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Looking for decent budget binoculars.

cantab

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cantab

cantab

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I'm after a decent pair of binoculars for astronomy, at £50 or less.

I'm young, and naturally slightly short-sighted but don't currently have glasses; no big deal in everyday life, but it makes a difference for naked-eye astronomy. (And I'll need to avoid binoculars with no focus or dioptre I assume).

I'm also stuck with living in a badly light-polluted area, 2 or 3 miles from Birmingham city centre, and don't drive so I'll rarely get the chance to observe from a dark-sky site.

The Celestron UpClose range are cheap, but I've heard mixed reviews of them. (Still, at least they don't have bright red objectives!) I've found the Helios Fieldmaster range at the top of my budget, either 7x50 or 10x50.

Advice welcome, both on size (will the common 10x50 be best for me, or something different?) and on specific models.

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jasonp

jasonp

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I can say that my Helios field master 7x50 are fantastic they are so clear and sharp.

I would love to get a pair of the 10x50's and although not having personal experience would possibly go for them rather than the 7x50 just for that little extra power.

Anyone else used the 10x50's ?

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cantab

cantab

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I actually have that book already! Picked it up along with a (rather small) planisphere and a star chart all for a tenner today. Still, there's always the optics cleaning stuff, in case I drop them in the flower bed or something.

For some reason I'd thought before that Praktica was an "own brand", but Wiki tells it's actually a German maker. I had it confused with Technika (Tesco's own brand electronics.) :-S

Seems like even within my budget, there's a bit of a split between those at ~£20-30, like the Celestron UpCloses and the Prakticas, and those at ~£50 like the Fieldmasters and the regular Strathspeys. The extra money gets Bak4 prisms, but what else?

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rory

rory

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you can get coated, multicoated and fully multicoated. the price will normally go upwards in that order.

i bought my pentax bins second hand from ebay for £15.

id just spend minimum for starting out . so the praktika or fieldmasters would be ideal.

although when i was asking simlar questions a while back ,i was told bak7 is inferior to bak 4 and to avoid them for astronomy work !

but im no expert .

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glowjet

glowjet

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See if you can get along to a local camera shop and try a few bins out, porro, bak4 with multicoated optics, as has been said Strathspey have a good reputation, always wear the bins neck strap as a safety precaution, then they won`t drop into the flower bed :rolleyes:

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Starbabe

Starbabe

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Nitrogen purged, fully broadband coated, BAK 4.

Minimum requirements on any decent binos :rolleyes:

Celestron are not fully coated, nor Nitrogen Purged I think, Celestron Binos get bad CA reviews.

Helios are decent.

Revelations also get good reviews.

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maej

maej

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The advice from glowjet about going to a local shop to try some is a very good idea because it will et you feel the weight and erganomics of them as well. If you are holding something up to your eyes for long periods, you want it to be fairly easy to hold without straining your grip.

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cantab

cantab

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I looked round shops in the town centre the other day actually. But the camera shops there are only selling higher-end stuff, and I can't really go asking to test what I've no intention of buying. Blacks (hiking etc shop) only had compact ones. Not sure where in Birmingham is good to try at my budget, so unless someone knows then I'll end up buying online.

Who are CA?

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onesmallstep

onesmallstep

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Hi

I used to own a pair of the Meade 10x50s so can vouch for them - very clear views and easy to hold for long(ish) periods of time. Unfortunately I have a sight defect which is why I have downsized to the 7x50s in my sig. I sold the Meade's onto another member of my astro group and haven't had any complaints back.

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onesmallstep

onesmallstep

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The Fieldmaster 7x50s are great, no more eyestrain thanks to my sight defect. Wider FOV and I use them for sky sweeps to plan my scope viewing. Also good for 15 minute stargazing when clouds and time allow. Every stargazer should own bins as a legal requirement!

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