Apogee 25x100


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Brand and Model:Apogee 25x100
Price ($USD):$299.95
Attributes:un-checked Waterproof un-checked Armored
Objective Lens Size:100 mm
Magnification:25 x
Prism Type:BAK4 Porro
Coatings:Multi-Coated
Field of View:2.5 degrees
Eye Relief:15 mm
Near Focus:100 ft
Weight (lbs):10
Dimensions (w/h/d):
Description:

Vote Highlights Vote
Apogee 25x100
The Apogee Inc 25x100 binoculars are the best buy in this size. The optics are as good as your going to get in a 25x100 binocular in this price range. They have a wide FOV with good (15mm) eye relief.The Pleiades are fantastic with these and 25x is low enough to keep the false color down on the planets and the moon. Just get a good mount like the new Unistar Light on a surveyor tripod and you will be all set to go star hopping. This is the best $300 I spent on optics.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Value:10
Weight: 10 (Trustworthy Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=166241


Apogee 25x100
I just got a pair of these for the sale price of $250! They were a good deal at $300 and now an even better one.

The optics are at least as good as my old Celestron 20x80 binos so I gave them an 8. However, with much better eye relief I'm able to wear my glasses which correct for astigmatism thus giving me effectively better optics.

Mine came marked as having 3.5 degrees F.O.V. which I know is a typo. However, I do think that they have more than the 2.5 degrees advertised.

Many people are commenting on the weight of these binos. I have a hefty mount for my 20x80 Celestrons. I'm in the process of making a mounting plate for these 25x100 Apogees so that I can use them with my hefty mount. In order to mount them I had to take off the center rod and built in tripod mount. WOW! That thing must weigh about 3-4 pounds. Now they feel only a little bit heavier than my 20x80 binos. The mounting plate I'm making is made of aluminum so I'm saving lots of weight.

If weight is a big factor for you consider getting rid of the original mounting rod and stand. However, be warned that the hardware used is in odd metric sizes do adapting your own mounting plate will take a trip to a well stocked hardware store or specialty machine shop store.

Considering that I paid $250 for my 20x80 Celestrons about 20 years ago all in all these are a fantastic buy.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:8 Value:10
Weight: 5 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=333552


Apogee 25x100
I was one of the first customers to order these new binoculars. After getting my binos in mid-December,
I was able to take them out and use them in my
variable star observing session on January 12th the first time. They performed exquisitely well. The feeling was like looking through a rich-field binocular-telescope. The optics were perfect and I did not notice any defects. The only hard part was adjusting the focus for each individual eyepiece because it was difficult to turn the barrels with gloves on (since they are new, the friction is high). Even though I was wearing my glasses, the eye relief was quite comfortable and the binos did not show any vignetting or any other problems at the edge of the field. When I made my estimates of variables, I was able to see stars down to 9.5 magnitude easily, despite a
first-quarter moon and heavy light pollution from Boston (I live just at the southern edge of Boston city limits). At the end of my session, I turned the binos to Jupiter and its huge disk
and satellites popped into view. That was breathtaking!
Under perfect seeing conditions, several belts on the
planet were easily visible.

On the outside, the binos look very nice, sturdy,
showing good coated (multi ?) optics. Of course they are very heavy, weighing at least 10-12 lbs or more. I use an Orion AZ3 althazimuth mount with a standard 1/4"-20 adapter. You will definitely need a sturdy tripod to take most out of them.

All in all, I absolutely recommend these binos for anyone
who can use them in general sweeping of the skies, viewing
deep sky objects or variable star observing.
Happy Observing!

Haldun I. Menali
Amateur Astronomer / Investment Bank Senior Manager
Boston, MA
http://members.aol.com/astroalcove/index.html

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:8 Value:10
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=193923


Apogee 25x100
Impressive value and optics. Noticably brighter and much sharper views than with my Astroscan (105 mm) RFT.
Even has a much wider fov at 25x than the Astroscan with a 50 deg afov e.p..
Relatively stable on a medium-weight standard camera tripod but to heavy to hold for anything other than quick casual views.
Weight will probably overwhelm most bino mounts but given the quality and price of these binos, I wouldn't be surpised to see
some new mounts show up on the market. Very well made with rock solid built-in tripod mount and individual indexed, but stiff, eye focusing.
Very study storage and carrying case. Snug fitting dust caps. These are a true joy to use on the tripod with objects less than about 35-40 deg. elevation.
There is a strong "new" smell from outgassing of materials but not a notable problem at this point, less than two weeks old.
Main aperatures are well recessed (about 1 inch) for glare and dew shielding. I paid about the same price for a pair of lightweight
11x70 binos and the 25x100 are far superior in every way except for weight. Do not underestimate the impact of weight, I am looking for better mounting capability.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:9 Value:10
Weight: 2 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=221081


Apogee 25x100
These are now available for $250 and at that price they're a real bargain. What you have here is essentially a pair of short focus 4" achromatic refractors. With this setup, the "brute force" factor of light gathering is pretty darned high, and many faint fuzzies are easy targets for the Apogee. Sure, they show some chromatic aberration on bright objects. Of course the edges are soft. But the views of things like the Orion Nebula, M31, and the Pleiades are very satisfying. And Saturn's rings are visible, too - something I'd never been able to view in other binoculars. These monsters are bulky and heavy (nearly 10 lbs) so they require a substantial mount. I also have a 15x80 bino, and its mount is totally inadequate for the Apogee. Be prepared to get a heavy duty tripod with a big 3-axis head in order to use it. Also, I found that the integral tripod adapter was quite loose and wobbly until a attacked it with pliers and really tightened things down a notch.

This is not a high end precision instrument meant for the afficionado of fine optics. But it's a great companion for those nights spent with a good scope under dark skies. Being able to use both eyes and to view about 2.6 degrees is a pleasing contrast to squinting through a single eyepiece while hunched over a diagonal seeing perhaps 0.8 degrees at higher power on a particular object.

Enthusiastically recommended.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:7 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=464516


Apogee 25x100
the chinese are really starting to get their quality control to a level that makes the binoculars an extremely good buy.

Overall Rating: 10
Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=347488


Apogee 25x100
Absolutely surprising optics for the price. Even the chromatic abberation with lunar viewing is not bothersome.

Overall Rating: 8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=327580


Apogee 25x100
Great bang for your buck. Heavy though. Where else can you get 25x100's for this price? Very nice clear optics but heavy. Some color, but hey, they aren't apo's. Heavy, very heavy. Did I say that before? You have to be a weight lifter to use these with a monopod. Forget a photo tripod. Even my existing medium duty parallelogram mount won't handle these. But I'd love to try a heavy duty UniMount on these babies. Very nice fit and finish, and the carrying case is made with good attention to details. Overall a real winner.

Overall Rating: 8
Optics:7 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=199659

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