Whats the minimum....

[jasperuk]

Been thinking of getting a pair of binos as a backup to the telescope but i know nothing about them and need advice on which ones to get for a decent view of anything really, also what can i expect to see ?

Any help appreciated....

[ismangil]

First you have to determine the size. The professor, Ad Astra here in SGL, uses 7x50 and his students manages to get a lot.

For a bit more magnification and a more appropriate exit pupil size I got a 10x50, what most binocular astronomy books reckon the most you can handheld.

If you want to get mounted, the sky's the limit!

[jasperuk]

What about these if in good nick or are they too big ???

Viper 20 X 80 Field 3.5 Binoculars with Case

[ismangil]

What about these if in good nick or are they too big ???

Viper 20 X 80 Field 3.5 Binoculars with Case

I didn't do any research for anything above 10x so I'll let someone else comment on the brand.

As for practicality, that would be definitely need to be mounted somehow. With bins the mounts are not always traditional tripods!

[luukieboy2]

I don't know how it is in the UK, but here in the Netherlands, the Lidl sells a 10*50 binocular for just 20 euro's. It are those sensational deals. Just bought me one, and their awesome. But do pre-check them before buying. Some of them are not that good.

[BinocularSky]

IMO the 10x50 is probably the most versatile binocular. It is hand-holdable, even by a child, as long as you do it properly. It has sufficient aperture to show hundreds of faint fuzzies, and htere are only a few that are better in 7x50 (M33, M101, NGC7000 are ones that come to mind). It has uses outside astronomy (e.g. birding, racing) if the astro-interest wanes, or if you just want something versatile. I keep a 10x50 permanently in my van for those reasons.

The Lidl offers (usually Bresser or Rockwell) can be pretty good VFM, but there are a couple of caveats:

• The internal structure of these reduces the effective aperture to about 40mm (you can demonstrate this by measuring the exit pupils).
  
• Quality control is poor, if it exists at all (I suspect that the manufacturers deem the consumer to be less critical than an optical QC department would be), so these are often out of collimation. A trial (not necessarily representative) I did in my local Lidl on the Bressers showed about 1 in 5 to be well-collimated.
  

There is some advice on evaluating binoculars (including rough collimation tests) "in store" here.

[johntrob]

I am going to mount my Kronos 26 X 70 this weekend and try them out.

I did not know it but a mount was stuck in the pocket of the case. So you are supposed to be able to mount them to a reg tripod. Will see.

[jasperuk]

A run down how it goes and what you got to see when you get the time please

[John]

What about these if in good nick or are they too big ???

Viper 20 X 80 Field 3.5 Binoculars with Case

Amazing - I've just taken delivery of a pair of those that I won on an e.bay auction !.

Mine are labeled "Panorama by Viking" and are 20x80's with a 3.5 degree field of view. Otherwise they look exactly the same as yours. Mine don't have a case though

I can't hand hold them for anything other than the briefest glimpses so I've got a nice solid tripod and I'll be getting a robust "L" adapter very soon to mount the binoculars on it.

I believe mine (and yours probably) were made in Japan by the Tohyoh company based near Tokyo. They could well be 10+ years old.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I can hold 15x70 reasonably well freehand, better if I can lean against something. My old 10x50 Bressers are also very nice (quite a bit better than the modern versions which are going cheap). The 10x50 is easily hand-held. Most people cannot handle 15x70 and certainly not 20x80 without a tripod.

[jasperuk]

Amazing - I've just taken delivery of a pair of those that I won on an e.bay auction !.

Mine are labeled "Panorama by Viking" and are 20x80's with a 3.5 degree field of view. Otherwise they look exactly the same as yours. Mine don't have a case though

I can't hand hold them for anything other than the briefest glimpses so I've got a nice solid tripod and I'll be getting a robust "L" adapter very soon to mount the binoculars on it.

I believe mine (and yours probably) were made in Japan by the Tohyoh company based near Tokyo. They could well be 10+ years old.

The ones i had in mind were £21 yesterday are now £45 with still 11 hours to go but the thing is are they worth it and how much should i expect to pay in the end ????

I was going to use them by laying down in the garden and looking up or maybe the swing chair i can lay flat on that and its got cushions

[NGC404]

The trick with hand holding large binoculars is to hold them at the Objective lens

end, rather than the conventional way near the eyepieces.

The objecvtive lens end is where all the weight is, and its easier to balance when

using this technique

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

The trick with hand holding large binoculars is to hold them at the Objective lens

end, rather than the conventional way near the eyepieces.

The objecvtive lens end is where all the weight is, and its easier to balance when

using this technique

Absolutely! However, I would still hesitate at holding a 20x80 free-hand

[NGC404]

The trick with hand holding large binoculars is to hold them at the Objective lens

end, rather than the conventional way near the eyepieces.

The objecvtive lens end is where all the weight is, and its easier to balance when

using this technique

BTW. The above does not apply to Helios 28x110s, weighing over 7KGs.

I,ve tried

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

You also may have problems with centre-focused bins. Far too often I have had to adjust focus after I nudged the EP with my glasses.