"brucegooglegroups" wrote
Anyone use binoviewers with a Dob?

I've experience with a TeleVue Binoviewer in a 12.5" Meade Starfinder. Its
excellent for planets, globular clusters, and any other bright object that
can fit in a small field of view.

To reach focus, the scope was operating at F10 with a 2x barlow (a little
over 3000mm focal length). Not a wide field setup. At F5 native, you'd have
to get a small aperture scope to get wide fields.

Segway....
I now have an Orion binoviewer that I use with the 400mm focal length AT66ED
(effectively 800mm focal length with paired 20mm eyepieces and the 2x
barlow, making a 40x binocular with single 66mm objective). It's a nice
little setup for looking at the moon with both eyes open, or for poking
around a dark sky looking for the messier objects ("survey").

I'm pretty sure I could have gotten actual binoculars that would beat the
performance for less money, but I like the little APO and the right angle
viewing of a diagonal mirror with a small, solid altazimuth mount (rather a
larger complex mount w/counterweights you'd need for a 40x bino).

Later,
StevePaul