TheSkySearchers

I owned 3 pairs of binoculars, a very compact pair of Pentax 8x25mm(for travel), a larger pair of Orion 9x63mm(for astro) and a very old pair of German Carl Hoffer 7x35mm(my general purpose). The binoculars I use most are the 7x35mm. I use them at the start of a session for polar alignment and for grab and glance use during the night. I was always very happy with the Carl Hoffer binos, until I looked through a pair of Bushnell Forge 10x42mm's belonging to my friend Phil @scribbly.

The Forge binoculars were soooo much sharper, more contrasty and clear. Phil and his partner Marg do a lot of birdwatching and the binos are actually Marg's but they find their way to my place when Phil comes for a visit. Comparing those to the Hoffers showed just how old the acromatic optical design was. Thanks Phil

I considered buying a pair of Forge's or even the next model down, the Bushnell Edge. I also looked at some bigger, Pentax and GPO binoculars. But given my much lower level of use, I didn't want to outlay around $800 for a pair of the Forge binos or $1400 for the Pentax or GPO's.

I recently settled on and bought a pair of S.V. Bony 202 10x42 ED binoculars 2nd hand for AUD95 (USD60). Here's a link to the new model on Amazon:-
https://www.amazon.com.au/SVBONY-Waterp ... B07XSH4ZJN
The lens and eyepiece covers stay with the binoculars making them easy to keep and use. Using the covers, stops the lenses fogging up during the evening. The clever retainer straps prevent them being lost or dropped on the ground.

My purchase was influenced by this review which rates the binoculars very highly:
https://neilenglish.net/product-review- ... 02-8-x-42/

The pair I received are possibly sub-par to those in the review although with my eyesight having some astigmatism, I can't be sure. Like the author I find the views sharp and contrasty in the centre 70% of the 7.5 degree field with the image gradually falling out of focus in the outer 30%. Nonetheless, that's a perfectly acceptable 5 degree wide sharp FOV with a degree of fall off all round.

Jupiter appears as a clear disk with Galilean satellites visible. The Moon is clear, sharp and crater detail clear. A tiny bit of blue(left) yellow(right) fringing is visible but minor and not objectionable. Deep sky objects show up against dark sky and stars are sharp.

They are solidly made, waterproof and very good value for money. I suspect you could spend a lot more for not much improvement in image quality.

Since receiving the binoculars, I have not had an opportunity to compare them with @scribbly's Forge binoculars. I don't think they compete with the Forge but at 1/4 the price they may make an excellent all purpose pair to suit the budget conscious buyer. They also make a 50mm binocular in the same series which I have not looked through but if the 42mm's are any guide should also be a very good buy. The GPO 10x56mm binoculars I looked at (during daytime) in the shop gave a superb image of a point specular reflection of the sun but cost 7x more.

Joe Cali

Thanks for the info I also have many Binos , my best is 7x50 old , Jap made binos no name on , they must be 50 odd years old but work well for me , others are 20x70 celestron , only tripod use,, 10x50 bushnell and also 10x25 pentax

Nice review Joe. That's a great price for ED binos.

thx for the report .

Joe,
yes the Bushnell Forge's (10x42) are excellent; very very sharp, and absolutely no CA even when lunar observing. Saturn has an oblique shape, albeit the rings can't be resolved. Observing wise, I get them out pretty frequently: observing larger DSOs, cruising the MW, and practising star hopping. We will need to compare when I next visit :-)

Ours are mostly used for bird watching and we do appreciate the 10x. Most of the serious bird-watchers we know use Bushnells.

I did once look through a pair of Swarovski binos whilst on a walk. I didn't think it possible but there was a noticeable difference (brighter and sharper), though the were 4x the price of the Bushnells, and like Joe do not feel the need to invest that much on binoculars. Now on a telescope with great optics, the evidence is I would spend the $ uplift - go figure?

Phil

My most used binos are Celestron 15x70s though admittedly they might have a slight collimation issue. I have lifted up the rubber housing to see the set screws but haven't really had the courage to adjust them as I don't want to make it worse.