what binoculars do you own

[knobby]

Helios Fieldmaster 10x50. very happy with them.

Helios field master 7 x 50 , wish I'd got the 10 x 50 but probably not that much different .

I knew I should have got the 10 x 50 :-)

[HumptyMoo]

Revelation 15x70 which I didn't get on with at first, too much wobble until I realised it was best to hold them closer to the exit lenses, to minimise what I can only describe as "gravity seesaw effect" Love 'em now.

[BinocularSky]

Hold them like method #2 here: http://binocularsky.com/binoc_hold.php

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I have now discarded the little 4x22 as astronomical bins, and relegated them to terrestrial use for the kids

[Stridor]

I use a pair of `Swift Audobon` 8 x 44 roof prism; nice and light weight + great for bird watching as well.

[astrorabbit]

Just a very simple and old pair of Zeiss 8x20b's. Probably the sharpest optics I own mind!

[Ags]

I own a pair of 8x42... but i've always fancied a pair of 12x60s - big but not too big. I just discovered today that celestron make make these!

[Fahndar]

I have Orion Starmaster 25x70, Tento 20x60, Tento 16x50, and Tento 7x50. I am also waiting for a pair of Orion 20x80.

Alex

[Joseki]

Steiner 8x22 safari's - great go-anywheres - and (arrived today ) WO ED 10x50's.  Also, some brand-less BAK7 12x60's that I may not have for much longer since they don't perform very well on stars.

[Pete Presland]

I own 8x63 for widefield 15x70 used the most 20x80 hardly used st all

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

[BinocularSky]

Opticron 10×42 BGA: Easily hand-holdable; very good optics. Use it as a quick "grab and go" and as a hand-holdable adjunct to my big binoc.

Miyauchi 20/37x100 Bj-100B: My main observing instrument; rarely use the x20 eyepieces. In preference, I put it on a UA T-Mount, but also have a Manfrotto 475/501 combo for a more portable option.

Helios Apollo (UA BA8) 15x70: Very good "grab & go" binocular, and superb on a monopod/trigger-grip ball-head. (see avatar! )

Oberwerk Ultra (UA BA8) 10x50: Very good quality. The weight adds inertia, which damps the "shakes".

Vortex Raptor 6.5x32: Decent quality, 8° FoV.

Strathspey (UA BM2) 10x50 Marine: Lives permanently in the car; extremely robust and reasonably good optics.

Strathspey (UA BA1) 15x70: bought to experiment on/with. Not bad. Used as a "loan to members" instrument for my local AS.

Frank Nipole 10x50: very good incarnation of "old style" binocs, rudimentary coatings and BK7 prisms. Brighter and sharper than modern budget (e.g. UA BA1 and BF4) 10x50s, and used primarily for demonstrating this.

Unbranded 12-60x70 zoom: also has "ruby" coating. Donated. Kept as a demonstration example of almost exactly what a binocular for astronomy should not be. (I'd be ashamed to have my name on it, so not surprised it's unbranded -- might be an early UA BZ1; still hawked on eBay)

Edited February 12, 2014 by BinocularSky

[TractionMan]

At the moment, only my old cheap and cheerful Celestron UpClose 10x50. They've served me well but I've started to look for something better up to about £200 or so.

[ChrisLX200]

Petax 8x42 BCF HRc: Very good and bright for roof prism binos, very sharp with only slight softening at the very edges of FOV.

Minolta 10x50: I spent ages testing binos in the shops before finally selecting this pair. Excellent all around.

Miyauchi 20/30 x 77: lovely angled eyepiece binos for astro work, only issue is the lens shades tend to fall back!

I have other older pairs but these are the ones I actually use.

ChrisH

[Steve777]

Opticron 8x40s

[Tonys]

Nikon Action VII 8x40 and Tento 7x50. I did have Revelation 15x70 but didn't use them so much. The Nikons have a wide fov but image quality drops off towards the field edge, otherwise very sharp. The Tentos have a narrower fov but sharp almost to the edge. They exhibit a slight yellow cast which seems to be common for Soviet optics of the day. The Tentos seem to give a slightly darker background sky which has always puzzled me (maybe better contrast?) but show a ghost image when pointed at the moon around full. I tend to use the Nikons most often due to the bigger fov.

[russ]

A pair of Meade 10x50 specials from Lidl. Bought them in 2002 for £9.99 and they are still going strong. Did have some Helios Stellar 15x70 but they were worth too much and anything that has value in our house is sold in times of need. The Meade Lidl 10x50 are worthless, so are keepers.

[parsecundo]

I have 10x40 porro prism Swarovski, 8x 32 roof prism Swarovski, and my favourite 7x40 Zeiss Dialyt.

[Mr Spock]

I use the Canon 12x36 IS.

[Crebles]

Helios Nirvana ED 8x42's.

Pin-sharp stars. No CA. Great FOV. Light and comfortable to hold. Expensive but worth it.

And now some Apollo 15x70's as well !

"Helios...because I'm worth it." [hair swish and exit]

...and most recently some Helios Weathermaster III 10x50 porros for the car

[Marki]

Here are mine:

10x50 Zenith (bought for a tenner off fleabay; really poor - badly out of whack, and bin-fodder really).

10x42 Visionary Fieldtracker (bought these on holiday in Skye as I'd forgotten to bring any optics - modern, light, robust, pretty decent coatings, and the only pair my wife gets on with)

10x50 Carl Zeiss Jenoptem (fantastic optics - my most used pair, and actually my most used piece of astro kit. Pretty heavy though).

12x40 Tento (typical Soviet engineering; robust, with surprisingly good optics. Don't use them that much as I find the light gathering is too low for astro use and the field of view is too restricted. Also, the eye cups are some sort of hard plastic so a bit uncomfortable for longer sessions)

Of these I like the Zeiss best and will definitely keep them. Need to find a repair place, as they have lost collimation slighlty after rattling around in the boot of my car on a trip recently; I obviously hadn't packed them as well as I should have done! Anyone got any suggestions for bin repairers?

[BinocularSky]

Anyone got any suggestions for bin repairers?

Indeed I do:

Action Optics

OptRep

[Marki]

Much appreciated Steve, I'll take a look at those link. Thanks

[hippie]

I use my Busnell 10x50 

[hippie]

I use my Busnell 10x50 

Bushnell I meant 

[The Mekon]

At home I use an older pair of 7x50 Nikons with individual focus.  These have the same optics as the Nikon 7x50 tropical which I used for 32 years on the bridge of a ship, finally bequeathing them to the bridge of the last ship I served on.

Away at star parties etc, I use a lightweight pair of 7x35 Nikon wide field.