Which would you choose

[catburglar]

Toying with getting a new pair of binoculars. My current 2 pairs are Canon 10x30IS and Revelation Astro 15x70. I'm happy with the Canons so I'm looking to replace the revelations with something that improves the view a bit.

I have a tripod/trigger grip that I think will take the weight of the 20x80's, but probably won't stretch to anything larger. I'm thinking of either some Celestron Skymaster 20x80's or the Pentax 20x60 PCF WPII listed in the clearance section of FLO.

I like the image quality of the Canon's and I'm wondering if I'll get similar quality with the Pentax, but be able to view down to about mag 9.5 as I can with the Revelations. I realise the FoV is quite narrow on the Pentax in comparison to the Celestron, so looking for opinions as to whether this bothers people who might have them.

I know I could get some Helios Apollo's , but they're about twice the price of the Pentax, and I'm looking to keep this under about £200.

Would you pick either of these or something else entirely?

[Alfian]

The Pentax's are good binos with very nice optics. I have the (BA8) WO 10X50S which are optically better, but are more expensive. The fov is narrow but I,ve not found it the issue I thought it would be. More tricky is getting the eye position right but that does eventually come more easily. The big bonus with the Pentax's compared to 20x80s is the lack of weight, which makes them so manageable. The construction is still very sturdy, if somewhat plain. The Pentax's are brilliant at open clusters and the moon and pretty good on brighter DSOs, although the smaller aperture limits them. I think the Pentax's are bit of an acquired taste but I like them.

That said I,ve noticed someone selling some Tento 20x60s on Astro buy sell. Worth a look?

[catburglar]

Alfian- it was the tento's on UKABS that made me rethink my plans- I was set on the 20x80's up to that point. I have no personal experience of Tento, but have seen reviews that suggest generally good image quality, but slightly less good mechanics.

That's when I remembered the FLO listing- thought the Pentax might equal or beat the Tento on image quality and beat them on 'fit'n'finish'. I've also read that in the binocular world magnification has a bigger impact on limiting magnitude than aperture (within limits) because of the relatively lower magnification- so if I don't loose too much in comparison to my 15x70's I think I'd be happy.

I think I may have to warm up my credit card.....thanks

[Piero]

20x80 are much heavier than your 15x70 I think. 

15x70 is a nice compromise between fov, magnification, portability.

If I were you I would go with the helios. You can always wait a little while saving a little more money if this is a concern. 

[Alfian]

I tried some Helios Q4 20x80s and was surprised how hefty they were in the flesh, but compared to the likes of Celestron 15x70s the BA8s are no lightweights either! Quality is not only expensive but a tad heavy too. The Pentax's don,t really compete with the Apollos they are a different type of beast.

Still, lots of stuff on CN to expound their qualities and limitations. Choices choices!

[F15Rules]

Hi,

The Tentos on UKABS (and here) are mine .

I can only give my opinion on them but I think they are excellent for the money. I've owned 3 pairs in all and read a lot about them and optically they do take some beating. The eyecups can be rolled back to get your eyes closer (if you don't wear glasses) and the objectives are of excellent quality. I would say that images are sharp out to around 70% of the radial field (ie from centre looking left to right), which is above average for most binoculars under around £250 that I have seen. The uber-expensive binos of £500 plus seem to chiefly offer 90% or better edge to edge sharpness for the extra outlay: but on axis I doubt most observers would see much difference vs the Tentos and I for one tend to view objects in the centre of the view, not the edge!

I've also concluded that the older versions (made in the USSR) are the best. Like a lot of optical products, the build quality seems to have often been better in the 70s/80s than in the 90s/2000s. The older Tentos (1990 or before, mine are 1989) were made under the soviet government's control and specs, intendend mainly for military use. This means that they were cosmetically "industrial" but robustly made as they had to stand some rough handling by the forces. The older ones can be identified by the serial number on the centre column, e.g. mine begin with 89 for 1989 manufacture. They also have aluminium "beauty rings" trims ahead of the objective lenses and eyepiece lenses (see my photos on SGL ad) whereas newer ones don't tend to have the serial number, they are all black (no trims) and may say made in Russia rather than made in the USSR. They may be ok, but I personally prefer the older ones in every way.

Of course, any optical product shouldn't be abused, but the Tento's I have seen have been of reasonable construction and mostly optically excellent. 

I've tried most of the sizes in their range and in my opinion, the top 4, optically, would be as follows:

1. 7x50s

2.20x50s (see note below)

3. 10x50s

4.7x35s

The only reason I rated the 7x50s one place ahead of the 20x60s optically is purely because the 7x50s have superior edge of field sharpness - around 85% edge to edge, which is truly exceptional for a binocular at the price they can be had for (around £50 plus postage in good used condition). The 20x60s at around 70% are still very respectable for the price, and the contrast of the bigger bins is better in LP areas as the higher magnification really does darken the sky background on fainter objects. I've owned several pairs of 70/80mm budget bins (Revelation etc) and the Tentos have better sharpness, better contrast and better ability to show fainter objects- partly I believe due to a) Superior coatings, better figured lenses and c) they are a true 60mm aperture, not stopped down as some bigger budget bins are. They are also easy to mount, being only c 1.8kg in weight. They also come with a decent leather covered hard case rather than the pointless soft "pouches" bundled with the cheapo Chinese bins.

I can't comment on the Pentax 20x60s but have no reason to think they are not very good (I have a superb older pair of Pentax 8x30s)...but you can buy the Tentos in excellent used condition for about half the price...  - with 3.3 degrees of sky visible vs the 2.2 or so (I think) degrees of the Pentax..

Hope that helps, and good luck with your selection

Dave

[Alfian]

Hi Dave, nice write up. I,m almost persuaded to sell the Pentax's and buy the Tentos! If I lived nearer it would have fun to have compared them. Someone must snap them up soon.

[F15Rules]

Hi Alfian

I'm seriously thinking of withdrawing them..I do have other bins for hand holding and just don't get too much time with the bigger ones at the moment..If they don't find a buyer soon I'll be happy to keep them:-).

Clear skies

Dave