Universal Tele-Adapter (1 Viewer)

Has anyone tried an Opticron UTA? I have just bought a pair of 8x42 Imagic roofs and the idea of being able to move to a 20X mag to check out the occasional distant bird without carrying a telescope is attractive.

I ordered a pair of 10X42 DBA's with the UTA from Warehouse Express last Friday.

I tried them out over the weekend in quite dull lighting (it's grim up North this time of year) and was not overly impressed.

I couldn't get on with the Binos and will be returning them.

The UTA was more interesting.

It was difficult to get a true picture of their effectiveness as both days were overcast and a bit windy but I would not write them off.

The image was bigger (as expected) but there were the obvious downsides:

1) You will need a very steady hand - shaking was evident even when resting arms on top of table.
2) Good lighting is essential - In the poor light I had the image seemed blurred and indistinct.
3) The FOV is tiny making the target hard to aqquire.

However the unit is light, compact and well made.

When I find a pair of Bins that suit me I will go back for a second opinion on the UTA.

Why not order one from warehouse express ? - If its unsuitable you can return it within 7 working days. It will cost you the return postage but if you drive to a shop to test one it will cost you in fuel etc. and you will only get limited testing time.

Zoltan, thanks for the very useful information. I'll try a UTA out first hand as you suggest - it may be easier to hold steady and give a bit more FOV with 8X magnification bins. We do get mostly good light here so that shouldn't be a problem.

Interesting that you didn't like the DBAs. I tried all the Opticron roofs from Verano though to DBA and got on with them all -especially as they all seemed to work very well with spectacles. The Imagic Oasis seemed noticeably better than the Verano and close to the DBA - but at half the price. Zeiss FLs and Nikon HGs were both brighter than all the Opticrons, but way beyond my budget - and neither were quite as good with specs.

Very interesting Ken, esp that bit about the Nikon HG's - I will be trying them next, probably HGL's but like you they are way out of my affordable price range. So... back to weekly terms or the flexible friend.
Once I get I a pair of bins I will still try the Opticron UTA again.

Due to visit an In-Focus day at Hauxly Reserve tomorrow.

Will provide feedback if he has any UTA's with other makes of Bino.

I'm awaiting a UTA from WE for use with my Mighty Midget II with an HDF zoom eyepiece which should give me @ 90x mag - be interesting to see if it's a useable combination - the scope has so far been a worthwhile if expensive purchase - it's only a small travelscope but the combo was around £300 - benefit is that it's so small & light that it gets carried everywhere and used a lot.

Chris Oates said:

I'm awaiting a UTA from WE for use with my Mighty Midget II

Click to expand...

Well it arrived but didn't fit as the adaptor chart at WE has a column missing when compared to the one at Opticron's site - ordered correct adaptor from Opticron which arrived with a (free) nice new storage pouch for the combo.
Fits snugly on the scope , has a twist-up eyecup and does what it says - magnifies x2.5.
Which of course makes everything 2.5x more difficult - at 90-100x combined magnification you could sense earthquakes in China with this - focusing can be errrrr tedious - easy to get 'blackout' .....I could see some folks prefering to buy quality dedicated eyepieces but I couldn't as I already have the highest mag HDF eyepiece combo for my scope.
I will be using this a lot as I often view from very long distance and putting on the UTA takes only a second - also works nicely with the bins.
Image quality and light gathering are history but the gadget gets me where my feet won't.

I could of course buy a 100mm scope and have a quality view at this magnification but then I wouldn't be able to take it to work or carry it on my Bro's bike along with my camera gear - I have a minimalist kit which works but goes anywhere - the tripod is the biggest problem but that's carbon fibre so weight is not a problem.