10x50 or 15x70???

[Bennythebrit]

Strathspey, Celestron, Visionary???

Budget around 100 pound.

I'm quite strong so holding 15x70's should be fine.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[Charic]

Bennythebrit......... hi there, just suggested these to someone else? check here  http://www.strathspey.co.uk/shop/full.php?q=1364687313

[Kropster]

8x42 Opticron imagic... nice and light... you get arm ache holding the big ones.... and the lower magnification gives a nice wide field of view, which is what most people want from binoculars.

[LouisJB]

Celestron 15x70 are great, it always amazes me what you can see with them.

Also much less than £100 if you shop around. Even been tempted by 25x70 or bigger but then really you are looking at some sort of support. Holding even the 15x70 for 5 mins is one thing, after an hour it's another

Brilliant purchase though, probably the best bang for buck you can get, from there on in it gets more expensive for less return at each step!

[jambouk]

You'll get 10x50s in your local charity shop for £10. My local charity shops always have old sets, which often are good makes. Try a pair.

Anything greater are quite heavy, however strong you think you are.

James

[NGC 1502]

15x70s can be hand held, many do that and have a great observing session.  

However, with any binocular, you will see more if they are mounted, or can support them in some other way, resting your elbows on something, etc, etc.

I often use my 10x50s handheld, and more successfully than larger binos because of the lower mag and lighter weight.  But again, if mounted, I can see more. Never managed to split Albireo hand held, mounted I can.

For the ultimate in portability, hand hold.  To see more, support them in some way.

Regards, Ed.

[LouisJB]

I also use my 15x70 hand-held, but I wouldn't want to do it for any extended period, 10mins at a time is more than enough!

However as mentioned, if you can rest your arms it helps a lot.

I think they were £65ish new, which is pretty good value when you think what you're getting. 10x50 would be handy also and much easier to hold, I have some as well but rarely use them myself.

I think my smaller 10x50 came from somewhere like Tesco for no more than £20 and you can also get some from Lidl's so I hear They are no where near as good as the bigger ones, but handy to have all the same.

[Steve Ward]

Celestron 15 x 70's for £62.00 and a Polaroid 72" Monopod for £24.95 , great value binocular and the monopod is tall enough to allow comfortable viewing even straight up , it's the tallest one I could find after extensive searching.

Got both mine from here ... 

http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-celestron-skymaster-15x70-binoculars/p1532970

http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-polaroid-72-inch-monopod-black/p1527330?cm_mmc=googlebase-extension-_-tripods-and-monopods-_-monopods-_-polaroid-72-inch-monopod-black_1527330&utm_source=googlebase-extension&gclid=cnkislxl7locfasfwwodxx4a9g

[swamp thing]

If it's your first pair of bins, I would get the 10, or 7x50,s as IMO, these are more versatile than 15x70,s and can be held for longer periods.

[Tonys]

I find that a tripod makes all the difference with my 15x70s. Having said that, I use my 8x40s a lot more often than the 15x70s. I do have a telescope though. If I didn't I'm not sure which of the binos would get most use. Talking of which, has anyone had experience with the higher powered zoom binoculars eg for viewing the moon.

[jambouk]

There are several pairs of binoculars on astro buy sell.

James

[Swedeman2013]

I once bought the Celestron 15x70's but returned them after discovering you MUST rest them on anything while stargazing, for me it seems to defeat the purpose of something so portable. Now saving for high quality 10x50 Nikon action extremes or similar.

[Tonys]

I once bought the Celestron 15x70's but returned them after discovering you MUST rest them on anything while stargazing, for me it seems to defeat the purpose of something so portable. Now saving for high quality 10x50 Nikon action extremes or similar.

Nikon Action Extremes should be a good choice. I have the Action VII 8x40 and they perform very well - better than my Russian Tento 7x50's even!

[LukeSkywatcher]

If you are serious about buying bins for more than just casual observing, then you want the most aperture you can afford (just like a scope). The 15x70 would be great. I'd be cautious of using them hand held as they are a bit weighty. I'm a big guy and tested some out and i'd be much happier with them mounted. I have a set of 20x90 bins (Strathspey) and they certainly need to be on the mount i have (Horizon 8115). 

Binocular observing is a real joy. Its such an easy,quick way to set-up and the view using both eyes is obviously more natural to use 2 eyed animals.  

[Swedeman2013]

Tonys- thanks for the advice, I might even lean toward the 8x40's- it sure seems less is more sometimes with binos. A nice clear wide view sure would compliment my Dob....

