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

Recent content by gnowellsct

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    Brightness and light pass through

    Hello everyone: thanks for the comments. Yes the celestron LM formula is only indicative; but let's put it this way, when I want to have an easy night not trying to hard I usually subtract 2 from the formula's results; if I want to work a little I subtract 1, and if I want to push to the edge I...
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    Israel

    I'm going to Israel in the first week of June on business. Any birds I might look for when I'm not ducking the "incoming"? thanks Greg N
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    New Swarovski EL Flat Field

    The thing about henry's chess board is that a chess board, or a wall of bricks, doesn't look nearly as messed up as what a lot of binoculars provide. So the idea here is that maybe this optical issue should be mitigated even if it can't be cured. Some companies go too far on the distortion...
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    Pentax SP DCF vs XP DCF

    You're right the link must have gotten coughed up on a google search using the site specific command. "pentax site:birdforum.net" or something like that. I bought a pair of 10x50s SP DFC for $385 shipped when that stuff is going on I think either the company is going out of business or they're...
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    finance

    Don't do it any deal that gets you hammered if things go wrong isn't worth walking into. Just my 2c Greg N
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    Yet another beginner optics thread...

    The "wind river green ring cascades" 8x42s are on the bay right now for $200 "buy it now" with $180 auction start price. The seller seems to have more than one of these units it will arrive, if like mine, still sealed. No rush though there's always another pair of binos coming up on the...
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    Looking for interesting big binocular

    You should pay the $12 to join Astromart and get to the folks who are into these large things. There is a pair of 25x100 Garrett Optical binos for sale for $350. I'll post the link you should be able to see part of the ad. Without wanting to pay mega dollars you're almost sure to end up with...
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    Brightness and light pass through

    I spent many hours with the Vortex Viper 10x42 and side-by-sided with the Pentax DCF SP 10x43. You birders have been very kind and given me good explanations about "pin cushion" in another thread. OK so you pick up a binocular and look through it and you go wow this image is bright I like this...
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    Pincushion

    Well thinking about it mo' bettuh I realize that pincushion is the opposite of the barrel effect in eyepieces and I may have my terms a bit wrong; I think most of us just say pincushion to mean weird stuff off axis and most of the time we get away with it. But I can see I'm being set straight...
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    Are Zen Rays 8x43 ED's really that good?

    Maybe yes maybe no One of the problems with Chinese production is inconsistency between units. So it's not just that Alpha brand X is or is not better, it's that with Chinese brand Z you may only have a 60% chance of getting something that is 98% as good as Alpha Brand X. A crap shoot, to...
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    Are 1960s & 70s glasses worth the money?

    I had the unusual experience of buying some Canon 6x30 fully coated porro binoculars from the early 1970s; they were on ebay, they were some old store's stocks, were in original packing and completely sealed. I paid $120, and ended up giving them to a friend. This was about a year ago. Seeing...
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    Yet another beginner optics thread...

    I just sold a pair of 6x30 Yosemites so I would recommend the 8x30s. They are an excellent value. I think that you might consider taking the names given here and spending some time looking on ebay. Especially click on the tabs for "auctions" and look for real auctions rather than "buy it...
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    Pincushion

    The wavy "fun house mirror" effect when you pan left to right seems to be a fact of life that most people accept. My Vortex Viper 10x42s "have a bad case." My Leupold 8x42s (Wind river cascade, if memory serves) have it much less, even though, on balance, they're not quite as nice a binocular...
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    Pentax SP DCF vs XP DCF

    Returning on Amazon I think the Amerzon is a typo for Amazon? Anyhow I have returned binos to an Amazon vendor but there was admittedly a manufacturing defect. You have to look at your record of recent activity and then press the "return this item' button. The specific return policy for your...
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    Pentax SP DCF vs XP DCF

    Pentax into depression discounting Swaro has some discounting going on, but looks like the Pentax DCF SP line is really selling for some steep discounts here and there. Other companies seem to be holding firm: Minox, Leupold. This is a good time to buy Pentax. Once the inventory is gone they...
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