Whooping pair of bins

[nckjsmitj]

Has anyone tried out these massive bins (25*100) etc...

Are they better than a small scope?

Should they be used for a specific category of viewing?

What drawbacks are there?

I don't want to waste my cash on something that is inferior to the normal scope.

Thanks N.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Which bins?

[paul schofield]

Guaranteed you would need a good tripod to go with them. Let us know what bins you mean.

[topdude]

Ah, those invisible (25*100)s, may not look much but made of "dark matter" i hear, so a good tripod needed

[glowjet]

In large binoculars I presume you are referring to the range 20X90 to 20/25X100/110 range by manufacturers such as Helios, Strathspey, Celestron etc in the more modest price ranges. All of these bins require at the least a solid tripod stand, as they are heavy and at best a parallelogram mount for ease of use and versatility. As to be expected there is a nice wide FOV and if used from a dark site give splendid views of star clusters and the like and you should be able to pick out quite a few of the Messier objects and other interesting targets, but these are not a telescope and you will be limited to the fixed magnification, although there are many devotees who use nothing els for Astronomical obs, and yes I have looked through high power bins and will shortly be investing in a pair of 20X110 to use on my new DIY mount when it is completed, as a quick grab and go setup. But having said all this, they do not in any way compete with my semi APO refractor and quality widefield eps, but there is much in their favour for quick set up and transportability, perhaps you should have a look in our dedicated bins section for further info

[nckjsmitj]

Ah yes what type and spec am I referring to... Probably the Quantum or Apollo ranges by Hellios.

I would indeed mount on a tripod of some description. The reason I ask is that I've got reasonable pair of 10x42's and I find they give such fab views of the sky, beating my little old 4" reflector into a pulp.

But with all thing magnification there has to be a sacrifice some where and I was trying to elicit some real time experience from forum members who own a pair or who had a pair and to read what those experiences were like.

So can anyone else comment please?

Promise to checkout the 'bins' bit of the forum...

[todd8137]

the only draw backs for me are my wife or i would a pair today get a good tripod for them and the views would be mega

[gurneyfan67]

I have the Celestron 20x80s which give nice views of star fields and clusters. The 20x does give quite striking images of the Moon albeit with some false color on the limb, and I can see the moons of Jupiter but not much detail on the planet. M45 and m44 are amazing! I use a heavy duty camera tripod to steady these.