ode to cheap binos

[hes not well again]

Went shopping the other day to check out cheap binos in glasgow. There was a range of stuff around the 50-120 quid range and as they let me try them out the front of the shop [i look honest] I checked out three binos and four spotting scopes one after the other. To my suprise the best all rounder turned out to be a Tasco 8x56 for 46 quid. Later on that night I was blessed with a whole hour of clear skies and gave them a tour of the skies. The field of view was big enough to get all three stars of orions belt in and some of his sword. Contrast was good and sharp focus. Colour correction was amazing for a pair of cheap bins and because they were only 8 mag not too twitchy. Now, I'm not saying that that they are as good as a pair costing a grand or so but for something that can be kept in the car and just grab and go for the price they are really not bad. If I had seen them on the net I wouldn't even consider them but having tried them I would say that they are worth looking at if anyone is after a pair of cheap allrounders

[Pug]

+1 for cheap bins!

[182570]

any binos are good IF you use them,I bought a pair 40 odd years ago and have used them on a regular basis,and because they were easy to grab and go I used them consistently,this gave me a very good knowledge of the sky and when I retired this year and bought a scope I already had a good working knowledge of the night sky,recommend you use them to aquaint your self with the sky,it's easy with practice

[hes not well again]

any binos are good IF you use them,I bought a pair 40 odd years ago and have used them on a regular basis,and because they were easy to grab and go I used them consistently,this gave me a very good knowledge of the sky and when I retired this year and bought a scope I already had a good working knowledge of the night sky,recommend you use them to aquaint your self with the sky,it's easy with practice

Very true, Iv'e only had them a couple of days but already can find some of the more user friendly Messier's no problem. They are so easy compared to dragging the 8" outside. I read a book from the 1800's called Astronomy with Opera Glasses. These are usually 2 or 3 x mag and the objectives are rarely bigger than 30mm but I think that is going a bit far.