Binoculars ?

[farren272]

Hi all,

OK, so I'm still deciding on the telescope etc, but I'm also thinking that a good thing to do would be to learn the sky with the naked and and a pair of binoculars.

Currently I'm looking at either:-

Celestron 71008 25x70 Skymaster

or

Celestron 71009 15 x 70 Skymaster

Now, from what I haave read, even the 15 x 70 will really need a tripod, so should I go ahead and opt for the larger 25x70 anyway?

I do already have a tripod for my DSLR so would just need to get a decent metal bracket.

Any thoughts? Should I even be looking elsewhere? All advide appreciated as always.

Farren

[Peter Drew]

I wouldn't consider anything of higher magnification than 15X, 25X is getting into the realms of a telescope, the big advantage a binocular has, that of nice wide comfortable views would be lost.

[Pig]

Did you mean the naked eye ?

[Astronolee]

Love my 15x70s lovely wide view really opens up the night sky

[Lee M]

Head down to the Equipment / Binoculars section. Have a read & you'll come across Tetenterre's site http://binocularsky.com/

Plenty of info on there regarding choosing binoculars and what to aim them at.

Lee

[farren272]

Did you mean the naked eye ?

Oops! lol. Well maybe I did, maybe I didn't :-)

This is the naturalist astronomy page right ? :-D

[farren272]

Great help as always.

I shall go and take a look at http://binocularsky.com/ now.

Cheers

Farren

[the bishop]

hi

I started out and still continue using bins for stargazing... as I wanted to “be able to find my way around” before getting a scope!!

Bins give a great wide “fov” (field of view) and what you see is the right way up and round!!

Also a planisphere from smiths under a tenner (but there are apps now) got a couple of books, there are many for just “bin” stargazers.

The Pros inc; No setting up involved, and very portable the cons inc: looking up and even 15x70 after a short time need a mount I have some 20x80’s and they need support all the time.

I started off with a pair of Meade 10x50 as recommended by Sir Patrick, they are light, wide fov and didn’t cost an arm and a leg to get me going.

I moved onto a pair of 15x70 and then 20x80’s

but 10x50’s are a great starting point and mine get very regular use

For me I use a metal L bracket fitted onto my Manfrotto 055 xprob tripod for the smaller two and a quick release plate on a monopod head fitted to the 055 for the big ‘uns .

A nice comfy office chair is good for me and i just have fun. Also a red light torch for looking at books charts.

Simples

Astronomy is for “all” regardless of age, ability or cash... just get out there look and wonder...but above all have fun and always remember Its your hobby not your job

[Blazar]

There will always be objects in the sky that are more wonderous in a pair of binoculars, than a scope (due to their wide filed of view)...

as the his holiness above pointed out....just go and look up....

Astronomy is for “all” regardless of age, ability or cash... just get out there look and wonder...but above all have fun and always remember Its your hobby not your job

this needs to be in your signature Bishop....

[ronin]

My concern with this is that by the time you buy a set of binoculars then a tripod the cost comes to a pretty good proportion of the telescope that you wanted in the first place.

Binoculars will compliment a scope they are not a substitute.

I have binoculars up to 20x, none will show bands on Jupiter, all show the dots that are the moons.

To some extent buy a cheap scope ST80, stick an 8mm eyepiece in and see the bands, cost will not be much difference, views will be a lot more however. If you want the wide field of binoculars then stick a 25mm eyepiece in, thats 3+ degrees.

Looking to the future, in 3 months I believe that Saturn becomes visible, you will need a scope for that and one that is capable of 120x or more. Will buying a set of binoculars and a tripod now prevent you seeing Saturn?

Suppose the point is if you want a scope buy a scope, if you want binoculars buy binoculars, if you want a scope are you happy to spend some of the money for the scope on binoculars.

[farren272]

My concern with this is that by the time you buy a set of binoculars then a tripod the cost comes to a pretty good proportion of the telescope that you wanted in the first place.

Binoculars will compliment a scope they are not a substitute.

I have binoculars up to 20x, none will show bands on Jupiter, all show the dots that are the moons.

