Binoviewers Make The Moon Exciting Again - Models Reviewed & Questions Answered ( by

[@goe2112]

Outstanding video, thanks for your time. You have given me another accessory to pander for the next couple of months. Potential Xmas present to myself.

[@reflactor]

Thanks! They do make the Moon exciting again. Clear skies!

[@EvenTheDogAgrees]

@@reflactor We like the Moon! Yeah, I know you're old enough to get that reference. 😂

[@TheWackyRigger]

When I finally saw the third moon and was able to focus on it I was blown away, It’s similar to how vr feels, once I moved my focus, I could tune my eyes to see it clearly

[@reflactor]

It's really cool when you first see it. It's like, whoa!

[@TheWackyRigger]

@@reflactor thank you for showing us that

[@BA-cn3rk]

Thanks for this informative video. It will help a lot of newbies, like when I started out. I have that mid priced one (from a different company) and I have 2 of the very expensive models. WHY? Because I love binoviewers !! You get such a better view using both eyes. When you see M13 in my big Dob, well, words just can't describe the difference. When I have other people look through them, they say the same thing, WOW. Thanks for the work you put into all your helpful videos.

[@reflactor]

I look forward to using this on DSO's, but I'll have to wait until I go to a dark site. Here in DFW, the light pollution went from Bortle 7 to Bortle 8 over the span of about 3 years. I really can't find any DSO's worth seeing. M13 used to look amazing, but now it's just okay.

[@johngiromini5745]

1 million degrees; must be nice to be that cool temp over there; still freakin' hot here. Great presentation, including research and experimentation. Weather person said if one can make it pass next week, then the first freeze is just 90 days away. Maybe. It's a weather forecast. Even Vegas won't give you odds. Ciao!

[@reflactor]

Hahaha, it's amazing how the temperature can change over a distance of like 10 miles? Stay cool!

[@JoeJaguar]

Hey John, thanks for the video I did a basic video of Bino viewer back in 2019 I believe, but I’ve just basic information of what they are What I found is that in a sct type telescope, I have always found it to focus mind you I never tried it in a Mac, but I see yours, not work in a lot of the combinations I tried a couple different versions, a older 80s style high-end and then a synta style version In both of them, what I find hard is to merge the item into one image I thought maybe my first model which was a high-end, but maybe older model might’ve been misaligned and that’s where I bought the second one brand new, but I had the same result Doing a little get together with other people a lot of people were able to merge Saturn into one image but I find it extremely weird and I couldn’t do it. I think I gave up on these things. I do have good eyesight last time I checked I have a 1520 vision which is much better than a 2020. Maybe one day accompany will send me one to test and I’ll see if I can do it but normally I find it is the easiest to focus as it has about 30 to 40 turns of focus I had a lot of problems in refractors and reflectors as you mention Now the 140 mm askar triplet I have has a sliding barrel in the focus which is made for this type of accessory I still don’t know if I wanna buy one of these items though but thanks for the video

[@reflactor]

The first set I bought was the used William Optics which didn't work on any of my telescopes. Very frustrating. I made this video to help anybody who was at that level of frustration that I had been at. Hopefully, it saves people time and money. On my cheap pair of binos, I ran into the same issue of sometimes not getting images to merge. That's when I realized that the two focal tubes were out of alignment (cyclical). I had to rotate one and suddenly every 360 degrees it would be in alignment (but slightly out of focus).

[@JoeJaguar]

@@reflactor I hear you I don’t think I wanna buy a third pair to figure out. It doesn’t work with my eyes considering the second pair I bought was a brand new unit as well but yeah that’s what trial and errors is.

[@ziggyfrnds]

Great video mate! Thanks for sharing your views. I've tried the Williams optics binoviewers too, they did work in my dobsonian but only with a 2x Barlow. But it made using the dobsonian pretty difficult because the magnification became too high. I'll lookout for the Explore scientific ones, many new accessories aren't initially available in Australia where I live and shipping from USA is prohibitively expensive 😢

[@reflactor]

Sounds like we had the same experience. The 2X solves the problem, but then you're WAY zoomed in. Omegon, Orion, and Explore Scientiic all make clones of that parfocal binoviewer, so keep your eyes open on the used markets (or retail if they go on sale).

[@TheFlungpoo23]

Great video as all of your videos are! Wish I knew you were doing a video in Binos I’d have let you borrow my Denkmeier with the 21mm and 32mm 3D eyepieces. If you ever want to use them for a video just send me a message. Keep up the amazing work and videos. Clear skies 🔭❤️😎

[@reflactor]

The Denkmeier's fall into a level far above the Reflactor budget, lol. I've heard great things about them!

