Is there such a thing as a good 4x to 6x Astro binocular?

[Chris]

I did have another treat today binocular wise. Me and the family went for some lunch round a friends house earier and I saw a pouch on the side unit which was labelled Leica!! She only had a pair of Leica Trinovid 8x32's which were given to her by her dad 15 years ago. When she noted my excitement about them she let me have a good play around with them and my word they were good! The only way I can describe the views would be to say that they looked better than real life, i.e. if you actually walked over to the thing you were looking at it wouldn't look as good as with the bins from 8x the distance! 

[BinocularSky]

The Vikings are roof prisms - I think they are a discontinued mode now

Still a few available at around £125 if you shop around.

I haven't tried them, but the Meopta Meopro 6.5x32 have some good reviews - blooming well ought to at that price!

[Joves]

Looking around I notice that Vixen have a new 6x30 bino called the ATREK Light for US$119. I imagine these would probably be fairly decent contenders in this size department.

[Markinaboat]

Very interesting read!

Chris, may I ask where you're located to be able to see the Milky Way? I live in west London ,near Hayes/Heathrow and couldn't even pick out M81/82 with my (then) 15x70 BA8's let alone a glimpse of the MW! In fact the only time I have seen it was in Gran Canaria and it did take my breath away!

[Chris]

Very interesting read!

Chris, may I ask where you're located to be able to see the Milky Way? I live in west London ,near Hayes/Heathrow and couldn't even pick out M81/82 with my (then) 15x70 BA8's let alone a glimpse of the MW! In fact the only time I have seen it was in Gran Canaria and it did take my breath away!

Hi, I live in Ipswich which is on the outskirts of the red zone, if I look to the south there is quite a bit of LP from the town centre but the views to the North, East, and West arn't bad considering. I can see the milky way in the winter on a good night especially after midnight when they switch the street light off. I wouldn't mind some compact low mag bins to help me see it when the conditions arn't 100%, low mag bins would also yield a much wider FOV with much less shake which I have a problem with when using hand held bins, shakey stars drives me a bit nuts to be honest . I think somethig like a 6x30 would be a nice edition to my kit, very compact also they could be kept in the car (The Suffolk country side is lovely and dark ). I could take them with me to my local astronomy club out in the coutry side and they would probably fit in a large pocket.

I agree about the skies in London, you might have to travel out of London to see the Milky Way? I lived in london for a while years ago and it was just orange soup everywhere! I also have some BA8's but the 10.5x70's and haven't bagged M81/82 with them yet either. I'm thinking its down to the low mag making me miss the small smudges. When I point them into the plane of our galaxy though they absolutely fill with stars!   I've been using them hand held on a lounger and I can use them for a few minutes before fatigue sets in if I balance them on my eyesockets, aint half a workout though! I might have to let them go as they are rather large for bins for relatively low mag and I can't be bothered with mounting bins at the moment. I reckon I could hand held some 6x30's for ages. My cheap 7x50's aren't bad for this, I wonder what one step further would be like though? 

Chris

[Chris]

Further to me finding an ancient pair of 6x30 Binos in the cupboard (inherited from my wifes late grandma), I've now given them a bit of a service and removed the range finder element from the left occular so they can be used for astro

They look quite interesting: Nash-Kelvinator Corp. 1943 H.M.R. Individual eye focusing and no diamond shape cut off when looking down the eyelenses, also pretty good nick for 71 years old! I'll be using them as soon as its clear and dark to see what 6x30's are like for astronomy

[Mr Bond]

I briefly owned some of the legendary Sard 6x42 military search and rescue bins from WW2 era. Was impressed by the wide afov at 70 degs (actually the same as Nikon 8x30 EII), and the coatings are impressive for this era (yes, coatings!).

Great views but very tiring to use as they're SO heavy, and the eye cups have to be removed if you wear specs (not a big job).

As to the 8x30 Nikons, don't be put off by the 8x, they feel less powerful with the wider field (8 degs afaik), and are a doddle to use for extended periods. Recommended!!