Oberwerk has introduced a new SE (Special Edition) series of binoculars, the first of which is the 8×32 SE featured in the Three Supersized Clusters in Taurus sky tour.

The binocular has ED optics, for excellent color correction, and an 8.2 degree field of view. The on-axis sharpness, brightness, and contrast is superb. It is compact and robust with a comfortable hand feel and twist-up eyecups to precisely adjust eye relief. The arms connecting the eyepieces to the central focuser are stiff to hold accurate focus. A problem with mediocre binoculars is that the focuser arm assemblies are not strong enough to resist even slight pressure, which shifts the eyepieces and defocuses the image.

It comes with a durable carrying case.

The value of an instrument like this for binocular astronomy is that it delivers wide fields, easily reaches 8th magnitude stars in light-polluted suburban skies, and is comfortable and relaxed for hand held observing. It is ideal for exploring constellations and star fields — a perfect companion for quick observing sessions and also for the detailed study of constellations.

The 8×32 SE accepts standard 1/4-20 tripod adapters. Shown above is an adapter stud that can be left attached to the instrument so it can be quickly mounted on a tripod or parallelogram mount like the Universal Binocular Mount (UBM) p-gram on an Oberwerk 5000 tripod.

Why attach a small binocular like the 8×32 to a mount? First, the stability of a mounted binocular enables significantly fainter stars to be seen, even with a small instrument like this. On an evening when my hand held limit with the 8×32 was about 8.2 magnitudes, I could see stars fainter than 9th magnitude with it on a mount. Mounted binoculars remain where they are pointed while you consult star atlases or an app like Sky Safari, write observing notes, or have a sip of wine. Or two. And the comfort of observing with a p-gram mount like the UBM is frankly addictive. With your head resting on the back of a camp chair or a zero-gravity recliner, you can contemplate star fields for half an hour and more with no effort in total relaxation. (Observers have been known to fall asleep while doing this.)