Celestron skymaster 20x80

[Domcey]

Had a pair of skymaster 20x80 delivered today, never had a set this big before.

Tried them outside in daylight, they seem impossible to focus at less than say 50m but are clear at longer range although the focus wheel has to be screwed right out /extended to see anything.

Is this normal with the bigger sets?

My skymaster 15x70 focus things much closer and are clear at distance in mid focus wheel travel.

[Pete Presland]

I have both 15 x 70 & 20 x 80 the larger pair would struggle a bit at that range, but the 15x70's would be fine.

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[NGC404]

The 20x80s are optimised for distance work

Close focus of 50m sounds about right

[Domcey]

Thanks for your replies.

Got my son to look through both pairs, he is happy they are ok so now i just need a clear night.

Oh and a tripod i think.

I was just concerned that they are fully adjusted to focus, but i suppose all will become clear (hehe) when it gets dark.

[Pete Presland]

just tried my 20x80's and they do focus at around 50m, but no closer.

[Domcey]

Thinking of getting a Horizon 8115 tripod for them unless anybody has any different idea's.

[mrjolly]

I got an 8115 (and a pair of 15x70 binos to put on them) yesterday from FLO and it's great. Compared to the cheap tripods I've bought for DSLRs it's really solid, heavy and well-built. The head movement is nice and smooth and the stiffness can be adjusted too. Fully extended it seemed a lot higher than the 180cm which seems to be quoted a lot in descriptions of it, to me it seemed over 2 meters. According to FLO it'll cope with up to 100mm binos so should be fine with yours.

[mrjolly]

Just to say, it's not so heavy that it's not portable or it's cumbersome - it's definitely portable and not cumbersome!

Now I just need a clear night where I can see more than haze and planes going overhead!

[Domcey]

Thanks for the replies.

8115 ordered, so lets get some clear skys soon.

[Russko13]

The 8115 is great I've been using it with my bins since January, the I my drawback i have is mechanism that extends and retracts the legs confused me a but I got used to how they work fairly quickly!

[Russko13]

CORRECTION! *My only drawback

[Pete Presland]

You will be pleased with the 8115 i have recently bought one, very happy with it!

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[Russko13]

A good tip also is I've cable tied a red rear light from a bicycle to one of the legs as being all black it's hard to see in darkness

[astronymonkey]

With the 20x80 bins they are too heavy to hold and to high powered to get a stable image unless the are on a tripod. On a tripod though you are limited with the vertical height you can get meaning a parallelogram mount wouldnbe the best option.

diy versions dont seem that difficult and sky at night mag ran an article over two issues a few months back about how to make one.

cheers

[Domcey]

All good advice on here although i may be running before i can walk, the tripod is not here yet.

I like the red light idea and the parallelogram mount looks great for viewing while sitting down, might be just what i need with my bad back.

Or at least it might mean my disc stays where it should be.

Another cloudy night so another one indoors.

Again thanks for the help in getting me started.

[Domcey]

What a well built tripod the 8115 is.

[Fahndar]

I have 20x80 and they are the easiest of all my binoculars to hand hold. I never use any binoculars without support for my elbows. Lying in a lawn chair and supporting my elbows on the arm rests gives me full range of the sky from horizon to zenith. Since 20x80 are the heaviest the jitter of the image is the smallest. 7x50, being the lightest pair, have the most shaky picture.