what binoculars do you own

[mark81]

8 hours ago, Stardaze said:

I’ve recently bought the Nikon 10x50’s and Helios 15x70’s so the Bushnell 10x42’s will be kept for compact convenience no doubt. Wasn’t sure whether to invest in a more expensive pair of 15x70’s but really impressed with the Stellar ii’s as my first pair this size. Used the Nikon’s last night and cold do with adding a bino bandit I think having got used to it with the Helios. Should be sorted from here. 

That's a nice selection you have there... I have the Stella's but the 10.5s and for the price you really can't go wrong - also the weight is still manageable, if you go for some Apollos it's quite a jump and makes handheld too difficult.. (although any 70mm really need some sort of support to get the best out of them)

I wonder how long it will be untill you add a pair of 80mms or bigger...

Mark

[Stardaze]

14 minutes ago, mark81 said:

That's a nice selection you have there... I have the Stella's but the 10.5s and for the price you really can't go wrong - also the weight is still manageable, if you go for some Apollos it's quite a jump and makes handheld too difficult.. (although any 70mm really need some sort of support to get the best out of them)

I wonder how long it will be untill you add a pair of 80mms or bigger...

Mark

As you do, you find yourself wondering “how much better could the HR or Apollo’s be?” Diminishing returns and all that, which usually applies from mid to high end. 
 

Definitely need some support. I’m generally using the monopod with the 10x50’s but tripod for the 15x70’s at the moment. Now I have a joystick head, really taken to it for a lightweight, quick option. There doesn’t seem that much difference between 10x and 15x though in practice. Bet 20x would make a difference. Not too fussed about that just now..

Just googled the Apollo weight, 750g heavier than the Stellar’s. 

Edited April 23, 2021 by Stardaze

[PeterW]

There is some difference between monopod and proper solid tripod mounting and between low cost 15x and rather better ones. There is always a little voice asking why you don’t get yet bigger kit.... telescopes, binoculars....

Peter 

[bryand]

I have a pair of Nikon EX 10x50s which are bright and crisp, and get used mainly for nature watching.  They are highest magnification I can usefully hand-hold.

I have a pair of Omicron 15x70s, but for astro use I have a pair of Helios 20x100s on a manual alt-az mount and tripod, with a red dot finder on the centre bar. 

If you are going to have to use a tripod anyway, go BIG!:

Edited April 23, 2021 by bryand
typo

[PeterW]

Which alt-az is that? Interesting to see a non-parallelogram mount for big bins.

Peter

[Luke]

I currently have two bins, Hawke ED Frontier 8x43, which I picked out after trying multiple pairs at Greenwitch. And I later picked up a pair of Minox BL 10x42 BR. I think someone had a pair at a star party and I was impressed and got a pair from Altair Astro.

One thing I like about the Hawke is it has dust caps front and back, whereas the Minox has caps for the eye side only. What I like about the Minox is I preferred the view with it, and it's more compact in the case, so takes up a little less space out and about.

My son, who's nearly 11, could do with a pair of bins. He enjoyed looking through mine the other day. I could give him one of mine, do I really need two pairs and these are both very good. But on the other hand, I'd rather he picked his own new pair. I suppose I could try selling one pair to help fund some of it (am currently out of work, alas, funds are tight). No rush I guess as ideally I'd like him to try some at a shop and pick his favourite. Or maybe I could lend him a pair until I get a new job.

Edited April 25, 2021 by Luke

[GavStar]

These are my bad boys. A 103mm William optics Binoscope. Fantastic widefield views of the skies...

[PeterW]

Very very bad indeed...

 

peter

[Stardaze]

20 hours ago, GavStar said:

These are my bad boys. A 103mm William optics Binoscope. Fantastic widefield views of the skies...

They’re nice and exotic, look awesome!

[Nakedgun]

Recently, Vixen had a blowout sale on their 16x50 porros for $20 each, so I bought a case of 10 for Christmas stocking stuffers:

 

 

Do they count?

 

.

[neil phillips]

Cheap as chips Opticron Oregon 20x80s modified AZ3 Mount counterweight some old bits of metal. total price around £200 including mount. surprisingly good

up to about 50 60 degrees

[PeterW]

Nifty counterbalance on the AZ3, I used a similar mass to help with an st120 I had many years back

Peter

[neil phillips]

2 hours ago, PeterW said:

Nifty counterbalance on the AZ3, I used a similar mass to help with an st120 I had many years back

Peter

Not pretty but functional. Tried a counterweight but was a bit heavy. Could possibly try a small counterweight. But this got me looking at the heavens quick.

