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Binoculars

huwbellamy

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themos

themos

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<a href="http://stargazrs.com/themos/image/565_large.jpeg" target="new" title="themos / Photos / Binocular tripod adapter - homemade - front"><img src="http://stargazrs.com/themos/image/565_normal.jpeg" alt="themos / Photos / Binocular tripod adapter - homemade - front" border="0"></a>

Fired up by this discussion, I decided to fashion a binocular adapter for my tripod as soon as I got home. Here it is!

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Brass n glass

Brass n glass

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There's so many available and they range enormously in price. I'm looking for real grab and go. Anyone got any tripod recommendations?

I use a Benbo Trekker - its big advantage is that it doesn't need to be used on level ground, so it really will go where no astro telescope will ever go - Hugh.

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Brass n glass

Brass n glass

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A cheaper option might be one of those portable binocular gadgets used by birdwatchers that clip onto car windows and tree branches and are very steady. The only brand I can think of is Cullman, but there are plenty of others. But I wouldn't give up on hand holding - or at least branch leaning - with a 10X50. I do it with an old London-made Wray 9X60 that weighs just over 1kg, and it stays very steady. The trouble with a lot of camera tripods is that they have very spindly legs, and in a breeze can make even lightweight binoculars judder in a way that they don't if they are leaned on a branch or wall.

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huwbellamy

huwbellamy

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Hi all, thanks for the advice. In the end I got Helios Naturesport PLUS High Res 7x50's from: http://www.actionoptics.co.uk/New%20Binoculars.htm for £74 plus postage. Lovely bloke and very helpful - honest about differences in quality at various prices levels.

I later discovered them here: http://www.telescopeplanet.co.uk/ViewProdDetails.asp?prod_code=PON07B000118 and was pleased I'd bought a respected product. I used them for the first time last week and they're ace - milky way is like nothing I've seen before and incomparably better then my 8x21 pentax compacts.

7x50 is ideal for me as there is little shake and loads of light transmission. Build quality is fab and coatings look good. I can see now why binoculars are always the first thing the experienced guys recommend to newbies as they give so much for so little and learning the sky is easier. I probably should have gone down this road before investing loads in the scope and accessories but thankfully I appear to be hooked.

I could see M13 quite easily in a slightly hazy and moderately light polluted sky. Highly recommended, Huw.

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GazOC

GazOC

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I've just bought a pair of Alder 16x70s from Scopes and Skies bargain section for 35 delivered, has anyone heard of this make?

Google only turned up the fact that Scopes and Skies were selling a pair in their bargain section....I'm not expecting too much - as long as they are of the same standard as the cheap Bresser/ Meade binos then that'll do for me.

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dogfish

dogfish

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Just to let you guys know, I once 'bought' an end-of-line ortho EP from S&S from their website. Turns out that they had already sold out. Still took my money though. Then took ages to fill my replacement order. I hope that this isn't the same thing this time and you both get your bino's (they do seem a bargain). I'll watch with interest.

Regards, Martin

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Merlin

Merlin

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I wouldn't take Lee's advice not to use 20X60 binos too seriously. I use this spec with a homemade binocular "SkyMirror".

The 20X60 Russian TENTO's (no longer made) are mounted on a pillar and point down to a tilting mirrror. I sit comfortably in a chair while sweeping the sky, avoiding tired arms and a stiff neck!

Some people object that a mirror gives an inverted view of the sky, but the inversion doesn't bother me; after all, a Newtonian reflector inverts the image too.

The crucial point about high-powered binoculars is that they need to be fully-collimated and it's surprising how many are not. Correct collimation is especially important when using a SkyMirror, as the slightest deviation from true collimation is bound to turn every star into a double.

If you like the idea of mirror-viewing, suitable first-surface mirrors can be obtained from: www.scientificmirrors.co.uk .

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tenbyfifty

tenbyfifty

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given the price of large binoculars, is using the SKYWATCHER STARTRAVEL-120 (AZ3 4.75" f/600 REFRACTOR )

with a binoviewer and wide-angle eps an alternative?

my thinking is:

1 you get an alt az mount with it

2 there's no neck ache involved

3 the whole pacakge i mentioned is comparable in price to decent large binos

4 you have the option of higher mags than binos

5 its as grab and go as bins on a mount would be

6 large bins have a narrower field of view anyway

7 larger aperture than 100mm big bins

8 maybe a wide angle ep on its own would be ok so you wouldn't need the bino viewer

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tenbyfifty

tenbyfifty

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The only 'problem' I can see is getting the wide angle, 'cheap' binoviewers tend to only have ~24mm clear aperture.

what's the max fov you could get with just an ep on its own then?

edit: answering my own question here, using this fov calculator http://www.csgnetwork.com/telefov.html

i get the following for an FL of 600mm

40mm ep, fov is 2.93

56mm ep, fov is 4.85

that's comparable to bins isn't it?

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