what binoculars do you own

[PeterW]

Or make your own one of these.. https://www.amazon.com/Forum-Novelties-52943-Double-Binocular/dp/B0021X2WQY 🙂

 

Peter

[Nakedgun]

On 16/01/2020 at 01:46, Frank the Troll said:

Celestron Ultima DX 9*63 clear & sharp, well worth having.  I Use mounted on an eq3 & photo tripod. Also just right for hand-held use

These are a keeper

 

These 10x50 Ultima are the only set of this Japan mfd. line I own.

 

 

Every time I use them I kick myself for not buying the entire line when they could be had.

 

 

Nothing quite like a missed opportuniyt!

[Frank the Troll]

5 hours ago, Nakedgun said:

 

These 10x50 Ultima are the only set of this Japan mfd. line I own.

 

 

Every time I use them I kick myself for not buying the entire line when they could be had.

Cant rate them highly enough, if anyone sees a pair for sale, grab them, they wont hang around for long

 

 

Nothing quite like a missed opportuniyt!

 

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

On Monday I received my first pair of adult binoculars. Olympus DPS-I 10x50 and wow I'm impressed and rather embarrassed to confess I don't recall ever looking at the night sky with binoculars. Wildlife, ships, planes, down firing ranges et al but not up at night!

Finally twenty minutes ago I looked out to find the sky clear, so out they came for the first time.

Before the clouds returned fifteen minutes later, I managed to take in Orion, Perseus, Casseopia, Hyades and Pleiades.

Hyades in particular looked great, beautifully framed in the field of view.

Despite the Bortle 7/8 sky I 'm afflicted with, I was blown away in those few minutes by how much I could see and how crystal clear the view was!

 

I'd like to formally apologise for not using binoculars before.

These will be going on all my camping trips. I can't wait to try them under dark skies.

I hope I'm forgiven!

 

 

 

Edited January 29, 2020 by ScouseSpaceCadet

[Nakedgun]

Enlightenment. Better late than never.

Welcome!

[Stormbringer]

welcome to the bin user's :)

[johnbaz]

The Swallow 15x80 arrived, It looked like someone had tipped old smashed plasterwork in!!, Had to spend 20 mins washing and drying everything but at least the lenses were protected with caps!!

There is a fungal bloom in one objective lens although it can't be seen whilst viewing!!, Er, They're a bit big compared with my Monarch 8x42 rp's!!

 

I found this receipt for a new focussing shaft and other work in the bottom of the case from 1997!!

 

 

John 👍

Edited April 1, 2020 by johnbaz

[Nakedgun]

Do you plan to mount them for use, if so, how will you attach them?

[bish]

I"ve  celestron 15x70, 9x63, 8x42 and helios 10x50. I use them all. 

[Xsubmariner]

I have Swarovski 8.5x42. Amazing wide-field image good for stargazing and country pursuits. 

[johnbaz]

23 hours ago, Nakedgun said:

Do you plan to mount them for use, if so, how will you attach them?

Hi David

The front focus shaft screw removes to attach a bracket for a tripod, I'll probably not get around to mounting them though!!

John 🙂

EDIT- I thought i'd posted in this thread before but apparently not!! 

 

Anyhow, My binoculars are HERE, Don't want to post pics as it caused a bit of trouble last time! 

 

It seems i've not kept my Flickr up to date as I bought these last year..

Both are 7x50, One is Tasco, The other is focus free Dowling and Rowe..

 

I didn't add these old Tasco zoom to Flickr either!

 

Crikey, Here's another set that wasn't put in to the album!

Celestron 25x70..

 

 

 

Edited February 3, 2020 by johnbaz

[Ships and Stars]

I've owned some 25x100 Celestrons, they were decent for the price but not enough diopter adjustment to reach focus without glasses and the FOV was too restrictive with. I also had some Kasai widobinos which I miss, but needed to free up some money. I'd buy those again, but the hands free goggles and filter holders were too pricey for me. I have some old Bushnell 12x50s but bought some 12x70 Celestron Cometrons on a whim for the princely sum of £30 last year. I know they draw some dismissive reviews, but I absolutely love mine. Full FOV with glasses, sharp to me and easy to focus. Despite murmurs that they are in fact 12x62s, not 70s, they seem to have excellent light-gathering capability. I've really enjoyed them, best £30 I've spent on astronomy. However, they don't take filters and I've been lured by seductive reviews of the Helios Apollo HR 15x70s, so when a nice pair came up second hand...they arrive mid-week. So I'll finally get to see if there really is that much difference! I'd have gone for the lightquest, but filter holders are a must have. The 15 or 22x85 Apollos sound intriguing, but will wait until I hear more feedback on those...

Edited February 3, 2020 by Ships and Stars

[Stormbringer]

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Ships and Stars said:

I've owned some 25x100 Celestrons, they were decent for the price but not enough diopter adjustment to reach focus without glasses and the FOV was too restrictive with. I also had some Kasai widobinos which I miss, but needed to free up some money. I'd buy those again, but the hands free goggles and filter holders were too pricey for me. I have some old Bushnell 12x50s but bought some 12x70 Celestron Cometrons on a whim for the princely sum of £30 last year. I know they draw some dismissive reviews, but I absolutely love mine. Full FOV with glasses, sharp to me and easy to focus. Despite murmurs that they are in fact 12x62s, not 70s, they seem to have excellent light-gathering capability. I've really enjoyed them, best £30 I've spent on astronomy. However, they don't take filters and I've been lured by seductive reviews of the Helios Apollo HR 15x70s, so when a nice pair came up second hand...they arrive mid-week. So I'll finally get to see if there really is that much difference! I'd have gone for the lightquest, but filter holders are a must have. The 15 or 22x85 Apollos sound intriguing, but will wait until I hear more feedback on those...

