First buy and mount advice

[greg72]

Greetings all,

First post here  Looking to buy a set of binoculars and a steady mount. Having read a bit around here i have found that this has been recommended a few times..

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ravelli-APGL4-Professional-Tripod-Adjustable

So with that being ok, which of these would suit for general observing..

http://www.365astronomy.com/celestron-skymaster-15x70

http://www.365astronomy.com/celestron-skymaster-25x70

http://www.365astronomy.com/celestron-skymaster-20x80

The third option could be out of range, unless the mrs can be persuaded!!

Basically would any of these be a good starting setup with the above tripod? Any other suggestions would be great as well. As you can see, kind of looking in the £100 all-in range.

Cheers,

Greg

[Tinker1947]

You will find higher power Bins hard to use you won't know what your looking at, go for some 8 X 42 type you will learn the sky a lot better and save some money for a scope to see dimmer DSO's when you want to upgrade....

[Steven_J]

I agree with Tinker for the most part. I think you will get more use out of a 8x42 or a 10x50 with a monopod to learn the sky and for nice, quick grab and go observing. However that tripod deal is very, very good as you usually pay £30 - £50 for the pistol grip alone so, decisions. In either case, could you stretch to either of these?

 - http://www.firstlightoptics.com/helios/helios-naturesport-plus.html

 - http://www.firstlightoptics.com/barr-stroud-binoculars/barr-stroud-sahara-50mm.html

There is also the issue where that particular make of 15x70 are all from a Chinese manufacturer and are Kunming BA1 models. This is fine, but the quality control is done by the customer(us) so you will want to thoroughly check them over if you get a pair, which this link from Steve's website can be really helpful for - http://binocularsky.com/binoc_eval.php

[greg72]

Thank you both for the advice. I am guessing the tripod is overkill for 10x50's then? I am just thinking the tripod would offer some sort of comfort level when viewing and be nice and steady.

Both of those 10x50's linked look a good possibility, is there any advantage of one over the other?

Cheers again,

Greg

[Alfian]

I've learned with bino optics that ypu tend to get what you pay for and lower power better optics may well give you better more satisfying views than higher power lower quality ones. So as much as I could extol the great value for money of that tripod/ball head package, I would add the cost of it to your bino budget and get as good a pair of 8x40 -10x50s as you can.

If you particularly want a larger binocular I'd be inclined to go for the 15x70.  If the budget is tight you could have a look here:

http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?typechoice%5B%5D=Binoculars&titlechoice%5B%5D=For+Sale&statuschoice%5B%5D=Active&minprice=0&maxprice=100

Visionary, Revelation, Celestron et al all make versions of the United Optics BA1.

[Alfian]

Tripod an overkill for 10x50s? Well - yes and no. 10x50s are usually accepted as the max  for hand held binos giving a steady image,  but its a very individual thing. There is also good documented evidence that mounting almost  any bino, even smaller ones will improve observations. A monopod makes a real difference and can be very cost effective - and very portable.

[Steven_J]

Definitely agree with the monopod info. I just have a cheap & cheerful Dynasun monopod and the amount you see by reducing the shakes can be another world. And if we were moving away from the good tripod deal for optic quality, I would say go with this - http://www.amazon.co.uk/DynaSun-WT1003-Professional-Aluminium-Lightweight/dp/B001AXFP1A/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1414610071&sr=8-3&keywords=dynasun+monopod and get one of these - http://www.firstlightoptics.com/roof-prism/opticron-oregon-4-le-wp.html for a bit over budget at £122 but that is the best glass/optic quality I know at the £100, or near enough, mark. Any other suggestions?

[greg72]

Thanks to everyone in this thread for the advice, i can see my initial thoughts were way off base!!!

VisofSer, that setup you recommend in the above post looks good. I will wait to see if anyone offers alternatives at that price range, but if not i will get the orders in  I own Turn Left At Orion, so hopefully soon, if these clouds shift, i can get out looking.

[Alfian]

The free download of Stellarium planetarium software is also invaluable.

[BinocularSky]

Greg, just in case you haven't already seen it, here's my Choosing a First Binocular for Astronomy page; There's some "best buy" suggestions on the page; the binocular-shaped objects that you mention in your first post do not feature there.

[greg72]

Just a quick update...

The Oregon 4's are ordered, although i am suspecting they are going to end up in wrapping paper so the wait will continue

Also Steve's book has been hinted at in a big way so that could possibly appear christmas day as well!!

Cheers again for all the advice.