Opticron 30189 Oregon WA 10x50 Binocular, Black

Good stargazing binoculars. Recommended. Have used them many times, to see star clusters, the recent comets, marvel at the stars. Solid build, optics are good.

I purchased these binoculars to supplement my astronomical telescopes which by their very nature only provide a narrow field of view. These binoculars are excellent for wide field astronomy Their light gathering is excellent with very good colour rendition and objects appear sharp across the majority of the view. Clarity is excellent for this price level with fine detail of the Orion nebula observed under semi rural skies. They're reasonably light to hold and also have the required thread to enable use of a tripod ( adaptor purchased separately ) They feel robust with caps provided for both primary and eye lenses. These binoculars represent amazing value and are a welcome addition to any astronomy kit. I highly recommend them.

This Oregon porro prism binocular is a relatively new model by opticron and availability of decent porro prism binoculars is becoming scarcer.. I'm not new to porro's, i have a few made in Japan from the dark ages but wanted to test out this new binocular and compare it with a modern roof prism 10x42 ( the very capable Carson VP series 10x42 ) In the field the opticron with its larger 50 objective lens was slightly brighter than the Carson but let down by a rather stiffish focus wheel and the 16mm eye relief didn't offer me a better view than the carson's 15mm whilst wearing glasses. The opticron did deliver a nice clean high contrast image but in reality the portability and smooth focussing of the Carson not to mention the very decent optics... didn't make me want to give up the 10x42 Carson for the bigger & slightly clumsy ergonomics of the the big 10x50. Close focus of the opticron is 9 meters... Carson is an excellent 2 metres. I just love the handling of the Carson more... if i was rating the opticron Oregon on overall performance i would give it a respectable 7/10. The build quality and fold down rubber eye cups are very good but that focus wheel... good luck!

Just what we needed, ideal introductory astronomy bins

I looked around for ages researching a decent pair of binoculars at a reasonable price. I’m no expert, just wanted them to get a better view of wildlife and landscapes and maybe even the night sky. I stumbled on these as a recommendation via ‘the sky at night’ and I’m glad I did. These are brilliant. Everything any amateur needs, clear visibility, excellent magnification, easy to use, carry bag, straps, lens covers and cleaning cloth. First class, totally recommend.

High quality product, sturdy constructed, with superb BAK-4 prisms, cristal clear view with no distortions on both left and right side lenses and smooth mechanics. After comparing with Olympus 8x40 S, which are also excellent, these Opticron binocs seems to be even a bit stronger than 8x, because looking at the same object from the same distance, Opticron gives a bit closer view. It actually feels like 9-10x. For such a price it's a steal! Highly recommended for those who preffer porro prism over the roof type binoculars.

Firstly the positives. Excellent light gathering through the 50mm apertures and these bins really bring the night sky to life. At this price they really are excellent value. The reason for a star dropped is that they are 'relatively' heavy, say, compared to the adventurer series and also, due to the magnification they are incredibly difficult to hold really steady. (I learned after purchase that the maximum magnification for hand held bins is really no more than 8x) This is not a fault of the binoculars just my ignorance :) so bear in mind you will need a tripod to get the most from these excellent binoculars.

We wanted to buy a pair of good quality, reasonable magnification binoculars for a family member but simply had no idea which to go for. Friends suggested the level but we had zero product knowledge. So we searched and ordered the results by rating, then looked at the reviews and this brand and unit stood out. Upon arrival and unboxing it became clear that these were superb quality - the feel of them, and the operation of the mechanisms, was just amazing. Checking the optics only further confirmed so we are totally delighted with our purchase and happy to recommend it - you can't go wrong with Amazon when you're not sure as the returns system really helps. 10/10