First binoculars--recommendations?

[Sedna]

Hi all, I'm looking for recommendations for a good pair of binoculars. These would be my first "real" binoculars used for anything. I generally observe with my Celestron 8SE and own a laughably cheap pair of binoculars. I'm not sure whether to go with a heavy pair that require a tripod (but thus cannot be used to observe the Zenith) or a lighter pair that I can point straight up but have less magnification/quality. I prefer not to go too much over 100 USD, but I could go up to 200 USD if someone has a really great recommendation. Obviously I'll be using these mostly for astro, but would likely also use them for some daytime terrestrial observing. Thanks all!

[TheMan]

For about 70 usd you can get a 15x70 pair of binoculars, they are an amazing pair of binoculars and don't need a tripod.

[NGC 1502]

 

Tough call giving advice, what suits one may not suit another.

If it were me, I’d buy 10x50 for hand held astronomy use, still fine for daytime.  7x50 used to be recommended for astronomy and that’s still the choice for some, easier to hand hold the 7x but large exit pupil can give less contrasty views under light polluted skies.  8x40 are a good compromise and usually lighter to carry.

As to the make, If you can avoid the cheapest then you’ll likely get something nicer. If you go high end the law of diminishing returns applies, but if you can afford it they could be lifetime binoculars.

Please don’t just take what I’ve said, see what others say.

All the best in your choice, Ed.

[Astro Imp]

I wouldn't suggest trying to hand hold 15x70, I use 8x42 and am happy to use them for astro and terrestrial.
Have you looked here:- http://binocularsky.com/ A really useful site for all things binocular.
HTH and good luck.

[Cosmic Geoff]

I have a pair of Bresser 10x50 binoculars which cost me about $20 that I find adequate. I had to adjust the collimation a couple of times so understand that some may want to pay more. ?

[Carbon Brush]

Ref NGC 1502. Tough call giving advice, what suits one may not suit another.

Absolutely agree.

I have owned various binoculars over the years. Various objective size and magnification.

For what it is worth, here is my comment.

Objective 26mm. In a coat pocket for daytime use.
Objective 42mm. some just fit in your pocket for daytime and just usable at night.
Objective 50mm. Works nicely in daylight. Need a case as it is too big for your pocket. Great at night.
Objective 70mm. Good night performance. Getting heavy. Tripod or monopod advisable if using for several minutes.

Mag 7. Nice for a quick or long look hand held without problem
Mag 10. Need to think a bit more about holding steady when hand held. Lean on something?
Mag 12+ Awkward for hand held, particularly if the binos are heavy.

Cheap binos often have 'iffy' collimation and prisms glued in.
Cheap binos often have poor optical coating resulting in poor contrast and internal reflections.

I make no comment on roof prism vs porro vs anything else.
Consider FOV. Can be narrow on cheap models.
Eye relief is important if using specs.

No easy answers!

David.

[pregulla]

I have 7x35 and 10x50, and have also tried 8x42. I decied that 10x50 is the right size for astronomy use for me and I don't reach for 7x35 often. 10x50 are quite big but still reasonable to hand hold and I like the extra magnification and light gathering over 7x35. Even when I was comparing Olymus DPS I 10x50 to Nikon Action EX 7x35 I preferred the Olympus. I have since moved from Olympus to Bushnell Legacy 10x50 for better light throughput and longer eye relief (I don't wear glasses but it helps with eyepieces fogging on cold nights as well). 

[Sedna]

On 05/03/2019 at 00:18, NGC 1502 said:

 

Tough call giving advice, what suits one may not suit another.

If it were me, I’d buy 10x50 for hand held astronomy use, still fine for daytime.  7x50 used to be recommended for astronomy and that’s still the choice for some, easier to hand hold the 7x but large exit pupil can give less contrasty views under light polluted skies.  8x40 are a good compromise and usually lighter to carry.

As to the make, If you can avoid the cheapest then you’ll likely get something nicer. If you go high end the law of diminishing returns applies, but if you can afford it they could be lifetime binoculars.

Please don’t just take what I’ve said, see what others say.

All the best in your choice, Ed.

Thanks, sorry for the very slow reply ... is there a specific make/model of 10x50 you recommend?

