Best Binoculars

[smudger1309]

again sorry to be a pain really i am,     

i know i wont see a planes reg number but with theses two  would i be able to see the planes markings on a clear day like tail markings,   i know avation forum mentioned the canon is 10x30 but like i said need a 2nd morgatage

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1620929609...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2221417738...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT,

[Stu]

7 minutes ago, smudger1309 said:

again sorry to be a pain really i am,     

i know i wont see a planes reg number but with theses two  would i be able to see the planes markings on a clear day like tail markings,   i know avation forum mentioned the canon is 10x30 but like i said need a 2nd morgatage

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1620929609...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2221417738...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT,

I do think you are better off asking on the aviation forum about capabilities on plane identification. This is an Astro forum after all!

[smudger1309]

i tried one they slow to reply and ony one kinda helped saying cannon 10x30 is other forums say need admin to accept you few days on im still waiitng

[LukeSkywatcher]

Planes fly so low over my house that i can almost see the people inside with the naked eye. Ive watched them go over when they are higher up also,with 10x50 bins and i can clearly see the markings on the plane.....maybe not the registration number though. Certainly not at cruising height either.

[smudger1309]

yeah dotnt hink we would at crusing height btu ar crusing heoght could you see markings ?

[LukeSkywatcher]

9 minutes ago, smudger1309 said:

yeah dotnt hink we would at crusing height btu ar crusing heoght could you see markings ?

I doubt it. Cruising height is what...........30,000 ft?. 

[smudger1309]

yeah but you can see tail markings tho on clear day ?

[LukeSkywatcher]

16 minutes ago, smudger1309 said:

yeah but you can see tail markings tho on clear day ?

Just about.

[smudger1309]

theses ok then  ?  also work on beach for shiips ?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/162092960973?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&clk_rvr_id=1043945614058&rmvSB=true 

[Putaendo Patrick]

If you can buy secondhand binoculars cheaply on Ebay and you're prepared to take the risk, you MAY get a quite reasonable vintage pair at a bargain price - but you may not. Binoculars can get knocked out of alignment, the lenses may get fungus growing inside etc.  A few Ebay listing may be deliberately misleading, but in most cases people selling old binoculars don't always know what they are selling. I personally wouldn't buy an unseen pair of binos from an unknown source for a lot of money - for perhaps for twenty or thirty pounds I MIGHT take the risk, in the full knowledge that I could be disappointed. That amount of money wouldn't break me - but your mileage might vary!

In general I reckon a pair of 10x50 binoculars would fit your needs - new prices go from perhaps 30 pounds to well over a thousand! Only you know how much you can afford, and ultimately how much the investment is worth to you in terms of their use.

[smudger1309]

thank you for that,  but i have pair of 10x25  whats the diffrence in 25 and the 50

[Ricochet]

The 25 or 50 is the diameter of the objective lenses. At the same magnification a bigger lens means a brighter image which is more useful on dull days or at dawn/dusk. However, a bigger lens also means more weight which makes it more difficult to hold steady or for long periods of time.

[smudger1309]

i would use a tripod i think

[smudger1309]

there are theses at 15x70   http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/201468624232?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Celestron 71009 SkyMaster    they a good make ?

[Ricochet]

Celestron are a "good make" but they market both high and low cost items and there is no getting away from the fact that in order to get prices down compromises have to be made. As I said before, I had the 25x70 version and they were not good for general use, although ok as an astro binocular. Based on the prices of the binoculars you've linked to I'm going to suggest you take a look at Astroboot. They have a pair of 8x42 and 10x42 Helios Aero ED binoculars on offer for £95 each which sounds to me like a pretty good deal for something with ED glass.

[happy-kat]

ED glass should mean little to no chromatic aberration on bright object edges such as planes and stars.

A plane at cruising hight wouldn't think you would make out much but a plane on a holding path (circling before landing) would be lower and hopefully see more.

[Everton]

I really wouldn't bother with zoom binoculars, although the Olympus 8-16x40 model is one of the best I've used, but only for looking at the Moon and splitting close binocular doubles. At 16X you can just about split Mizar with these.

[johnha]

These guys have some success with airliners at altitude (scroll to the bottom of the page to see the optics they're using): Link

I have an old pair of (cringe) Sunagor Mega-zoom 15-80x70 binoculars - they seem to have morfed into 30-160x70 in Argos these days!!! At 15x times they're good (not stellar), on a heavy photo tripod they're still usable up to about 40x if you're patient (I can see glimpse the bands of Jupiter) - once they've settled down and before it moves out of view, beyond that they're rubbish. It was seeing the bands of Jupiter and the 'squished ellipse' of Saturn that prompted me to buy my first scope.

Ideally I'd like something like 15x70 or 20x80 with angled eyepieces - as they're not available I stick with 10x50 porro prisms (I might prefer 8x56 but can't justify it already having the 10x50s).