Miyauchi 60mm binoculars

Has anyone had any experience using the miyauchi 60mm, 45 degree binoculars. I am thinking of buying a pair and would like to hear opinions. Also, opinions of other angled binocular in the 50mm to 80mm range would be great. My goal is to find something that I can mount on a standard photo tripod.

Thanks
Ray

Ray - One thing to consider is interchangeable eyepieces when buying. I dont believe this is possible on the Miyauchi 60mm. Im still testing the new Miyauchi 71mm f/8. Watch for further posts on them. JW

Hello Ray,


Some months ago, I've bought a Miyauchi 15x60-45degrees binocular. Here follows a short report of my first experience with this binocular. Maybe this can help you in your decision.

Stars are pinpoint sharp across the entire field. Only at the very edge stars show some distortion (flaring). A lot of Messier objects can be seen with this binocular, and some of them look very impressive. (e.g. x en h Persei, I looked more than a half hour to it)
The view of the moon is quite spectacular, with no color when the binocular is properly focused. When the binocular is out of focus, color is present. Planets is a different story. Till now, I was not able to have decent views of Mars, Jupiter and Saturnus. But this may be due to the seeing (not stable enough). Jupiter and his four moons can be seen very easily, but Jupiter itself was a bit dissapointing. I'll try again when seeing is better.

The biggest advantage of this binocular is the 45 degrees viewing resulting in a steady image which makes you see a lot more detail. I've put the binocular (approx. 2 kg) on a photo tripod and can observe objects easily to 70 degrees height. One can use it also for daytime viewing (birds) which I did several times with beautifull views.
The binocular has disadvantages too. It is not suited for tracking satellites and one needs a tripod. And 60mm aperture has its limits.

By the way, the oculars can be changed. Miyauchi sells a pair of 22x oculars, but they are not cheap. Image quality with the 22x oculars is not that good as with the 15x oculars, expecially the edge sharpness.

For me, this binocular is a keeper. Compared with a Zeiss Victory 10x40, it gives you some more color and dimmer views, but its price and comfortable views make up for that.


Regards,

Jeroen