First binoculars, recommendations please

[Mr CRS]

Hi all,

My name is Paul and am looking for advice on my first purchase of binoculars. I do a lot of night fishing and find myself staring at the night sky and wish i could see more. I have a Manfrotto tripod I use with my camera, so will I need some kind of adaptor?. My budget is up to £150, any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks

[Radders]

Hi Paul, I have a pair of Celestron SkyMasters15x70 and I think they are great. You'll pay around £60 for these.

They are quite big but I find I can handhold them for quite awhile but your tripod will come in handy.

A few people recommend a pair of 10x50's as they are easier to hold for longer but it's down to personal choice.

Radders

[Albenn]

I can only speak from my experience after trying several pairs and would recommend the Nikon's listed in my signature. These give very clear views and are just about hand holdable without experiencing excessive dancing stars.

Forgot to add that you will require an L bracket in order to attach the bins to the tripod but make sure you get a metal one as the plastic types wobble too much.

[SteveNickolls]

Hi Paul,

I am also looking at purchasing a pair of binoculars and I would heartily suggest reading, 'Binocular Astronomy' by Stephen Tonkin before buying the binoculars or any accessories. Good luck on whatever pair you decide to buy and no cricked neck with that tripod now!

Cheers,

Steve

[Mr CRS]

After a bit of research the Pentax PCF WP II look good, a local shop has them listed at 10x50 - £79.99 12x50 - £89.99 and 16x50 - £99.99. I will have to check with them to see if prices are correct.

[E621Keith]

After a bit of research the Pentax PCF WP II look good, a local shop has them listed at 10x50 - £79.99 12x50 - £89.99 and 16x50 - £99.99. I will have to check with them to see if prices are correct.

The Pentax PCF are good binoculars, but you need to check and make sure those are PCFs. The prices you quoted suggest they may be the lower spec Pentax XCF models. Also, there's no 16x50 pcf but there is a 16x50 XCF which retails between £70 - £120. The PCF WP2 series has 4 binoculars, 8x40, 10x50, 12x50, and 20x60. The XCF also has 4 binoculars 8x40, 10x50, 12x50,and 16x50

PCF

http://sport-optics.pentax.co.uk/en/group/20/product/65810/body/overview/products-porro-prism.html

XCF

http://sport-optics.pentax.co.uk/en/group/20/product/65794/body/overview/products-porro-prism.html

The XCF are decent binoculars and has wider AFOV than the PCF, but they lacks the waterproof, air tight seals, twist lock eye cup and most importantly the field flattener lens in the eyepiece, which are found in the more expensive PCF model.

[Josh Wilson]

Try a pair of 7x50's or 10x50's as listed above. 7x50's give an exit pupil of about 7mm, which is the average size. But it get smaller with age and every extra mm of exit pupil size is essentially wasted light. So go with some 10x50s depending in your age.

[Mr CRS]

After double checking the website, I had read the model number above the prices, but the model is listed besides the price, the web page is very misleading.

You can see it at http://www.campkinsfuturevision.co.uk/

[BinocularSky]

... looking for advice on my first purchase of binoculars. ... My budget is up to £150, any help would be much appreciated.

http://binocularsky.com/binoc_choosing.php#5

[Mr CRS]

Have ordered Pentax PCF WP II 10x50 and Celestron 93524 tripod adapor.

[Mr Q]

I agree with Josh - as our eyes age, our ability to dilate our eyes lessens to the point of about 5mm at ages above 45 - 55. Getting bins with an exit pupil larger than your eyes can dilate to will be only wasting the light gathering power of larger (objective lens size) bins. To determine the exit pupil of any binocular, divide the power number into the objective size (i.e. 10x50s = 5mm exit pupil).

10x50s are considered the best all around size for light gathering power, widest field of view, magnification and steadyness of views while hand holding. Since increasing the magnification of the binocular needs a tripod device and their fields of view shrink, the 10x50s are recommended.

And when choosing a brand, look for the terms "fully multi-coated" lenses (for maximum light transfer) and "BAK-4" prisms (for image crispness and overall performance). These options are mandatory for astronomical use. And stay away from "zoom" and "wide field" binoculars - these features are offered at the diminished performance of other important features to keep the prices low.

To determine your actual dark adapted eye pupil size, hold a 5,6 or 7mm allen wrench up to your eye while looking at a star. When the star is just completely blocked by the wrench, that is your pupil size.

P.S. I never go night fishing without a pair of 10x50s

[BinocularSky]

Be very wary about generalised statements of pupil size and age: we vary enormously within our species:

Easy way to accurately measure pupil size is to stand (or sit) in front of a mirror at night, waiting 30 seconds or so for your pupils to dark adapt, hold a ruler under the eye, in the same vertical plane as your pupil, photograph the eye in the mirror (use flash, but not anti-red-eye pre-flash), then use image manipulation software to move a section of the ruler over the diameter of the pupil.

[Mr CRS]

Pentax binos arrived this morning (ordered from Amazon Sunday lunch time and arrived 9am Monday........... WOW).

First impressions not having owned any binos before. Excellent but let down by the loose fitting one piece dust cover on the eye lenses and the flimsy carrying case supplied.

[E621Keith]

Pentax binos arrived this morning (ordered from Amazon Sunday lunch time and arrived 9am Monday........... WOW).

First impressions not having owned any binos before. Excellent but let down by the loose fitting one piece dust cover on the eye lenses and the flimsy carrying case supplied.

Congratulation on you new bino. I totally agree about the rear dust cover, it just won't stay on. I thought the PCF's padded case was quite nice, but probably because most of my other binoculars' cases are completely unpadded.

[Mr CRS]

I have found a temporary cure for the loose dust cover, a piece of Velcro (the loop side) and stuck a piece into each end of the cover.

