Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 or 20x80 bins?

[jon1000]

I have read good reviews on the SkyMaster 15x70 bins but I like the 20x80 bins too.

I have never had a decent set of bins, only the cheap ones from down the market etc, I have a p130 goto telescope and its a nightmare to keep setting up and sometimes it would be nice to just use a set of bins.

which set of bins would you choose and Why?

thanks for your help in advance.

[Steve Ward]

I use a 9 x 63 binocular for scanning about , I've tried 15 x 70's and 20 x 80's but found them too cumbersome to use "freehand" .

I'd advise a good pair of 10 x 50 or 9 x 63 over a lesser quality "bigger" bin.

Steve

[John]

I've owned the Skymaster 15x70's and the Revelation 15x70's, which can usually be found at a lower cost. To my eyes (amateur !) they performed very much the same. Could be the same optics in fact.

As Steve says, you will need a tall and stout tripod to get the best from 15x70's. That could cost you as much as the binoculars or more so bear that in mind.

[Dielectric]

AFAIK, the Skymaster and Revelation 15x70 are the same binos but just badged differently..... shoot me if i'm wrong. Agree though that the 15x70 are not great for steady handheld viewing unless you have strong arms that don't ever fatigue. You can lay in a deck chair though and look only upwards quite comfortably resting them on youe eyes with a 15x70. 20x80 would be awsome but will need a pod.

Cheers

[Pete Presland]

I have 9 x 63's binocular for widefield, 15 x 70's for similar but a bit more detail and 20 x 80's i use on a tripod.if i could only own one pair it would be the 15x70's

[jon1000]

Thanks for your help, I think I will get the 15x70, I have a good tripod already.

[LukeSkywatcher]

I was going to say go for the 20x80. Even with bins, its about the aperture. The bigger the better. I have a set of 20x90's which sadly i dont use often due to having a couple of scopes to pick from on any given night.

15x70 are by all counts great bins. I have never used them so i cant really comment on them as such.

[brantuk]

The 15x70's are smashing for looking at clusters, galaxies, locating bright nebula and doubles, spotting planetary moons (eg Jupiter) and examining detail on the moon. There's a little chromatic abberation round the edges but it doesn't really interfere with the type of observing you'd be doing with them.

They're heavy to hold steady for long periods - I find leaning on a car roof or lying on a camp bed alleviates this considerably. Of course a tripod is the ideal solution - I have a fine tuning head for my tripod to track objects in alt/az for short periods. I nearly bought a pair of really nice 25x100's the other day but there's other stuff I want first lol. Hth