what binoculars do you own

[Mr Bond]

Bit of a snob for binos, so saved hard for these (among others!)

8.5x42 Swaro

Nikon EDG 8x32

8x24 Swaro

Most impressive to me are the Nikons. Outstanding light gathering and peerless clarity.

[RCG]

Miyauchi 20 X 100

Fujinon 16 X 70

Fujinon 10 X 70

Nikon 10 X 42

[ChrisLX200]

Miyauchi 20 X 100

Fujinon 16 X 70

Fujinon 10 X 70

Nikon 10 X 42

That's a nice collection of binos  

ChrisH

[TK421]

Olympus 10X50 DP-1s here, I stared out on these and have been using them for the past 12ish months. I don't have anything to compare them to but I think they are great for the price, about £50/60 from amazon and most importantly kept me interested in this strange hobby.

[quaoar]

15 x 60 Zeiss B/GATs

[stafford_stargazer]

Opticron Oregon 11x70 fully multi coated bak 4's... There optically very good indeed and light gathering excellent.. For an inexpensive pair their have great coatings on the front lenses, sharp to 95% of the field and I haven't yet noticed any blue fringing, I would recommend if anyone is after any smaller mag observation bins.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[stafford_stargazer]

Opticron Oregon 11x70 fully multi coated bak 4's... There optically very good indeed and light gathering excellent.. For an inexpensive pair they have great coatings on the front lenses, sharp to 95% of the field and I haven't yet noticed any blue fringing, I would recommend if anyone is after any smaller mag observation bins.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[cpper]

Nikon Aculon 10x50

[Acme1970]

Bushnell 7x35 & Oberwerk 15x70

[Psychobilly]

I picked up a pair of 8x42 Delta SL3's this weekend (Infocus in house brand) ... Japanese manufactured and 30 yr Warranty...

They are to replace my Hawke Prostalk 8x56 ED's for walkabout use - Birds and Bugs as they are a lot lighter .. The Prostalks will still get used at night...

I haven't pointed the 8x42's  at a dark sky yet but will soon...

So my list is

Viking 6.5x32 MD's Roof Prisms - My specialist Bug  binos as they focus to 3 feet and have very good fast focus for following bugs in flight. but they also give pleasing wide field views..

Delta SL3 8x42 Roof Prisms -  My Birding Bins

Hawke Prostalk 8x56 ED's  - My Astro bins

Zhumell 25x100's - Astro and sea watching

Peter...

[trynda1701]

Update!

Helios Apollo 15x70HD. Woohoo!

Carl Zeiss Jena Jenoptem 10x50W - 25 years and counting!

Halina Discovery 8x30 - 2pairs, one for the car, one spare!

Mark

[glynnlondon]

Back in the mid 80s I used my fathers 10 x 50 Carl Zeiss Jena bins and a book called astronomy with binoculars. I remember they were pretty good but blooming heavy. They were clattered clambering up the roof of the shed more than a few times ! My favourite view was the smudge of the andromeda galaxy 

[ak47]

i love 10x50 binos because they are the largest magnificationXaperture you can hand held without a tripod. 

nikon aculon 10x50 - all the features of premium binos : bak4 prism, multicoated lenses , high 6.5 degrees FOV, durable rubberised body and extremely sharp views!

all that in a very affordable price tag.

[eid]

I own a pair of Pentax 8x40 PCF WP II which I'm very happy with now (the first pair were misaligned). Theyre about the maximum I'd take on a walking holiday so they suit my other activities.

[kkokkolis]

Zeiss Terra ED 8X42 and Canon 18x50 IS is my duo. I have also some Pentax and Soviet 8x30 and a couple of Bresser 10x50.

[FLO]

I use a number of binoculars but for astronomy my mainstays are the 10x50 Opticron Imagic TGA WP and a 10x50 Barr & Stroud Monocular that I keep in the car glove compartment. I could wax lyrical about the Imagic but you'll probably think I am trying to sell it   so I'll just say it suits me very well. 

OTOH, it would be somewhat alarming if you were selling kit about which you felt  you could not wax lyrical!

I had forgotten about this thread until yesterday when someone told me off for not posting more about my choice 

To be fair, I don't normally discuss my choice of kit because I feel forums work best when members share firsthand experience, not retailers, and retailer opinions are rarely objective so should be taken with a pinch of salt! But here goes: Having spent nearly my entire working life selling optics I believe the Opticron Imagic TGA WP series are the BEST binoculars at their price. There are other models that are more compact and more robust but all things considered, especially optical quality, I haven't found anything better. Mine are always with me at star parties so if you have found something better for the price let's meet and do a comparison. 

How's that for coming off the fence 

Steve

[Lowjiber]

I have a pair of Celestron 12 x 70's that I can hand-hold pretty well.

I have Oberwerk 15 x 70's that get most of my use... mounted on an Oberwerk Heavy Duty, Adjustable Monopod. (solid)

I also have a pair of Celestron 25 x 70's that I use on the monopod above as well.

Clear Skies

[glynnlondon]

With the clear skies tonight I had the scope out and also found an old xmas present i hadnt even opened.

 An astronomy with binoculars package.

In it were a pair of orion explorer 7 x 35 wa bins with 4 dustcaps in a plastic bag inside a canvas case.

First light they showed up the pleiades and andromeda lovely.

An orion redbeam mini as well tho its been so many years the batteries are dead !

[stafford_stargazer]

Leica trinovid 10x25 :-). The moon is nice through em..

[avtaram]

Helios Q4 15x70 FOV 4.4*

Praktica 10x42 roof prism FOV 6*

Asahi Pentax 8x40 wide angle FOV 9.5*

7x35 extra wide angle FOV 11*

I use this neck mono pod thingy for mounting the binoculars rather than a tripod, I find it more convenient.

Avtar

[algol]

Bit jealous seeing all these lovely binos, mine are cheap 8-24 x 50s

[Chris]

Very nice range of binos there Avtar

Chris

[avtaram]

Very nice range of binos there Avtar

Chris

Thanks Chris, I think you may recognise one particular pair in the picture.

Avtar

[tracerman]

as posted in another section earlier today - I have some Tasco 16 x 50's , mainly used on the beach looking at passing shipping . Just in last few days bought some Celestron 25 x 70's , not yet tested but am going to the beach this week to make comparisons between both pairs . 

[Matt2011]

The Helios Apollo 15X70 HD Binoculars are the best binoculars in the world, got a pair and there more there amazing!!!