Posts Made By: Erik Lin

This is true. However, right now Bill and Tammy are THE operation. We all want to talk to Bill when we call; We want him to test EVERY pair of our binos throughly; We want our emails answered promptly; We want our 6in APO for $999! We want another new Burgess toy for next week......You get the picture.

I think things will improve as Bill get more foucsed on his projects. He has already posted this week that he will focus his APO development to the 5 in for now. In the mean time we can help by getting our new product ideas under control and let the guy sleep once a while. We can also post specific product questions on this and the Yahoo group if it's about a model already in production. For example, someone measured the Burgess 80 LW on his digital fish scale for me right after I posted the question. I am sure other owners of BurgessOptics will be happy to do the same


Erik D

If you have a budget for the Tak and Zeiss you could consider the Miyauchi 20X77mm available from the host of Astromart for $1,015. The size is bigger but you will be able to see more DSOs. The 77mm size can be handled by a good fluid head such as the Bogen 3063 or 501 head.

I have 10X40, 12X60 and 20X80mm binos. In my experience the gain of moving up from 60 to 80mm is much more dramatic than from 40 to 60mm.

Erik D

Thomas,

For astronomy I like to use at least 10X50 size. The extra 3X and 5mm exit pupil is better for locating DSOs from sites with light pollution. Orion has an inexpensive pair. The Outsider model is an EWA model with 7.6 deg FOV and 17.8 mm eyerelief. It should be OK with your glasses. The Outsider is fully coated, not FMC and I expect less than perfect edge performance. One the other hand, price is less than $60 and the EWA should be a big plus for star hopping.

If you want to try one size up from 10X50s you can consider the 11X56 Mini Giants. Oberwerk has a pair for $99 with 6 deg FOV and 19mm eye relief. Both Oberwerk and Orion have excellent return policy if you are not completely satisfied.

ERik D

Eduardo:

I am not familiar with the Celestron SkyMaster. Does this model have an attached mounting platform? Orion and ProOptics both carried 25X100 *Ultra* Giants till about a year ago. I believe both were made by Vixen of Japan because the photos look almost identical. I must have purchased one of the last ProOptics 25X100s last year for $900. The ProOptics is no longer listed on the Adorama web site but a review article is available on CloudyNights with photos. If the Celestron Sky master is another private label variation then $345 is an excellent price. The only issue with the ProOptics/Orion 100mm is the short 10mm eye relief. It's not sufficient if you wear glasses.

The Burgess 25X100 for $299 is an exceptional value. There are quite a few posts by Kimball here during the last few weeks. The only consideration is the size and weight(~10 lbs) The 20X80 LW() models from Oberwerk and Burgess are also 'Best Buys' in 80mm size. The Oberwerk LW is listed as having an extra 3mm eyerelief(Burgess=13mm) and Broadband mulit-coat for $50 more than the Burgess. Someone posted on another forum a few days ago that the Burgess 80 LW is out of stock for 5-6 weeks. I believe Oberwerk 80mm LW is in stock.

The 80mm LW models are about 1/3 the weight of the Burgess 25X100. 20X80s will also give you a bigger FOV for open clusters.

The Orion 30X80 Megaview has very nice mechanical design but I would not recommend it because of the narrow 2.3 deg FOV and price. For $500 you can buy a 20X80 LW AND the Burgeess 25X100 and still have money left towards a tall tripod. I have the Orion 20X80 regular giants and Burgess LW myself. The Burgess 80mm LW is as good as my $400 Orions but 2 lbs lighter!

Erik D

That's a beautiful piece of equipment! Nice black anodized mount too. I'd very interested in reading your review.

While you are waiting for the skies to clear and the new moon, perhaps you can share the decsion making process with us. For example, is the ability to swithch to higher power EPs and the nice finder more desirable to you? With the announcement of the 20/40X 45 deg Miyauchii clone from APM/Burgess/Oberwerk we will soon have more choices in 100mm binos. I think discussing the pros and cons of each design will be of interest to many on this forum.

Erik D

Danny:

Any chance of getting a better look at your Oberwerk 100mm binocsope? I'd be intereested in a few shots showing the tripod and mount.

Erik D

Larry:

I have the 14" Lasmandy male dovetail plate with 7" Parallax rings for my 6"F8. A hole had to be drilled in the center of each Parallax ring for attaching the ring to the Losmandy plate. I purchased everyting including the Giro-2 DX alt az mount, Losmandy female bracket and counter weights from ITE. I asked Bill to arrange drilling and tapping of the necessary holes to match. Price is a bit higher than buying a la carte but everything worked when they finally arrived many weeks later.

You need to find a machine shop to drill and tap the rings to match the center mounting holes of the Losmandy plate. Another alternative is to drill and counter sink the four holes on the Losmandy plate the match the holes on the rings. I think the second solution is better for you since your scope is longer and heavier than my. I'd have prefer having two screws holding each ring instead of one. Hope that helps.

Erik D

PS. You have a great scope. What kind of tripod do you plan to use? There are few few tripods tall enough for such a long tube.

Orion has the new SkyView Pro EQ mount. Weight is 23.5 lbs including the tripod. A 4.5 and & 7 lb counter weights are included for about $320. The Orion EQ-2 mount is only $149 but I am not sure of it's quality.

Have you considered a good Alt-Az mount for visual use? I think either the Giro mini or Unistar Light should handle your 6 lb scope just fine. I took delivery of the Giro-2 deluxe last week. The Giro-2 weighs less than five pounds. I mounted my 6"F8( 26 lbs, ~60" long) on one side and 24 lbs of counter weight to balance. The mount tracks smoothly at over 200X! It's a very simple design with amazing load capability.

Erik D

Yes. This model looks like the ones offered by APM, Burgess Optical except for the finish. There may be silight difference in coating(Fully coated, FMC, broadband MC, etc)Oberwerk has a 22X100 model with center focus and 3.8 deg FOV!($399) The others have IF. In comparion most 20X80s have 3.5 deg FOV. My 25X100 ProOptics is only 2.6 degs.

Erik D

All three are very similar. I purchased 2 20X80 LW from Burgess and am very happy with the customer service. APM is well know astro equipment supplier but they are based in Germany. Check the Astro bino forum for(about 20 May) for a comparsion between the Burgess and Apogee 25X100.( almost no difference)'

You may want to consider the Oberwerk 22X100 as well. It's essentially the same design butat 22X with 3.8 deg FOV, with Center Focus and broadband multi coating. I think both the APM and Burgess models are IF. Price of the Oberwerk 22X100 is $395.

Erik D