Any good budget 10x50 options?

[Gazereths]

I don't want to spend more than say £50-75 on a pair, I have a half decent pair of small ones (steiner 10x26) that are great for day to day use at the coast or whatever, I just wantsome advice on cheapish 10x50 for general stargazing. I've seen the Pentax ones but they are a little more than I want to spend @ £125-150, then we get into no name ebay specials for around £20-30, is there anything in between worth buying?

 

Thanks for any input

[John]

I'm not a binocular expert but I have a pair of the Helios Naturesport 10x50's and they seem good performers to me.

When in stock they are just a bit more than your budget new:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/all-binoculars/helios-naturesport-plus-50mm-binoculars.html

The Helios Fieldmaster looks to be a similar spec and is within your budget. I've not tried those though:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/classic-binoculars/helios-fieldmaster-50mm-binoculars.html

I have three pairs of Opticron binoculars as well in different sizes and they seem to be good performers for a reasonable price too.

 

 

Edited January 6, 2021 by John

[Tiny Clanger]

13 minutes ago, Gazereths said:

I don't want to spend more than say £50-75 on a pair, I have a half decent pair of small ones (steiner 10x26) that are great for day to day use at the coast or whatever, I just wantsome advice on cheapish 10x50 for general stargazing. I've seen the Pentax ones but they are a little more than I want to spend @ £125-150, then we get into no name ebay specials for around £20-30, is there anything in between worth buying?

 

Thanks for any input

https://binocularsky.com/binoc_choosing.php

gives you a few options and some guidance which may help, as will this thread:

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/347301-recommend-me-10x50s/

[Gazereths]

58 minutes ago, Tiny Clanger said:

https://binocularsky.com/binoc_choosing.php

gives you a few options and some guidance which may help, as will this thread:

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/347301-recommend-me-10x50s/

Thanks for the links, I've gave them a quick glance over, will definitely give them a thorough read  after work tomorrow, gotta get to bed now.

I have noticed that my smaller but better quality 10x26 ones are much sharper and more enjoyable than the pair of no name bigger ones I got for free from my dad (they don't even have the aperture or magnification marked on them, just a name 'inpro' but by the size I'm guessing 10x50) so quality counts more than aperture and mag in my limited experience.

I do remember my grandad left me a pair of Zeiss binoculars but can't lay my hands on them at the moment. Has the quality of lenses and coatings made the vintage ones obsolete nowdays?  Or are high quality vintage still good?

 

Thanks again @Tiny Clanger

[Tiny Clanger]

2 hours ago, Gazereths said:

Thanks for the links, I've gave them a quick glance over, will definitely give them a thorough read  after work tomorrow, gotta get to bed now.

I have noticed that my smaller but better quality 10x26 ones are much sharper and more enjoyable than the pair of no name bigger ones I got for free from my dad (they don't even have the aperture or magnification marked on them, just a name 'inpro' but by the size I'm guessing 10x50) so quality counts more than aperture and mag in my limited experience.

I do remember my grandad left me a pair of Zeiss binoculars but can't lay my hands on them at the moment. Has the quality of lenses and coatings made the vintage ones obsolete nowdays?  Or are high quality vintage still good?

 

Thanks again @Tiny Clanger

I'm no kind of binocular expert , I'm sure someone who is will chip in, especially on the vintage aspect  ...

I used the binocularsky guidance to inform my purchase, and am very pleased with the ones I bought :

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/all-binoculars/opticron-adventurer-10x50-t-wp-binocular.html

which are about £80 now . I use them on top of a monopod to keep them steady. Again the binocularsky site is a good place for information on such supports, as well as a very useful monthly guide for what to point the binoculars at in the night sky when you get them !

Heather

 

[John]

12 hours ago, Gazereths said:

..I do remember my grandad left me a pair of Zeiss binoculars but can't lay my hands on them at the moment. Has the quality of lenses and coatings made the vintage ones obsolete nowdays?  Or are high quality vintage still good?....

 

 

I have a couple of pairs of the Zeiss Jena 8x30's one of which is about 40 years old and also a pair of 8x30's made by Swarovski in Austria which are a similar age. The body condition reflects their age and a lot of use but optically the views are really crisp and bright.

Another good quality if a little old fashioned make are the Russian Komz or Tento branded ones. They are rugged, usually reasonably priced and optically very sound.

 

Edited January 7, 2021 by John

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

You can also scout around for second-hand binoculars. Sometimes you can find really good deals in charity shops. People often underrate the old binoculars (like the Russian ones), and you can sometimes pick up a nice pair for a tenner

[Sky-searcher]

21 hours ago, Gazereths said:

I don't want to spend more than say £50-75 on a pair, I have a half decent pair of small ones (steiner 10x26) that are great for day to day use at the coast or whatever, I just wantsome advice on cheapish 10x50 for general stargazing. I've seen the Pentax ones but they are a little more than I want to spend @ £125-150, then we get into no name ebay specials for around £20-30, is there anything in between worth buying?

 

Thanks for any input

Good pair of 10x50 bins in the for sale section if you’re quick 👍

[Captain Scarlet]

Search on that popular auction site for “bionculars” i.e. misspelt. I did this by accident once and picked up a very expensive pair (Leica) for around 50% of their proper value. I couldn’t understand why nobody else had bid, then it dawned! You might be lucky.

M

[david_taurus83]

What about the Olympus 10x50 DPSI? Currently around £60 at Argos. Decent quality and nice, sharp views.

[Nik271]

11 minutes ago, david_taurus83 said:

What about the Olympus 10x50 DPSI? Currently around £60 at Argos. Decent quality and nice, sharp views.

I have that Olympus. It's good for general use but it has undersized prisms resulting in a square shape of the exit pupil. Essentially 2/Pi of the light gathering (about 60%) compared with a full aperture of 50mm.

Still a good overall binocular though, I use it in daytime a lot because it has a wide field of view and it's relatively lightweight.

To be fair most of the bins in the £50-£70 price bracket will have undersized prisms to keep the cost and weight down.

 

Nikolay  

[Space Hopper]

Theres a nice pair of Opticrons for sale NOW in classifieds ?

[Nyctimene]

Before buying new, I'd try to dig out the inherited Zeiss. Chances are, that it still will deliver very sharp views, as my vintage Zeiss Jenoptem (=Decarem built) 10x50 does. The minor drawbacks are a rather short eye relief (hence not well suited, if you need glasses for correcting astigmatism,) only single blue coating (resulting in a little loss of light) and, of course the lack of argon filling, waterproofness etc. (IMO, not too relevant for astro use).

Years ago, I had a lot of fun with my vintage (40+) 8x30 Hertel+Reuss, a top notch German brand - hidden jewels - , under tropical skies, with  Scorpius high overhead.....

Have fun with your old Zeiss!

Stephan

 

Edited January 8, 2021 by Nyctimene

[Hals]

Vintage binoculars can be an excellent addition. I have a pair of vintage Japanese Telstar 7x50's which cost me a tenner! Optically they are superb and are my grab 'n' go choice.