£250 budget

[Stardaze]

It does look like we're still going away at the end of August to the lakes where it should offer great skies. I'm not going to be able to take my dob (need a grab-and-go solution next year) so have been thinking about adding some longer binoculars to my 10x42 that I already own. I have tripods and ball heads (might add a grip too) and so initially it looked to be a toss up between the Helios Stellar II 20x80 or Celestron Skymaster Pro 20x80 (FLO have a good offer on at the moment). Be interested to hear anyone's thoughts and experiences with either. The Skymaster has the option of a red dot finder addition which sounds handy? Are the Helios worth the extra £80? 

Edited June 19, 2020 by Stardaze

[Timdog]

I have the skymaster 20x 80. To be honest I can’t compare them to others but I find them comfortable to use, easy to balance on a tripod but not too heavy to hold and easy enough to focus.   For the price I would buy them again.

[Timdog]

They are impressive on the moon.

[mark81]

The optics, build quality and light transmission are better on the Helios - I've used a pair of the 16x80s and had amazing views of clusters and wide star fields... And the Helios are full 80mm aperture - I have a feeling the Skymasters may have been stopped down a bit - but I may be wrong.. I can't compare them properly as I've only used the 70mm Skymasters which for the price you really can't go wrong ... If I had to chose and had the cash, I would go for the Helios everyday of the week...

Mark

[Stu]

Sure you can’t squeeze on of these in? 👹👹

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/sky-watcher-heritage-150p-flextube-dobsonian-telescope.html

[Stardaze]

36 minutes ago, Stu said:

Sure you can’t squeeze on of these in? 👹👹

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/sky-watcher-heritage-150p-flextube-dobsonian-telescope.html

A bit of a curve ball Stu. Are they any good for that?

[Stardaze]

44 minutes ago, mark81 said:

The optics, build quality and light transmission are better on the Helios - I've used a pair of the 16x80s and had amazing views of clusters and wide star fields... And the Helios are full 80mm aperture - I have a feeling the Skymasters may have been stopped down a bit - but I may be wrong.. I can't compare them properly as I've only used the 70mm Skymasters which for the price you really can't go wrong ... If I had to chose and had the cash, I would go for the Helios everyday of the week...

Mark

I wasn’t looking beyond the Helios to be honest, I just happened to see the deal on the sky masters and thought I’d check them out  

[mark81]

34 minutes ago, Stardaze said:

I wasn’t looking beyond the Helios to be honest, I just happened to see the deal on the sky masters and thought I’d check them out  

If there's a good deal on them and your happy with it, I can't see that you'd be disappointed with the Skymasters. ... If your not fully set on a pair of bins then... Maybe @Stu has the answer?

Mark

[Stardaze]

8 minutes ago, mark81 said:

If there's a good deal on them and your happy with it, I can't see that you'd be disappointed with the Skymasters. ... If your not fully set on a pair of bins then... Maybe @Stu has the answer?

Mark

Pretty set on more powerful binoculars, but interesting take/possibility. With the way my better half packs for trips, even the binoculars could be pushing it 😂

[Stu]

31 minutes ago, Stardaze said:

Pretty set on more powerful binoculars, but interesting take/possibility. With the way my better half packs for trips, even the binoculars could be pushing it 😂

If that’s the case then the Heritage 150p may not be the way to go, but they do pack down pretty small. I love having a scope with me so always try to find room for something.

[Stardaze]

18 minutes ago, Stu said:

If that’s the case then the Heritage 150p may not be the way to go, but they do pack down pretty small. I love having a scope with me so always try to find room for something.

And this is why I need a mak or frac. I will... that will be next years plan.

Have you had one Stu? How do they perform?

Edited June 19, 2020 by Stardaze

[PeterW]

I’d go for binoculars and ignore @Stu, if you’re in country wi thy scenery (and hills) you’d curse yourself if your only close up views were upside down and back to front 😉 ! I had some great sea views last year with some40x tripod mounted binoculars. (Useful on the night sky too).

Peter

[BinocularSky]

Late to the party again - I've reviewed both these; see here.

On 19/06/2020 at 15:57, mark81 said:

I have a feeling the Skymasters may have been stopped down a bit - but I may be wrong.

Yes - the SkyMaster Pro are nothing like the "ordinary" Skymaster - you get the full 80mm here.