Binoculars advice - newbie!

[Stargazing_Newbie]

Hey all, I'm hoping for some help please. I have always had a lingering interest in stargazing and I am a complete novice currently without any equipment. I have been told that a good place to start might be to purchase some binoculars and this is where I would like some guidance please. This could be a 5 minute fad but I need to start somewhere and would like to give it a go with some binoculars to see how I get on before potentially purchasing anything else. I've been completely bamboozled by the 10 x 50 / 12 x 50 options etc and have done all the usual googling for some help. The general consensus seems to be that 10 x 50's would probably be better due to shaking hands which is to naturally be expected. Any further advice please would be most appreciated. I certainly have a limited budget to start with (probably up to £80 max) and like everybody I would really like the best possible (getting my money's worth) product to fit my budget with the criteria being as follows:-

Comfort, good visual quality, lightweight (if possible)......

I saw a pair of Praktica 10x50 binos for around £40.00 but had read somewhere that these were quite heavy...... of course I could be completely unrealistic or talking complete nonsense with all of the above and maybe £80 won't get me anything decent. Any ideas please guys? Many thanks!

[Wilburt]

I’m a bit new so totally unqualified to help but I recently bought some Helios 8 x42 (Opticron are also a good value brand) primarily for birdwatching but also stargazing and I’m very pleased with them. 

Whichever you choose I would definetly go waterproof, reasonable quality seems to start around £80/100. 

 

[Hayduke27]

Don't cheap out on your optics!  You don't have to get something top-of-the-line, but if you want enough performance to allow you to enjoy observing enough that it isn't just frustrating.  I use a pair of Vortex 8x42 binos, and they really work great.  I can make out a lot of the deep sky objects I like to observe with my telescope.  They also have a really great warrantee in case you ever damage them.  They are also fantastic for terrestrial observation.  Anyway, worth checking out:

 

Vortex Diamondback Binos

[Louis D]

I would second going with 8x42 as being much lighter and easier to hand hold and having less jitteriness because the magnification is lower.  I have Meade porro prism binoculars and have never had any moisture issues.  Dollar for dollar, porro prisms will yield a better image than roof prisms.  Good roof prism phase coatings don't come cheap.

[Stargazing_Newbie]

Thanks guys will take a look. Appreciate your advice

[Cosmic Geoff]

You can find binoculars at any price point from the incredibly cheap to the incredibly expensive. Depends how much you want to invest and what your expectations are. I bought a pair of Bresser  10x50 a few years ago from the Lidl store for a mere £15 and I found they served well enough for terrestrial and astronomical use.

They went out of collimation last year but with a bit of research (and luck) I figured out how to adjust them back into collimation.

Going out of collimation is a problem with binoculars generally. I'll leave it to others to advise whether it is more likely to be an issue with cheap pairs.

[happy-kat]

The website binocularsky is a good read, I have 8*42 and very pleased with the size and weight plus the views.

[Geoff Lister]

I have a pair of 15 x 70 Strathspeys. They are far too heavy to use hand-held, but work well with a monopod (the monopod takes the weight, and you use slight movements of your whole body to scan an area of the sky).

Beware the big con - I bought a pair of Sakura binoculars, marked "10x - 70x70 Zoom", mostly for use when out walking, but also for occasional astronomy. Clearly, the second "70" is not the (expected) objective lens diameter, as each is only 49 mm diameter. I did a quick sum, and the (light gathering) area of a 70mm lens is roughly the same as a pair of 49mm lenses. Reputable manufacturers give the true objective diameter of each side as their second figure (the Strathspeys are a proper 70mm each) and not a monocular light-gathering equivalence.

For hand-held, 10 x 50s are probably the largest you would want, probably combined with a reclining patio chair with arm rests for a decent evening's session.

Geoff

[Ricochet]

For £80 you can buy either 8x42 or 10*50 Opticron Adventurer T binoculars. 8*42 are probably the safer bet if you are not sure how much you will enjoy astronomy as they are slightly smaller, lighter and easier to carry for daytime use.