Meade 10x50 vs Hanoptik 12x50

[Seckel]

Hi,

I am just starting stargazing, and I am wondering which of my two pairs of binoculars are best for looking at celestial objects.

I have a pair of Meade 10x50 and also a pair of Hanoptik 12x50. Any advice is appreciated,

Thanks,

[GreyDay]

Any advice Having bought several pairs of binoculars when i started out, i would suggest the biggest you can afford. i have a pair of "Grab n Go" Hilkinson Solus 10x50's which are ideal for familiarising yourself with constellations, but!... they are very limited as to what you can see. Having grown out of the 10x50's within a few weeks, i bought a pair of Hilkinson 15x80's which show far more than the 10x50's. They give spectacular views but are still limited. The golden rule for image brightness is a 5-1 ratio ie: 8x40 10x50 etc but i find that low magnification is frustrating.. i borrowed a pair of 20x100's and they could split some double stars that the 15x80's couldn't. The only downside to the larger Binoculars is the weight, the heavier they are the harder it is to keep them stable. I use a tripod when using the 15x80's  and it makes a massive difference. bear this in mind when you purchase. 10x50's are a good starting point, the 12x50's would give more magnification but barely noticeable. like telescopes "Aperture" is king and the bigger the Objective lense the more light you will pull in. but magnification makes a massive difference to what you will "resolve".

Rather than buying new i would go for a pair of second hand that are in good condition. i paid less than £10 for the 10x50's and only £25 for the 15x80s though the 15x80's had a broken focuser but were easy to repair. Avoid any that look like they've been dropped!.