[crashtestdummy]

another recomendation for the 15x70 skymasters,great price and great quality

[Stardust]

How are you finding those Pentax PCF bins? I could well be in the market for a pair at that sort of price. They do look to get good reviews but I'd like to get a look'n'see before shelling out. I'd really need to use them with my glasses or I'll get some strange effects.

[Rihard]

I agree with Josh - as our eyes age, our ability to dilate our eyes lessens to the point of about 5mm at ages above 45 - 55. Getting bins with an exit pupil larger than your eyes can dilate to will be only wasting the light gathering power of larger (objective lens size) bins. To determine the exit pupil of any binocular, divide the power number into the objective size (i.e. 10x50s = 5mm exit pupil).

10x50s are considered the best all around size for light gathering power, widest field of view, magnification and steadyness of views while hand holding. Since increasing the magnification of the binocular needs a tripod device and their fields of view shrink, the 10x50s are recommended.

And when choosing a brand, look for the terms "fully multi-coated" lenses (for maximum light transfer) and "BAK-4" prisms (for image crispness and overall performance). These options are mandatory for astronomical use. And stay away from "zoom" and "wide field" binoculars - these features are offered at the diminished performance of other important features to keep the prices low.

To determine your actual dark adapted eye pupil size, hold a 5,6 or 7mm allen wrench up to your eye while looking at a star. When the star is just completely blocked by the wrench, that is your pupil size.

P.S. I never go night fishing without a pair of 10x50s

Very useful answer as I am also looking into purchasing my first binos.

I have found apparently nice unbranded binos at Argos (Ireland) that seem to match the description,

not sure if the price is good and if it's worth the risk.

Can anyone take a look at them and tell me more please??

http://www.argos.ie/...rs|14419493.htm

[Stardust]

With optics you tend to get what you pay for. I just wouldn't go for an unbranded pair unless I had the chance to test them out, I doubt they be any better than the cheap Bresser 10x50 that float around and possibly worse. Nothing wrong the the Bresser bins, great at the price but if you want better then it's gong to cost more. I have enjoyed my Bresser 8x56 but will probably sell them in favour of the Pentax.

[Rihard]

With optics you tend to get what you pay for. I just wouldn't go for an unbranded pair unless I had the chance to test them out, I doubt they be any better than the cheap Bresser 10x50 that float around and possibly worse. Nothing wrong the the Bresser bins, great at the price but if you want better then it's gong to cost more. I have enjoyed my Bresser 8x56 but will probably sell them in favour of the Pentax.

Does anyone know this brand or has ever tried these?

They look interesting at that price.

http://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/pyser-sgi-10-x-50-jay-binoculars_d3618.html

They seems to be manufactured in England.

[E621Keith]

Does anyone know this brand or has ever tried these?

They look interesting at that price.

http://www.rotherval...lars_d3618.html

They seems to be manufactured in England.

Never tried them, but judging by the price, there is no chance these were made in UK.

If you have a really tight budget you can consider these Celestron. http://www.firstlightoptics.com/celestron-binoculars/celestron-nature-10x50-binocular.html

[Stardust]

These were mentioned somewhere along the line, Olmpus is a good brand, most of the reviews like them

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Olympus-N1240482-Binocular-10x50-DPS-1/dp/B0000AKGX3/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345557005&sr=8-1

People have different perceptions of what is good, we are all different.

If you try a pair and are happy then that's fine, I see no point in spending £300 for example just to have on a very nice pair if you can't really see a difference or aren't going to use them much. I think if I was looking to spend £50 I'd consider the Olympus but I could afford the Pentax which I'd hope would be a lot better. I'd still like to try first. There's just too much choice.

[BinocularSky]

Can anyone take a look at them and tell me more please??

http://www.argos.ie/...rs|14419493.htm

Avoid! The blurb says both that it is "Auto Focus" and "Centre focusing" -- both cannot be correct. In fact, in this instance, both are incorrect. It is a fixed focus binocular. It may have some uses, but astronomy isn't one of them.

Does anyone know this brand or has ever tried these?

They look interesting at that price.

http://www.rotherval...lars_d3618.html

They seems to be manufactured in England.

I don't know the binocular, but I am interested to know why you think it is English-made -- I would be very surprised (but delighted to be shown to be wrong) if it was not of Far-Eastern manufacture.

I have some blurb about choosing a first binocular for astronomy here.

You may also be interested in my page on advertising hype in binoculars (which also explains why you shouldn't fall for the well-meaning but wrong "Bak-4 and fully multi-coated are essential for astronomy" advice that infests the internet.

[Rihard]

Avoid! The blurb says both that it is "Auto Focus" and "Centre focusing" -- both cannot be correct. In fact, in this instance, both are incorrect. It is a fixed focus binocular. It may have some uses, but astronomy isn't one of them.

I don't know the binocular, but I am interested to know why you think it is English-made -- I would be very surprised (but delighted to be shown to be wrong) if it was not of Far-Eastern manufacture.

I have some blurb about choosing a first binocular for astronomy here.

You may also be interested in my page on advertising hype in binoculars (which also explains why you shouldn't fall for the well-meaning but wrong "Bak-4 and fully multi-coated are essential for astronomy" advice that infests the internet.

Tetenterre, thanks for the advise.

I found the company page for the latter binos http://www.pyser-sgi.com/ where they state to be based in UK and to make equipment for army's or security forces. Their manufacturing seems based in the South East of England.

So I was wondering if anyone heard of them, it might be a respectable brand

I will be checking the Advertising Hype link you sent me.

Cheers

Clear Skies

[Stardust]

Very interesting reading and glad to see the Pentax are the choice in my price bracket, thanks for the links.