Binocular Recomendations

[ApprenticeAstronomer]

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good set of binoculars for mapping the sky. A set not to hard on the pocket would be prefered

[nicnac]

quant 4's are a very good range

First Light Optics - Helios Quantum 4 binoculars

[SkyMush]

Hi ApprenticeAstronomer!

I recently got myself a pair of Olympus 10x50 binoculars, and find them great. They can be held steady quite easily, are great for wide objects (6.5 degree FOV makes the Pleiades, Berenice's hairclip, and the Beehive Cluster stand out tonnes, for example), can split doubles down to about 30 arcminutes (I think it's minutes?) etc. etc.

The eyepieces can be focused individually, so are great for astronomy, and the binoculars are pretty sturdy.

Naturally they struggle with planets (the moon is good though), and the carry case is flimsy, but for this price they work well.

Neill

(p.s. interesting to see a fellow countryman!)

[Black Knight]

I recently got myself a pair of Olympus 10x50 binoculars, and find them great.

Neill

I have Olympus 10x50 as well, had them a few years and although I didn't buy them with astronomy in mind I really like them.

If you haven't seen it, take a look at Steve's website here:

BinocularSky - Home

He's got a great section on choosing and using binoculars that you may find useful.

[Baz Pearce]

I found some fantastic binos at a great price from an unlikely source. Initially i bought the 12X50s. I was so impressed i immediately bought some 10X50s as a backup.

With both pairs i have seen moons around Jupiter 6weeks either side of opposition from my light polluted balcony. M42 is awesome, the batwing shape comes out nicely from a darkish site. Open clusters are spectacular also, 1 amazingly clear night last year i saw so much nebulosity in M45 i would have believed it was haze were there not so many stars visible! They weigh less than a kilo, and are easy to hand hold for long periods. The images are clear and crisp for both daytime and astronomical use. The multi-coated lenses and BAK-4 prisms see to that.

7dayshop.com - Online Store

They only have 10X50s advertised at the moment, and they are on back order, but once in stock they should arrive with 4-5 working days. As with everything else, the price has increased recently. Mine only cost £15, and £17. 10X50s are £23.39 and are easily worth twice that amount.

Baz.

[Paulb3098]

Hi, you cannot go wrong with a pair of 15 x 70 Skymasters, I've had some great views with mine. Only issue is, you will need a stand as they are fairly heavy, which starts to make it expensive. Here's a link:

Celestron 15 x 70 Skymaster Binocular | Binoculars | Rother Valley Optics

[decomo50]

I would agree with the above recommendation - I have owned some 15x70 for a number of years, the weight can be a problem but can be mitigated by sitting on a deck chair or even using the bracket (usually supplied) to attach to a standard camera tripod....or you can built or buy a parrallelogram mount. Where these binos really excel is the fact that the "thick" end - 70mm really capture a lot of light allowing views of fainter objects. I think you can buy for between £80 - £100 IMHO a set of binos for life

[glowjet]

Strathspey sell reasonably priced quality bins, their basic 10X50 model come out at just over the £30 mark, their 10X50 marine bins came top in the S@N review some time ago, just remember if you are going any larger in size you are going to have to think of some form of support, be it a tripod or whatever els you may choose

John.

[paul schofield]

Revelation 15x70's do it for me. Great set of bino's for a little over £50. Again as with all 15x70's they can become heavy after a while. A deckchair comes in handy here. I think they are exactly the same model as Strathspeys only sold a bit cheaper. I got mine from Harrison's and absolutely love em.

[Rakanishu]

I second the Olympus 10x50s I grabbed them from amazon for £50 and they are wonderful

[garethmob]

iv got the bins mentioned above the celestron skymasters 15 x 70s

they do need a l shape heavy duty bracket and a tripod (but i picked up my bracket for £10 on telescope house, and my tripod a hama travler mini pro on warehouse express for £20.

the skymasters are identical to the revulations (made in same factory just rebadged) and i beleive telescope house have them on a sale at present

my fav most used bino is the optricon asphrec 8 x 40's they are just fantastic, iv seen more in them than in any scope iv used or owned. obviously they are very widefield, but they are great bins

i had the optricons from FLO for £69