Need to upgrade my binoculars. What should I get?

[pipnina]

I currently own two pairs of binoculars: One pair were very cheap, give blury images and have awful eyepeices (practically zero eye releif, chromatic abberation) (Plastic) and are possibly too high power (20x50 (3 degrees)). The other, while nice, are over 50 years old (My great grandads) and the right half no longer focuses. Making them rather useless. Although they are more usable at 10x50 (8 degrees)

I already have a scope, but I share it with my dad / whoever else goes with me stragazing, this means I'd like to have a backup so I could see the whole of objects like andromeda or see the milky way a little brighter while the other person uses the scope.

My ideal magnification is porbably around the 8 degree mark. If possible, I'd like a stabalising pair as my hand wobble about like weebles. But if they cost much more I can live without.

Ideal cost- Between £100 and £150 max.

Thanks!

    ~pipnina

[Ahab]

Get yourself a Pentax 10 x 50 and a tripod or monopod and enjoy.

[ronin]

At about £100 are the Bushnell H2O range, you can get 8x42 and 10x42.

The 8x's will be easier to use.

They are actually pretty compact and feel "solid".

Towards the top end of your budget (possibly over) are the Bushnell Nature View, again 8x42 and 10x42.

These are physically longer, but the optics are better.

They feel lighter, and I am sure I have read they are.

There is one "drawback" about the Nature Views.

Every review says they are excellent and the one BIG failing is the absolutely awful covers they put on the front objectives. And they are right. Whoever put those on needs to be hung, drawn and quartered and everyone that owns a set should be invited to the occasion. Yes I have a pair and yes I would attend . Other then that they are excellent - actually they may have changed the covers in the last couple of years.

Both sets are the roof prism design, there is a porro prism option but they are the older variant and I have not used them.

They are the one I have and so the ones I can comment on specifically.

Both have adjustable eyecups in case you wear glasses - I do.

[pipnina]

At about £100 are the Bushnell H2O range, you can get 8x42 and 10x42.

The 8x's will be easier to use.

They are actually pretty compact and feel "solid".

Towards the top end of your budget (possibly over) are the Bushnell Nature View, again 8x42 and 10x42.

These are physically longer, but the optics are better.

They feel lighter, and I am sure I have read they are.

There is one "drawback" about the Nature Views.

Every review says they are excellent and the one BIG failing is the absolutely awful covers they put on the front objectives. And they are right. Whoever put those on needs to be hung, drawn and quartered and everyone that owns a set should be invited to the occasion. Yes I have a pair and yes I would attend . Other then that they are excellent - actually they may have changed the covers in the last couple of years.

Both sets are the roof prism design, there is a porro prism option but they are the older variant and I have not used them.

They are the one I have and so the ones I can comment on specifically.

Both have adjustable eyecups in case you wear glasses - I do.

The bushnells look promising! The 17mm of eye releif seems somewhat appealing to me (I do wear glasses, Bane of my life).

I only have one question: What does "Multi-Coated" mean? I presume some kind of filtering layer has been put on the glass to stop reflections or something?

[Charic]

I have a pair of these http://www.firstlightoptics.com/helios/helios-naturesport-plus-8x40-wa.html and being low powered and wide angle, they encompass large views and not prone to the hand shake ( depending how bad the shake is, but anything over 10x magnification will show handshake unless mounted or rested on something immoveable? Wide angles are my favoured optics with the telescope. I have more powerful optics, but  they give less detail as the power goes up, and more shake!

Your right about Multi coated, and check out Grand dads binoculars, they may be collectable to the right person, and may even pay for your new optics?

At your young age anything from 7x50 to 10x50 could be useful to you. Binoculars with a 7x50 specification should give nice bright views and have a good field of view, making  the most of the larger  exit pupil of the binocular?  I used my 7x50s for many Years (still have them )  but last Year having purchased the 8x40's my eyes make better use of the slightly smaller exit pupil. Its an age thing!

