Vanguard 10 x 25 compact bins..bargain I hope.

[baggywrinkle]

I picked up a boxed pair in a sale today for A$10 (£7).

With the temporary move to China (in just over 2 weeks) I am not taking any bins or 'scopes mainly due to the rapacious customs people. Does not matter if the kit is used thyey charge an as new duty where they can.....B*S£@ etc etc.

The big bins and scopes are going to the UK where I will be in 6 months time...hopefully.

Another reason for not taking scopes is that Shanghai hardly ever has a clear unpolluted sky, either by light or genuine pollution.

So these are my grab and go for China and when I am traveling inside and outside China.

Anyone used Vanguard compacts at all?

[NGC 1502]

Well G'day ! Sorry

As you probably know, bins of that spec are not usually recommended for astronomy, but my wife has similar, keeps them in her handbag for birding, they are so small & light, she doesn't have to wonder if it's worth taking them out.

A few years back, we were in north Norfolk (UK) at a dark site. I was using a 10" Dob, she came out to see what I was viewing, it was M33. I described where M33 is. A few minutes later, she said "I think I've found it". She was using the little bins, so I tried them, and M33 was easy to see, a small fuzzy patch.

The point is that although 25mm bins are not normally used for astronomy, they do collect far more light than the unaided eye. The Pleiades were a treat as well.

Just use whatever you have, you could be surprised.

Regards, Ed.

[baggywrinkle]

The only reason I bought them was for their compact design, they can slip into a jacket pocket.

The winds and rains have returned to WA so not getting a chance to test them.