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Canon IS 15x50 Binoculars


HollyHound

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From the “What did you See Tonight” thread for last night…

The briefest of “first lights” for my new Canon IS 15x50… loads of cloud and the moon was very low, but it was enough to test them and confirm what I hoped, that they’re going to be a “gamechanger” 👍

Being able to get (very) steady views at 15x, without the usual “jiggles” or needing to mount them, means that I can now use these for quick views (lunar, planets) or just lovely wide views of star fields 😃

EDIT: Add Jupiter and moons to the list… spotted her in a clear spot before heading off to bed, was out in 2mins and got a lovely (steady) view… these are great 🤣

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Canon don’t seem to think that expensive binoculars like these need objective end caps, but fortunately they accept normal 58mm camera lens caps, so I’ve added a pair of generic ones, which will work fine.

As a bonus, they also accept 58mm filters, so I’ve popped a set of UV (clear) on them too, but will confirm if they degrade visual quality at all, and if so will not bother 🤔

@Stu and @Mark at Beaufort have both indicated that binoculars lend themselves to being used with various 2” astro filters too (UHC and O-III) so once I’m comfortable with them, I will give that a go too 👍

F4AF9A53-4C7B-4B0E-A051-2795308F6462.jpeg

Edited by HollyHound
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Well last I managed another very brief session between the clouds, for 10mins 😬

Moon was up but very low... normally when viewing this with hand held binoculars (either 16x70 or even the 8x56), I can see stuff, but the detail is just masked by "jitter". Pushing the button on these IS 15x50, and it was quite steady indeed... enough to actually start to concentrate on lunar crater details, which would normally be quite frustrating 👍

I did find that leaning against a wall, or even leaning back against one, gave an almost perfectly steady view... I was able to spend a full 10mins viewing the moon like this before the binoculars become a little tiring to hold (they are quite heavy).

Had a quick scan around the small gap and was able to spot a lot more detail, and of course concentrating on anything was much easier.

I spotted Saturn appear in another gap, and was very surprised to get a really clear, steady view.... Normally I can just make out "lobes" for the rings, but this I could not only see the rings, but also "just" make out a very fine dark division between them and the planet itself 😮

Again, this is indeed a gamechanger and for quick "grabbed" sessions or cruising around the sky, this is going to be perfect. 😁

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1 hour ago, HollyHound said:

I did find that leaning against a wall, or even leaning back against one, gave an almost perfectly steady view... I was able to spend a full 10mins viewing the moon like this before the binoculars become a little tiring to hold (they are quite heavy).

 

Sounds great. I have a pair of 10x30 IS II Canon and love them. And a few Canon L Series camera lenses with IS.

Do yours have a tripod socket? If so, might be worth investing in a cheap bog-standard monopod to take some of the weight off your arms while keeping freedom of movement. Perhaps supplemented with a cheap ball head or similar for when looking at the zenith and the monopod angle has got too shallow (without a ball head).

Some will read this and cry 'What point a monopod with IS?!" But only from the people who haven't seen the rows and rows of big white Canon L Series lenses on monopods at football matches, F1 races, fashion shows, and new PM speeches outside No10.

Why put a £10,000 Canon Pro lens with IS on a monopod? Because they're pretty darn gosh heavy to hold up all day looking through the viewfinder for that perfect shot :) But they still want to jostle around quickly from spot to spot. And the IS is still needed for that perfectly steady view when using a monopod.

Edited by Jules Tohpipi
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18 hours ago, Jules Tohpipi said:

Do yours have a tripod socket? If so, might be worth investing in a cheap bog-standard monopod to take some of the weight off your arms while keeping freedom of movement. Perhaps supplemented with a cheap ball head or similar for when looking at the zenith and the monopod angle has got too shallow (without a ball head).

Some will read this and cry 'What point a monopod with IS?!" But only from the people who haven't seen the rows and rows of big white Canon L Series lenses on monopods at football matches, F1 races, fashion shows, and new PM speeches outside No10.

Why put a £10,000 Canon Pro lens with IS on a monopod? Because they're pretty darn gosh heavy to hold up all day looking through the viewfinder for that perfect shot :) But they still want to jostle around quickly from spot to spot. And the IS is still needed for that perfectly steady view when using a monopod.

Thanks, they are great devices aren't they 😁

Actually I already have a monopod (bought when I got my first pair of binoculars) and I was only thinking as I was using them, that these would suit a monopod for longer sessions, as it would mean I can move around the farm a lot more and hold them for a lot longer. I do also have a ball head and a pistol grip, which should work perfectly with the monopod 👍

I'm just getting used to them right now, and valuing the freedom to just grab and head outside quickly, but I will try them on the monopod and can see that being part of the setup for those longer sessions.

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1 hour ago, Space Hopper said:

In a lot of ways Jules, i actually prefer my 10x30is to my 15x50is simply because they are so much lighter on my 55 yr old arms.

I think they are an amazing bit of kit. Everyone should have a pair ! 😀

Good point... they are a little heavy (although lighter than my 16x70 and same weight as my 8x56 Monarch). If these work out as they seem to be doing so far, then a smaller pair may also be added to the arsenal at some stage 🤔

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On 08/09/2022 at 09:03, Space Hopper said:

In a lot of ways Jules, i actually prefer my 10x30is to my 15x50is simply because they are so much lighter on my 55 yr old arms.

I think they are an amazing bit of kit. Everyone should have a pair ! 😀

Could be a good reason to do some bicep curls at the gym

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  • 1 month later...

I’ve posted another quick observing “report” here

One think I did notice… I’ve been using the eyecups extended, but not been able to see the full field completely. I tried the eyecups rolled down, and that works nicely, but then it’s easy to get too close and get some “darkening” of the view.

The solution was simple… eyecups extended again, but I just push my eyes fully into the rubber and suddenly the full field is visible and also it seems to help “stabilise” my eye view too, and view is even more relaxed 👍

Simple and quite basic information I’m sure, but just thought I’d record it 👍

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