[wookie1965]

On 13/08/2020 at 02:15, John said:

Opticron Tiaga 8x25 - Very bright for their limited apeture. Sharp too.

Zeiss Jenoptik 8x30 - I seem to have two pairs of these now.

Russian Komz / Baigish 8x30 - Zeiss copy from the USSR (as was). Sharp, rugged and low cost.

Swarovski Habicht Tirol 8x30 - Probably 50 years old. Battered but very sharp. Very light as well.

Boots Fleet 7x35 wide angle - decent Japan optics. 11 degree field.

Helios Nature Sport Plus 8x40 - nice day to day birding binoculars.

Helios nature Sport Plus 10x50 - as above. Pleasant to hold and use.

Opticron Vega II 8x56 - Japanese made but not out of the ordinary. Competent performers and good for travel because of decent light grasp with light weight.

Opticron Oregon 11x70 LER ZWCF - Japanese made and much better than the current Chinese 11x70's in my opinion. The largest binoculars I own and quite easy to hand hold.

 

 

Wow lol

[Stu]

I have a few pairs around, don’t use them that often for Astro though.

Chinon 7x35 11 degree fov

Barr and Stroud 8x42

Greenkat 7x50

Swift 10x50

Probably some more around somewhere! I’ve tried ones up to 22x85 but found that I preferred to put a scope out of using something that big.

[wookie1965]

Jessops 10 x 50 roof prism not that good I am sure they are a tad misaligned but have no idea how to adjust or check.

Revelation 10 x 42 SF Waterproof Roof Prism binoculars really nice

Olympus 10x50 DPS 1 Seem very good looked at M13 with them a few weeks back.

[John]

I have quite a few pairs of binoculars but most are used for birding / wildlife.

The ones I use for astronomy are:

10x50 Helios Naturesport

8x56 Opticron Vega II

11x70 Opticron ZCF

 

 

[Doug]

As you have large binocular I take it you have a tripod I would recommend a pair of 20X80 or even 20x100 it will allow you to see nebula and Jupiter moons best of luck 

as you can see the largest ones I have are 15x80 but wish they could be 20x100 I have had some good nights with good friends that have 20x100 just fantastic let us know when

you do your next purchase 

[PeterW]

Straight through binoculars ideally need parallelogram mounts (which are hard to find), angled binoculars might cost a bit more, but work well on reasonable camera tripods, easier to reach zenith and can give you different power views.

Peter

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

As seen in the "Postie" thread, along with Olympus DPS-I 10x50s, I've added the much lauded Opticron T WP Adventurer 10x50. The Opticrons have a greater range of ipd adjustment and less furniture so feel more comfy to use. The tethered objective covers are a nice touch and the neck strap is actually comfortable.

Astronomy use has been limited to a quick twenty minutes however the image is definitely brighter than the Olympus pair. During day use I did notice some CA when checking out birds in a fir tree, unlike the Olympus which are totally CA free...

 

[GrumpiusMaximus]

I'm new to the hobby and decided that a pair of Celestron Skymaster 20x80 were for me.  About three weeks later I made my own parallelogram mount after realising that this was the best way of using them reasonably.  It works well and didn't cost me an awful lot and most of the difficult engineering was solved by using an 1980s Pearl cymbal stand (cross-pollination of interests there, having lots of bits of metal around being a drummer).  It's revelatory.   Not hard to build either and at some point I'll post up my design.

Other than the Celestrons...

Swift Newport 10x50 (earlier model).  Got them for £17 on eBay recently.  Very happy with them.

Minolta Classic II 10x50w.  Lightweight and decent, although I think the Swift's edge them.  Bought for around £60.

Ajax 10x50.  Charity shop buy years ago.  Not collimated.  Pretty much junk at this stage.

Prinzlux 8x30.  Meh.  Got them for a tenner.  They're not great.

Some Lidl binoculars I picked up years ago.  Not actually awful!

Edited May 9, 2021 by GrumpiusMaximus

[SpaceWatcher]

Mine are 

Zeiss 7x30B - 8.5 deg fov, great for sky views and almost indestructible in rubber armour, had them about 30 years and still great
Only pain is no tripod mount

Bausch & Lomb 8x42 Elites - 7 deg field of view and great optics, nice to use and light

Small Nikon pair of grab and go - don’t use for astro

[Guest]

I have a set of Orion 20x80s.  They give a solid image and they came with a tripod that is surprisingly solid.  All in all it was 300 dollars well spent 

[cajen2]

An ancient pair of Olympus 8x16-40zoom bins. Must be 30+ years old, still going strong and the zoom is very useful for stargazing.

[bosun21]

A pair of Opticron 15x70’s and a pair of Pentax 20x60’s both on tripods