Sub £100 Bino recommendations please

[AdzNWMT]

After advice on the other thread I've decided to pick up some decent Bino's before buying a scope, with a sub £100 budget.

I've looked at Celestron 25x70's, 15x70's and 25x10's so far all between £65 and £75. What are the best to go for and if I did go for the 15x70's would getting a tripod be recommended.

I was surprised by how well I could see Jupiter last night with a pair of cheap, old 25x10's. I could make it different colours on the surface, although it was very blurry.

Just a question about that too, are any of Jupiters moon's visible to the naked eye after spotting them through the Bino's? I'm pretty sure I saw a moon to the lower left (Io?) through the bino's and could still make it out afterwards. Would that have been a moon or would it have been a star?

I'll be making a purchase today so any recommendations, preferably from personal experience, would be great.

Thanks

[neilm]

Hi,

Firstly as regards a tripod, yes, definately get one if you're after 15x70 or bigger. As to the Celestron, haven't tried them out myslef but I would reccomend Strathspey,

Strathspey Binoculars

Cheers

Neil

[John]

I've just bought a pair of Revelation 15x70's. I can hand hold them for short periods but a sturdy tripod would be very useful too. I can see Jupiters moons with them and the planets disk. Cloud belts were not obvious hand held but could be if the binoculars were tripod mounted I reckon. They are great for wide views of the larger deep space objects such as the Andromeda galaxy, the double cluster in Perseus etc. The Revelations cost £55 new (though mine were used and cost less) but a suitable tripod could cost as much again or more even.

In the past I've owned Celestron 15x70's, 3 pairs of 20x80's and a pair of 25x100's. I have the say that the Revelation pair compare very well to the others I've owned.

[scogyrd]

Some decent binoculars come up in the for sale section from time to time.

[John]

Some decent binoculars come up in the for sale section from time to time.

Indeed - my Revelations cost just £35 delivered from there

[AdzNWMT]

I've just bought a pair of Revelation 15x70's. I can hand hold them for short periods but a sturdy tripod would be very useful too. I can see Jupiters moons with them and the planets disk. Cloud belts were not obvious hand held but could be if the binoculars were tripod mounted I reckon. They are great for wide views of the larger deep space objects such as the Andromeda galaxy, the double cluster in Perseus etc. The Revelations cost £55 new (though mine were used and cost less) but a suitable tripod could cost as much again or more even.

In the past I've owned Celestron 15x70's, 3 pairs of 20x80's and a pair of 25x100's. I have the say that the Revelation pair compare very well to the others I've owned.

Thanks, I've just ordered some and ordered this too Stargazing with Binoculars.

Now I need to ban myself from ordering any more stuff, for now... lol

[garethmob]

iv got the celestron 15X70's and i upgraded the L bracket for a tripod to a metal one (plastic has a lot of vibrations in it ( u could just add sand and aladite glue to strengthen it though))

i have bought the revulation as well that john mentioned for my mate (the attempt to get him into astronomy too:P ) but i did find they fogged up a lot when brought in where my celestrons didnt (if u want to view more than once a night leave them in the cold)

iv seen andromeda, m45, moon (very bright though:P) jupitor and moons and saturn + rings in them

if you have a EQ mount kicking around or even a alt az mount the usual dovetails (skywatcher) have a photo screw in the middle of them so u can attach the bins to

[AdzNWMT]

I'm just going to see how the Revelation 15x70's are handheld for now and will definitely get a tripod for them soon. Won't be doing anything extensive to be needing a tripod for at least a few weeks.

[jamespels]

Hi,

if you're getting the 15x70 Revs, I would really recommend a mount of some sort - they are pretty heavy to hold up for any length of time (not as bad as the 80s I have but not far off). If you have a mount, get a metal "L" adapter - the bins are too heavy for the plastic adapters to be able to damp vibrations effectively.

If you can wait that long and are in the area, pop into PSP2011 on the Saturday - we will have a range of bins from Strathspey discounted to show rates (not sure what the discount is yet, though!).

Have you also tried SnS' Astroboot (http://www.scopesnskies.com/AstroBoot)? It's anybody's guess what will be there any given day but well worth keeping an euye on - that's where I got my Revs from. SnS' Bargain Zone also has some good deals but not sa good as the Astroboot.

HTH,

J.

[garethmob]

+1 for keeping an eye on the astroboot, i have seen some really decent bins and even scopes being sold on there for very cheap prices

as james said a metal L bracket is a must, but if u do want to wait just get some thing like this some sand or stones and it should strengthen it up to slightly better viewing

Halfords | Araldite Rapid Adhesive

[John]

While a tripod will undoubtedly benefit 15x70's there are some techniques that can help get a better view when hand holding them. This guidance on Stephen Tonkin's website is useful:

Binocular Astronomy

[Spikey]

+1 for Revelation 15x70's, excellent value for money. Very similar to the Celestron 15x70's but cheaper.

[imarcs]

While a tripod will undoubtedly benefit 15x70's there are some techniques that can help get a better view when hand holding them. This guidance on Stephen Tonkin's website is useful:

Binocular Astronomy

Definitely - The holding positions have made a big difference to me.

[AdzNWMT]

Cheers guys, I ordered the Rev's earlier.

I'll be getting a tripod and a L bracket probably next week when I get paid, just got some other outgoings this week and don't want to raid my savings (again) if avoidable.

[TheThing]

Just turn a broom upside down and lean on the bristles until you get a tripod.

TheThing.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[AdzNWMT]

Now I see why everybody recommends a tripod with 15x70's, they are huge lol. They came earlier today but I've been in the gym all day so I don't know if I'll be trying them out tonight. I might just go out in the back yard for half an hr, check out Jupiter and see the difference between these and the old 10x25's I used the other night.

I have a few books to read now too, got the following:

Stargazing with Binoculars

Guide to the Night Sky

Guide to Stars and Planets

Making Every Photon Count

Patrick Moore's Astronomy- Teach Yourself

Dinah L Moche- Astronomy- A Self Teaching Guide

Should keep me busy while I save for a scope and a mount.

[Becchiooo]

I have the Revelation 15x70 bins too and I think they are great for the price. Not got around to buying a metal L bracket just yet but they get easier to handle after a while.

[paul schofield]

I bought a set of Rev 15x70 last week and have used them almost every night since. Trully happy with them for £55 they are brilliant. I think they are pretty much the exact same spec as Strathspey 15x70 and Celestrons 15x70 but slightly cheaper. Good luck.

[Stargazer51N]

I've also got the Revelation 15x70's - I think they are amazing. Such bright views and I manage hand held lying on a reclined garden chair. Would be really nice to come up with a contraption to fix them to the chair for an even better view - anyone got any ideas?