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REVIEW OF STRATHSPEY 25X100, 45DEGREE TELESCOPE BINOCULARS/ HELICAL FOCUSERS WITH INTER-CHANGEABLE 1.25 EYEPIECES.

Received the above binoculars in April 2005. John had delivered them before I had paid for them. There is not much change from £1,000. I admire the trust. They came in three different packages and all at the same delivery time. The standard of packaging was excellent and there was nothing bashed or bruised.

Package 1:- Large wooden tripod, extremely well made and very steady.

Package 2. :- Large metal horseshoe mount, attractive champagne finish.

Package 3:- Huge trolley case containing the binoculars, finder scope, ( champagne finish) two sets of eyepieces (25x and 40x) and small metal table stand.

Again the standard of packaging was very good.

BASIC SET UP TO CHECK ALL PARTS WERE THERE AND FUNCTIONING IN DAYLIGHT

The mount fixed solidly to the tripod. On attempting to attach the finder scope to the binoculars I found that the wrong bolts had been supplied. This was an oversight from the manufacturer and I brought this to John's attention. It was not too difficult to obtain two suitable bolts for the attachment and the finder scope was soon in place. The finder scope does align with the binos.

The binoculars are very heavy (26lb) but with the carrying handle in position they were easy to attach to the mount fitting and screwed into position. (Even in the dark.) There was slight play between the fixing plate of the mount and the dovetail on the binoculars even with the screw clamp up tight. A thin metal shim fixed that problem.

FITTING THE EYEPIECES

Two metal screw off/on dust covers protect the prisms. These are well engineered The two 25x eyepieces are large but not heavy. The coatings did not appear very colourful and in fact were quite clear.

To fit the eyepieces one just plugs them into the focusers. This has proved to be slightly annoying as the left hand focuser is at a slightly different tolerance than the right and it takes a firm effort to insert the eyepiece. This may prove a difficulty in the colder nights as the receptors will tighten even more. On contacting John he suggested that I might use a very light lubricant or as Big Binoculars suggested , a silicone wax. I have tried other 1.25 eyepieces eg. Tal. Most of them fit. Meade eyepieces are a perfect fit.

DAYTIME VIEWING

Collimation appears to be very good. 25x eyepieces. Observing trees and wildlife 100 yards distance from back garden. The right eye view did not snap into focus as good as the left eye view. My eyesight is very good for being over 60 and I don't require glasses. I could clearly see the veins of each individual leaf on the trees and the birds seemed to sitting on the front of the binoculars. The 40x brought excellent detail of various objects.

NIGHT TIME VIEWING

This was the main purpose of my purchase. My home location is not so good with light pollution and intruding buildings and our summer time was starting.

FIRST VIEWS OF THE MOON.

With the 25x on quarter moon was like looking at a lunar training manual. Though not a huge image, the detail was very good and very little false colour. I was pleasantly surprised. With the 40x. the detail again was very good and I must have spent 30 mins looking at one crater. The mountain ranges had far more 3d than my Tal 200k scope. Again very little false colour.

STARS AND STAR FIELDS.

Again, even with poor viewing conditions the binoculars came into their own and I was treated to large vistas of glorious sky. M36, 37,38, 44,51,81, 82, 13, 92 various parts of the Milky Way.

PLANETS.

Jupiter and its moons were reasonable with two bands clearly defined on the planet. Saturn was good with the broad ring and the ball of the planet in good definition. I actually used two TAL barlows2x and this added to the magnification but not great detail.

SUMMARY

These binoculars are excellent for day time viewing and star fields and the Moon. Planetary observation is reasonable. The comfort of the 45 degree focusers and the use of two eyes make them a treat to use. On the mount and tripod supplied they are as steady as a rock. In spite of the minor problems as stated above I am looking forward to the real dark nights coming in to really give these binos a more thorough test. I am sure that there are great treats and delights in store.

I am not connected to Strathspey Binoculars and these are my personal comments.

Derrick McCourt