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Binoculars

pastiche

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pastiche

pastiche

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Hi Veracocha,

Thanks for replying so quickly.

I am lucky enough to have come into a bit of cash so I can spend quite a lot for the right ones.

I really have no knowledge of bino's so have no idea what I need to spend to get a decent pair. I guess I will also need a tripod of some sort.

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Ags

Ags

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You will see very little detail on any planet with just about any binocular - even 25x100! They just don't give enough magnification. You wil see Jupiter's moons with a good pair.

On the other hand I find my 8x42s give nice views of the moon - light gathering is not needed and the low magnification means the hand-held image is stable.

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KerryAnn23

KerryAnn23

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I have just invested in the celestron 15x70s with all the advise i got on here, love them. but i do agree that you will need a tripod also which again i have been advised upon for one or two worth while strongly made models. i havent ordered it yet but from all the others who have these bino's they say the 2 i need to choose from are the best and fairly cheap also xx

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TheThing

TheThing

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I'd go for the 15x70s, but then I own a pair.

For tripods, have a look at Kay Optical

When I was there the week before last, they had hundreds stacked all over, most probably second hand for sale. If there's nothing you like on the website, give them a quick ring. They seem to have a quick turnover of 2nd hand stock!

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KerryAnn23

KerryAnn23

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hi pastiche, yes iv had fun looking out at jupiter the last few nights, and i wasnt aiming for that lol, yes things will still be small but i could make out 3 moons last night which i think is pretty good to consider price and size, especially just starting out and trying to learn the sky a bit before a big jump to a scope. Tripod wise, have a look on FLO for the horizon 8115, this is one of my two options :-)

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sirmetin

sirmetin

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I have a set of 20x80 Celestrons, they only work with a tripod but they are great and they come with a proper cross bar tripod mount. I also have a pair of minox 8x33 these are nice for general star gazing and can be really good value I think there are still some of the Japanese versions at around £360 the updated german only made models have a slightly wider field of view but are around £550. The quality is amazing at this price and it is difficult to tell them apart from Bins costing £1000 plus. Sorry I can't remember which online store I got them from but I am sure Google, Yahoo, the other one from microsoft or one of the many good search engines will find them!

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milkyjoe

milkyjoe

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I don't see the point in buying huge binoculars to sit on a tripod, just get a telescope instead. You will see much more with even a reasonably priced 4" refractor like mine (that is, of course, if you don't have the storage space for a telescope!) I've just bought some 8x42 roof-prism bins for casual use, not tested them yet tho so we'll have to see how they perform, but at least I won't need to be built like dolph lungren to keep the darn things steady! lol

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brantuk

brantuk

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Can't go wrong with a pair of Rocktrail 10x50's from Liddl for £15 'ish - whilst saving up for a scope. So long as you check they're collimated when you buy them you can't lose, cos they do a no quibble refund up to 30 days. And to be honest the 15x70's won't show you that much more.

Sir Patrick has used and recommended 10x50's all his career which was good enough for me when I started lol :)

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jamespels

jamespels

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I don't see the point in buying huge binoculars to sit on a tripod, just get a telescope instead.

For me, it's having the bins on a tripod that I can get outside in about 30 seconds. My wife is also happy because the tripod folds to next to nothing and the whole setup fits into a small corner in the conservatory.

That said, I am comparing it with my TAL - rock steady but you do need to be built like your friend Dolph to get it outside in the first place...

J.

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lexyastroman

lexyastroman

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First of i would be this First Light Optics - Horizon 8115 2-Way Heavy Duty Tripod then any one of the revelation range. I just ordered a pair of 15x70's but i think they go all the way upto 25x100 Revelation 25x100 Giant Binoculars so if you got a fair bit to spend then any one of the revelations 15x70, 20x80, 25x100 etc would be the best it's really down to you then what you think you could handle as they would most probably be the cheapest of the "giant" binocular range. I understand they also essentially the same as the celestron skymaster binos but cheaper not sure about that though.

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donal

donal

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Binoculars, field glasses or binocular telescopes are a pair of identical or mirror-symmetrical telescopes mounted side-by-side and aligned to point accurately in the same direction, allowing the viewer to use both eyes (binocular vision) when viewing distant objects. Most are sized to be held using both hands, although sizes vary widely from opera glasses to large pedestal mounted military models. Many different abbreviations are used for binoculars, including glasses, nocs, noculars, binos and bins.

Unlike a (monocular) telescope, binoculars give users a three-dimensional image: for nearer objects the two views, presented to each of the viewer's eyes from slightly different viewpoints, produce a merged view with an impression of depth.

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Moonshane

Moonshane

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Sorry to be the Victor Meldrew character but I agree with MilkyJoe. I have used bins all my life for nature watching and was always quite happy. Having used a scope for a while I bought some 15x70s for astronomy. they were good quality and gave excellent wide field views.

however, everything had little detail and I always felt uncomfortable, with my head pointing up. they were literally a pain in the neck. I don't even like using my 7x36s for astronomy.

compare a pair of 15-25x70-100 tripod mounted bins (I feel anything 10x and above needs to be mounted to get the best) with even a cheap and basic ST80 wide field refractor and there will be no comparison for me. The size and weight are not that dissimilar, you are looking down to view not up, much more comfy and you can use a range of magnifications. You can get good planetary detail too, split double stars and look at the moon in detail as well as seeing clusters in their wider setting or closer if you want to. they are also as instantly usable as large bins.

just adding a different perspective based on my own experiences.

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milkyjoe

milkyjoe

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I am pleased to report after testing my 8x42 roof-prism bins last night, they performed better than I expected. Even though they don't have phase corrected prisms I could see stars very clearly with good colour correction. They are not too heavy either, which is good. :-D

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