Bresser Spezial
Astro SF 15x70 binoculars
No-nonsense bright binoculars that are ideal for a variety of astro observations
Apair of 15x70 binoculars occupies a useful astronomical niche. When they are mounted they show substantially more detail and depth than smaller handheld binoculars, but they can also, if necessary, be handheld for short periods as well. Naturally, as the Bresser Spezial Astro SF 15x70 binoculars are a new entrant to that niche, they grabbed our attention.
The Spezial Astro SF 15x70s come in a rugged woven nylon case, with a padded neoprene neck strap, tethered objective lens caps, attachable rain guard-type eyepiece covers, microfibre cleaning cloth and an instruction leaflet. The aluminium body is covered with a ribbed rubber armour and has a converter bush for a tripod adaptor (not included) at the objective end of the hinge. The hinge moves smoothly, with enough resistance to prevent it from sagging when the binoculars are mounted, but not so much as to make it difficult to adjust. The individual eyepiece focusers are also smooth, but less stiff than the hinge, so you can focus the mounted binoculars without affecting the interpupillary distance (the distance between the pupils of your eyes). The eyepieces can be folded down if you observe with spectacles, and you can see the entire field of view without pushing your glasses against the eyepieces.
Using a bright torch to examine the inside of the binoculars, we noted that the prisms are secured in proper cages and that the insides of the objective tubes are ribbed in order to reduce stray light and combat spurious reflections.
Moon and stars test
We tested the Spezial Astro SF 15x70s under good suburban skies, mounted on either a parallelogram mount or a monopod and trigger-grip, in addition to a few brief handheld excursions. We found it easy to obtain a precise focus on our first target, a first quarter Moon. With either the terminator or the limb in the middle of the field of view, false colour was barely perceptible, and it was only at the periphery