Binoculars ?

[Dazraz]

Hi want to get some binoculars and wondered if this magnification is ok 20-180 x100 ?

[John]

I assume these are zoom binoculars in which case I would avoid those for astronomy. 25x100 is a popular spec for big astro binoculars but you will need to budget for a really good tripod to go with them. The 15x70 types are just about hand holdable for very short periods but they and more powerful / larger binoculars definately need to be mounted to use them.

John

[pete_gamby]

I read a thread somewhere else on these (assuming you mean the Sakura models you can find on eBay) suggesting that the headline spec doesn't match the reality i.e. the objective is actually a 70mm and the zoom range is probably a 20 to 80 (or less)

As John notes, for anything about even 15x you're going to need a monopod or tripod and once you go up to 20x and higher, the tripod should probably cost as much as the bins :-)

Never just rely on the "speeds and feeds" numbers - you have to try them out. If you can't before you buy, make sure you get them from somewhere with a good exchange or refund policy.

[Dazraz]

I was also looking at a set of Bushnell 12x50 are these any good ?

[Vulpecula]

These seem well-regarded:

Revelation 15x70 Binocular Special Offer

- if however you're looking for something to hang around your neck for use whilst at your new scope, then you might prefer a good pair of wide-angle 8x50s instead. 10x and beyond are hard to hold steady, and 8x will find more use in everyday life outside astronomy.

[nitram100]

I just bought a pair of Celestron 15x70 Skymasters and had first light last night even though it was cloudy, i caught a quick glimpse of The Double cluser in Perseus and it was breathtaking, they're also quite easy to hold steady because of the low magnification.

[mdstuart]

I also recommend the 15 x 70mm Celestrons.

I understand the zoom binoc generally work with a wire that moves the lenses in and out and hence is imprecise and hence makes it difficult to get sharp images....

Mark

[Vulpecula]

zoom binoc generally work with a wire that moves the lenses in and out

Sort of. There's a cable between the eyepieces which rotates the zoom control on the second "slave" eyepiece.

Even if the zoom mechanism itself was top quality, synchronising TWO of them for identical zoom levels across the whole range requires a level of precision that such binos simply don't have.

Plus there's the additional problem that if your vision isn't perfect, then you're going to get focus discrepencies across the zoom range.

All-in-all, a recipe for headaches both of the metaphorical and literal kinds.