20x60 binoculars

[spurius]

Looking to buy some 20x60 binoculars in the £150-£200 range. Are there any dealers in Wales (UK) that stock decent ones? Any particular ones that you can recommend or other advice is welcome.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I do not know about dealers, but I do wonder about the choice for 20x60. Twenty times is hard to hold steady, and an exit pupil of 3 mm is a bit low, I would think. I much prefer an exit pupil of 4 mm or larger.

[spurius]

I do not know about dealers, but I do wonder about the choice for 20x60. Twenty times is hard to hold steady, and an exit pupil of 3 mm is a bit low, I would think. I much prefer an exit pupil of 4 mm or larger.

Basically I want good mag for general use as I do a lot of motorcycle touring. But I would also like good aperture for astronomy if I ever end up finding a nice dark campsite. Are 20x60s only available with 3mm exit pupils? May go for 15*60 or 70 if a good enough one can be found for my budget.

[BinocularSky]

Are 20x60s only available with 3mm exit pupils?

By definition, a 20x60 has a 3mm exit pupil (exit pupil = aperture / magnification). (That said, I bet it's possible to find a budget Chinese nominal 20x60 that has a smaller exit pupil )

Re preferrred exit pupil size: Depends on the binocular. I prefer smaller-than-3mm on my 100mm binocular, and one of the nicest ever astronomy binoculars was the Takahashi Astronomer, which was a 22x60. But 20x60 is too much magnification to hand-hold, has a small FoV, and really needs to be mounted.

[Reeny]

I have a pair of 15x70 Revelation bins

£60 from telescope house, and worth every penny.

They are light enough for travelling,

but significant sizable at nearly 1-foot long.

Final measurements come in around 11" x 9" x 4"

Last time I used them on holiday was on a Fyord cruise in Norway.

They are OK to use for landscape viewing or stargazing if you can rest your elbows on something, or hold them steady.

[laowho]

We use 12x50 and 20x60...and even the 12x bino is tough to hand-hold without bracing. Would we rather have had a 20x80 bino? Sure. But the price jump was considerable for what we thought were our options.