[@adcraziness1501]

@1:35 I would think that having binocular vision would give your brain a 3D effect even if the images are equal. The parallax effect of the distance between our eyes would be miniscule at the distances looking at even the moon. They are already, essentially, the same picture. But I think having additional cues such as the parallax effects of closer foreground objects gives our minds the info it needs to make it look "3D"

[@mihaisaiph1]

wow, nice :) first video on youtube where i actually see a real stereo image. i could easily focus, at arm's length, on the combined image. true representation of what you can see through a binoviewer. been looking through b.v. for almost 16 years now, and couldn't think of lunar and planetary observations otherwise :) while it's technically correct that a live view through a b.v. won't show an actual 3D / stereo image, the perception in the visual cortex makes it look real, and i'm able to pick up details that i simply cannot spot using one eye at a time.

[@reflactor]

I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to convey the cool view of a binoviewer. That was the best I could think of. I'm glad it worked!

[@akmclemore]

I always learn something new from your channel. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@reflactor]

Happy to help. Thank you for watching. Clear skies!

[@deepskymike767]

Thanks for another wonderful video! I may have to ‘look into’ these. I loved the blurred out description of the cheap set. Did the word begin with a C or S ? 😂 🇬🇧 clear skies.

[@reflactor]

I was actually "Balsa", lol. I thought that would be a funny medal for them to earn, but after a while realized it wasn't quite as funny. So I blurred it and the realized that was even better, lol.

[@DeadBen.]

Great video. Might have to keep those ES viewers in mind if I can ever stomach the cost. Celestron also has a set that they say uses 3.5” of back focus…and suggests that works with most SCT scopes. Hmmmm…

[@reflactor]

I was never a fan of the telescoping strut Dobsonians, but that would be a super simple fix to the backfocus problem. I'm trying to sell the cheaper binoviewers to help buy the Explore Scientific binoviewers. Fingers crossed!

[@craigsawyer6453]

Cool video, as always.

[@reflactor]

Thanks for watching!

[@ivolol]

Surely they let you 'test' it for a.. week? :D What space objects are these the best with? Or are they "equally applicable" to everything you could hope to look at?

[@reflactor]

The parfocal binos that I borrowed from Explore Scientific are part of their outreach program, so I had to get them back as soon as I was done. They told me that they are good for low magnification but I used them on the planets too and they worked fine for me (with 8mm Plossl eyepieces).

[@OldCurmudgeon3DP]

I have a "vintage" Selsi refractor that has a long draw tube. The problem is that 2/3 of its travel is always out of focus. It's almost like the main tube was cut a couple inches too long. I can't use a DSLR + diagonal as it needs several mm of inward travel beyond the stop.

[@reflactor]

That's unfortunate. In theory, you could shorten it, but that would be a lot of risky work. I would be too afraid of such a modification.

[@OldCurmudgeon3DP]

@@reflactor yeah, relocating the finder mount would be the hard part. Cutting the tube would be fairly easy. Then just 3 screws for the focuser assembly.

[@Tabby-nw5ne]

I had the arcturus cheap bino viewers since 2014 , they work great with the default nosepiece with skywatcher mak127 with 1.25" visualback. Eyepieces are 66 degree goldline 20mm clones of expanse. Almost sharp to the edge. Unfortunately the rubber coating got sticky in around 2 or 3 years which I tried to fix on one night and terrified me to set aside the hobby for a handful of years. My set can merge easily with my eyes but the 3 little securing pins on the focuser is bad out of the box. Prisms on mine are all purple single coat.

[@reflactor]

The purple makes since - I think that means they are the "fully coated optics", right? Not sure why one of mine is yellow. I love the goldline eyepieces!

[@ericbarnett6771]

You might try cannibalizing the nose piece from another EP. Use one that you know fits into your diagonal.

[@reflactor]

That is a good point. I have some SVBony's that have a Barlow on their front end.

[@briebel2684]

One thing people probably should know is that if you have an astigmatism in one eye and not the other, you will never get any binoculars or bino viewers to match up perfectly. So people like me might want to just stick with the mono view.

[@Vic-pz5oh]

I have a generic set that work fine with my mak.they will work on my refractors only if I use the Barlow's.dont work on my dobs at all.they came with 2x 30mm eyepieces.tried other eyepieces but can reach focus.clear skies Vic 🫡

[@reflactor]

Thank you, this is good to know!

[@jacob_90s]

There are eyepiece adapters you can get that let you focus an image by rotating the eyepiece. May be of some help here

[@briebel2684]

@@jacob_90s My binoculars have an adjustment knob, it doesn't help with astigmatism. What it will help with, is a slight difference in near/far sightedness.

[@dff19707]

Sadly, I don’t have stereo vision, but I suppose that the silver lining is that binoviewers are not a rabbithole that I’ll end up falling into.

