Which ones

[astro man]

Hi guys 

I have been looking at buying a new pair of Binoculars and came across these 2 celestron pair's on Amazon. They are both very similar prices but differant sizes 

What pair would be most suited for lunar and DSO work ?

I have a tripod so weight wont be a problem

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Celestron-71008-25x70-Skymaster-Binoculars/dp/B003AM87Q4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411490471&sr=8-1&keywords=celestron+binoculars

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Celestron-71009-Skymaster-Porro-Binoculars/dp/B00008Y0VN/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1411490471&sr=8-2&keywords=celestron+binoculars

Astro man 

[Tinker1947]

Your only going to get what you pay for so either will work but i doubt not work very well.....maybe somebody will come along that has already brought them........

[astro man]

I heard that Celestron Binoculars were very good 

[Tinker1947]

Maybe these one's........

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/celestron-binoculars/celestron-echelon-10x70-binoculars.html

[astro man]

They look great but way out of my price range !!! Whats the difference between those ones and the one's I saw on Amazon ?

[Paul73]

£700 !!!!!!!! I love my Pentax pair for £170 (see signature).

Haven't tried the Celestrons.

So probably not very helpful.

Sorry.....

Probably better off getting a better quality 10x50s for a small extra investment. These can be hand held with a bit of practice (lying back on a garden chair works well). Bigger binos will need a mono/tripod. If they are light enough to hand hold at normal guy affordable prices, then you have got to wonder about build quality. You don't need to spend £170. There are a bunch of threads that can help.

Let us know what you go for.

Paul

[Charic]

I opted for the Pentax PCF WP II and due to stock levels bought the Nikon Extremes. Not at all happy with those, so  still continuing my search. I'm still not certain as to what 10x50's I`ll get next,  Pentax PCF, Strathspeys, Opticron?

Your selection of  either the two Celestrons will look pretty bleak and poor against the performance of your 8" telescope. That's  how I feel about my 15x70`s, they get more use now in daylight.  Much better are my Helios 8x40's Their great for wide views,  a great  partnership to the telescope!

Unfortunately, flo have lifted their special Summer prices for these binoculars. 

[philhas]

How about these http://www.firstlightoptics.com/barr-stroud-binoculars/b-s-savannah-ED-56.html pretty well regarded on here, I have a pair of Quantum 4 15 x 70's which are nice but really need mounting to get the best from them (I use them with a monopod and trigger grip). I suspect the Barr & Stroud would be great handheld. With regards to the Celestrons to say they are good is a stretch, the term good for the price fits much better!

[Alfian]

Hi Astroman, the Celestron 15x70s (which are probably closer to 15x60) tend to create mixed opinions. Some people are very happy, some not so - the main issue being quality control, particularly regarding collimation. At the low price, quality control seems to be left to the consumer rather than at the factory. If you get a good pair at the current knock down prices they could be a bargain - but as Tinker’ has pointed out you tend to get what you pay for and quality optics (and build) do come at a price.

You mention lunar and DSO observation. The moon is bright and aperture and light gathering is therefore not quite so much of an issue but magnification certainly shows more detail. The Moon through my 20x60s (probably 19x57) is a great sight and the 25x70s would possibly give you good views of the moon,  but the wider field of view of 15x70s  would be better for DSO hunting. 

The 25x70 will definitely need mounting and unless you have very good hands - so will the 15x70s, in fact even 10x50s will benefit from tripod/monopod mounting at some point.

Strathspey sell what is essentially the same binocular, admittedly at a higher cost, but they have a good reputation for checking out their stuff and good after sales.

http://www.strathspey.co.uk

Phil showed a link to the B&S 10x56EDs. I tried some of these before getting my WOs and I have to say they are impressive. Bright, sharp optics, big and heavy (over 1 kilo) for roof prism binos but sit in the hands very nicely. I remember a superb view of M42. At the FLO sale price they are a good buy - but then once you get into that kind of price band there are some very good 10x50s available and then of course you might even get more for your money second hand!

This site is worth checking out.

http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/browse.php

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Whatever you do, do not go for the 25x70s, these are not ideal at all, the image is much dimmer, collimation issues multiply with magnification. The 15x70s are OK, but there are issues (like having roughly 63-64mm aperture rather than 70), and collimation is rather hit-or-miss. Return any pair that are not properly collimated. They can of course lose collimation in the course of time, but they can be collimated again (I have done that). I had a similar pair (Omegon-branded; United Optics BA-1s can be obtained under many different brandings) and I had a lot of fun with them. They were ideal on my trips down south (Australia and South Africa) where they showed me the wonders of the southern hemisphere skies. The United Optics BA-8s are better, but cost a lot more (mine are branded Helios Apollo HD).

The Celestron Echelons are a bit of an unknown quantity. I have not seen that many reviews, but at that price point they should be as good as or better than the legendary Fujinon 16x70s.

[JDFlood]

I recommend saving up and buying good quality binoculars. Since lunar is on your list, you don't need large objectives. But in any case I would up the quality level. Fujinon, or Steiner fixed would be a start. In optics you get what you pay for! Smaller high quality is better than bigger junk. Unless you are going for really dim fuzzy nebula.