osbourne one-nil

Not sure I'd get up from the lying down one. Do you have a head on top of the monopod? Of course, my Leicas seem to need a strap type adapter...all seem to be unavailable at the moment.

I had a pair of 10x30 which I loved but after 10 years some of the lubrication seemed to be leaking onto the prisms. I opted for the 12x36 as their replacement because Argos had a good deal on at the time and from what I read, the price/performance combination was good. It is! Had I not just got the Leicas I probably would have gone for the 10x42 Canons but I think for the sort of price they are, I'd want perfection and it seems like they're not perfect. They're very very good, but some seemingly silly things like uncomfortable eye cups and their weight (which isn't a silly thing) kept gnawing away at me.

They're not as expensive so they can't be as good! In reality, I just really like the field of view the 8x42s give me and with no mechanical interference, I find the view to have a real "wow" factor with the image essential perfect. The Canons are great, truly remarkable, but I'm always aware that there's a little bit of something going on behind the scenes. Of course, when looking through the Leicas I'm always aware that they don't have image stabilisation, so I'm just looking to provide them with a little bit myself. I've not actually tried the Canons on Andromeda yet, but on M81 and M82, you can definitely make them out. They're there....tiny, but there and this is where I am starting to really appreciate binocular astronomy because it makes me feel like a kid again when the thrill was just in actually seeing something and trying to comprehend what it was, without worrying about tracking or making sure you're getting every little bit of detail. I'm hooked!

So the 8x42s on a monopod should be pretty rock steady too? What have I got to lose!

Yes, that would certainly solve any stabilisation problems but my worry is I'd lose some portability and freedom issues. Of course, I wouldn't really as they're still portable and you I could move it around just as freely as a monopod. I just want to be able to go out within a mile radius of the village and enjoy the night sky, like I did last night. I imagine the right tripod would prove no obstacle to that.

Could a pair of binoculars on a monopod match the image stability of a similar pair of binoculars with in-built image stablisation? You'd have thought a monopod would be at least as good, but having had a mess around yesterday with my 8x42s resting on fence posts, etc, I'm wondering if it takes a tripod to provide a similar level of stability. I really really really.....really like the night time view through my 8x42s, but I just wish they'd stay still. I really like the IS feature on my 12x36s but I wish they were optically as pleasing as my 8x42s. Happy to invest in a monopod but if the image is still not going to hold at least as steady as an IS binocular then I wouldn't think it worthwhile and it might be better simply to kill two birds with one stone and think about a paid of 10x42 Canons. The fact that it's my birthday soon is pure coincidence.

Don't worry...I picked mine up at Argos in Sale on Thursday which rather beautifully only happened to be about 100yds from a meeting I had in the morning. They are really lovely. I've just nipped outside and had 10mins between showers looking at the nearly full moon...something I'd never have bothered doing with my dob. The amount you can actually see and resolve is amazing and no set up time, cool down, collimation or tracking considerations. Earlier in the week I'd treated myself to a pair of Leica Noctivid 8x42s and they provide a lovely crisp, low-power, wide field of view which complements the Canons perfectly. Next week I plan on declaring myself bankrupt.

It's not water...it looks like grease from the diopter lens has somehow gooed onto the top of the prism. I loosened the tiny screws around the eyepiece turret and placed the binoculars in an airtight box packed with silica gel sachets for 4 nights but after no change I decided to be brave and take a closer look. I've taken off what I can with isopropyl alcohol but it's so fiddly. I suppose after more than 10 years they don't owe me much but still a shame.

Not sure if anyone's interested but Argos have 'clearance' prices in Canon's range of image stabilised binoculars. https://www.argos.co.uk/search/canon-12x36/ I don't know about the prices for all the models but the ones I want; 12x36iii, seems pretty good!

By the way - it's definitely up the eyepiece end as when I adjust the eyepiece as if I was adjusting the ipd, the drops rotate with the turrets.

I live near Appleby...plenty of people in town have dehumidifiers as part of daily life! Good idea. I should leave well alone other than trying to encourage the water to leave I think!

Thanks Ed - it doesn't actually spoil the view but I'd like to stop any long-term damage occurring if possible. Good idea about leaving it in some silica gel! The drops don't move as I adjust the dioptre (it's in that barrel). Here's a photo taken from the objective lens end.