[pipnina]

I have a pair of these http://www.firstlightoptics.com/helios/helios-naturesport-plus-8x40-wa.html and being low powered and wide angle, they encompass large views and not prone to the hand shake ( depending how bad the shake is, but anything over 10x magnification will show handshake unless mounted or rested on something immoveable? Wide angles are my favoured optics with the telescope. I have more powerful optics, but  they give less detail as the power goes up, and more shake!

Your right about Multi coated, and check out Grand dads binoculars, they may be collectable to the right person, and may even pay for your new optics?

At your young age anything from 7x50 to 10x50 could be useful to you. Binoculars with a 7x50 specification should give nice bright views and have a good field of view, making  the most of the larger  exit pupil of the binocular?  I used my 7x50s for many Years (still have them )  but last Year having purchased the 8x40's my eyes make better use of the slightly smaller exit pupil. Its an age thing!

I got some images of the binoculars (Specifically the back where the info is). It was my great grandad's and apparently was bought in the 60s/50s.

http://i.imgur.com/LksMBUO.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/LksMBUO.jpg

I don't know much about binoculars (Present or past). But these seem to be branded "Perl president".

If this seems much like a collector's item (Or someone else) then I'll consider selling it possibly.

[Charic]

What little knowledge I have on vintage, and  looking around the web, they appear to be of Japanese origin, and  were  good quality optics in their time.

Someone more knowledgeable will give you a better answer.  Sometimes, real gems come to light, and it just takes the right person, who is looking for something, to show some interest.

In the right hands, a little TLC and a clean,  things work again. I wouldn't try to fix or adjust yourself, unless you have the skills or the confidence. Sometimes, things are more valuable to someone in their present state.

I'm not saying that these are particularly valuable, but to you, they  maybe more of a sentimental value, but don't just discard them, you never know what's ahead?

[pipnina]

What little knowledge I have on vintage, and  looking around the web, they appear to be of Japanese origin, and  were  good quality optics in their time.

Someone more knowledgeable will give you a better answer.  Sometimes, real gems come to light, and it just takes the right person, who is looking for something, to show some interest.

In the right hands, a little TLC and a clean,  things work again. I wouldn't try to fix or adjust yourself, unless you have the skills or the confidence. Sometimes, things are more valuable to someone in their present state.

I'm not saying that these are particularly valuable, but to you, they  maybe more of a sentimental value, but don't just discard them, you never know what's ahead?

We had contemplated getting the 2nd half fixed so it would be usable again. But we figured for the price it would make more sense to get a new pair.

I think the coating is worn as well. I see a lot of internal reflections in the glass (Finding the moon is easy- just find the reflectiona dn follow it )

[Alfian]

Having a look here: http://binocularsky.com  to help you out. Steve is a regular contributor here and as you will see from his own site, knows a thing or two about binos! Some good recommendations too.

[BinocularSky]

My ideal magnification is porbably around the 8 degree mark. If possible, I'd like a stabalising pair as my hand wobble about like weebles. But if they cost much more I can live without.

Ideal cost- Between £100 and £150 max.

Image stabilised binoculars are outside your price range. If you want hand-held, you are proably wise to stick to 8x. Within your price-range, you would struggle to get better optical and mechanical quality than the Nikon Action EX 8x40. They have sufficient eye relief (17mm) for use with glasses.

I only have one question: What does "Multi-Coated" mean?

 Pretty much whatever the manufacturer wants it to mean. There is no industry standard for terms like "coated", "fully multicoated", etc. I whinge about this (and related issues) at length here.

[Hallelujah]

http://www.bigbinoculars.com/faq.htm#4

Stan

[pevsfreedom]

Get yourself a Pentax 10 x 50 and a tripod or monopod and enjoy.

That's what I got, with this tri-pod

http://www.amazon.com/Ravelli-APGL4-Professional-Tripod-Adjustable/dp/B003SQEAY0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425693830&sr=8-1&keywords=ravelli+heavy+duty

It's awesome