To some extent buy a cheap scope ST80, stick an 8mm eyepiece in and see the bands, cost will not be much difference, views will be a lot more however. If you want the wide field of binoculars then stick a 25mm eyepiece in, thats 3+ degrees.

Looking to the future, in 3 months I believe that Saturn becomes visible, you will need a scope for that and one that is capable of 120x or more. Will buying a set of binoculars and a tripod now prevent you seeing Saturn?

Suppose the point is if you want a scope buy a scope, if you want binoculars buy binoculars, if you want a scope are you happy to spend some of the money for the scope on binoculars.

Hi Sub,

Well I already have a Manfrotto 055XPROB and a Manfrotto monopod to go with my DSLR, so I figured buying a not-too-expensive pair of pins might be a good start (if i'm looking at the £70-£80 mark).

I definitely do want to get a scope AND make sure it's ready for astrophotography as and when i'm ready, but I figured that it might be cool to get some bins while I'm just learning. I still have a way to go before I even decide on the scope, mount, additional bits etc.

[farren272]

hi

I started out and still continue using bins for stargazing... as I wanted to “be able to find my way around” before getting a scope!!

Bins give a great wide “fov” (field of view) and what you see is the right way up and round!!

Also a planisphere from smiths under a tenner (but there are apps now) got a couple of books, there are many for just “bin” stargazers.

The Pros inc; No setting up involved, and very portable the cons inc: looking up and even 15x70 after a short time need a mount I have some 20x80’s and they need support all the time.

I started off with a pair of Meade 10x50 as recommended by Sir Patrick, they are light, wide fov and didn’t cost an arm and a leg to get me going.

I moved onto a pair of 15x70 and then 20x80’s

but 10x50’s are a great starting point and mine get very regular use

For me I use a metal L bracket fitted onto my Manfrotto 055 xprob tripod for the smaller two and a quick release plate on a monopod head fitted to the 055 for the big ‘uns .

A nice comfy office chair is good for me and i just have fun. Also a red light torch for looking at books charts.

Simples

Astronomy is for “all” regardless of age, ability or cash... just get out there look and wonder...but above all have fun and always remember Its your hobby not your job

All just perfect advice,

Thanks

[the bishop]

Hi everyone

The trouble these days with astronomy and yes its just fantastic that the profile has shot up, from more people using big scopes down to the humble backyard stargazer,

is the FLOOD of fantastic images we get from Hubble etc. Because It has given the world and his dog the idea that you can go pick up a kiddies scope from Poundland

or an ebay special and see the universe in fantastic high definition with colour filled nebula and tons of bright galaxy’s,

when in reality for most of us... most of the time just getting a good clear night with a good in focus disk or a nice ‘ish defined smudge is awe inspiring!!

Hubble and so on as fantastic as they are, are a double edged sword...

Gosh I’m getting quite philosophical in my old age, here endeth today’s thought for the day ha ha

[the bishop]

hi,

I seem to be getting forgetful and philosophical these days ha ha!

I love using bins and using them has made me learn the sky and so be able to better appreciate things when I do get a scope.

(Getting a scope has always been a part of my long term plan)

I decided about six months ago (May) that I would now go for it as I felt the time is now right to complement them with a scope...

Sounds reasonable and the wife was happy (that was a shock ) but here we are well into January

And I still haven’t made up my mind!! It’s not as easy as I thought it would be?? :huh:

I have narrowed it down now and I’m leaning toward getting a SW Explorer200 on an heq5 mount,

this I feel will give something that will be a bit future proof and take me to the next level but my bins will still and always will be a big part of my gazing enjoyment,

I don’t look upon them as now wasted money but as invested money in one of the best things I could ever do. :laugh:

gra

[Blazar]

Sweet words your holiness.....seeing that faint smudge that was Andromeda for the first time...and then doing a double take...."was that what I think it should be"....OOOOOMMMMGGGG! then stand for 10 mins just feeling really great.

