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Audubon 8.5 x 44 HR/5 repair by Nicolas Crista (1 Viewer)

Chhayanat

Well-known member
India
I first contacted Nicolas Crista about the Audubon 8.5 x 44 HR/5s discussed in this thread. Moving from place to place meant that it finally took till November 2014 for the glasses to be returned to me after repairs and adjustment.

He replaced the dented prism covers with unmarked ones. The replacement covers are marked "Fully Multicoated" though the glasses themselves with a 1985 manufacturing date are just "Multicoated". It does not matter as I do not intend selling them. The other putative user of the glasses knows a lot about birds but nothing about multicoating

Mr. Crista cemented the prisms besides lubricating the glasses and collimating them.

When using them, I thought the view quite relaxing. I would have demanded a little more brightness. My vision has deteriorated suddenly from illness; otherwise, i feel I would have found them slightly sharper than I do now.
With my glasses on, even at the maximum interpupillary distance, the prisms appear to interfere with the field of view. This was true before the repair as well.

Tomorrow I am going birding and will have an opportunity to make a comparison with the following binoculars, CZJ Jenoptem 10 x 50w, CZJ Notarem 10x40B, Pentax 8x42WP Nikon Premier 10x42 HG_L. Others with better vision than mine would be able to offer comments as well.

Nicolas Crista has done a fine job with these Audubons both mechanically and cosmetically.
Best wishes,
Chhayanat
 
Hi Chhayanat. Glad to hear that your HR/5 repair worked out. Bill had recently posted that Nicolas Crista had retired, but I guess he is still handling some work.
 
Hi Chhayanat. Glad to hear that your HR/5 repair worked out. Bill had recently posted that Nicolas Crista had retired, but I guess he is still handling some work.
I first contacted Nicolas Crista about the binoculars in June 2013 but I was diverted by my movement from one country to another.My friend who took the binoculars to the US for repair, also said that Nicolas Crista was very difficult to contact. One assumes, therefore, that he has, in effect, he has retired.
Comparison of the Audubon with other binoculars was abandoned as there was unseasonal rainfall which made non-waterproof binoculars risky.
 
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I first contacted Nicolas Crista about the Audubon 8.5 x 44 HR/5s discussed in this thread. Moving from place to place meant that it finally took till November 2014 for the glasses to be returned to me after repairs and adjustment.

He replaced the dented prism covers with unmarked ones. The replacement covers are marked "Fully Multicoated" though the glasses themselves with a 1985 manufacturing date are just "Multicoated". It does not matter as I do not intend selling them. The other putative user of the glasses knows a lot about birds but nothing about multicoating

Mr. Crista cemented the prisms besides lubricating the glasses and collimating them.

When using them, I thought the view quite relaxing. I would have demanded a little more brightness. My vision has deteriorated suddenly from illness; otherwise, i feel I would have found them slightly sharper than I do now.
With my glasses on, even at the maximum interpupillary distance, the prisms appear to interfere with the field of view. This was true before the repair as well.

Tomorrow I am going birding and will have an opportunity to make a comparison with the following binoculars, CZJ Jenoptem 10 x 50w, CZJ Notarem 10x40B, Pentax 8x42WP Nikon Premier 10x42 HG_L. Others with better vision than mine would be able to offer comments as well.

Nicolas Crista has done a fine job with these Audubons both mechanically and cosmetically.
Best wishes,
Chhayanat

I don't think you will find that Nick "cemented" the prisms. They sit clipped to a prism shelf with leaf springs. They were my birding bino until I got my SE. I could go back to them without shedding a tear.

Bill
 
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I first contacted Nicolas Crista about the binoculars in June 2013 but I was diverted by my movement from one country to another.My friend who took the binoculars to the US for repair, also said that Nicolas Crista was very difficult to contact. One assumes, therefore, that he has, in effect, he has retired.
Comparison of the Audubon with other binoculars was abandoned as there was unseasonal rainfall which made non-waterproof binoculars risky.

Hi Chhayanat,

I've dealt with Nick for over ten years concerning Swift binoculars, e.g., history, repairs, parts, etc. I've never had the slightest difficulty getting hold of him at this [NRC Optics business number].

What is your IPD, incidentally?

Ed
 
Hi Chhayanat,

I've dealt with Nick for over ten years concerning Swift binoculars, e.g., history, repairs, parts, etc. I've never had the slightest difficulty getting hold of him at this [NRC Optics business number].

What is your IPD, incidentally?

