Northmere Tundra 15x70 binoculars
15x magnification · 70 mm objectives · 4.5° field
$819
Catalog preview. Not available for purchase.
- Package
- Binoculars only
- Optics
- ED glass, fully multi-coated
- Armor
- Black rubber armor
- Edition
- 2024 edition
Specifications
| Magnification | 15x |
|---|---|
| Objective diameter | 70 mm |
| True field of view | 4.5° |
| Exit pupil | 4.7 mm |
| Dawes limit | 1.66 arcsec |
| Limiting magnitude | 11.2 |
| Eye relief | 17 mm |
| Close focus | 15.0 m |
| Prisms | BaK-4 Porro |
| Weather sealing | Waterproof, nitrogen-purged |
| Weight | 1,700 g |
| Package | Binoculars only |
| Optics | ED glass, fully multi-coated |
| Armor | Black rubber armor |
| Edition | 2024 edition |
Description
The Tundra 15x70 is a Porro-prism astronomy binocular with 70 mm objectives and 15x magnification. It uses individually focused eyepieces, a design that keeps the body sealed and holds focus on the stars without drifting once you set each side.
The 70 mm objectives show stars about 0.7 magnitude fainter than a 50 mm binocular. At 15x, globular clusters such as M13, M3, and M5 show as round glows with bright cores, the Dumbbell Nebula shows its shape, and the Swan and Lagoon nebulae show structure under dark skies. The 4.5-degree true field frames the Double Cluster and most of the Pleiades.
The Tundra 15x70 has a rigid aluminum body that holds the two optical paths in alignment, which matters at this magnification. The BaK-4 prisms give round exit pupils of about 4.7 mm, and every air-to-glass surface is multi-coated. The body is sealed and nitrogen-purged, so it tolerates dew and cold.
At 1,700 g, the Tundra 15x70 needs support for anything beyond a short look. The central tripod socket takes a standard L-shaped adapter, and a parallelogram mount lets you observe near the zenith without bending your neck. Individual focus means you focus each eyepiece once at the start of a session, then leave it.
Large binoculars give a natural, two-eyed view that many observers find more relaxing than a telescope. The Tundra 15x70 suits sweeping the summer Milky Way, following comets, and observing variable stars with comparison stars in the same field.
Variable-star observers often use binoculars of this size because the field holds a target and several comparison stars at once. The Tundra 15x70 reaches stars fainter than magnitude 10 under dark skies, which covers many long-period variables.
About this configuration
The Northmere Tundra 15x70 binoculars comes in several configurations, and the notes below explain what this particular combination includes. This package contains the binoculars with their strap, lens caps, and case, without any mounting hardware. Binoculars alone suit hand-held scanning of the Milky Way, bright star clusters, and the phases of the Moon. ED glass reduces the color fringing that otherwise appears around bright objects such as the Moon and Venus.
The black armor is the standard finish of the Tundra line and matches its black lens caps. The optics in the 2024 edition match the other years; the changes concern handling details only. The magnification, field, and exit pupil figures in the specifications table apply to every configuration of the Tundra line.
What's in the box
- Binoculars with padded neck strap
- Objective and eyepiece caps
- Padded carrying case
- Lens cleaning cloth
Compatibility notes
- The central tripod socket takes a standard L-shaped binocular adapter with a 1/4-20 thread.
- Needs a photo tripod or parallelogram mount rated for at least 2.5 kg.