I noticed a bit of "something" in the view the other day, but put it down to fluff and thought no more of it. But when I looked today, I noticed there are drops of water around the edge on the inside. Difficult for me to be sure, but I think they're on the inside of the eyepiece lens in one of the barrels. At 10yrs old, no way is it going to be financially sensible to send these off for repairs, but does anyone know how I could get inside to have a go myself? Thanks

Thanks all...I've absolutely no complaints about my 10x30s at all and I suppose of I was starting from scratch they'd be the pair I went for. Interesting that no one is particularly suggesting I'd gain much from 10x50s and that smaller non stabilised ones might just be comparable to what I already have. At least it saves my money!

Thanks. That all makes sense. As with most things in this hobby, it's all about compromise. The weight certainly doesn't bother me but perhaps spending more for minor benefits...and some some potential drawbacks...just isn't worth it. I just want to make the most of the relatively dark skies I get here on the very rare occasions that they occur.

Thanks both - I did have a pair of second-hand Canon 15x50is a few years ago but found that when the image stabilisation was activated it introduced a slight blur rendering them pretty unusable for astronomy. In some ways I'm glad I had the chance to try them when I did otherwise I'd be pretty much convinced they were the way to go now. Perhaps I just had a duff pair? Perhaps I've got the best solution already!

Morning, I've been taking my Canon 10x30is binoculars with me more and more often on my nightly walks; the only time I get to stretch my legs is normally in the evening. I love this sort of "observing" because it is purely for visual pleasure, allows me to combine going under the night sky with getting some exercise and most of all opens up some of the lovely observing sites dotted around my village that are inaccessible to telescope observing. I don't want to, therefore, move up to anything like a 70mm or 80mm aperture binocular that would need serious mounting but I would be fine with a monopod etc that would fit easily in a small rucksack. Would a pair of 50mm or 60mm binoculars, either handheld or on a monopod, give me any noticeable improvement in viewing experience over my image stabilised binoculars? If it's relevant, I'm in my early late 40s, only wear glasses for reading and live under Bortle 3 skies. Thanks!

Last night I simply moved it about by hand and watched the coordinates on the app (and on Sky Safari) change....or not change as it happens. When I then tightened the clamps up again, and tried goto, the alignment had obviously gone. I know the manual says you can turn off freedom find if you're never going to use it, to increase goto accuracy, so I suspect that might be what's happened here. I just can't find the setting anywhere to turn it back on! As for alignment stars, the app gives you a choice of stars to use, and once you've picked your first star, the choice of second stars changes a bit, so I guess it's trying to get us to use ones that are a certain distance apart. Last night, for example, I selected Rigel and it then put Regulus near the top of the list for 2nd stars...a bit away but not the opposite side of the sky it seems.

I spent a few hours out with mine last night and I was very impressed. I used a crosshair eyepiece and also made sure I was pointing due north by lining up with Polaris before I began alignment; I know it says you only need to do this roughly, but it was easy for me to be accurate. I then spent an evening getting everything in the eyepiece, no matter where in the sky it was, but I was only using a 24mm eyepiece on a 700mm scope, so I wasn't testing it too much! I also centred each object using the method Stu suggests. One thing that did happen during the evening was the azimuth movement appeared to become very loose, but it turns out the bolt holding the mount to the extension pier had come loose, so that was easily rectified. I'd make sure that's done up tightly and that the three bolts on the top of the pier are too. Freedom Find doesn't seem to work on mine at all. Not sure why, but when I release the clamps and move about manually, the alignment's lost. Other than that, I love it!

If ever you've fancied moving to north Africa, now would be a good time. The only thing I thought was you'd got the mount pointing "backwards" where the azimuth clutch knob is pointing south, but that wouldn't explain this problem. So in summary, no - sorry!

That's got to affect the image quality.

He's either very strong or that is a helium purged system.

My Vixen only has FPL53 glass - I feel cheated.

It doesn't make financial sense, there are probably better mounts and the software probably isn't the best, but.....I so want a Vixen mount with Starbook 10!

I've always fancied one of their RS200SS scopes although as a visual-only observer I'm sure it would be horrible without the corrector, but they look so cute I think!