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Binoculars.

argonaut

By argonaut
in Observing - with Binoculars

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argonaut

argonaut

Posted
Posted

For a start I would like to thank Ant for this opportunity to have a binocular forum.

Where shall we start?

What binoculars do you have?

How often do you use them?

Are there specific targets you observe with the binoculars?

Any questions regarding binoculars?

I suppose that the questions should get the forum going. I do hope this will turn into a popular forum. It would save me hanging my head in shame for wasting people's time.

If there are any new people out there with binoculars and don't post too often,don't be afraid to post here. There is no such thing as a stupid question.

Observing reports will be very welcome here. Anything you observe will be interesting.

Clear Skies.

Glen.

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Greg

Greg

Posted
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I'm a big fan of binoculars, it's how I started in astronomy and if anyone is thinking of venturing into the hobby then it's what I would recommend..

Most people have a pair of binoculars lying artound the house which can be used for observing.

I use some Lidls 10x50's excellent value for £12.00.. Rebadged as Meade or Bresser..

I also have some Celestron 15x70's These are fantastic but the limit to what you can hand hold. I use them in a Tripod or mostly a mono pod..

I've spotted several comets with my 15x70's and I believe that the "Proffesional" Comet hunters use binoculars.

As for the question about what you can see..It's more about what you can't see.......:(

I'm all for a binocular area..

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Rosanella

Rosanella

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Brilliant! A forum dedicated to observing with binoculars :-)

I use a very standard Praktica 12*50 . It's nothing state of the art, but that's the way I've started looking at the skies a couple of years ago. I carry my binos around on many occasions, when it's not pouring down with rain that is :(, hoping to catch a glimpse of those few patches of clear sky, but I just wish that they had a camera attached.

Thank you for this forum

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ashenlight

ashenlight

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Hi all fellow bino users!

I use Summit 10x50s. The views I get with them are really good, although this depends on light pollution. My favourite thing about using binos has to be the wide view you get with them, it makes finding my way around the sky fairly pain-free.

Talking about pain, I do find I can't hold them up for too long, say 10 minutes at the most, but perhaps I'm just a weakling! Of course, the view through them can be quite jumpy, but I have been able to make out the phases of Venus recently. It takes a lot of patience and a lot of practice at steadying the hand, but I'm pretty convinced I've made the phases out.

Amanda

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Jarndyce

Jarndyce

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I'm after a pair of binoculars. 10 x 50s, probably. Don't want anything too powerful - just something I can hold relatively still.

Anyone used these?

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=outlandlx10x50po&cat=12

Look good value.

Also had these 10 x 60s recommended - although they're a lot more money.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=HeliosQuan4&cat=12

Extra aperture would be nice, but if any one has experience of these or can recommend a budget pair, I'd be much obliged.:(

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acey

acey

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Haven't used either of the above - my bins are 10x50 (Olympus), 9x63 (Meade) and 15x70 (Chinese, can't remember make).

In judging binos, two things that are useful is to divide the second number by the first (to get the exit pupil) or else to multiply them together (to get a measure of how much you'll see - there's a name for this but I can't remember it).

Exit pupil ought to be less than your own dilated pupil - for young people at a dark site this can typically be 7mm but for people of middle-age or older, and for those at light-polluted sites (or in daylight), it will be less. I'm in my late forties and manage fine with 9x63 at dark sites but haven't tried using them in the daytime.

10x50 is the best all-rounder; with 15x70 you've got a heavier instrument to hold, the higher magnification makes shaking more evident - but it gives the most interesting view of deep sky objects. I've used the 15x70s to view a lot of Messiers.

Andrew

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mojolomjl

mojolomjl

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I have been looking to buy a pair of binoculars for the last few weeks but cant seem to make up my mind as there are so many to choose from. These have caught my attention as they appear to be http://www.telescopehouse.com/acatalog/Special_Revelation_15x70_Binoculars_and_Tripod_Deal.htmlreasonable quality at a reasonable price. Any comments would be appreciated.

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argonaut

argonaut

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Hi Greg,

Nothing wrong with the 10x50's you have. I have had a look through the Meade version,and the CA is well controlled.

The Celestron 15x70's are best mounted. You can lose upto a mag with hand shake. The bino's will probably be more like 12x63 due to aperture masks that are used to cut down on aberrations.

Thank you for your post.

Glen.

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argonaut

argonaut

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Hi Amanda,

10x50's seem a popular size these days.

I know what you mean with holding them for 10 minutes,it's a bit tough on the neck muscles. You could try a little lightweight monopod and a garden lounger. I suspect there are a few garden loungers on SGL :-)

Yes Venus is nicely placed at the moment for binoculars. You can see the phases OK. Just for the fun of it,have a look at Saturn and tell us what you see.

Clear Skies.

Glen.

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argonaut

argonaut

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Jarndyce,

If you are worried about holding the binoculars steady,I would consider coming down in size to 8x42. I can use my 8x42's easier than my 10x50's. They are both roof prism so they are quite small and neat for my small hands. The 8x42's are just easier for me.

If in doubt,a call to FLO will get you sorted out.

Glen.

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argonaut

argonaut

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Andrew,

You seem to have it covered with your three sets of bino's.

Exit pupil is very important.

From what I've read, then for people around 30 (WOW! that's along time ago for me) have dilated pupil of around 7mm. By the age of 50(that's still a few years ago) it could be around 5mm. These figures are not set in concrete of course.

With my 15x70's I just lay on my back. These dodgy old(ish) muscles won't take it.

Thanks for the post.

Glen.

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omega3

omega3

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Hi all,

I started with the Bresser 10x50, then got another from Lidl but found the pair from Lidl wasn't as good optically. The Lidl pair has since suffered an accident and no longer functioning. I then got interested in birding and was told that 8x is much easier to hold and image is less jumpy. So I got a pair of 8x43 ED Hawke binoculars with a huge 8.1 degrees FOV, and indeed the view is steadier for astronomy too. I think I am probably seeing more because of the better optics.

The view through a 10x50 will improve a great deal once you put it on a tripod. I got the relatively heavy duty Horizon tripod in case I got a bigger binoculars and/or add a parallelogram to make it even easier to point the binoculars.

Alan

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