Are these binoculars hopelessly outdated and useless, even for a beginner?

[steerpike]

I am at the very beginning of this journey and am learning fast.  I have read some guides and have reigned in my enthusiasm to splash out on a big flashy telescope and see what I can see in the night sky at home with some binoculars first as a way of introducing myself to the layout of our galaxy.

I bought some binoculars for about £10 in a charity shop. They're clearly old and I always seem to see double through them.  

Can someone knowledgeable tell me if these are even worth bothering with trying?  I can't find much on the net about them.

 https://photos.app.goo.gl/o4cghH3xcB9cUVj52

[happy-kat]

Hi

There are online guides on how to fix the double vision, the binoculars probably need collimation. But having looked at the picture they are zoom binoculars. Whilst I think charity shop find are great, zoom binoculars are generally not as good as a fixed pair but you already have them and I'd use them at their least zoomed position. 

[Stu]

Well you've got them now.....

Generally, Zoom binoculars are best avoided because they often are lower quality or suffer from misalignment as you seem to be finding. I have a pair of 7x35 Chinon's and they give me nice widefield views, around 10 degrees.

I would try them at the lowest magnification setting, are they still out of alignment then?  If so, the only option I would think would be to open them up and see if there is any possibility to adjust the prisms.

[steerpike]

thank you both - I will try what you suggest but I should have clarified that I bought them some years ago but I will probably upgrade to a decent pair for general use now.

Edited January 4, 2018 by steerpike

[happy-kat]

You'll find lots of information on binocularsky website.

For general use including night sky I prefer 8*42 (8 is magnification 42 is size of aperture) as easy to hand hold with minimum wobbling.

[Astro Imp]

14 hours ago, happy-kat said:

For general use including night sky I prefer 8*42 (8 is magnification 42 is size of aperture) as easy to hand hold with minimum wobbling.

Totally agree, not too heavy and give a good field of view. Ideal for cruising around and good for terrestrial use too.

[Tonys]

I agree. The Nikon Action and Olympus DPS 8x40 get good reviews and are not too expensive. I have the Nikons. Old binoculars bought on Ebay and from charity shops can be  great  and I have several pairs  but in my experience they usually need an internal clean and sometimes a realignment.  The latter causes eyestrain and discomfort in use. 

[brantuk]

A cheap alternative might be some of those Bressers 10x50's that Aldi or Liddl have on offer from time to time. I got a pair for £15 a few years ago and they still work absolutely fine. They'd be a bargain if they were now another tenner.

[Mr Spock]

I have a pair of Chinon Countryman 7x35. I've had them since the '70s and were quite expensive at the time. They are still better than a lot of the newer binoculars and give a really nice wide field of view.

[jefrs]

Chinon (Japan) could make exceptional lenses to rival or exceed Asahi Pentax. Very good glass that will probably exceed Olympus and Nikon. I have a pair of 8x40 wide angle 9°.  Chinon produced the first production autofocus camera lenses. Chinon got bought out by Kodak Japan.  You should be able to compensate vision on one of the eyepieces. You may want to use a monopod or video head tripod when looking up for long.

[Cosmic Geoff]

On 07/01/2018 at 17:32, brantuk said:

A cheap alternative might be some of those Bressers 10x50's that Aldi or Liddl have on offer from time to time. I got a pair for £15 a few years ago and they still work absolutely fine. They'd be a bargain if they were now another tenner.

I have a pair of these bought some years ago. They work fine for day or night use, but I did have to recollimate them after a while. Considering how much you can pay for premium binoculars I thought they were an absolute bargain.

Edited December 29, 2020 by Cosmic Geoff

[paul mc c]

Here is a story......i was passing a charity shop near me,and in the window was a pair of Carl Zeiss 8x30 binos which were in mint condition,now they were being sold as broken as there was double vision.So for £10 i thought i would take them and get them collimated.When i got a good look at them i noticed that one of the front lenses was slightly unscrewed,so tightened it up and to my joy....collimation was perfect.