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Description Comments Availability
Celestron SkyMaster Giant 15x70 Binoculars w/Tripod Adapter I rated these a 5-star even though the first pair came out of the box with a slight collimation problem. (Double images when viewing a single star, for example) I initiated a return which Amazon was extremely prompt and shipped out a replacement set. In the two day interim, one of my "astro friends" said we could make a simple adjustment to collimate the first pair. He was right. We mounted the faulty binos on a tripod at dusk and quickly reset the collimation using the little set screws on each objective. It was really a very simple fix. I tried to stop the replacement shipment but Amazon was too quick. I returned the 2nd pair. Thanks Amazon! With the first pair now working perfectly I began to enjoy a new level of fun with backyard astronomy. I had built a "couch potato bino chair" (do a google search), and mounted the Skymasters on the chair. You really can't do these justice by hand-holding. I have a pair of Meade 10 x 42mm's for hand-held viewing and the Skymasters blow them away. At a recent star party experienced viewers were impressed. The double cluster in Perseus was just like the popular description; diamonds on black velvet. Beautiful... Very crisp images out to about 85% of the field of view. Just a slight fuzziness at the extreme edges. I've looked through $$$ binos that were absolutely clear that were very nice, but at 3-5 times the cost I'll stick with these Skymasters. There is so much info on the web concerning excellent Chinese optics so I guess the SM's are a good example. Only downside was the collimation issue early on. But with Amazon's return policy and great service that initial doubt became a positive. Another plus was that I opened an Amazon credit card which gave me an additional $30 off my purchase. So $55 was my net cost. Incredible value! Usually ships in 24 hours
Lomography Holga Medium Format Camera Starter Kit I love the camera, but the flash broke after three flashes. is there a way to exchange it? Usually ships in 24 hours
70INX70IN Versatol Tri-pod Screen Matte White Keystone Elim. The item was as advertised and delivered as expected. There is no problem with the product or the service whatsoever. Usually ships in 24 hours
Lomography Holga 120 CFN Medium Format Camera with Color Flash rilli a goody goody camera i luuuv it soo much. In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served.
Vidster Digital Video Camera Well I got this camera for christmas and my brother got the V-cam(which is very similair to the vidster). It's pretty fun exept that when i replaced it's batteries a few days ago (cause it wasn't turning on) it stopped working. It might be that Iv'e had it for a long time but would a long time be 7 months? Anyway, the editing software is pretty good but I prefer the digital blue. (i had this a few years ago and you could put really good special effects in your videos) I had real fun with the Digital Blue but it stopped working on me for a good 9 months. (Is it me or do i just have bad luck with cameras)But the Digital blue is hard to find these days. Well hope this review was helpful. Usually ships in 24 hours
Lomography Holga 120 CFN Medium Format Camera with Color Flash (Starter Kit) rilli a goody goody camera i luuuv it soo much. In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served.
Cstar Educational Series 50 x 600mm Table-Top Refractor Telescope In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served.
Aiptek DV5100M 5MP MPEG4 Pocket Digital Camcorder I purchased this Aiptek DV5100M camcorder, and this is my Best Choice of the many other models of Aiptek small compact camcorders that I have tested. For its small compact size, it takes very good videos (but of course, it's resolution of 640 x 480, 10 FPS can be choppy with fast movements, and is not as good as regular larger standard more expensive camcorders). I like this camcorder because 1) the Video and Audio are in exact synchronization (i.e., I video record live dancing performances, and the video movements match with the audio music); and 2) this is easy to use, and small enough to easily put in my jacket zip-up pocket for any time videos. This camcorder's microphone sensitivity is very good and records audio well (and does not have any constant loud audio hiss like some other models). This camcorder works very well with my 2-GB SanDisk Ultra II CompactFlash card (and also with my 2-GB Kingston Elite Pro CompactFlash card), and has successfully recorded a test daylight outdoor single video ASF file for a length of 3 hours, 46 minutes at its highest quality video setting of "TV-HQ" (640x480, 10 frames per sec). I like this camcorder's recording in its MPEG-4 "ASF" compressed format, and it uses less bytes per second than the "AVI" format of other models. For tripod use, since the tripod plastic socket is more deeper recessed than standard, I replaced my Slik tripod's short standard metal tripod screw with a longer nylon screw. (Incidently, I also own and can still use my other older Aiptek camcorder models: Aiptek DV-II, Aiptek DV3100, and Aiptek Fidelity 3100. I have tested and returned for being unsatisfactory, the Aiptek models "DV5100F with Flash", and "Aiptek IS-DV2".) In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served.
Celestron Heavy-Duty Altazimuth Tripod All metal construction (except for the knobs) make this a solid mount for a small to medium sized scope. I found very little problem with vibration using a C90 spotting scope at high powers. The sliding 1/4-20 mounting screw allows the scope to be balanced properly. The 1/4-20 adapter also appears to be removable in order to use scope rings or other mounting methods. The fine adjustment knobs offer limited range but precise adjustments for aiming a scope under high power or for tracking distant objects. The fine adjustment knobs are also connected by cables minimizing vibrations and a possible source of misalignment. A minor quibble with the design of this tripod is the screw-in eyepiece holder which serves to add additional rigidity to the legs. I would have preferred a built-in locking mechanism instead. Another quibble is that the East-West panning axis must be locked for the fine controls to function properly. The only major complaint I have - and I would have given this tripod 5 stars otherwise - is the design of the altitude/tilting mechanism. While the head can be locked for panning East-West, there is no corresponding up-down tilt locking mechanism. The head only offers a fixed tension for up-down tilting and no lock, unlike typical camera tripod heads (I believe you may be able to actually adjust the tension with a wrench but there is no knob or handle for doing this at will). Furthermore, there is no handle of any sort so in order to tilt the scope up or down, you must push and pull the scope itself to point it up and down which can put a great deal of stress on the single 1/4-20 mounting point. The ease of use of this tripod would have been much better with an adjustable locking tension knob or handle. All in all, I am still rather pleased with this tripod. It is quite solid with little or no vibration problems and appears well-adapted for terrestrial viewing as well as short-term astronomical observing. Note: For long-term astronomical viewing, I would instead suggest a German Equatorial Mount (GEM) such as the similarly priced Orion Min-EQ, EQ-1 or EQ-2 Equatorial Mounts or similar which are designed for the specific purpose of precisely tracking astronomical objects over time. Such mounts can even be motorized for this purpose. In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served.
Herman Dreyer - Email: dreyer_herman@yahoo.com