly demonstrates that we often supplant scientific evidence with our own erroneous opinions...
  17. WJC

    Bino Thoughts #5

    I’ve prepared this post, that I might explain my most common motivation—shallow thinking. I have no belief that it will keep those with burning agendas at bay. That’s why I have produced a PDF that those who don’t like me, or who choose to misunderstand everything I say, may simply choose to...
  18. WJC

    Bino Thoughts #4

    Today, while working in the optics lab aka ... the garage ... a stranger came up and started a conversation—a guy looking through one side of a binocular...on a stand...through an auxiliary telescope...at a large refracting telescope...backwards—can draw people to ask questions. He was wearing a...
  19. WJC

    Bino Thoughts #3

    Bino Thoughts #3 I know I’m a fellow who bellyaches about those who stack BBs and talk forever about things that are inconsequential to most observers. Even so, having experienced what I have, I must stack a few BBs here. Please forgive me. Reading a thread currently on the forum, one could...
  20. WJC

    Bino Thoughts #2

    Just a thought. Bill
  21. WJC

    An Understanding

    Even though tens of thousands of words have been posted—on at least the 4 bino forums I frequent—about the dangers of the 15x70 SkyMaster being out of collimation right out of the box or about going out of collimation if you look at it wrong, there are still some who seem to feel they’re the one...
  22. WJC

    Binocular Buying Rules of Engagement — an opinion

    200820 What is the best magnification? When I was 12, my folks couldn’t afford a bike for me. I was given a beat-up red scooter that was already old when I was born. I could ride it, but I certainly couldn’t keep up with my friends with bicycles. Then, early in this century, bicycles were...
  23. WJC

    Bino Thoughts

    Hopefully, I am going to be busier than usual for the next few days. So, I wanted to offer a few thoughts. I know that although it has a reason, some people don’t appreciate my cut to the chase style of writing. So, if you came away thinking the worse of me because I’m not a snowflake, please...
  24. WJC

    Thank You, MERRY CHRISTMAS, and Publin

    191208 Thanks, Binastro, Andy, Edmund, Steve, Peter, Jack, Richard, 42za, and others very much guys. The following should rightfully be on the thread Publin started. Although I didn’t know one could OWN a thread on a public forum, he has stated in HIS post #12 that should I offer anything...
  25. WJC

    Yet, More on Collimation

    Hey Gang, The following is from a letter I have just sent to some of the MAJOR bino OEMs. If you have definitive information, please share it with me. **************************** ... I am working on my third book on binoculars—the first two of which go beyond the sub-rudimentary tripe so...
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