Are my binos going dark or what?

chrisyeo · Post by **chrisyeo** » Fri Oct 10, 2003 1:47 am

You know, my binos used to show up many stars rather clearly. I asked my dad how he cleans them and he said use a spectacle cloth and so I did. After that, everything appears to be so much dimmer!

Did I really damage the lens or is the stars just that much dimmer these few weeks?

gwenyi · Post by **gwenyi** » Fri Oct 10, 2003 6:30 am

there are a couple of possible reasons

1. the condition of the sky is not as ideal as ur previous attempt
2. ur father might have damaged the coatings of the bino after cleaning the lenses with the spec cloth

i am just listing the possible reasons...

chrisyeo · Post by **chrisyeo** » Fri Oct 10, 2003 9:07 am

That's pretty obvious! That's exactly what I said!

Maybe I should rephrase my question:

I'm afraid I damaged my bino coating, but please tell me that its just the weather.

To bino owners: have you ever cleaned your binos with cloth? Is it really possible to make images dim down so drastically through wiping?

Post by **weixing** » Fri Oct 10, 2003 10:19 am

Hi,
If really dim drastically, it should be the weather - Quite hazy lately.

I seldom clean my telescope/bino optics (lens and eyepiece) and I advice you don't clean the telescope/bino optics unless it is really bad. If really need to clean it, you should use extreme care. If the optics got dust, use a camera blower to blow away the dust and use a camera len cleaning brush to brush away the dust gently. If need to clean the optics (got finger print and etc), I use a LenPen after I blow and brush the dust away - never use the lenpen when still have dust on the len, it may scratch the len surface.
Most importance is to take care your bino/telescope, never use your finger to touch your scope optics - the oil on your finger will kill the optics coating.
Hope the above information helps...

JY · Post by JY » Fri Oct 10, 2003 11:57 am

I have cleaned my binos countless times (before learning that I should not have), don't worry, you very likely have not damaged them.

It is the $#%^& weather which is responsible.

Cheers

Jean-Yves

IceAngel · Post by **IceAngel** » Fri Oct 10, 2003 12:04 pm

learn something new everything.. ok.. now i know how to take care the optic lense liao

Grievous · Post by **Grievous** » Fri Oct 10, 2003 4:20 pm

Seems like tonight's weather could be good, gonna test out my new finder-bracket and refocus my binos.

Charlie

chrisyeo · Post by **chrisyeo** » Sat Oct 11, 2003 12:14 am

Haha, thanks Jean-Yves, I'm actually relieved to hear that!

chrisyeo · Post by **chrisyeo** » Thu Oct 16, 2003 12:53 am

I brought my binos out tonight, and the stars jumped out at me!

Can't imagine how therapeutic it is to see those pinpoints of light! Enjoyed great views of Orion, Taurus, Pleides and the Moon.

So it was the ^%$weather and not my binos after all!

Dark skies everyone!

IceAngel · Post by **IceAngel** » Thu Oct 16, 2003 9:07 am

last night, i use my bino to see the stars at my room window.. i think i saw the Orion..

first i onli see 2 Orion stars without bino.. then when i use my bino, 4-5 stars (i think fainter stars) pop out... is really cool..