7x50 binoculars

[Aaf146]

Hi guys, first time posting on here. 

I've searched to see if anyone has already asked this question but couldn't find anything.

 

I have a pair of cheap 10x50s already and enjoy them but am looking to get some 7x50s now for a slightly wider fov. I have a very limited budget of £50. I've seen the celestron cometron which seem respectable. 

 

Does anyone have any experience with these binoculars or any advice on other binoculars in a similar price range that might be a better choice.

 

Thanks, Adam

[apaulo]

personally i wouldnt buy new bins for £50.  i bought a pair of used 7x50 zomz on ebay that i use at sea. they are very good a lot better by far than what youll get for 50 new.  from past experience i would recommend  them. hope this helps. paul.

[Franklin]

Agree. You will not be impressed with the Celestron 'Cometrons'. They use the cheaper Bak7 prisms and the field of view is smaller, even though you will see more in that fov due to the smaller magnification. I had a pair for while and I'm sorry to say, but they were like toy binoculars. However, for £50 I picked up a new pair of Revelation 8x42 roof prisms with green rubber armour, like bird watching bins, and they are actually superb. Can't fault them, very pleased and the views are amazing. I think they retail for more than what I paid and the £50 was an end of stock deal. You can pick up a pair of vintage 'made in Japan' 7x50 binos off fleabay for £20 or there abouts and the optics will be smart as long as they're clean and undamaged, but they are quite chunky and heavy. I got some Vixen 7x50s for £16 and they're a great optic but heavy. I prefer my Ultima 7x42s, nice and light.

[Aaf146]

3 hours ago, Franklin said:

Agree. You will not be impressed with the Celestron 'Cometrons'. They use the cheaper Bak7 prisms and the field of view is smaller, even though you will see more in that fov due to the smaller magnification. I had a pair for while and I'm sorry to say, but they were like toy binoculars. However, for £50 I picked up a new pair of Revelation 8x42 roof prisms with green rubber armour, like bird watching bins, and they are actually superb. Can't fault them, very pleased and the views are amazing. I think they retail for more than what I paid and the £50 was an end of stock deal. You can pick up a pair of vintage 'made in Japan' 7x50 binos off fleabay for £20 or there abouts and the optics will be smart as long as they're clean and undamaged, but they are quite chunky and heavy. I got some Vixen 7x50s for £16 and they're a great optic but heavy. I prefer my Ultima 7x42s, nice and light.

 

13 hours ago, apaulo said:

personally i wouldnt buy new bins for £50.  i bought a pair of used 7x50 zomz on ebay that i use at sea. they are very good a lot better by far than what youll get for 50 new.  from past experience i would recommend  them. hope this helps. paul.

Thanks for the replies. I'm wary of buying 2nd hand off ebay or similar sites as I've been bitten before buying 2nd hand. 

 

I got some but they were out of collimation or alignment and the screws to adjust were rounded off so they were pretty much useless. I will have to see if there are any I can go and look through first before buying.

 

Thanks for the replies, Adam

[coolspace]

I use my celestron 7X50 cometron. And it can already see Jupiter very faint and that is already good for a 7X50 binos

[pregulla]

Usually 7x50 won't give you wider FoV than 10x50. You get lower magnification but narrower AFoV.  Not worth spending 50 pounds on IMO.

[WJC]

Been away for several months. Just butting in: There are no Bak7 prisms ... at least from leading manufacturers. Its either Bk7 of BaK4. It may be true that BK7 prisms are cheaper, but it is wrong to think of them as inferior. BaK4 prisms perform better off axis. However, Bk7 prisms are purer.

 

Edited August 13, 2022 by WJC

[THEGREAT]

On 14/05/2022 at 08:01, Aaf146 said:

Hi guys, first time posting on here. 

I've searched to see if anyone has already asked this question but couldn't find anything.

 

I have a pair of cheap 10x50s already and enjoy them but am looking to get some 7x50s now for a slightly wider fov. I have a very limited budget of £50. I've seen the celestron cometron which seem respectable. 

 

Does anyone have any experience with these binoculars or any advice on other binoculars in a similar price range that might be a better choice.

 

Thanks, Adam

 

I own a pair of these; I also own a pair of Nikon Aculon 7x50s. I picked up the Celestrons after owning the Nikons because I host community events and wanted an extra pair to hand to other people's kids. I also wanted to know what to recommend for beginners.

 

The build quality is good (nothing rattles, and collimation is tight across the range), and the image sharpness is fairly crisp at the center of the FOV. However, they suffer from significant vignetting, and the image quality suffers considerably along the edges (with only the center 1/3 circle being crispy, and the outer edge being downright blurry).

 

In comparison, the Aculons are slightly brighter (if at all), but the image is sharp and consistent across the entire field. (Nikon claims they use aspherical lenses to achieve edge sharpness, so that's what the extra $70 buys you vice the BaK4 prisms IMO.) The Aculons are more forgiving on where I place my eyeballs (whereas I have to fiddle with the Celestrons to optimize the placement of the exit pupils). The Aculons are longer and a bit heavier (900g vice 765g for the Celestrons). The Nikon case is padded. And the Aculons come with dust plugs (vice caps) that don't fall off the objectives.

 

I spend most of my time using my Nikon Action Lookout II 10x50s, so I'm not all that vested in which of the 7x50s is better. If I only had $30 to spend, the Celestrons are the only choice. But if I only had $100 to spend, what I bought would depend on how I planned to use them. If I were buying for a Cub Scout troop, I'd buy 3 pairs of Celestrons. If I were buying for myself, I'd get the Aculons.

[DrPaul]

I got a pair of Zomz. 7x50 off eBay for about £35. Case, lens filters, lens caps etc. Lovely pair of binoculars. Wouldn’t sell them. If you can find a pair, you won’t go wrong.