Stardaze Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 (edited) 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timdog Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 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. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timdog Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 They are impressive on the moon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark81 Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 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 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 Sure you can’t squeeze on of these in? 👹👹 https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/sky-watcher-heritage-150p-flextube-dobsonian-telescope.html 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stardaze Posted June 19, 2020 Author Share Posted June 19, 2020 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stardaze Posted June 19, 2020 Author Share Posted June 19, 2020 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark81 Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stardaze Posted June 19, 2020 Author Share Posted June 19, 2020 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 😂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 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. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stardaze Posted June 19, 2020 Author Share Posted June 19, 2020 (edited) 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 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 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BinocularSky Posted June 30, 2020 Share Posted June 30, 2020 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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