Advice - Best Astronomy Binos up to £300

[monkey_coral]

Hi all,

I have just returned from a holiday in France for which I purchased a 80mm refractor.

Due to Ryanair's ridiculous luggage allowance leading me to leave certain of items at home I inadvertently left my finder scope behind. I gave up trying to polar align and was quickly acquainted with the hell of trying to manually find objects with an equatorial mount. Total failure.

I am going away later on in the year and would like to try a pair off binoculars. Looking at a budget of around £300 + some additional cash for a tripod. What would people recommend?

I have been looking at the:

Opticron Observation 11x80 Porroprism

and the

Helios Quantum 4 binoculars 25 x 100

Any thoughts? SOmething else I should consider?

[monkey_coral]

Anyone?

[mdstuart]

I took a celestron travelscope on Ryan aid which worked well for a budget option...

The issue you might have would be a good tripod for big bins..I could not have taken my manfrotto effort on Ryanair that easily..

Why not get in touch with the astro society where you are going and ask for some time on one of their scopes!

Mark

[monkey_coral]

Would the 25 x 100 be any use at all for terrestial viewing?

Would it be possible to use them for astomomy without a triopod?

[jerryTheC]

Probably not - I have the Celestron 15x70s, and find they just jitter too much for astro use if I try to handhold them standing up with nothing to brace them against, so I imagine bigger and heavier 25x ones would be even worse.

I suspect you'd need a tripod.

They'd probably be good for terrestrial use if they focus close enough, and are portable enough.

[glowjet]

If you read through some of the Astronomy books like The back yard astronomers guide you will see some mid price bins in the higher expenditure bracket that compare very well with the very expensive top of the range types, these are Adlerblicks from the Japan Carton optics company, I sourced them from the distributor in Canada and they came free post, were they worth the price-tag, in a word yes, they are absolutely exceptional, on one night when the seeing was not up to scratch I could see 3 moons of Jupiter with my 15X70 but with the 10X50 Blicks all 4 moons could be seen as bright points of light

John.

[cantab]

For 25x100 binoculars you will need some sort of mount. You might be able to use them with a monopod, or you could get a mirror mounting (but personally I'd be worried about transporting the mirror.

15x70s I found can be handheld for short looks but not for any extended period.

If it's luggage allowances you're having problems with though, then the Quantum 4 25x100s weigh in at nearly 5 kilos and will I believe measure about 16x9x4 inches even before you add a decent protective case, let alone a tripod. I fear you'd end up with something great for use at home, but too big and heavy to be flying with.

[monkey_coral]

As I am scanning the net the weight and shear physical size is potentially a problem. I an now wondering if I would get better use out of the Cannon 10 x 30 image stabilsing binos. I know there have greatly decreased appature, but they appear to offer the potential of being used as a handheld device. I suppose the question is really, is 10 x 30 suitable for astronomical viewing?

[Skwerl23]

If you want to extended holding go with 50's the 100's are huge and need a tripod. The 70's are great but can get tiresome. You may want to go with a 100mm tabletop telescope. Way cheaper and has its own stand. After you break the 150£ mark your mostly paying for minor clairity or strength when it comes to binochs.

I'd go to a sporting store and get a pair of 10x50's for 30-40£ and see what you think. Even ask if they have a return policy.

[monkey_coral]

Ok, thanks for the advice. I am going to go for the Helios Quantum 4 binoculars 10 x 60. These weigh 1.37kg so hopefully light enough to hold and reasonably priced at £112.

[StarryBob]

Also consider a nice spotting scope, some are very light and can be used on lighter tripods.

[carlc]

I know Tetenterre has recommended the 10x50 ED William Optics bins on FLO (£199) - they're on my 'someday' wish list. Add in a monopod rather than a tripod and it may be easier in terms of baggage requirements.

I have read that the IS function of some bins does make up for the aperture but by how much I wouldn't like to say.

[monkey_coral]

Well after a discussion with FLO I have gone for the Opticron Observation 11x80 Porroprism. Should be with me in a few days. I have a Celestron 6SE which I find excellent but I am looking forward to something I can take anywhere I go and use without having to mess about setting up. Its about time I increase my knowledge of the sky too.

Thanks for everyone's help.

[monkey_coral]

Well my Opticron 11x80 arrived today from FLO. One word - BIG.

As decreed by the Gods upon all new astronomy purchases, 400 tonnes of cloud has settle in above me.

They weigh about 2.5kg which, although it doesn't sound much, this evenings observations of the area most distant TV aerials has provedI won't be able to hold them steady for long when it comes to looking at the stars. Looking at getting a monopod. This will require yet more researchto find the most suitable mount head.

Although I haven't seen the sky yet I have enjoyed the clarity of views of various trees and birds I have managed to spot.

[jerryTheC]

On the monopod side, I'd suggest looking at a plain tilt head - manfrotto (Bogen in the us?) do both fixed and quick release versions. Then put the foot of the monopod a bit in front of you, with the monopod angled towards your head, and lean forwards slightly, so you're bracing a bit of weight against the monopod. That way the monopod and your body/legs form a tripod arrangement, which should be a lot more stable than trying to hold the monopod vertically with nothing to stop it wobbling around .