One of the things that separates these binos from the average large Chinese import is the rugged all-aluminum body, not thermoplastic. It also contributes to the weight! Things are coming together on the final design for the heavy-duty paralellogram for the 25x100mm unit- I have just about all of the details worked-out, , so hopefully at least a couple of prototypes will be ready by Messier Marathon time. If so, I'll shoot one out to SPOC for Patrick to test-drive. M13 is fantastic through these binos, as is just about any patch of the Milky Way. And BTW, the moon won't be a problem this year. New moon (and a total solar eclipse - not visible from North America) is on the 29th.
From: Patrick Wiggins <paw@trilobyte.net>
The binos arrived today. Chuck was right. They are VERY heavy for their size. I thought they would not be that much heavier than my 11x80s. Wrong! Neither of my camera tripods are stiff enough to hold them steady so I guess a new tripod is in my immediate future. But despite the wiggles the views of the Moon and Saturn (Titan and gaps between the planet and rings easily visible) are very sharp with just a little color.
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