15x70, 20x80, thoughts?

[OK Apricot]

With a budget of £150, what binoculars and brand would you go for and why? Main use would be for deep sky. Sorry for the somewhat lazy question - I have done some reading - but there are so many out there! 

[kev100]

Hiya, have you budgeted for a decent tripod/adaptor? If you're all sorted on that front, then these should meet your needs. I'm personally a fan of the Celestron SkyMasters (cheap and cheerful, but probably my most used piece of kit).

Kev

 

[Guest]

Some months back the wife bought a kit from Orion that was their 20x80 binos and a tripod.  The binos give a nice clean image and I have no issues with them at all.  The tripod that came with them is far better then what I had anticipated and hold the binoculars very nicely.  Now this kit cost 300 USD, but it is worth every penny and the binos themselves are probably a must buy for the price.  I am sure FLO offers something that is comparable.

[OK Apricot]

Thanks for the input. The tripod was going to be a separate question once I'd decided on a pair of bins 👍. The skymasters do look good - do you have the 70s or 10s? How are your images of DSOs? 

[kev100]

I use a manfrotto camera tripod, with an extension tube on top to hold the 20*80s. Great views of dsos ...I'm sure that more expensive binos will give better views, but I think the skymasters are great (on my second pair)

 

Edited March 22, 2022 by kev100
To add a pic

[Kimboman]

Hi I have various binoculars but the favourite are the Celestron 15x70 pro mounted on a Manfrotto NAT mount which has a centre extension tube fitted .

These binoculars come with a very good mounting bracket with can carry a red dot finder I remove the handle when in use the tripod head is a fluid one which is great to use and very rigid

[Stormbringer]

If you go for the celestrons get the pro versions they are lot better than the normal type

[OK Apricot]

Thanks all for the advice 👍

[LukeSkywatcher]

For all of my binocular needs, I go to Strathspey binoculars. I have 10X50 and 20X90. 

Quality bins. 

I mount the 20X90 on a Ravelli ball head pistol grip tripod and mount, which I bought for the low low price of £60 a few yrs ago, from Telescope House.

Not my images. I dragged these from Internet.

Edited April 29, 2022 by LukeSkywatcher

[bosun21]

Hi, I have two pairs of binoculars for astronomy. The first one being a pair of Opticron 15x70 and the second ones being Pentax 20x60. I have them on a pistol grip tripod and mount. They are both good for DSO’s but the Pentax stand head and shoulders above the Opticron for clarity and contrast. Good luck with your search