[@reflactor]

I've shown the binoviewers to a few people who couldn't get the images to line up, so you're not alone in that regard.

[@misaelescobarruiz1193]

Muy buenos los visores binoculares yo tengo unos y guao impresionante

[@reflactor]

Gracias por el comentario. Me alegra saber que los binoviewers te están funcionando bien.

[@chrisruthford4492]

You're supposed to put the corrector or barlow in front of your diagonal.

[@reflactor]

I'll have to test that, but all of the correctors and barlows that came with the binoviewers had proprietary threads that wouldn't screw into the standard eyepiece threads. The 2X did, but that's because it came from a third party Barlow adapter.

[@janomacko5764]

I got into them this year too. I'm using a linear binoviewer for nebulae with O-III filter under bortle 6 city sky pretty often with 6 inch newtonian and 4 inch short achro refractor. Using both eyes really helps to detect North America or Pacman Nebula in my light polluted environment. Seeing double cluster in Perseus with both eyes is a great treat too. I bought also a classical type of binoviewer for planets because the linear binoviewer turned out to be not too good at high magnifications. So far I tested the classical one only on the double double in Lyra with my maksutov, and I was pleased with no visible loss in sharpness. I'm looking forward to planetary season during fall and winter.

[@reflactor]

I'm jealous of your Bortle 6 sky! Here in the big city, we're at a Bortle 8, so it's hard to see any DSO's.

[@janomacko5764]

@@reflactor Light pollution map puts me in red area, but I can still slightly see Milky Way on some good nights. The O-III filter still makes many things possible for me. Bortle 8 probably lets you to see some DSO's, but I can imagine it's no fun to look at them being heavily washed out. Also no chance to get full night adaptation of eyes.

[@MatthewHolevinski]

I have a 70's/80's? Baytronix microscope that is compound/stereo? but when you look through the eyepieces you get a double image like a prism or something is out of collimation, thanks now i'm re-invigorated to take it apart and start tinkering. :)

[@reflactor]

Sounds like an interesting project - let me know if you get them collimated!

[@michaelsamuell9377]

Did You find DSO more bright with these? I mean did You notice any difference when looking with both eyes?

[@reflactor]

That's a good question. The answer is I don't know. The light pollution here is so bad (Bortle 8) these days that I'm limited to mostly planets and the Moon. M13 used to look amazing about three years ago, but it's relatively hard to see now.

[@wayneyadams]

I lost the third image when I changed my focus. 😑

[@wayneyadams]

Why would the price be something you would say despite about? Favorites have nothing to do with price and that last one looks like it is crafted to higher standards. While the others look cheap it looks like a quality item. I would say it is worth saving up to buy.

[@reflactor]

That's an excellent way to look at it. As the old saying goes about paying more for a quality product - "Buy once, cry once."

[@AmatureAstronomer]

Nice.

[@edhunt6592]

Does anyone have a good source of info on true binocular telescopes and how the optics would be rigged? That is two identical OTAs parallel to each other with the eyepieces between them. I often see OTAs for sale and wonder about getting one similar to a tube I have and rigging them as binos.

[@EvenTheDogAgrees]

Hmm. That 3D question is kind of intriguing. Rationally, we can see that no, this does not produce a real 3D image, since both eyes see the exact same thing. Perhaps it's a trick of the mind? Our brains are wired to interpret images as 3D when viewed with both eyes, so they'll do the same when two independent, yet identical images are presented to the left and right eye? Although that phenomenon does not manifest itself when looking at a drawing or picture with both eyes. *sigh* Why do I watch your content right before bedtime. Now I'll be up all night pondering this nonsense... 😂

[@A0111.]

Easy - perhaps a little difference in eyes positioning over eyepieces (or little misalignment inside binoviewer) + pincushion aberration of eyepieces make this 3D effect

[@EvenTheDogAgrees]

@@A0111. Yeah, still weird though. Because our brains are wired to interpret stereoscopic view as 3D, but that's based in parallax between both eyes. Bino viewers don't have parallax though. Pincushion aberration is not the same. And I wouldn't dismiss it as merely placebo effect (which actually seems to have measurable real-world effects, despite it being "just between the ears"') or the "audiophile effect" where one would detect an improvement in their experience because otherwise their expense would turn out to be pointless in retrospect. Honestly, I'd expect this effect to be more pronounced with binoculars, as those actually have two separate light paths. Never noticed any "3D effect" with binoculars though.

[@A0111.]

@@EvenTheDogAgrees it's basically a fake parallax that made by inperfect optics. I have a pair of cheap glasses which produce a barely noticeable 3d effect e.g. when I read a book - lines of text look slightly bulged.

[@reflactor]

I think you're onto something - our brains want to see in 3D if we're using both eyes. You can definitely perceive more detail with both eyes.