what binoculars do you own

[mijijim]

Hi,

I have a pair of Opticron 10X50 that I have had for over 20 years, and

still work perfectly.

This year I bought a pair of Pentax PCF WP2 20X60s, they weigh in at

1 KG, and can be hand held or on a tripod.where as Helios of the same size

are over 2KG,

mijijim

[brantuk]

Celestron 15x70's, Liddl (Rocktrail brand) 10x50's, Centon 12x50's, camera tripod, adaptor, ball head mount, alt/az fine tuning head.

[Jeff Marsden]

Zeiss 7x42 BGAT usually; for generally scanning. Early 80's Celestron 11x80s on a Uni-loc Major tripod with camcorder fluid head on top. Then there are a pair of 6" reflecting binoculars made by Peter Drew with a pair of 19mm Panoptics giving x32 magnification.

Jeff,

Huddersfield

[JamesM]

Lidls do sell them fairly frequently (about 4/5 times a year @£15) and appear similar to the bresser/meade models. It sounds like a lot of pairs but we're also into bird watching which means that two pairs are always upstairs to get the best view of our bird feeders in the trees (...honestly officer I wasn't looking ). Two pairs are downstairs for astronomy in the garden, another pair with Baader solar film taped on and the other pair stored with the astro kit for observing from dark sites - otherwise I always forget to take them.

I would always recommend taking them out of their box and inspecting them before buying - you can get some dodgy pairs.

James

[KatieM]

I use a pair of Opticron 10x42s which are very good and clear for general gazing and a pair of Revelation 20x80s (on a tripod) for deep sky stuff. Haven't had the Revelations very long so I'm looking forward to some clear nights so i can see what they can do!

[Rossco72]

Pentax 10x50's

Used to have 20x80's but they were just to heavy to use without a tripod.

Cheers

[Moonshane]

I only have a pair of 7x36 Opticrons now but don't even like using these for astronomy to be honest. In the past I have had 10x50s and 15x70s but really could not get on with them for looking up. give me a scope anyday, even a small 70-90mm refractor. my view (even as a 'big strong bloke') is that you only get proper benefit with support for anything 10x and above.

[Rorth72]

Pair of Celestron SkyMaster 15x70. They are absolutely awesome. Then again, I did upgrade from 10x21's :-)

Will be getting a tripod for them though in the next week or so. They are a bit hard to keep steady after a few minutes, unless you support them (have been leaning on a window shelf for support). I use them when it's a bit cloudy here and there, or when I don't have time for a longer session in the garden with the dob.

[ManInTheMoon]

Helios Quantum 4's 25x100 I love these binos. I put them on a Horizon 8115 alt-azimuth tripod.

Edited August 28, 2011 by ManInTheMoon

[JimStan]

I do have several pair of binocs in the 7 X 35 to 10 X 50 sizes, but I must say that my favorite pair is an Empire model 240 ( you probably won't find them anywhere - I found them at a yard sale ) which offers an extra wide 10 degree FOV which translates to 525 feet at 1000 yards !

I have a Vivitar 7 X 50 that only has a 297 feet at 1000 yards, suffers from chromatic abberation, and puts a blue cast on EVERYTHING that you look at through it ! The only reason I keep it is because I am not afraid to lose it at a public star party. If someone walks off with it, that's their "tough luck" ! That just shows you that the name doesn't always mean everything !

A good wide-angle binocs can provide you with STUNNING views of the Milky Way, and even when one owns several telescopes, they will often pull out the binocs for a reality check on how beautiful the night sky as a whole, really is!

Clear Skies ! Jim S.

[Stu]

Nikon 10x25 to take anywhere so I always have something with me

An old, but very good pair of Swift 10x50, very nice for general use

Canon 15x50iS, stabilised. Great for giving that little bit more magnification and the stabilisation really works. Quite heavy though after a while.

Binomite 10x25 (I think) solar bins. Nice for quickly checking sunspots and also observed a transit with them some years ago.

Cheers

Stu

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk

[Ags]

8x42s - easy to use and better than nothing!

[4lefts]

10x50 opticron imagics. i'm surprised this thread isn't the 15x70 landslide i thought it'd be. lots of 10x50s. i'm surprised there aren't more 7x50s.

@mijijim - how are those pentax 20x60s treating you? i always like the look of those. the only thing that put me off was the nagging feeling it'd be happier putting the money toward a small scope.

[Mr Bond]

Fujinon 10x70 are my astro bins. Lovely but very heavy ( sturdy).

Swaro 8.5x42 ELs, 8x32 ELs, and some 10x25 Lieca Ultravids.

I spoilt myself before I got back into 'scope astronomy. Binocular astronomy is still my first love though, and there is zero set up time, no hassle carry, and no cool down time so oportunism is the name of the game!!

[callisto]

I own a pair of Russian Tento 10x50 binos, had them about 20 years

[Highflight]

well well it is the 10 x 50s coming out on top and a smattering of 15 x 70s and few others wheres the heavy bins owners ?

Here I am, 25 x 100's. + Manfrotto tripod and ball head, and they need it, lol.

Chris.

[beetlejuice]

Pair of Pentax 10x50's. Not bargain basement, but not bank-breaking either. Bought them after an unlucky run of Lidl Bressers which all turned out to be rubbish mechanically. The Pentaxes do exactly what they say on the tin and are my most used optical instrument.

[PeterW]

15x70, largest handhold able ones, well balanced, but give some odd colours in the daytime.

12x36 stabilised for daytime use.... Nothing better afaik, perfect stability with one hand!

Had some 25x100, but without a parallelogram I have let them go to a better place, a short tube refractor with an uktrawide eyepiece would probably do as good a job.

Peterw

[jango fett]

10x50 opticron imagics. i'm surprised this thread isn't the 15x70 landslide i thought it'd be. lots of 10x50s. i'm surprised there aren't more 7x50s.

@mijijim - how are those pentax 20x60s treating you? i always like the look of those. the only thing that put me off was the nagging feeling it'd be happier putting the money toward a small scope.

I thought it would be the 15 x 70s as well however at the moment 10 x 50s are the ones mentioned most .

[Austin]

I also have some 10x50's from lidl, less then 20 quid and great! I'm thinking about getting the celestron 15 x 70's next.

[Jove]

Nikon 10x50s. I love them and use them all the time. They're how I learned to find my way around the sky, and even since I've had a scope are used as much as ever.

[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.

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

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.

i'm surprised this thread isn't the 15x70 landslide i thought it'd be. lots of 10x50s. i'm surprised there aren't more 7x50s.

A 10x50 Porro is almost certainly the most versatile medium-to-low-priced binocular available, which would explain its popularity. There are maybe half a dozen objects (I can only think of three off the top of my head) that are better in a 7x50 than a 10x50.

[Coco]

ZOMZ 8x30 & 12x40 circa 1970's (Zeiss Copies)

plus 8x40 Monoculars..

Sharp and high contrast...

[g0ibi]

Ziess BGAT 10x40 nearly 20 years old and perfect!

[Imp_Perfect]

I have quite a few pairs, but like most folks my 10 x 50 get the most use. (Zeiss Jena)