Travelling bins!,

[hornedreaper33]

Evening everyone

[hornedreaper33]

Oops tablet hiccup.

I'm going to be doing a couple of years travelling around New Zealand as of next month and unfortunately I will have to leave my telescope behind. I have been toying with the idea of taking some bins to make the most of their amazing dark skies and have a slightly closer look at the Magellanic clouds (not looking forward to an upside down Orion though!)

The question is as it always is with noobs, which ones to buy? Space and weight is a factor as I'll be living out of my backpack but is there a downside (other than cost) to roof prism bins? In currently looking at the Opticron Discovery 8 x 50 but at £190, porro prism is starring to look better. Also I've heard 10 x mag is difficult to use. Is this purely technique?

Keen to buy soon, any advice is greatly appreciate

Regards,

Chris.

[ronin]

'Evening.

Anything else??

[MikeRB]

Oops tablet hiccup.

I'm going to be doing a couple of years travelling around New Zealand as of next month and unfortunately I will have to leave my telescope behind. I have been toying with the idea of taking some bins to make the most of their amazing dark skies and have a slightly closer look at the Magellanic clouds (not looking forward to an upside down Orion though!)

The question is as it always is with noobs, which ones to buy? Space and weight is a factor as I'll be living out of my backpack but is there a downside (other than cost) to roof prism bins? In currently looking at the Opticron Discovery 8 x 50 but at £190, porro prism is starring to look better. Also I've heard 10 x mag is difficult to use. Is this purely technique?

Keen to buy soon, any advice is greatly appreciate

Regards,

Chris.

Hi Chris:  For me holding a pair of binoculars is a chore.  Even my old, beat up pair of 7 X 50 seem to wear me down after a bit.  Perhaps some of it is technique.  Regardless of the size (magnification) you buy, you might consider getting some type mono (single leg) extendable pole to rest your binos on.  But then again I'm just speaking from my experience.  Not everyone is the same.

[MikeRB]

Hi Chris:  For me holding a pair of binoculars is a chore.  Even my old, beat up pair of 7 X 50 seem to wear me down after a bit.  Perhaps some of it is technique.  Regardless of the size (magnification) you buy, you might consider getting some type mono (single leg) extendable pole to rest your binos on.  But then again I'm just speaking from my experience.  Not everyone is the same.

I'd maybe get a nice 10 X 50 with, I think they may call them, a monopod.

[Eino]

10x50's are my go to astronomy binoculars if I am not using a tripod but if you are backpacking they may be a bit big and heavy as I am sure you are counting every gram.  Due to size and weight I would recommend looking at something along the line of a 7x35 or 8x42.  Either would be good for day and night views and depending on what you bought both could provide a wide field of view.

If you wear glasses be wary of the eye relief.  As a wearer of glasses I prefer an eye relief no smaller than 18mm.

As for a monopod you might be able to make some changes to a treking pole of you use those or you can look into one of the neck monopods.  I have never used one but I have read a few positive reviews. 

[mgsphilip]

On a holiday to New Zealand and on another holiday to Ethiopia I took some Leupold Yosemite 6x30 binoculars. They are relatively light, give a bright clear , shake free, image and  are excellent for both  viewing scenery or viewing  star fields and constellations.

When I handed them round to people who had never used binoculars before , they found them easy to use and were all wowed by the view.

A present  day  equivalent model is the Opticron Savanna 6x30.    ( 485g) porro     

I also own a pair of Opticron Traveller  BGA MG 6x32           ( 367 g )    roof prism.  These are the lightest and smallest binoculars with  30mm objectives that I am aware of. 

I particularly like 6x binoculars with their bright images, large exit pupil,  wide angle views and lack of shake.     

               

[Guest]

Travelling for a long period.It would have to be 8 x 40.Opticron porro prism is a great choice.

[rowan46]

what about the vixen ones http://www.firstlightoptics.com/vixen-binoculars/vixen-sg21x42-widefield-binoculars.html

[hornedreaper33]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I think I would like to get some 50mm aperture bins however, price and size aside is there anything worth taking into account when comparing roof prism to porro prism?

Are any brands particularly better than others?

Oh and I do wear glasses.

[RCG]

30mm objectives are going to be a disappointment for the night sky ... fine during the day.

[hornedreaper33]

I think I've narrowed my choices down to the following:

Barr & Stroud Savannah ED 10 x 56

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/barr-stroud-binoculars/b-s-savannah-ED-56.html

or

Opticron Discovery WP PC 10 x 50

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/roof-prism/opticron-discovery-wp-pc.html

The B&S have the edge on coatings and aperture however, the Opticron have a wider FOV and are lighter/smaller... and they look better in my opinion. Help please... does anyone have any experience with either of these specific bins or brands? Confused

[BinocularSky]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I think I would like to get some 50mm aperture bins however, price and size aside is there anything worth taking into account when comparing roof prism to porro prism?

As regards prisms, you might find this page to be useful.

As regards the B&S and Opticron choice, I have long held the opinion that Opticron are amongst the most underrated binoculars on the planet (I have a 10x42 that is very good indeed).

HTH