Giant Astrobinoculars

[GobstopperX]

Hello, I need your help! I am reasonably new to astronomy and could do with some sound advice from people who have been through a similar situation as me.

I have spent most of the day browsing amazon, harrisons telescopes, flo ect., and watching youtube vids of binoculars to try and determine what set of astrobinoculars best suit my requirements in the £100 - £250 price range. After spending about 5 hours reading specifications and reviews I am no further forward. The best i have come up with is a shortlist.

I now think I want what is considered giant binoculars that are going to be mounted. I already have a cheap set of 10 x 50 binoculars which are ok for a quick spin of the night sky, but now i want to see MORE! I am interested in viewing planets, stars and nebula, with a view to one day astroimaging once I am a bit more experienced.

So, to the shortlist:

25 x 100 – Strothspey Giant, Celestron Skymaster, Helios Quantum 3 & 4, Revelation Giant

20 x 80 – Celestron Skymaster (The cheapest option but seem to get really good reviews)

There are also some other bins such as Helios Appollos at various different sizes, and the Opticron Observation 11 x 80 which is a bit outside my price range, but if it genuinely is far superior then I wouldn’t mind pushing the boat out as I will only buy one set of these in my life (im 26, aiming to be stargazing for a good few years!).

I have intentionally left the price of the bins out of this article as I am not going to let that sway my decision. What I want is the best quality view of the night sky, and best quality pair of binoculars that will last a good long time.

As I said earlier, I will be mounting these binoculars so heres the mount shortlist so far:

Hammi Star 63, Hammi Star Profit Duo III, Horizon 8115

Please feel free to comment on any of the above if you can help. If there are other binocular makes that I haven’t considered please can you suggest them? I am really looking for the pros and cons of each, and ultimately to purchase the optimum set which will give me the best view of the heavens.

Thanks a lot,

Mark

[BinocularSky]

Firstly, get your self over to the Discussions: Binoculars forum; it's where we 2-eyed observers hang out... .

I am interested in viewing planets, stars and nebula, with a view to one day astroimaging once I am a bit more experienced.

With very few (expensive) exceptions, binoculars are not particularly good for planets. They are singularly unsuited for imaging.

There are also some other bins such as Helios Appollos at various different sizes, and the Opticron Observation 11 x 80 which is a bit outside my price range, but if it genuinely is far superior then I wouldn’t mind pushing the boat out as I will only buy one set of these in my life (im 26, aiming to be stargazing for a good few years!).

Yes, they are superior and, IMHO, worth it.

I have intentionally left the price of the bins out of this article as I am not going to let that sway my decision. What I want is the best quality view of the night sky, and best quality pair of binoculars that will last a good long time.

The bottom end of decent quality binoculars, IMNSVHO, is the Helios Apollo range. For real quality in large binoculars, look at Fujinon or Miyauchi.

As I said earlier, I will be mounting these binoculars so heres the mount shortlist so far:

Hammi Star 63, Hammi Star Profit Duo III, Horizon 8115

Forget it -- tripods are a real pain with binoculars. If you are getting a decent large binocular, don't skimp on the mount. Big binoculars need a parallelogram to reach their potential. IF you are determined to use a tripod and "normal" head, you must get binoculars with angled eyepieces. If you are going for a decent 15/16x70, you can use a monopod and trigger-grip ball-head.

Some more suggestions, etc. on my web site (click banner in sig)

[Peter Drew]

I would stick with your 10X50's for wide field use and purchase something like a 150mm Dob as this will give you much better performance than any binocular in your suggested budjet.

[GobstopperX]

Thanks for all you guidance and comments Steve! Very much appreciated.

Ive done a quick google search on Miyauchi and Fujinon and although id like to think price isnt a consideration, they are well outside my budget!!

BAsed on what you have written above, I am thinking that Helios Appollo 15 x 70 are the bins best suited to me.

Would i notice the difference between Skymaster 20 x 80 in comparison to say the Quantium 4s 20 x 90?

Are the Celestron Skymasters poor Quality? I have read bad things in reviews by serious astronomers, but all the Amazon reviews are fantastic.

Cheers,

Mark

P.S. I actually managed to find your website last night when i was reading through reviews, very informative!

[ollypenrice]

Thanks for all you guidance and comments Steve! Very much appreciated.

Ive done a quick google search on Miyauchi and Fujinon and although id like to think price isnt a consideration, they are well outside my budget!!

BAsed on what you have written above, I am thinking that Helios Appollo 15 x 70 are the bins best suited to me.

Would i notice the difference between Skymaster 20 x 80 in comparison to say the Quantium 4s 20 x 90?

Are the Celestron Skymasters poor Quality? I have read bad things in reviews by serious astronomers, but all the Amazon reviews are fantastic.

Cheers,

Mark

P.S. I actually managed to find your website last night when i was reading through reviews, very informative!

Amazon reviews versus astronomer reviews ought to be a bit of a no-brainer...

Olly

[BinocularSky]

Mark: What Olly said!

On one hand, it is amazing that outfits like United Optics can make big binoculars available at that price, but anyone who thinks that the budget ones have a even nodding acquaintance with things like quality control is delusional! Yes, you can see more than you can with the smaller budget offerings, but that is to be expected. I would guess that Amazon reviews are mostly by people who haven't a clue as to what is possible in a superb binocular, and there is clearly a certain amount of Dunning-Kruger Effect infesting lots of binocular reviews on there.

Now, I'm not for a moment suggesting that everybody should pay a four-figure sum for a 10x50, but it is good to be realistic about what to expect and to be aware that a smaller quality binocular may well show you a great deal more than a larger budget one.

Would i notice the difference between Skymaster 20 x 80 in comparison to say the Quantium 4s 20 x 90?

I would be very surprised if you didn't.