I keep seeing new members come on the site and say 'Hi...I have just bought a (insert usual skywatcher dobsonian scope here) etc, but dont know where or how to point it. The learning curve and expectation management can be learned with Binoculars, plus with the skys as they are at the moment, a quick 10-15 minutes is all you are going to get.

Agree with Ronins sentiments though...Bins will never replace scopes...they are just perfect companions...

plus not sure how many free boxes of cloud come with a set of Bins over a scope

[farren272]

hi,

I seem to be getting forgetful and philosophical these days ha ha!

I love using bins and using them has made me learn the sky and so be able to better appreciate things when I do get a scope.

(Getting a scope has always been a part of my long term plan)

I decided about six months ago (May) that I would now go for it as I felt the time is now right to complement them with a scope...

Sounds reasonable and the wife was happy (that was a shock ) but here we are well into January

And I still haven’t made up my mind!! It’s not as easy as I thought it would be?? :huh:

I have narrowed it down now and I’m leaning toward getting a SW Explorer200 on an heq5 mount,

this I feel will give something that will be a bit future proof and take me to the next level but my bins will still and always will be a big part of my gazing enjoyment,

I don’t look upon them as now wasted money but as invested money in one of the best things I could ever do. :laugh:

gra

Well I'm much newer to all this than you, but am also having the same dilema and have also kind of narrowed it down to the SW Explorer200 on an heq5 mount. I want to get something that will, in the future, also be OK for astrophotography.

It sure is a mine-field out there.

But I do think that it would do me good to learn the sky first and enjoy what I can see through bins. Even just seeing the red dot of mars amazes me, so don't worry, I wont be sad when I don't get my Hubble image (well, not yet anyway).

[Lee M]

Bins will never replace scopes...they are just perfect companions...

Agreed. I had planned to spend longer with just bins but I had the money and a good deal popped up on a 200p dob. So that plan didn't last long

I've managed a few evenings viewing with the scope and have reached for the bins as well most evenings. It's nice to have the flexibility.

Lee

[crashtestdummy]

15x70's for me,anything above that ends up being tripod only which isnt as much fun.25x mag is a bit too much for a 70mm objective so the quality wont be as good.im looking at some 11x80's next

[GaryM]

Have a look at this. Its been commented on many times on these forums. http://www.wwnorton.com/college/astronomy/astro21/sandt/startright.html

[farren272]

15x70's for me,anything above that ends up being tripod only which isnt as much fun.25x mag is a bit too much for a 70mm objective so the quality wont be as good.im looking at some 11x80's next

So, you find 15x70s are doable handheld?

It's going to be 10x50 or 15x70, but just not sure which yet.

[bish]

I have 10x50's and 15x70's. For finding my way around the sky and help locating for the scope I use the 10x50's every time. If I'm going to a dark site where I can't take a scope then I use 15x70's for a bit of extra power to see DSO's.

[GaryM]

I think people generally mount the 15x70's either on a Monopod with a ball trigger mount or Tripod. Hand held for short periods is OK but after that you may find you cannot hold them steady enough. Either way I think you may find you need some support with the 15x70's even if just reclining in a deck chair, using a wall or similar to support your elbows even the roof of a car. Some prefer the mobility of the Monopod / ball trigger mount over the limited range of a tripod mount and others the opposite. There is a link on the Binocular discussions forum to "Binocularsky" which gives some useful advice.

I have pretty much tried them all with my 15x70's.

[Damo636]

Handheld I would go with 10x50. I can use my 15x70 handheld for a short time but it gets tiring pretty quick.

[the bishop]

i agree 10x50 handheld but anything above needs some sort of a mount after a very short time

[Astronolee]

I cannot keep my 15x70s very steady at all so I always use a tripod...not sure if their is a knack to it but I have heard laying on your back to use bins with elbows on the ground is effective but I have never tried this in my muddy garden. Its not that they are particularly heavy I just cant seem to keep them steady for more than a couple of seconds and I am sure most people will be the same. I enjoy lengthy views of the moon or Jupiter and its moons whilst using my tripod. By the way Pleiades looks awesome through them...