Celestron Nature 10x50 Porro's

[Godders84]

Hi all,

I'm looking to take the plunge and buy my first bins to indulge my love for the night sky. I've (tried!) doing a fair amount of research into which one's would suit best, but there's an awful lot to get your head round!!!

I've found the Celestron Nature 10x50's at Amazon which I think would suit for the following reasons:

1. Given I'd like to use them to try and get a bit more detail on the things I can see with the naked eye, I'm thinking 10 x 50's are probably the best (I like the 'grab and go' aspect, so not really looking at anything bigger/scope just yet)

2. I've got a slight astigmatism in one of my eyes, corrected by glasses, and this leads me to believe the 20mm eye relief on these would suit well

3. They're less than £100, so within my budget!

Has anyone else tried these? Would appreciate any thoughts/experiences from you more experienced folk before I part with the hard-earned!

[4lefts]

A lot of people seem to like the Celestron/Revelation (same thing) 15x70s - like these: Celestron - they're bigger than you want, but I point them out because they sound a lot cheaper than the ones on amazon. They go for about £70 quid I think, though some retailers sometimes have them for less.

My advice would be to ring FLO and talk to them. For me the recommended these: Porroprism - Opticron Imagic TGA WP Porro Prism - a bit more money, but they are the absolute cat's pyjamas. Long eye relief - I can use them with glasses on. I wish they made them in giant sizes too, and I'd be seriously tempted.

[Nexus 6]

I would second the Celestron 15x70's, for under a £100, I paid £64, they are excellent, 18mm eye relief so not too bad for you, lighter than I was expecting, 1.3 kgs. With the spare £35 you would not be far off getting a tripod for them too

I would also suggest you buy from a reputable dealer rather than Amazon.

My 1st binoculars 10x50 were only £25 and were superb! Even for such a cheap pair they showed a great deal so would imagine a really good set are brilliant.

Good Luck with your final choice

[ismangil]

As a first time bins owner myself, I would caution the advice to go to 15x.

What they say in the books about 10x being the normal limit of hand holding is true. I can't barely hold my 10x50 still. I'm sure it will get better with practice and technique (read Stephen Tonkin's book for excellent advice on these), still I'm glad I stuck to 10x50.

And having to mount a binocular, especially for first timers like us defeats the purpose of it being a hassle free way to roam the sky.

I can't comment on the Celestron, I went for my Helios as it good reviews, under £100 and available at Rother Valley Optics so I can try it out.

And having had a go last night, I can recommend it easily. Clear view, good mechanics, not too heavy (though still not light!).

[Hobbes]

As a first time bins owner myself, I would caution the advice to go to 15x.

What they say in the books about 10x being the normal limit of hand holding is true. I can't barely hold my 10x50 still. I'm sure it will get better with practice and technique (read Stephen Tonkin's book for excellent advice on these), still I'm glad I stuck to 10x50.

Good advice.

If you are going any larger than 10x50 you are gong to need a tripod and mounting bracket.

Having said that I love my 20x80's and it only takes me a couple of minutes to set up the tripod and mount the bins. I sling both in the boot of the car when we go away anywhere. The other advantage is being able to share views of some of the more spectacular and interesting objects with friends and family which is usually a very frustrating experience with handheld but a doddle with a tripod.

Whatever you choose you're going to have a lot of fun.

Rgds

Rob

[4lefts]

Just to be clear, I wasn't recommending the 15x70s. I was just meaning to point out that 100 quid gets a lot of binocular. And yeah, I can't hold 10x50 very still either. A monopod (cheap is fine) is a good move with these.

To buck a trend, honestly I'm not crazy about the celestron 15x70s. There's nothing wrong with them, per se, but maybe I've been spoiled but the opticrons. Love them.

[ismangil]

I've been spoiled but the opticrons. Love them.

You should! If I got £135 to spend I would get them instead of the Helios at £90-ish. I did spend the extra £45 on tripod adapter, books, and subscription to Sky at Night...

[ismangil]

Hi,

Browsing UK Astro buy classifieds there's someone selling Helios Naturesport 10x50 secondhand

In case you're still looking.

[BinocularSky]

(read Stephen Tonkin's book for excellent advice on these)

I don't want to put anyone off buying the book if they want to , but I have put pretty much the same advice (plus a few other things) in this section of my web site.

[ismangil]

I don't want to put anyone off buying the book if they want to , but I have put pretty much the same advice (plus a few other things) in this section of my web site.

Thanks Steve, I'll revise my advice to:

See Steve Tonkin site for evaluating and the best way to hold binoculars, and better yet, buy his book as it contains loads more for info.

