Everything from planes to jets to birds in flight. Something about the way the two axis's are weighted or buffered to resist movement takes all the jerkiness out of my panning and tilting. Also the height adjustable head with a quick release on the elevator is a big help. Once the tripod is set up most of my height adjustments are made with the elevator and not the tripod legs, which really speeds things along. This is a very tall tripod. I'm 5' 11" and it gets high enough for near zenith viewing. As far as weight capacity goes, I've never had anything bigger on it than a short focal length 80mm refractor (FL480mm, 5pounds). At 40x it did just fine. I mostly use it for binoculars. If you've never had the experience of using a video head this is a good cheap way to test the waters. I'm really, really enjoying the tripod. Wished I had known about these things earlier.
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uilding on a Florida intercoastal waterway and I use these binoculars often to view boats and activities in the waterfront park. These binoculars are bright, clear, and easy to maneuver (on a tripod). The magnification is ideal for my needs. It's hard to believe that the price is so competitive with the Celestron because these are SIGNIFICANTLY better, in my opinion. And it's very reassuring that it's impossible to receive a lemon (if there is such a thing at Oberwerk) because someone checks and tests each product with their own eyes before shipping with a hand-marked quality checklist. In my case, it was filled out by the owner/founder himself, even though I had purchased their lowest-priced 20x80 model. Remarkable in this day and age.
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I am pleasantly surprised! Field of view: The contrast is perfect, the edge is clear, I did not notice any chromatic aberrations. Distorted, trailing stars like comets in the last 10% this is normal OK. The focuser is a little hard or does not grip well with my fingers, but this is subjective. I definitely do not regret making this choice and upgrading from Nikon 10x50. I recommend it with both hands :) Linda - thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping me with the order. Cloudless evenings to everyone!
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sting eyepieces allow for quick eye relief adjustment and the focus dial is ergonomic and well-made. Clear and sharp images. Just wide enough for my interpupillary distance - so watch that if you're on the wide side. I've been watching birds and the ability to focus at short distances is also very useful.(10x42 Sport ED)
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nd these work fine for me in terms of the exit pupil and eye relief. I highly recommend them. And you cannot beat the price.
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Sky Watcher AZ GTi goto mount for the refractor but sometimes I honestly prefer using the Oberwerk tripod for learning the night sky on my own and the simplicity of non-electronic stargazing. I would highly recommend upgrading to the Smallrig DH-10 if you ever plan on going bigger than 80mm. I wish I did that myself. The 5000 head that it comes with has been perfect for my 80mm but I'll have to upgrade it if I ever get a larger refractor.
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all, I can say that I was very happy overall with the BT-120XL. The telescope is mounted on an iOptron HAZ31, attached via an iOptron mini-pier to an old 2” iOptron heavy duty tripod. I have a ZWO guide camera plus an ASI678 camera and an ASIAir+ attached to the Picatinny rail of the BT, which I use to plate solve and then choose objects for go-to performance. The whole setup worked flawlessly. I would select a target, the mount would slew to it, take an image, plate solve and make any necessary corrections, and the object would be centered. I started out using the Oberwerk 14mm 70º eyepieces that come with the telescope, and the first object was Jupiter. At 48X the view was spectacular. I could see the two cloud bands, as well as the three visible moons. It was sharp and contrasty. I was very impressed by the OB eyepieces. They were much better than I had expected/feared - definitely not a cheap & cheerful throwaway set shipped for free with the binoculars. Next I tried my Astro Tech 10mm UWA’s. At first I was not happy, as I had difficulty for the first time merging the images from each eyepiece. I tried rotating the eyepieces but this did not fix the problem. A bit frustrated, I moved on to my TV 7mm Naglers. The views through them were simply fantastic! Crisp, sharp, and high contrast. Just lovely. I then moved on to M81 and M82, using the OB 14 mms. I was quite pleased to get them both in the field of view and again, quite clear. Of course, they weren’t detailed, but they were definitely better than just “faint smudges”. Did I mention that I really like those OB 14mm’s? I tried, and found M51 and M101, but the views were a bit compromised by the fact that I didn’t have a clear view towards the NorthEast, with some tree branches in the way. I went back to Jupiter and simply basked in its glory! And yes, I really like the OB 14mm’s. From there it was Cluster time. M37 was beautiful, if a little dim, in the 14mm’s. I moved to the 7mm Naglers and it was a revelation, as the extra magnification really helped. What a beautiful sight that cluster is. I decided to give the Astro Tech’s another chance and this time I had absolutely none of the merging difficulties that i had earlier when viewing Jupiter. The view was clear and sharp, and my opinion of them was transformed. I moved on to the Beehive, Starfish, and Pinwheel clusters and in each case the experience with M37 was repeated. I started with the OB 14mm’s, moved to the AT 10’s and then on to the TV Nagler 7’s. All of them were just beautiful. Finally I went to M67. It didn’t matter which of the eyepiece sets I used, i was struck by the 3D nature of the view. It was as if the cluster was just hanging there in the sky, and i felt as if i could just reach out and touch it. It was that tangible! Compared to the views through my friend’s 8” SCT, what i gave up in magnification I more than gained in “crispness/sharpness” and the 3D effect of using both eyes. I spent quite a while just feasting my eyes on that beautiful cluster. After packing up and while driving home i had the opportunity to reflect on the evening and the equipment. The BT-120XL-SD rocks. I am really so very happy with it. Yes, it is big, but that’s a feature, not a flaw. It is not light, but I can manage it. It is beautiful. The finish is absolutely flawless. The binocular effect, binocular summation, or whatever you want to call it is, in my opinion, real, or appears to be, which to me is the same practical thing. I am really happy that I gave the AT 10mm’s a second chance, as they worked flawlessly the second time around and on all the clusters. I have no idea why i had such difficulty on first use with Jupiter. The 7mm Nagler’s were outstanding. And, did I mention that I really liked the OB 14mm’s? Finally, I think that the binoculars can easily handle more magnification than the 96X than I get with the 7mm Nagler. I’m going to have to consider a set of 4-5mm eyepieces. I did not look through my 24mm ES 68º tonight, so I’ll have to see if I really need that wide a field (28X) All in all, a great evening with a great Binocular Telescope. The Oberwerk BT-120XL-SD has made me fall in love with visual astronomy again!.
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he 6.5x32 explorers.keep up the good work.the
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nt out in the backyard planning to look at a few things , but when I looked up through the XL100i was blown away I've never seen so many stars. With naked eyes maybe a hundred, with the binos thousands and thousands. I can't wait to get to a dark sky site. Well worth every penny, great product
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