The Helios Apollo 22x85 bins are really good but they are heavy and really need to be mounted to use well worth getting as i really enjoy using mine 🍻

[Evan Bargeman]

Celestron - Cometron 7x50 Binoculars

Nice, low-powered binocs for the price.

I was able to see the many stars in the Milky Way and also the Andromeda galaxy - was very happy to be able to do this as I had not done it before. However the binoculars first needed adjusting in order to eliminate the double-image.

https://wildproofgear.com/best-binoculars-for-stargazing/ - there are much more durable and powerful bicnoulars suggested by most websites, but as for newbie observer this would be a perfect choice to start his/her astronomy experience.

Just grab you smartphone closer to the objective and take shots of the nightsky objects!

[Jakefurr]

Nikon 7239 Action 7x50

Zeiss Terra ED 8x25

Oberwerk Sport ED 10x42

Edited March 25, 2020 by Jakefurr

[DaveL59]

just waiting on these to arrive, will need servicing and tidying up which I'm hoping to DIY

Then there's these couple from the collection of many others

and a very special pair I obtained
which now look like this after some restoring, flocked the objective tubes and wow what an improvement that made to the image!

[cupton]

Vortex Diamondback HD 10x50
Vortex Diamondback 10x42 (not pictured)
Nikon Action 10x50

My Nikons are prior to the Action Extremes, so I guess they would be now considered the current Aculon's. They were at the time and I guess are still called Action according to the label on the binocular. They're Extremes, but not waterproof which doesn't really make them very extreme. 😉

 

Edited March 26, 2020 by cupton

[DaveL59]

so these arrived this morning, condition actually better than I was expecting as focus and dioptre work tho a little "scratchy" and I can get a nice sharp view, wow the FoV on these is wide! Body in good order other than paint wear as you'd expect from old gear, tho the case - perfect, no separation of the lid/base and leather strap intact - I've given the leather a good coating of balm to help it stay that way.

Guessing the serial means these are 1978 vintage, I'd say they're excellent build, nicely balanced and not heavy. Only real issue I can see is what looks like slight possible fungus on the inside of the obkectives, barely noticeable but I'll open them up and clean that pretty soon.

All in all, very pleased, been wanting a pair of Audubon's for a while and these will clean up nicely with just a little TLC I think  

Just tried them on the moon and venus and could get both in view at the same time, collimation spot on too!

Edited March 28, 2020 by DaveL59

[PeterW]

They don’t make good wilde angle bins like that anymore. Always fancied a pair of the 8.5x44, but I have a few 7x/8x and the “binocular cupboard” door wouldn’t shut if I got another 😉 

Peter

[DaveL59]

lol know what you mean Peter.

So today decided to give the internals of the lenses a clean to at least cease any further developments, just in case. Lousy day so was something to keep busy and not after a day working at the PC so eyes fresh enough. Only went as far as stripping down the top end so I could access the inside of the objectives and not have to mess with the collimation. Also cleaned off the excess grease on the dioptre threads and that now runs much smoother, seems grit caught in the grease may have been the culprit.. So just the scratchy focuser movement, likely the same issue but its smooth enough for now. Will touch the paint wear eventually and order new eyecups if I can find a suitable size.

Internals look a bit dirty, gave it all a wipe over with peroxide on cotton buds including the glass  internal and external, then Zeiss lens wipes and reassembled. Didn't dismantle the eyepieces at this stage, will consider that later if needs be but think these are more complex 5-element ones so a task for another day, perhaps. Collimation seems good still, but will check against the stars later. View now seems brighter than when I first got them and very sharp, so all-in-all a good result for a couple hours play 🙂 

Edited March 29, 2020 by DaveL59

[Peter Drew]

I used to buy the 7x35 "Sport Special" version of these to make 5" binocular telescopes in the 1980's.  They used the same large prism assemblies and wide angle eyepieces providing up to 5.5" centres on the objectives.  The binoculars were quite expensive in their day, you should have seen the look on the shop assistant's face when I bought two and he asked me if I was interested in taking out an insurance policy.  My reply was that it wasn't necessary as I was going to cut them in half when I got home.      😀

[BLUEThumb]

I use these at the moment Bushnell 8x40 better than the naked eye, these will do for a bit ,only used them for spotting the ISS,but after turned em onto a few stars and the moon then i got hooked

 

Edited April 1, 2020 by BLUEThumb
wrong photo

[PeterW]

I was using some 2x bins last night too, to help me hop the larger bins to the right area. The key thing is to be able to get a steady view so you can resolve the fainter stars. I like lying on the ground with a pillow, good for accessing the zenith where the light pollution is less.

 

Peter

[Chaz2b]

There’s nothing better than seeing it with both eyes, and my favourite pair are my Orion Resolux 7x50, lovely crisp views both day and night. I have also a Carl Zeiss 10 x 50, but these are for day viewing only for me, I also had forgotten of the Miranda 10x50, bought these many moons ago and are outperformed by the other two.

I have had fifteen pairs of binos last year, but I went mad and sold all my Astro gear except the Resolux binos, boy am I mad or what!

Do binoviewers also come into this list? As I have Televue binos and William Optics as well.

chaz

[osbourne one-nil]

At the moment, I have these...mostly as a result of trying to decide what works best for me, but something will have to go at some point.....probably.