Binocular recommendations

[Richard136]

I'm looking for a pair of binoculars and would value your collective input 

Requirements:

• High quality (min colour, field brightening / curvature, etc.)
• Suitable for general observing and (mainly) day time use
• Probably looking 50-60mm aperture (though could go to 40mm since mainly used in day time)

I've used Celestron SkyMasters in the past (70mm) and wasn't very happy with the field curvature (at least on my pair)

I have not settled on a price point but would like to hear a range of options for less than £250.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Edited July 31, 2022 by Richard136

[Louis D]

4 minutes ago, Richard136 said:

I've used Celestron SkyMasters in the past (70mm) and wasn't very happy with the field curvature (at least on my pair)

With the amount of astigmatism in the outer field, why would field curvature even matter?  I've got a Galileo 15x70 that is great in the inner 50% of its 65 degree AFOV, but if I purposefully look at the edge, it's blurry due to astigmatism that no amount of edge refocusing will help.  However, that's all in peripheral vision.  I just swing the binoculars to center whatever was at the edge to the center, and all is well again.

Are you going to be using these binos handheld or mounted?  How much power are you looking to use?  What are your intended use cases for them?

For all around use, I really like my 8x42 porro prism binos from the 90s.  They have a 65 degree field with 18mm of usable eye relief just like the 15x70s.  I think they employ the exact same eyepiece design.  I don't have to take off my eyeglasses to use either.  This is a good thing because I have 2.0 and 1.75 diopters of astigmatism in my eyes; so at these low powers, everything is blurry even in focus to my eyes.  You never did say if you have eye astigmatism and need to wear eyeglasses for sharp vision even with binoculars.

[Richard136]

Thanks

Yes, good point re astigmatism in outer field.

I wear glasses but don't require them for using binoculars.

Most of intended use is landscapes and wildlife.

[Louis D]

17 hours ago, Richard136 said:

Thanks

Yes, good point re astigmatism in outer field.

I wear glasses but don't require them for using binoculars.

Most of intended use is landscapes and wildlife.

A pair of compact porro prism binoculars would work fine for daytime use for up to 10x.  I've used a pair of Nikon Venturer 2 10x25s for years to good effect.  They're compact enough to fit in any case or pack.  They're not quite pocketable, though.  The exit pupil of 2.5mm matches or exceeds most folks daytime pupil dilation.

For nighttime use, you'll want to target an exit pupil of around 5mm to 7mm.  For 8x, this would be 40mm to 56mm.  For 10x, this would be 50mm to 70mm.  You have to be dark adapted for a long time, and young, to reach 7mm pupil dilation to properly take in all the light of a 7mm exit pupil.  Thus, I recommend 5mm as plenty of exit pupil.  Thus, the popularity of 7x35, 8x40, and 10x50 binoculars.

Roof prism binoculars are generally weather sealed, internally focusing, and difficult to knock out of alignment, but they really need phase coatings to get sharp, contrasty views comparable to porro prism binos.  Unfortunately, I've yet to see phase coated binoculars migrate down to the $100 end of the market, which is about all I want to spend on something I use so infrequently.  They also can't have large objectives due to their straight through light path, limiting the side-by-side size of the tubes.  This is why I recommend porro prisms despite their weight and size at a 5mm exit pupil.

Edited August 1, 2022 by Louis D

[AstroMuni]

21 hours ago, Richard136 said:

I'm looking for a pair of binoculars and would value your collective input 

Have you seen this? https://binocularsky.com/binoc_reviews.php and the Best buys section on this page https://binocularsky.com/binoc_choosing.php

Edited August 1, 2022 by AstroMuni