Bausch & Lomb Legacy 10x50 WA Binoculars

Last Friday, me and my fellow graduate school student in astronomy were in Aringay, La Union to do some astronomical sketching. One of them brought along a Bausch&Lomb Legacy 10x50 wide-angle binoculars  with a 7.5degree field of view.

We also brought our Celestron UpClose 10x50 binoculars (see past post for review) and got to compare the quality of the two binocs. In comparison to the UpClose, the Legacy gave superb bright and sharp images that overpowered the UpClose. The rich open clusters like the Beehive cluster in Cancer, Melotte 111 in Coma Berenices, the Ptolemy's Cluster and Butterfly Cluster in Scorpius appear beautifully and brightly over the Legacy. We also could easily spot faint stars such as the Sidus Ludovicianum. Switching between the Legacy and the UpClose showed that the images on the UpClose were not as bright and as rich as those with the Legacy.

For those unfamiliar with binocular specs - the number 10x50 represents a magnification of 10x and an aperture of 50mm. The optics are multi-coated with anti-reflective layers that prevent light from reflecting back out allowing the image to be brighter. It makes use of a BaK-4 Porro prism design (yielding a brighter and sharper image compared to the commonly used Bk-7). The Legacy offers good eye relief and weighs 794g. It is also tripod adaptable for ease in viewing. The legacy is water proof and fog proof making it suitable for outdoors against temperature and humidity.

The Bausch & Lomb name here is not the same Bausch & Lomb that creates contact lenses, but is the Bausch & Lomb Sport Optics that is manufactured by Bushnell. Hahn stores all over Manila sell Bushnell binoculars, spotting scopes and even telescopes.