BAADER MAXBRIGHT II BINOVIEWER
Baader Planetarium
BAADER MAXBRIGHT II BINOVIEWER - Binoviewer only is backordered and will ship as soon as it is back in stock.
The Baader MaxBright II Binoviewer is the culmination of thirty years of astronomical binoviewer design and manufacturing according to Carl Zeiss specifications. No other binoviewer on the market is as full-featured or precisely engineered.
The housing of the large 27mm prisms is made with Baader's own die cast moulds using Zeiss production drawings. The non-slip exterior provides extra grip when using heavy eyepieces.
On the eyepiece side are two newly-designed self-centering Clicklock eyepieces clamps with ergonomic diopter adjustment, made for hassle-free use in the dark. The Clicklock clamps are so precise that they preserve the collimation of the optical system, even at the highest magnifications.
All optical surfaces of the MaxBright II feature 7-layer multi-coating for exceptional clarity and transmission. The large 26mm clear aperture on the telescope side and 25.5mm on the eyepiece side gives complete illumination of 1.25" eyepieces up to 35mm focal length.
The telescope side features both T2 (M42 x 0.75) and Zeiss micro bayonet connections to allow low-profile adaption to many common threads. Unlike fixed nose pieces, this saves a huge amount of backfocus.
The MaxBright II is compatible with Baader's Glasspath Correctors, which shift the focus point outwards so that you can reach focus with many different telescopes. Glasspath correctors are designed to correct spherical aberration introduced by the prisms of the binoviewer. Any prism introduces some level spherical aberration. Additionally, they correct for the prismatic colour fringing that is introduced by the extra optical elements present in the binoviewer with telescopes faster than f/7, so all telescopes faster than this require glasspath correctors.
Glasspath correctors are essential to "extract" the focus in telescopes that do not have a long back focus. Like a Barlow lens, the focus point moves outward. This means you can use a binoviewer with almost any type of telescope including Newtonians (with the appropriate glasspath corrector).
Glasspath correctors are not essential for Schmidt Cassegrain telescopes. However, a glasspath corrector is still recommended for Schmidt Cassegrain telescopes to correct for the spherical aberration. Even though the light beams do not converge at a wide angle as in faster telescopes, the addition of a glasspath corrector will increase image sharpness.
The MaxBright Binoviewer has an M42 female (T2) connection. To connect the Binoviewer you need the BA2408150 2" nosepiece or the BA2458105 1.25" nosepiece. When the binoviewer is used with a 1.25" diagonal, it is recommended to remove the eyepiece holder and connect the diagonal directly to the binoviewer.
Baader 1.25" diagonals all have a T2 thread (see images at page 6 of the Maxbright manual). For Baader 2" diagonals, remove the ClickLock and connect the BA1508035 2" SC to T2 adapter. Connecting the diagonal directly to the binoviewer allows to save precious back focus.
In combination with a refractor or Schmidt-Cassegrain, we recommend the Baader BA2456095 BBHS T-2 Prism Diagonal or BA2458055 FlipMirror II Star Diagonal to achieve a compact telescope adaptation. In addition, you can then choose a matching Glasspath corrector. Prism diagonals have a shorter light-path compared to mirror diagonals. This allows you to “save” some of the necessary back focus required by the binoviewer.
Recommended glasspath correctors
To select the right Glasspath corrector, you need to know the backfocus of your telescope. You can read how to do this in the manual of the Maxbright II Binoviewer (see Downloads tab).
- For Newtonians, we recommend the BA2456316Z Glasspath Corrector 1.7x.
- For short refractors we recommend the BA2456317 Glasspath Corrector 2.0x.
- For SCs or long refractors, we recommend the BA2456314 T-2 Glasspath Corrector 1.25x.
- You don't necessarily need a Glasspath Corrector for Schmidt-Cassegrains at f/10. If lower magnifications and larger fields of view are desired, the BA2454400 Alan Gee Telecompressor Mark II is recommended. It shortens the focal ratio to approx. f/5.9, giving a brighter image and a much larger field of view.
Due to the size of the Maxbright nosepiece, long focal length eyepieces cannot be used. 32mm Plossl eyepieces with an apparent field of view 50° offer the largest true field of view, although the 36mm Hyperion Aspheric with the included 1.25" adapter will show more. This is because the field stop is not inside the nosepiece.
The supremely versatile Baader Hyperion Mark IV zoom eyepieces were designed with the MaxBright BinoViewer in mind and offer precise click stops across their magnification range, which make it easy to set each eyepiece at the same magnification.
The MaxBright II Binoviewer is available on its own or in bundles which include different nosepieces and glasspath correctors.
The sets with 1.25" nosepieces are meant to be used with 1.25" diagonals which have a short optical thickness, and so are ideal for applications where backfocus is limited. The downside is that wideangle eyepieces may suffer from vignetting.
The sets with 2" nosepieces will give less vignetting with wideangle nosepieces but require 2" diagonals, which will take up significantly more backfocus. Of course, if you do not wish to use a diagonal, then this will not matter.
• Binoviewer Complete Set (BA2456460S)- includes the Binoviewer, T2 Prism Diagonal #1C, the 1¼" T-2 Nosepiece, two Baader Classic Ortho 10mm Eyepieces & two Baader Plössl 32mm Eyepieces. This is a universal kit for telescopes that have sufficient backfocus and therefore do not need a glasspath corrector.
• Binoviewer 1.25" Nosepiece Set (BA2456460A) - includes the Binoviewer & 1¼" T-2 Nosepiece. This suits 1.25" diagonals.
• Binoviewer 2" Nosepiece Set (BA2456460B)- includes the Binoviewer & 2"/T-2 Nosepiece. This suits 2" diagonals.
• Binoviewer GPC Set 1 (BA2456461)- includes the Binoviewer, the 1.25x glasspath corrector and 1¼" T-2 Nosepiece. It suits 1.25" diagonals, and increases the backfocus length and the magnification of the eyepieces by 1.25x.
• Binoviewer GPC Set 2 (BA2456462)- includes the Binoviewer, the 1.25x glasspath corrector and the 2"/T-2 Nosepiece. It suits 2" diagonals, and increases the backfocus length and the magnification of the eyepieces by 1.25x.
• Binoviewer GPC Set 3 (BA2456463) - includes the Binoviewer, the 1.7x glasspath corrector & the 1¼" T-2 Nosepiece. It suits 1.25" diagonals, and increases the backfocus length and the magnification of the eyepieces by 1.7x.
• Binoviewer GPC Set 4 (BA2456464)- includes the Binoviewer, the 1.7x glasspath corrector & the 2"/T-2 Nosepiece. It suits 2" diagonals, and increases the backfocus length and the magnification of the eyepieces by 1.7x.
• Binoviewer GPC Set 5 (BA2456465)- includes the Binoviewer, the 2.6x glasspath corrector & the 1¼" T-2 Nosepiece. It suits 1.25" diagonals, and increases the backfocus length and the magnification of the eyepieces by 2.6x.
• Binoviewer GPC Set 6 (BA2456466)- includes the Binoviewer, the 2.6x glasspath corrector & the 2"/T-2 Nosepiece. It suits 2" diagonals, and increases the backfocus length and the magnification of the eyepieces by 2.6x.
Downloads
 Instruction manual
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Items included
- Baader MaxBright II Binoviewer
- Zeiss Micro Bayonet for use with T2 QuickChanger (QuickChanger sold separately)
- T2 female adapter
- Resin hardcase
- Retaining ring removal tool