[Carbon Brush]

I have used these binos:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/opticron-binoculars/opticron-imagic-tga-wp-50mm-binoculars.html

As stated previously by me and others, binos are a personal choice.

I have 3 pairs of quite different Opticron binos and not had any quality or performance issues.

The 50mm pair are fine for day and night use.
Here is what I see as the good features.

Being waterproof, if you get caught out during a rainy day, no harm done.
Nitrogen filled means they do not fog internally on a cold night.
Long eye relief and twist up eyecup makes for easy use with or without specs.
Dioptre adjustment is useful when using without specs or contact lenses - if normally worn.
The tripod adapter is useful for night use on a tripod, avoiding fatigue. Also for leaving pointing to something, then inviting somone else to view.

For daytime use, it comes with a (cheap) soft bag. Not the best storage when out and about.
The lens caps are not captive which means they are prone to getting lost on days out.

Hope this helps, David.

 

 

[pregulla]

I would suggest Bushnell Legacy. They are the cheapest in the water proof/ long eye relief/ BaK4 department. The correction across the field will probably be similar to other sub $200 models. They seem to do worse on light scattering compared to Nikon Action EX 7x35 (the only ones I can compare them to) - there is a little more reflections from street lights and more ghosting on the moon. Not too bad though, certainly not enough to be a deal beaker for me. When just scanning the sky from a dark site it doesn't have noticeable effect on performance. I also like the relatively wide AFoV, even though it gets quite messy towards the edge due to coma/astigmatism/FC (out of focus seagulls at their finest :D). 

I don't have experience with Bushnell Legend M (letter M is important), but from the things I have read about them, they are worth the step up in price for much better correction across the field and very good contrast due to better light scattering control.  For my use the Legacy are good enough and about as expensive as I am willing to go for now, so I stick with them.

[Chaza]

I am confused, let me give you 2 senarios  as to my understanding.  I have bought some 20 X 8 bins.

1 there is a church on the horizon, I was expecting to be able to see the  church close up, which is about 20 miles away, but all I could do was bring it a little closer.

2 I look at the moon, I expected to be able to see the craters close up, but I didn't,  when I look at stars, or maybe planets, they are just specks of light, not closer so I can at least identify who they are. 

So I have 2 understandings, the bins,  whole being powerful can't bring object so close that you  an see the bricks, is it because there is too much light,  or am I expecting far too much from the bins.

Or

If the church I was looking at was in total darkness, the bins would be able to focus on the light  in the church, and magnify that light.

Have I missed something, or am I expecting my bins to act  like hubble.

[Buzzard75]

I'm guessing you got 20x80's and not 20x8's. Those would be tiny.

I think you're expecting too much from your binos. As for the church, unless you're at elevation, you can't see much beyond a few miles even on a clear day due to the curvature of the Earth. Even at a couple miles, you'll never be able to make out detail that small at that distance with something that only has 20x magnification.

At 20x, you should be able to get out a bit more detail from the moon since it's so close and some of the craters are large. It's not going to look like you're floating a mile up from the surface. You need much greater magnification for that. Stars will always look like specs of light because of how distant they are. They will be brighter and you'll be able to see dimmer ones due to the aperture of the binos, but they will never seem noticably larger. As for the planets, they are so small they're still just going to be small dots. You might be able to resolve Jupiter into a disc or the oblong shape of Saturn, but that would be about it. You'll never see any surface detail.

Binos are best for widefield or lunar observing, not deep sky. You can use them to locate deep sky objects, but you'll never get any detail on anything other than the largest ones.

[Chaza]

So are you saying the binos ate not practical,  what scope is a good one.

[Buzzard75]

2 hours ago, Chaza said:

So are you saying the binos ate not practical,  what scope is a good one.

That's a very open ended question and not really on topic with the original post. I'd suggest creating a new topic and providing more information about what sort of objects you'd like to see, what your experience level is, whether you plan to do any astrophotography, and what your budget is.

[Chaza]

Sorry it's off topic, I've just started,  I have no experience, I want to see the planets  and stuff, so it's more a point of guidance. I'd like photos, but not that bothered. Will I achieve this with my 20 x 80 binos