How's that

[Jim M]

You get what you pay for. The celestrons can have quality issues. There are a fair few dissatisfied customers if you care to check. I have been reading this and other forums for a couple of years now and haven't heard a single complaint about any pentax bino's (except maybe the 20x60 having too narrow a field of view) nor of any of the nikon action extremes. In fact they are excellent bino's but you are looking at £160 here. You could be lucky and get a nice pair of celestrons - well ones that are passable. I have the nikons action ex 12x60 and they are just great, better than the opticrons I had prior which came with hair and dust on the prism's and the coatings were uneven. It's always best to try out and examine your bino's before parting with cash unless you are sure you can return them later. Some shops will argue the hinds legs off a donkey rather than give you a refund.

Hi all,

I'm looking to take the plunge and buy my first bins to indulge my love for the night sky. I've (tried!) doing a fair amount of research into which one's would suit best, but there's an awful lot to get your head round!!!

I've found the Celestron Nature 10x50's at Amazon which I think would suit for the following reasons:

1. Given I'd like to use them to try and get a bit more detail on the things I can see with the naked eye, I'm thinking 10 x 50's are probably the best (I like the 'grab and go' aspect, so not really looking at anything bigger/scope just yet)

2. I've got a slight astigmatism in one of my eyes, corrected by glasses, and this leads me to believe the 20mm eye relief on these would suit well

3. They're less than £100, so within my budget!

Has anyone else tried these? Would appreciate any thoughts/experiences from you more experienced folk before I part with the hard-earned!

[BinocularSky]

You get what you pay for. The celestrons can have quality issues.

The QC issue is common to all budget Chinese binoculars; this is why it is essential to learn how to evaluate them yourself but, even then, you can get caught. My somewhat cynical belief is that the final stage of QC is the customer, most of whom will be less stringent than a proper optical QC bod with a modicum of self-respect. I've actually witnessed returned budget binos being thrown straight into the dustbin -- obviously cheaper to replace than to fix (usually collimate).

I have been reading this and other forums for a couple of years now and haven't heard a single complaint about any pentax bino's (except maybe the 20x60 having too narrow a field of view) nor of any of the nikon action extremes. In fact they are excellent bino's but you are looking at £160 here.

The Action Extremes are certainly good binoculars for astronomy; I'm not sure I'd class them as excellent -- the image breaks down a little over half way to the edge of the field; this is what you trade for anything over 5* TFoV in a 10x50, unless you are willing to pay. You can get them for around £125 nowadays. The only excellent 10x50 for astronomy (IMO, of course) is the Fujinon FMT-SX, but that is around £550, but it's what it costs to get a near-as-dammit perfect image with a TFoV of 6.5*.

Also good are the Strathspey Marines (the 2004 review on the site, originally -- and still -- on Cloudy Nights, where it is updated from 2008) is mine. These live in my van, where they have survived 6 years of mild abuse. I still reckon that these are probably the best sub-£100 10x50 binocular for astronomy available new in the UK.

It's always best to try out and examine your bino's before parting with cash unless you are sure you can return them later.

If necessary, invoke distance selling regs -- you have 7 days.

Some shops will argue the hinds legs off a donkey rather than give you a refund.

SO true! It pays to be conversant, and confident, with the Sale of Goods Act, and to use the terms "merchantable quality" and "fit for purpose" liberally!

[ismangil]

Also good are the Strathspey Marines (the 2004 review on the site, originally -- and still -- on Cloudy Nights, where it is updated from 2008) is mine. These live in my van, where they have survived 6 years of mild abuse. I still reckon that these are probably the best sub-£100 10x50 binocular for astronomy available new in the UK.

This was on my shortlist, in the end I went with Helios because it's lighter, as it not got the mil-spec, waterproofing etc, and I can try it in action in my local(ish) shop. To be fair Strathspey offered to send me one on trial as long as I pay return postage if I decide not to buy it.

[stringbean]

This was on my shortlist, in the end I went with Helios because it's lighter, as it not got the mil-spec, waterproofing etc, and I can try it in action in my local(ish) shop. To be fair Strathspey offered to send me one on trial as long as I pay return postage if I decide not to buy it.

Are the Helios lenses on the 10x50 bins 'Fully Multi Coated' as opposed to just 'Multi Coated'? Looking at the Strathespy website, they state that their 10x50 bins are Level IV meaning coatings are on 'All' surfaces including the prisms.

[ismangil]

Are the Helios lenses on the 10x50 bins 'Fully Multi Coated' as opposed to just 'Multi Coated'? Looking at the Strathespy website, they state that their 10x50 bins are Level IV meaning coatings are on 'All' surfaces including the prisms.

I believe so, however I have no concrete evidence.

All I can say is that I managed to see Perseus Double Cluster which is low at this time of the year, without too long dark adaptation because I couldn't be bothered to wait, on the light polluted sky of Sheffield, with a naked eye limiting magnitude of 2 (only four stars of the Ursa Major pan can be seen even after dark adaptation)!

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

The Strathspey marines tick a lot of boxes: individual focusing being an important one! This is far more stable than (cheap) centre focusing bins. For astronomy, where little refocusing is needed, individual focusing is much better. I will replace mine with individual focusing ones in due course.