My name is Dave P. I come from the UK and I use a Bushnell 13-2010 10×42 National Audobon Society porro prism binocular. Mostly I really like the binoculars having some useful features for my purpose, which is star gazing. Perhaps the most useful feature is the tripod mount hidden being a screw on cap at front of the main hinge.
They offer a very clear image for terrestrial observation (e.g. birdwatching) even down to low light levels, and have the ability to focus close in to be useful for butterfly observation. Their form factor is very “handy” and lend them selves to rapid acquisition of a target.
However, they do not seem to allow enough light in for effective observation of deep-sky objects (e.g. nebulae and galaxies). While objects are magnified sufficiently, it is hard to perceive fainter attributes such as dust clouds – for this purpose I prefer an old pair of 7×50 roof prism binoculars I was given. Another problem with the Bushnell’s is a restricted exit pupil as shown by looking at the eyepieces from a distance and observing the straight edges of the resultant “dot” (i.e. the “exit pupil”) however this problem is more noticeable for astronomical observation that for terrestrial work.
The eye relief in this binocular is just about sufficient for me to use the unit while wearing eyeglasses providing that I fold back the rubber eyepieces. The unit feels very sturdy, and good purchase is possible do to the comparatively soft rubber armouring.
The mechanism is very consolidated with no backlash noticeable in the main focusing adjustment. The dioptre is similarly positive. All in all I would recommend the unit to anybody wishing to use it for terrestrial work near and far, but would advise the would-be astronomer to seek something with larger objective lenses.
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