It an't heavy..

[Tinners]

Looking for 15x70 binoculars which are light in weight..(< 2kg)

So far the "out" Binos are

Revelation 15x70 3Kg

Celestron skymaster 2.3kg

Orion Resolux 15x70 5.5lb

Garrett Signature 5lb+

Oberwerk Ultra 5lb

Helios Apollo 2.5kg

Opticron 2.4Kg

Under 2Kg are as follows..

Garrett Gemini WP 3lb

Orion Giant 15x70 4lb

Oberwerk giant 3.1lb (?)

Strathspey 15x70 1.8Kg

Helios QUANTUM-4 1.8Kg

Helios Stellar 1.3kg

I think thats the lot, have i missed any others out?

So the question is which would you choose and why?

[JamesK]

I would buy a Tripod, unless you have a specific reason not to. Some of the "Outs" are good pieces of kit IMO... I did the research while shopping for my own 15x70s... altough to be fair I didn't consider anything over £120. I'm intrested where you got the weights for the Revelations and the Skymasters - I was under the impression they were the same optics under different branding.

[Tinners]

Do you think the weights are wrong for these binoculars?

I just scanned them off the internet (see links)

Revelation

Revelation 15x70 Binoculars

Telescope House Revelation 15x70 Binoculars Special Offer

Skymasters

Celestron SkyMaster 15 x 70 Binoculars

Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 Binocular

[Tinners]

Hmm. Yes it does look like some web sites have different wieghts and some quote box weight rather than Binocular weight.

I do have a tripod but I would like the option to not have to cart it around all the time.

[Tinners]

Ok I have double checked Skymasters and Reverlation on various sites and have come up with 48oz as the true wieght (1.36Kg) for each.

Looks like I will have to recheck all the binoculars and relist them.

[FLO]

You need to be a little careful when searching for a lightweight binocular. Quality optical glass is generally a dense, heavy material and metal/alloy is best at keeping everything aligned. Have you considered a monopod with a tilt-platform? They aren't as cumbersome as a tripod but offer good support. Manfrotto/Bogen are a good choice.

HTH

[PeterW]

Mine are Helios Stellar, got from 63 Farringdon Road many years back. Weight 1.304kg (lens caps off). Lovely balance and weight. Make a good all round (day/night) pair of bins, though a tripod would make the night time use more stable, still, you can hold them pretty steady by hand. I have observed several comets and found a number of objects in mine. Good for those 'quick view' occasions.

Cheers

PEterW

[Tinners]

You need to be a little careful when searching for a lightweight binocular. Quality optical glass is generally a dense, heavy material and metal/alloy is best at keeping everything aligned. Have you considered a monopod with a tilt-platform? They aren't as cumbersome as a tripod but offer good support. Manfrotto/Bogen are a good choice.

Having investigated a little further it looks like 15x70 fall into 3 weight bands.

The heavest and also the best quality, are 2.4kg+

Garrett Signature, Hellios Apollo,Oberwerk Ultra Orion Resolux .

The next lot are all around 1.8Kg

Helios Q4, Garrett Gemini wp, Orion Giant view, Strathspey

All the rest are around 1.3kg/1.4kg

Celestron,Reverlation, Oberwerk15x70,Gemini LW,Helios Stellar, Orion Lt giants II.

So yes it does look like weight and quality go hand in hand since all the heavy weights are the top ranges of each manufacture. Unfortunatly all are £300/£350+ which is a little out of my budget but at least it narrows the list down a little. I'm not completely in favour of getting the cheapest glass either so probably not the Celestron Strathspey and Revelation binoculars.

No I hadn't considered a monopod - will have a look.