Chinese Binoculars. My first pair. Have you tried one?

[thegaunlet]

Hello,

I'm new to this forum. Found it while looking for some information about stargazing in Singapore.

Recently got interested im stargazing. Surprisingly even in this weather I can see quite a number w my naked eye. Saw Centarus and Crux out of my bedroom window.

I've always had an interest in things Made in China purely because I've a tight budget. I find if you know how to look, you can save alot of money while not necessarily scrimp on quality.

I bought a 10x50 Binoculars from Taobao. It's called Asika W4 10x50. (http://www.shuntuoutdoor.com/showpro.asp?id=402)
I got it for SGD$115 inclusive of shipping, although I later found that I couls have gotten one at SGD$85 from another seller with better front lens caps.

These are my first pair of what is mid range binoculars to me. It comes with a soft case, good rear lens caps, terrible front lens caps (which I'll be getting better ones for), simple cloth and a nice neoprene strap.

Everything is very basic. But the binoculars look well made and as I find it to be really clear although I've nothing to compare it with. Supposedly nitrogen filled and waterproof.

There's already information on Chinese binoculars and their standards going around the interwebs. Apparently Chinese Bak4 isn't Schott Bak4 and interestingly Chinese Bak7 might be Schott Bak4 (in specs).

Very interesting stuff.

Went to Punggol Waterway Park with the bino and managed to star hop quite well. Start from the brighter Jupiter, Mebsuta, Pollux and Castor and hopped on to the stars around them not able to see with the naked eye. Quite satisfied really. Hope to join some of the events and see how the alphas look like.

Ordered a 8x42 for SGD$110 (http://www.shuntuoutdoor.com/showpro.asp?id=419) supposedly having phase coating and silvered prisms. Will update when I receive and try them out.

Will get some pictures uploaded to Flickr.

Clear Skies

[Gary]

Hi thegaunlet. Welcome to the hobby and the forum!

I have seen fellow member bornfree's made-in-japan Vixen binoculars. Very bright views and good eye relief.

It is still possible to enjoy binocular astronomy in Singapore. Just need to have the patience for clear enough nights. Pleiades, Hyades and Kemble's Casacade look awesome through a binocular.

Do check out the Observations and Events forum and join local stargazing sessions. Sometimes we deploy binoculars too (e.g. 25x100 big binoculars).

For the free Friday public stargazing sessions at Science Centre Observatory, they have quality Fujinon handheld binoculars. You may want to bring yours there to do a comparison.

Good luck and clear skies!

[thegaunlet]

Hi thegaunlet. Welcome to the hobby and the forum!

I have seen fellow member bornfree's made-in-japan Vixen binoculars. Very bright views and good eye relief.

It is still possible to enjoy binocular astronomy in Singapore. Just need to have the patience for clear enough nights. Pleiades, Hyades and Kemble's Casacade look awesome through a binocular.

Do check out the Observations and Events forum and join local stargazing sessions. Sometimes we deploy binoculars too (e.g. 25x100 big binoculars).

For the free Friday public stargazing sessions at Science Centre Observatory, they have quality Fujinon handheld binoculars. You may want to bring yours there to do a comparison.

Good luck and clear skies!

Hi Gary,

Thanks for the introduction. Yes I intend to borrow some books on stargazing with binoculars as some have recommended on the forum. For now I use Google Sky Map, SkyEye and had a quick go at Stellarium (they also have an app but it's a paid app :X). Perhaps I shall try the basic method of using a Star Chart and not be too reliant on too modern a convenience like a mobile phone.

Yes I will try to join the sessions. You guys are doing a great job with the sidewalk sessions. Really opens up people's perspectives. They're all up there in the sky whether we take notice or not. I find it quite therapeutic, relaxing and exciting to stargaze.

Cool, will give them a go at Science Centre!

Thanks again Gary!

[cloud_cover]

Hello and welcome to the forum!
Binoculars are a great way to start astronomy and in Singapore they can be quite amazing because to look through a decent pair is to see so many more stars than we can with just our naked eyes!
Punggol is still a nice place to view from because there are places where its relatively dark still, until all the HDB flats come online.
If you're panning the southern constellations, I'd encourage you to pan west (right, facing south) from the Crux (Southern cross) to the very beautiful star fields of the Carina Nebula. Well visible in 50mm binos on a clear night will be the Pearl Cluster next to the crux itself, the open cluster of X Car, Lambda Centauri Cluster, Southern Pleiades (aka Vathorz Posterior) and of course the star clusters of the Eta Carina nebula itself. They are very, very beautiful on a binos because most of the stars are bright stars (hence visible) and they are big objects so the wide field of view of the binos compared to a telescope is very desirable.
Ironically while I have a rant about the Nikon Action Ex, it still remains my most-used optics of all (even compared with a 4" APO and a 14" Dob) by virtue of the fact that it lives in my back seat so anytime I'm out at night and the skies are beautiful but I can't run home and fetch my equipment, I just whip it out and start stargazing. Even during telescope- nights, its still very useful to scan the sky and locate targets.
Looking at the specs of the chinese binos, they look quite impressive with good eye relief and airtight optics (means no internal fungus - an important point if they don't live in a dry box). Do let us know how they perform, especially in the area of field curvature (i.e. do the edges look distorted) and sharpness of focus (do stars look like pin-points of light or are they smeared out)