APM 100 mm 90° SD APO Binoculars - UF24 mm Eyepieces

APM 100 mm 90° SD APO Binoculars - 24 mm UF Eyepieces

The special glass FCD100 is used for high-tech apochromatic objective lenses. From this glass APM have developed a series of binoculars that offer excellent performance at a pleasingly good price. The binoculars with 100 mm aperture are universal ones for astronomical and earth observation. The perfect size when it comes to portability and not too much weight. Thanks to excellent optical and mechanical quality, you will enjoy observing thousands of objects for many years!

With a senseful choice of the eyepiece focal lengths, you can also observe great moon details with different magnifications, which is not usable with "normal" binoculars. The user is relieved by the two-eyed observation, the subjective image resolution and image stability increase significantly! 2x 100 mm aperture are already enough for observations of faint nebulae or use of higher magnifications. With a senseful adjustment of the focal lengths of the eyepiece you can, for example, observe great moon details with different magnifications, which remain hidden in "normal" binoculars. The user is more relaxed by the two-eyed observation, the subjective image resolution and image stability increase significantly! APM binoculars with 100 mm aperture are universal devices for astronomical and earth observation. The 90° viewing position allows comfortable observation of high altitude astronomical objects without deficits in ergonomics.

The apochromatic objective lenses, made of FCD100 SD glasses, allow pure, realistic images with very high contrast. The optical performance is impressive. To ensure that everything is weatherproof, the stable die-cast body was filled with nitrogen. The stability of the magnesium body is impressive. Extendable dew shield protect the lenses from dew condensation even during long periods of observation and can be used as a stray ligh hood during the day observation. Of course, these binoculars have a tripod connection and a stable handle.

Individual adaptation to the observer´s eyes
The eyepieces are inserted into a clearance-free excenter cell. By a simple twist of the cell from outside, the collimation can be set 100% individually to the observer´s eyes. This can be done while observing and takes only a few seconds. The result: a perfectly collimated optical system allowing magnifications up to 100x without double images.

Magnesium body
In order to keep the binocular lightweight, the body is made from Magnesium. Total weight incl. tripod adapter: 7.45 kgs only.

All common 1.25" eyepieces can be used.
Eyepieces are held securely and free of tilting with a ring clamping system. Focusing is done by a simple twist of the eyepieces - as this can be done individually per side, the dioptre compensation is done in this way, too. A generous focal position allows the usage of Nagler, Delos and UWA eyepieces also.

Report by a customer

Our customer Matthias Zubke has written a practical field report which we would like to share with you:

"Evaluation of my APM 100 SD 90°:

Up to now, I had a 6-inch Newtonian. I was able to browse through the night sky quite nicely with it. However, I was bothered by the assembly and disassembly time, the time it took to adjust the mirror and the lack of the "WOW effect".
I then read several times about the simplicity and the WOW effect of large binoculars and decided to buy my APM 100 SD with a 90° view.

Unpacking it led to the first WOW effect: it is much bigger than I had previously estimated. The binoculars are the maximum size for me to be able to take them on a vacation, for example.
I bought the Manfrotto Super pro 161 MK 2 B tripod for this, it´s not too heavy, but extremely stable. It makes a very high-quality impression. I opted for the single-arm mount. This keeps the overall weight moderate and I can easily put it in the garden together with the tripod from home. It is not too heavy. The price also played a role here ...
My feedback on the single-arm mount: It´s great! I can swivel and lock the binoculars smoothly and securely, it´s only difficult at the zenith.

The second WOW effect came with the first view of the evening through the eyepieces: It was a cloudy sky, the moon shimmered through the thin cloud cover, and ... it really was breathtaking. I have never seen the moon like this before, not through my 10x50 binoculars and not through my 6-inch Newtonian.
After a few seconds I knew that the expensive purchase had been worth it! Unfortunately, the stars didn´t make it through the cloud cover, so I had to postpone all my other observations.

So far, I´ve seen the sky mainly in winter. The Orion Nebula can be seen very well and with details even under a suburban sky (black and white). Unfortunately, the Andromeda galaxy does not show structures, but this may also be due to the suburban sky.
But Bode´s galaxy (M81/M82) always succeeds. Open star clusters are always a splendor. The Beehive star cluster or the Pleiades are simply fabulous!
I´m attaching a few photos that were taken with my smartphone through the eyepiece. Unfortunately, I can´t say whether they can be published here.

About the eyepieces I used:
Also included are the 24mm ultra flat field eyepieces from apm. The view is bright and pleasant. The moon is difficult to see with these (without a thin layer of cloud in front of it), as the moon appears extremely bright. I use moon filters with these eyepieces.
But it is possible to roam the starry sky and get an overview of large areas of the sky without any problems. Actually, this pair of eyepieces alone is enough to make very good use of the APM 100 SD. All other eyepieces that enlarge the image do not make the image better, but simply larger (and darker). More details are not necessarily visible.

I have tried various eyepieces from 5mm - 13 mm. And that´s what you have to do with such a instrument: Try out eyepieces. Among other things, Teleskop-Service recommended the "TS-Optics 1.25" ultra wide-angle eyepieces UWAN 7 mm, 82° field of view". These are all pretty good for the price and can definitely be recommended. The eyepieces from TeleVue (Nagler) are a little better, but much more expensive. The "more" quality is only worth the extra price to a limited extent, in my opinion.
I would like to emphasize Teleskop-Service here, because I was able to return eyepieces even after the 14-day return period had expired.
In practice, I mostly use the TeleVue Nagler 13mm. A really great image, a really great insight. I also have the TeleVue Nagler 5mm. After several weeks, however, I had to realize, even during test views at daytime, that 5mm is obviously too much of a good thing with the APM 100 SD. Objects are no longer sharp, the view is no longer good. In my own opinion, 7mm is the sensible limit (so if someone needs 2x 5mm TeleVue Nagler...)

The 90° view: The vast majority of objects you want to look at are somewhere vertically or almost vertically above my head. In my opinion, 90° is a must for astronomical observation. 45° would not satisfy me here.

All in all, the APM 100 SD 90° is the perfect all-round instrument for me, as it is so good that it is always a pleasure to look through it. I always have the "WOW effect". At the same time, it is so easy to handle that I can simply move it from the house into the garden and immediately use it to look at the starry sky. No mounting, no adjusting. Just put it outside and look through it. It´s also great that the image is not mirror-inverted. At the same time, it is still so "small" and "light" that I can easily take it with me on vacation. The APM 100 SD simply fits into a medium-sized backpack.

My final tip in practice:
What I enjoy most is not looking specifically for individual deep-sky objects, but slowly scanning the night sky with the device. Once I´ve seen something interesting or beautiful, I look to see what I´ve found.


Regards
Matthias"

We would like to thank Matthias Zubke for this practical report.

Here are a few photos:

Open star cluster Pleiades



Waning gibbous moon



Close-up of the waning moon (taken approx. one day earlier)