Binoculars skymaster 25x70 or 15x 50

[Gibc5363]

Hi Ian new to the whole stargazing. I had a bushnell voyager 100mm x 4.5inches and now I'm looking to get binoculars. I want something that is better the the bushnell, is that possible?

How is the skymaster 25x70 or the 15x50 or something better?

I don't really want to spend over 200.

Chris

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I would avoid 25x70. Too much magnification. 15x70 is much more practical. The Skymasters are OK, certainly for the low price, but they can have issues with QC. Some are pretty decent, some have severe collimation issues. My first one had some black gunk in the optical path and were badly collimated. I sent them back and got a better pair. You should also realize the BA-1 types (including the Skymasters) are really 15x63 or so, due to internal baffles, etc. The Helios Apollo I have now are WAY better. I got my pair second-hand for £200 or so. Excellent bins.

[John]

I would stick to around 10x50 or 12x70 if you want to hand hold the binoculars for astronomy purposes. I've owned a couple of pairs of the 15x70 Skymasters and they have worked quite well for their price although Michael is correct that you don't get the full aperture with them. I believe this issue is common to many lower priced binocuars though. I found I needed a tall and stable tripod to make my 15x70's really useful. I think I spent nearly the same on the tripod that I did on the binoculars   

[Gibc5363]

Thank you both for your response.    With the 10x50, 15x70 or 12x70 can you see a lot of the planets and milky way etc?  

I will look into the Helios Apollo, is there any other brand names that are good?

Thank you

Chris