FIRST LIGHT
placed centrally we saw the Moon surrounded by a crisp-edged ghost image. These phenomena were not visible with Vega. Stars looked sharp over most of the field of view, with some field curvature, astigmatism and coma affecting the edge. With the binoculars mounted, we could split Albireo in Cygnus into its two components (separated by 34 arcseconds) but only in the central half of the field. The brighter of its stars appeared yellowish, while the fainter one looked white. Colour rendition is quite good, and we found we could distinguish the colours of the three brightest stars of the Meissa Cluster (Lambda, Phi1 and Phi2 Orionis), even with a 60%-lit gibbous Moon only 20° away.
The brighter deep-sky objects were easily visible through these binoculars, as was Neptune. Open clusters such as IC 1805 leapt out of the surrounding Milky Way. The Dumbbell Nebula, M27 in Vulpecula, appeared as a tiny elongated cloud, easily distinguishable from stars. Large asterisms, such as the Coathanger (Collinder 399), Kemble’s Cascade and Eddie’s Coaster were comfortably framed in the 5.6° field.
It is difficult to see how Opticron could deliver a better pair of entry-level, roof-prism binoculars at this price: they have a robust feel, yet are lighter and more comfortable to use than equivalent Porroprism binoculars, while the nitrogen filling and the multi-stage twist-up eye cups are usually only found on more expensive instruments. Phase coatings would have improved the crispness and the colour rendition, but at a price. This could be an ideal first instrument if you are dipping your toes into binocular astronomy: it is good enough to give you a taste of the delights of this side of astronomy, and is also suitable for terrestrial interests.