Binoviewer on 70 mm refractor vs 3 medium binoculars (1 Viewer)

Hi all in the Bird Forum Spotting Scopes forum :hi: ...

For those of you interested-- I completed a series of subjective comparisons in the thread Binoviewer on 70 mm refractor vs 3 medium binoculars.

The thread appears in the Cloudy Nights Binoculars Forum.

Your friend in Kentucky.
...Bob

make more sense to folks if you post pics of the setup.

as is you just link a couple of long and rambly articles that dont make sense to non astro people.

most birders arent interested in maths/optical stats....`we be simple folks seee`.....

Well...

That is the problem--it is not simple--optical equipment and such--but if a birder wants to settle in with some different optical equipment--then a birder can observe bird behavior from a distance--without disturbing the birds or the environment--using two eyes in a binoviewer--instead of one eye in a single eyepiece.

Sorry you did not like the "long and rambly articles" I wrote--with links to equipment--lots of pics there.

Also sorry I paddled on your stream.

Carry on.

...Bob

Hi Bob,

Thanks for posting this link!! As far as the other person that replied, no one has to read any of this and I think you were a little over the top with your reply! I have traditional WP spotters and 80ED & 100ED refractors I use for birding etc. and would have use of a binoviewer, but don't have one.

mooreorless said:

Hi Bob,

Thanks for posting this link!! As far as the other person that replied, no one has to read any of this and I think you were over the top with your reply! I have traditional WP spotters and 80ED & 100ED refractors I use for birding etc. and would have use of a binoviewer, but don't have one.

Click to expand...

Steve...

Good to hear from you.

I highly recommend a binoviewer for your refractors. An entry level model is the William Optics Binoviewer Kit. The Tele Vue Bino Vue is a big improvement over the entry level models.

I am still making subjective comparisons--but not posting them anywhere--except in my notebooks.

You could have a blast with your U.S.A.F. resolution charts.

Your friend in Kentucky.

...Bob

Hi Bob,

I hope you still have the deer coming around your place, I always liked your posts about seeing them. I had a bear go through my field the other day and deer, not at the same time of course. I do get on CN but have not been posting as much. I would like to get a binoviewer someday for my refractors.

Steve...

Those are nice photos of the deer and the bear.

Yes, I still have deer that come through our property. Last fall two bucks and 6 does--in two different groups--came through every evening at twilight. Now individual deer are starting to show up. I have not seen any bear--but I do get sightings of fox, coyote, ground hog, hawk, eagle, buzzard, as well as plenty of smaller birds and animals.

Steve, it is very good to hear from you.

...Bob

Robert J Dalby (Astronomy & Nature TV--UK) presents an introduction to Binoviewing on the 12-minute video Binocular Viewing vs The Single Eye (2011).

...Bob

Hi Bob,

Thanks! The deer picture was pretty early in the morning and the bear was 200 yds. away. A local farmer plants in my field and he left the field corn stand all Winter, I think the bear was looking for that standing corn. The farmer had picked it about 2 weeks before this. I will have to watch the video later when I can turn on the sound. I did try to post a bird picture, but it was oversize.

Ive tried binoviewing and found it impractical. The binovierews...WO ones...were too heavy and were a nightmare to use in the field. Its nice idea in theory, but so far doesnt translate well in practise.

Perhaps i should try and 3d print some, make them a bit lighter!

wonder if those skywatcher ones are lighter, they seem less chunky than the williams optics ones i had...

woodhornbirder...

In my opinion, it depends on the choices one makes as they observe nature.

Does a person want to "capture" nature with a gun on the wall?--with a camera in a photo collection?--mark nature on some checklist?--study nature in some scientific manner?--seek to interact with nature in some poetic sense?--or journal nature in some literary way as Henry David Thoreau (my country) or William Henry Hudson (your country) went about it?

And our choices--our actions--are influenced by our equipment and observing "patch" and much more.

...Bob

have you tried the skywatcher ones, shown in the video ?

will contact my local makerspace, about creating a binoviewer below 300g in weight.

http://www.makerspace.org.uk

woodhornbirder said:

have you tried the skywatcher ones, shown in the video ?

will contact my local makerspace, about creating a binoviewer below 300g in weight.

http://www.makerspace.org.uk

Click to expand...

Woodhornbirder...

No, unfortunately, I have not tried the Skywatcher binoviewers in the video. The only binoviewers I have tried are the William Optics and Televue Bino Vue.

I started with the William Optics binoviewer--they showed me enough to get me hooked--I wanted better optics so I tried the Tele Vue Bino Vue with Tele Vue 40mm plossl eyepiece twins--the views kept getting better with my observing patches--then I threw more money at the setup with a William Optics GTF81 5-element triplet APO.

The WO 70 mm doublet Ed scope (6-lb refractor scope) delivered the magnification and resolution I wanted in my nature views--however, it lacked the color rendering I was used to with my better binoculars. The WO GTF81 5-element triplet APO (8-lb refractor scope) delivers great color rendering to my eyes.

Weight--one of the down issues about binoviewing--but a binoviewing setup is portable--just not as portable as a pair of binoculars or a light spotting scope on a light tripod--and you need a good tripod and mount.

All in all--I am finding I prefer binoviewing to mono viewing (single eyepiece) for several reasons. A person just needs to experiment and settle upon a setup and enjoy their own type of nature observing. Nothing is perfect with binoviewing--that is for sure.

I am still tinkering with my preferred setup within my budget and abilities to grab and go--or maybe two or three grabs--need to stay close to the car for the two or three trips. Therefore, if a person prefers to observe nature in solitude--as I do--where I park my car needs not be a long hike.

Fortunately, I have some nice views from the front window in my home. Others I know have nice views from their back porch or yard. But if you do not have those views close to home--keeping the setup light is one of the keys to an enjoyable setup.

Regarding your quest for a 300-gram binoviewer--I wish you luck with the suppliers there in England--if you are successful, please make some posts to let us know how it goes.

...Bob