[TenBears]

I have both the 12x70 and 15x70...  wish I would have gotten the 10x50 in place of the 15x70.

15x is just too hard to hold steady.  Need a mount for it.  The 70 ap is nice, but the 15x is hard to hold still.

10x50's are perfect.

[Bennythebrit]

This is a very difficult to decide! A colleague has a pair of Barr and Strouds 10 x 56 savannahs. ( he had been in the hobby for years has and has a 14 inch reflector amongst other things) he swears by them and hasn't heard of the Strathspeys.

[Kropster]

Maybe a trip to a shop to try holding them steady for a longish period?

What seems light at first might feel pretty heavy after a few minutes.

[PorkyB]

The middle ground between the handheld or tripod camps is, of course, the monopod.  I use a cheap (£10) monopod from Amazon. It takes the weight of the bins and makes them much more stable and easier to use whilst retaining the ease of use of handheld. 

Remember whether using a tripod or a monopod you will probably also need an L-bracket, some larger bins already have a bracket but don't be tempted to use a flimsy plastic one. £10 should get you a good sturdy metal one.

There's lots of helpful advice here http://www.binocularsky.com/

[bendiddley]

8x42 Opticron imagic... nice and light... you get arm ache holding the big ones.... and the lower magnification gives a nice wide field of view, which is what most people want from binoculars.

Agree! 8x40's are very practical being a lot lighter than the 10x50's or bigger and there's also less shaking/vibration meaning the views are more stable. they still show surprising detail. i can see jupiters moons with mine, orion neb, andromeda galaxy, hercules globular cluster, Perseus double cluster. i've got a pair of Olympus DPSI 8x40 Binoculars which are excellent in build and quality of views. good luck with whatever you decide.

[Charic]

This is a very difficult to decide! A colleague has a pair of Barr and Strouds 10 x 56 savannahs. ( he had been in the hobby for years has and has a 14 inch reflector amongst other things) he swears by them and hasn't heard of the Strathspeys.

I`m the same, and each to their own. I think my Bresser Hunter 7x50`s are the dogs!, and are in constant use. Now the Strathspeys have better optics (technically) than what I have, so there might be an improvement. If I was actually going to buy a pair this week, the Marines 10x50s and their specification will get my money, and the Marines won the BBC Sky at Nights 10x50 group test, if that helps in any way. Unless you get out and try some you wont know what`s best for you. Winning a group test suggests they must be ok for some, but not everyone.  Could you call some specialist dealers and buy both pairs that your looking at  on the guarantee  that they will refund the ones you dont like. Its worth a try.

[Paulhenry85]

I have the celestron 15x70 they are big, but light weight and great for viewing a lot of DSO's.

Wth a £100 budget you can afford to buy the binoculars and a fairly decent tripod, or if your trying to keep costs downs an inflatable lilo !! (IMO a lilo or equivalent is a must have with binoculars, arm ache isn't the major issue when using binoculars it's the neck ache which will get you first) hope this helps

[Charic]

........I sold my Helios `Stellar` 20 x 80`s some time ago on ebay, as they were just too heavy, and at the higher magnification, Saturn was  dancing all over the place, and still only a very tiny target if I recall correctly? My 7x50s are brighter and lighter. For additional support , on the 20x80s i used and inverted `squeegee` or brush, and leant my elbows on the head section, just like a monopole. worked for me. 

[ollypenrice]

A self-test for those who say they can hand hold 15x70; find some distant text that is right on the limit of legibility and try to read it hand held with 15x70. Then try the same text in 8x42 or 10x50. If you really can hand hold 15x70 you'll be able to read the text more easily than in the smaller ones. I suspect a lot of people would fail this test, though. It's interesting that so many people say they hand hold the big bins on astronomy forums. No comparable claims are ever made on birding forums, where 8x is the norm and some are happy with 10x.

For me 8x42 or 10x50 are entirely different instruments from 15x70 and up. I like both, but the bigger ones are not, for me, hand held sky sweepers. They are tripod instruments in a way more in the spirit of a small widefield refractor. If I had to choose between my 8x42s and 15x70s it would be the small ones I'd keep every time. The bigger ones have a small niche of usefulness but the small ones are the widefield choice.

Olly

[Okeydokey]

I'm with Olly, holding up a pair of 15x70's is actually quite easy.  Instead, try and 'enjoy' the distraction of holding up a pair for more than 5 minutes, different game altogether!