Ed
My friend who took the glasses to the US for repair said he often got recorded messages from that number. Once he was able to connect with Mr. Crista, however, things proceeded smoothly.
I do not know my interpupillary distance. Is it measured from the centre of one pupil to the centre of the other? I am sure that it will figure somewhere in BF.
I don't know whether this rather iffy explanation helps but when I move the oculars up and down the central axis, the only place where I get a approximately whole and peaceful image is when the IPD is at its widest, i.e. with the marker just above the 70 degree mark and the glasses effectively locked at that position after which they cannot be widened further.
 
I don't think you will find that Nick "cemented" the prisms. They sit clipped to a prism shelf with leaf springs. They were my birding bino until I got my SE. I could go back to them without shedding a tear.

Bill
Maybe he did not actually cement the prisms. I took the term from the work estimate which he sent my friend who was handling the binoculars in the US which I am quoting from below:
# 804 8.5x42 Hit/dropped
Remove prisms
clean all optics
cement prisms to specs.

I have also developed a medical problem with my eyesight which, together with ageing eyes, prevents them achieving the entral sharpness associated with these binoculars. This was the main reason for buying these glasses.
 
My friend who took the glasses to the US for repair said he often got recorded messages from that number. Once he was able to connect with Mr. Crista, however, things proceeded smoothly.
I do not know my interpupillary distance. Is it measured from the centre of one pupil to the centre of the other? I am sure that it will figure somewhere in BF.
I don't know whether this rather iffy explanation helps but when I move the oculars up and down the central axis, the only place where I get a approximately whole and peaceful image is when the IPD is at its widest, i.e. with the marker just above the 70 degree mark and the glasses effectively locked at that position after which they cannot be widened further.

Yes, your IPD is the distance between the centers of your eye pupils. From the sound of it, yours is ≥ 70mm, which is at the high end of the population distribution. But, if it makes you feel better it has been said that intelligence is positively correlated with IPD (an old wives tale?). Your optometrist can tell you your IPD since it's needed to fit your glasses properly.

Ed
 
Yes, your IPD is the distance between the centers of your eye pupils. From the sound of it, yours is ≥ 70mm, which is at the high end of the population distribution. But, if it makes you feel better it has been said that intelligence is positively correlated with IPD (an old wives tale?). Your optometrist can tell you your IPD since it's needed to fit your glasses properly.

Ed

Thank you. I did not realise that the markings on the plate of the central axle of older porro binoculars were in mm.
If the maximum IPD of the 804R is around 70mm, then the IPD of the other glasses I use must be a little more as I have no difficulty in seeing whatever FOV is available (to me with spectacles) in an uninterrupted fashion. My other glasses are:
CZJ Jenoptem 10 x 50w (eye relief 10mm), CZJ Notarem 10x40B, Pentax 8x42WP and Nikon Premier 10x42 HG_L

After I read your post, I recalled reading something similar about the 804R IPD years ago. I found the post after some searching on the net. It is by Dana A. Bunner in an online review of 8X binoculars on 5 June 1995.
"Swift Audubon 8.5x44: Wide FOV of 430'. Moderately heavy at 29 ounces.
Very good center field sharpness falling off toward lense edge, but still
usable. Very good contrast. Insufficient eye relief for eyeglass
wearers, I noticed a definite loss of field with glasses. Close focus
was decent at 13'-14'. Very bright images, even in low-light situations.
Unable to focus at infinity w/o eyeglasses. Interpupillary distance was
a bit narrow, just over 70mm, at maximum separation
."
The link is
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bbowman/birds/se_mich/bin_8x_a.txt

As to the correlation between wide IPD and high IQ, my teachers would have disagreed.
 
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Maybe he did not actually cement the prisms. I took the term from the work estimate which he sent my friend who was handling the binoculars in the US which I am quoting from below:
# 804 8.5x42 Hit/dropped
Remove prisms
clean all optics
cement prisms to specs.

I have also developed a medical problem with my eyesight which, together with ageing eyes, prevents them achieving the entral sharpness associated with these binoculars. This was the main reason for buying these glasses.

His "cement prisms to specs" PROBABLY meant cementing the prism to the prism shelf in the needed orientation to remove "lean." In the attached photo, you can see where two tabs of glue are used in seating the upper prism. The first photo to the right (Thanks Jan) shows the U.B.M.M. display for a bino that needs a collimation adjustment but which has very little lean. The photo on the far right is of a binocular the has a major collimation issue and considerably more lean in both telescopes. This should be corrected before a good collimation process can be started.