And don't ignore Peter's advice -- it is very sound!

[E621Keith]

Thanks for all you guidance and comments Steve! Very much appreciated.

Ive done a quick google search on Miyauchi and Fujinon and although id like to think price isnt a consideration, they are well outside my budget!!

BAsed on what you have written above, I am thinking that Helios Appollo 15 x 70 are the bins best suited to me.

Would i notice the difference between Skymaster 20 x 80 in comparison to say the Quantium 4s 20 x 90?

Are the Celestron Skymasters poor Quality? I have read bad things in reviews by serious astronomers, but all the Amazon reviews are fantastic.

Cheers,

Mark

P.S. I actually managed to find your website last night when i was reading through reviews, very informative!

Amazon reviews tends to be written by people who have no experience. They received the item, have a go at it and then write the review. Most have never compared them to a similar product, and the reviews are usually first impression reviews written when the reviewer is still experiencing the new toy effect.

The Helios Apollo is a very good choice. It is a top of the range Chinese binocular, unlike the Celestron Sky Master which is just average. That said, you can go a lot worse than the Skymaster, especially if you buy from Amazon or fleabay. Whether the Celestron is poor quality depends on what you compare it with. If you compare to the average astronomy binocular, then the Skymaster is indeed poor, but if you compare them to the other binoculars in the Argos catalogue then they are fantastic.

[GobstopperX]

Found this article online, very informative.

http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=1351

From all the comments above and my research so far i reckon i am going to go for the Helios Apollo 15 x 70.

Thanks a bunch,

MArk

[Brian Nordstrom]

Hi Mark and welcome to the world of GIANT Binos ,

I have a pair of " Zhumhell Tachyon " 25x100's and these are awsome tools for deep sky , they are so good I sold my Skywatcher 150mm f/5 frac as they gather the same amount light and using 2 eyes is the real ' Space walk ' feeling .

Just a couple of negatives ,

They are HEAVY!!! and need a solid mount . There is NO WAY you can hand hole these giants .

And the extra price you have to pay for the said mount .

But if you have the skills its not hard to knock up a mount that will work . ( there is plenty on the web )

I have a GSO/Astro tech mount under my Tak FS60C and a William Optics H/w tripod under my Tak M210 so its easy to use these when I feel the need for a Bino hit , about 10 miniutes to set up .

I made the white adaptor you see in these photos thats between the GSO mount and the Binos them selves , this simple " Adapto Dog " as friends call it works very well and cost me nothing , except my time .

Hope you enjoy and give them a go as I said using 2 eyes is awsome !! .

Brian.

[Moonshane]

can anyone provide a summary of the benefits of a pair of large bins vs a small newt (say 6") and a set of binoviewers?

[Brian Nordstrom]

I have both , the Zhumhell's above and a William optics bino viewer set with the 20mm WO eyepieces.

The 100mm binos give a better 3D image than the WO bino viewer's .

The WO bino veiwer's wont reach focus with any of my refractors without the supplied barlow so that means I am basically using 10mm eyepieces and the magnification gets a little high for deep sky viewing .

Bino viewers need about 100mm in travel on your scope's focuser to acheave focus with out the 2x barlow .

My WO viewers reach focus in my Takahashi Mewlon 210 without the barlow , but with 2415 mm f/l it again is to much power 120x , to enjoy deep sky , but Jupiter and Saturn and the Moon are spectacular using both eyes in this scope .

So its a bit of a catch 22 , my 25x100 binos mounted are way better for deep sky as the field of view is huge and awe inspiring , where the WO bino viewers kinda defeat the purpose of bino viewing on deep sky because of the dreaded use of the barlow ( to much power and to small afield of view ) .

But as said the WO set in my M210 on the moon and planets is the best I have ever seen ... . so its horses for coarses , I am afraid .

My 5c worth , and hope it helps .

Brian.

[vlebo]

Have you looked at these if you are willing to push the boat out a bit

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/helios/quantum-74-25x100-binoculars.html

They retail for about £1500 with the mount and tripod.

[Brian Nordstrom]

Hi Viebo , we have a pair of these ( your link ) at my old Astronomical society in New Zealand ( Northland astro society ) and yes they are awsome .

The mount works really well and the 45 degree eyepieces are a God send .

Triplet ED lenses so the views are almost totally colour free f/6.5 ( I think , from memory ) a great hit with the public at our public nights , Kids love em !! .

We also grabbed 2 x 1000 oaks solar filters for solar viewing , now thats a view to remember .

I have a photo here somewhere of our's at the Whangarei library during 2009's year of astronomy solar out reach day , I will try and find it and post it .

These were the reason I have my Zhumhell's , almost as good optically , not so go as you need to mount them , but a whole lot cheeper .

Brian.

[vlebo]

I have always liked the idea of these as a portable quick set up

[GobstopperX]

Hi Steve

Please could you link me to all aspects of your monopod set up? I now wish to get a monopod for my Helios Appollo 15 x 70 bins.

Thanks again,

Mark

[nytecam]

BINO EXIT PUPIL: In case it hasn't been mentioned - there's no point having an exit pupil from the EP larger than that of the the eye itself - effectively the OG is stopped down to a smaller aperture and lighter /cheaper [?] binos would, in this case, serve better

[BinocularSky]

Please could you link me to all aspects of your monopod set up?

Hi Mark, Here you go:

Monopod

Trigger-grip head

L-bracket (Binocular Tripod Adaptor) (The wide ones sold by e.g. FLO do not fit the Apollo; the poor reviews on this one are for an earlier plastic version)

If you opt for a different monopod which only has a 1/4" mounting screw, you will also need this.

I've also added a spiked foot to mine; makes it better on grass.

I hope that helps. Give me a shout if you need advice on adjusting the trigger-grip tension.