Another bino question!

[Mr_mojo97]

Hi all, first poster here.

So I’m not exactly new to astronomy, it’s been in and out of my life many times since a young age. I’ve owned telescopes and other binos before but I’m not exactly mr current affairs on the subject. 😀

We recently bought a converted campervan and are lucky to live only half an hour from a dark sky area (Dalmellington) that we go to regularly.  What I’m after now though, is a set of really good quality set of binos. My primary focus is lunar - probably 90% actually. Not so much interested in planets and DSOs at the moment. Unfortunately space in the van is at a premium, so unfortunately no big reflectors, I’ll  have the room for a tripod and a set of binos though.

So I’m lucky enough to say I would pay 1k or there abouts for the right ones.

 

What’s out there that you guys can recommend please?

 

TIA

Edited September 17, 2022 by Mr_mojo97

[PeterW]

Moon will need some power, maybe one of the angled eyepiece binoscopes that people like explore scientific, apm or overwork offer, though your budget would probably mean you’d get the achromatic models, so possibly some chromatic aberration at higher powers. You can swap eyepieces (the ultra flat field models do a good job) to change the magnification, exceeding fixed power models and the angled eyepiece makes tripod use easier too. You can pop in 24mm eyepieces and have wider fields for DSO if you wish. I have some 70mm and also find them rather useful as a two-eyed spotting scope for daytime use.

 

Peter

[Knighty2112]

Hi Mr_Mojo. Plenty of good binos around yes, but if lunar observations are 90% of what you want to do why not think perhaps a small spotting scope that allows you to change magnification? Celestron do some very small Hummingbird spotting scopes with zoom magnification on them. Not owned one but remember when they came out they got good reviews especially the ED optics version. Worth a thought perhaps, and as the pics shows very compact too, and don't break the bank either. Worth a thought maybe?  
 

https://www.uttings.co.uk/p131849-celestron-hummingbird-9-27x56mm-ed-micro-spotter-c-w-carry-case-black-52308-cgl/

Edited September 17, 2022 by Knighty2112

[DaveL59]

as above but do bear in mind that the bigger high power bino's aren't exactly small or light and in their case would occupy probably as much space as a small refractor. Worth checking around and compare size/weight I'd think and then consider which would be easier to transport and set up. Whatever you do, don't get any of the zoom bino's that claim incredible magnification at great prices, they are mostly junk and at best barely useful for terrestrial viewing.

[Stu]

Personally, with that budget and bearing in mind your likely target and space limitations, I would get a smallish ED refractor, say 70 to 80mm on a suitable alt az mount. It would likely be lighter and take up no more, possibly less room than a big pair of Binos. It would also very likely give you better quality views, albeit with one eye rather than two. You could, of course, add a binoviewer at some stage if you wanted to.

[Barry Fitz-Gerald]

If the Moon is your target then using a binoviewer such as the Williams Optics one coupled with a 70 or 80mm ED Doublet would out perform any binoculars in that price range I suspect. I use a Skywatcher Evostar 80ED DS-Pro with binoviewers and performance on the moon (and sun for that matter with a Herschel wedge) is superb in a compact package. Of course you would need duplicate E/Ps but you would end up with quite a flexible system.

[Anthonyexmouth]

2 minutes ago, Barry Fitz-Gerald said:

If the Moon is your target then using a binoviewer such as the Williams Optics one coupled with a 70 or 80mm ED Doublet would out perform any binoculars in that price range I suspect. I use a Skywatcher Evostar 80ED DS-Pro with binoviewers and performance on the moon (and sun for that matter with a Herschel wedge) is superb in a compact package. Of course you would need duplicate E/Ps but you would end up with quite a flexible system.

I've thought about that for my ED80. I've got a nice pair of 20x100s but having the flexibility of different eyepieces does appeal to me. 

[Mr_mojo97]

5 hours ago, Barry Fitz-Gerald said:

If the Moon is your target then using a binoviewer such as the Williams Optics one coupled with a 70 or 80mm ED Doublet would out perform any binoculars in that price range I suspect. I use a Skywatcher Evostar 80ED DS-Pro with binoviewers and performance on the moon (and sun for that matter with a Herschel wedge) is superb in a compact package. Of course you would need duplicate E/Ps but you would end up with quite a flexible system.

Ok, I have a look into this,  sounds like it might be the better option for me. 

Thanks

[Mr_mojo97]

Thanks for everyone's input here,  lots of food for thought.

I'll be sure to be in touch for other bits and pieces

[Barry Fitz-Gerald]

16 hours ago, Mr_mojo97 said:

Ok, I have a look into this,  sounds like it might be the better option for me. 

The only (potential) complication with this is whether a particular make of binoviewer will come to focus with any small scope you use and without having to resort to glass path correctors and so on - I am sure enough members of this forum will have experience of using this type of combo, so will be able to advise on what will and what will not work. I have used the Williams Optics ones previously - and they come with a pair of 20mm E/P's as well, so ready to use out of the box.  Good luck!

 

 

 

[BinocularSky]

On 17/09/2022 at 10:35, Mr_mojo97 said:

 What I’m after now though, is a set of really good quality set of binos. My primary focus is lunar - probably 90% actually. Not so much interested in planets and DSOs at the moment.

Late to the party, but as the person on this forum who almost always recommends binoculars, I'll add my £0.02: Don't!

As others have already indicated, for lunar you'd be far better off with a small refractor (although I prefer a little Maksutov - more bang for bucks, IMO).