Why haven't you heard of "lean" before? Just as some people don't know binoculars needs to be collimated, even fewer have ever heard of "lean" or know about attendant problems. This is what often prompts me to say, "Some people don't know what they don't know."

Cheers,

Bill
 

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His "cement prisms to specs" PROBABLY meant cementing the prism to the prism shelf in the needed orientation to remove "lean." In the attached photo, you can see where two tabs of glue are used in seating the upper prism. The first photo to the right (Thanks Jan) shows the U.B.M.M. display for a bino that needs a collimation adjustment but which has very little lean. The photo on the far right is of a binocular the has a major collimation issue and considerably more lean in both telescopes. This should be corrected before a good collimation process can be started.

Why haven't you heard of "lean" before? Just as some people don't know binoculars needs to be collimated, even fewer have ever heard of "lean" or know about attendant problems. This is what often prompts me to say, "Some people don't know what they don't know."

Cheers,

Bill
Thanks I can see the difference in the two pictures and your explanation makes it easier to understand why that difference is there. What is blue-coloured glue used for cementing and is it sold in large hardware stores?
Best wishes,
Chhayanat
 
Thanks I can see the difference in the two pictures and your explanation makes it easier to understand why that difference is there. What is blue-coloured glue used for cementing and is it sold in large hardware stores?
Best wishes,
Chhayanat

The blue is some variety of "lock tite."

Bill
 
Thanks. I have noticed a similar blue-tinted glue covering screws inside assorted electronic items as well and was curious to know what it was.

In many of the binos I have repaired and collimated, it was definitely Lock Tite. However, in all other things I'm at a loss.

Bill
 
Here is text with a description
of the WW2 cement used while upgrading the
US Army M3 to the M13:

http://home.europa.com/~telscope/milusarm.txt

---cupric oxide powder / phosphoric acid / zinc chloride / water (dried)

...and various other funky procedures.

I put the prisms back in line on some USN WW2 Wollensack 6x30s
that had (cracked) cement. Not sure what the binder was,
but it was mostly silica-powder-filled. Replacement with some
epoxy putty seemed appropriate. I didn't want normal epoxy to
crawl under the prism or to bond too strong, just keep position.
 
I'm responding to this old thread because I spoke with Mr. Crista this morning regarding repair of a fifties era Hiyoshi binocular. For those of you who have spoken with him, that same deep and never-Americanized voice sounded as reassuring as always.

I began by asking him if he still repaired binoculars and he responded, as of old, "What kind?" Mine passed the test, and I'm ecstatic to be able to add them to my small shelf of "cleaned by Crista" binoculars.

By the way, where can get some of that "water (dried)" mentioned in Optic_Nut's 2015 post? It would be really useful for my aged muscles while backpacking . . .

Bob M.
 
By the way, where can get some of that "water (dried)" mentioned in Optic_Nut's 2015 post? It would be really useful for my aged muscles while backpacking . . .

Bob M.

Ah, so you also suffer from the old "lock tite"/Lock Tite/Loctite muscles thing :-O

I just tried to get on his website. Here's what happened.
I take it he's out of business. :-C

Ed

I guess the gentleman under discussion is retired/semi-retired? Ah well, can't begrudge him that. Just checked the address on Google Maps. Nice. Any binocular sent there from here wouldn't want to return ;)
 
NOTICE: Nicolas Crista IS DOING BUSINESS!

Earlier today I spoke with my old friend Nicolas Crista for over an hour. He's doing well and continues to do binocular repair work.

Unfortunately his website, which he purchased years ago, had been hijacked by a scam artist. He's been trying to resolve the problem, but in the meantime has no way to stop this business destroying attack.

Anyone interested in having Nick work on their binoculars should call his number (718) 294-2039 and leave a message including a call-back number.

Ed
 
I'm responding to this old thread because I spoke with Mr. Crista this morning regarding repair of a fifties era Hiyoshi binocular. For those of you who have spoken with him, that same deep and never-Americanized voice sounded as reassuring as always.

I began by asking him if he still repaired binoculars and he responded, as of old, "What kind?" Mine passed the test, and I'm ecstatic to be able to add them to my small shelf of "cleaned by Crista" binoculars.

By the way, where can get some of that "water (dried)" mentioned in Optic_Nut's 2015 post? It would be really useful for my aged muscles while backpacking . . .

Bob M.

Hi Bob,

But his english is much better than it was 7-8 years ago. He is an impressive guy!

Ed
 
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