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Big Binocular advice please.

johnnyp

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johnnyp

johnnyp

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Hi all, Im looking tp purchase a pair of decent size binos to mount on my horizon 8115 tripod. Ive got my eye on a few pairs but would like some feedback on the ones i have in mind. They are as follows...

Celestron skymaster 15x70

Strathspey 15x70

Helios stellar 15x70

The helios stellar are abit more expensive than the other two, are they worth the difference?

I also quite like the look of the strathspey 20x90. Anybody using these ?

Im currently mounting my opticron ashperic 8x40 and really enjoying bino astronomy, so easy and convenient. Im guessing that any of these bins will be much improved over my little bins but personal experience of any of the ones ive mentioned would be most helpful.

All thoughts and comments much appreciated

Regards

John

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ollypenrice

ollypenrice

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Well, no move yet so here's my two penn'orth. I have the Revelation 15x70s which may well be the same thing as one (or two) of those you mention. It is so hard to know with branding. I like them a lot. Great eye relief, comfy rubber cups, non slip quality feel. The plastic tripod adapter I beefed up in the manner of a steel reinforced girder on a small scale. (Glued bits of steel bar into the plastic's hollow bits.)

Didn't S@N like the Strathspeys? Our Revelations get a lot

of use here and are stunning value.

I perviously had some 11 x 80 Celestron Comet Hunters. Too big an exit pupil so much wasted light. (Mind youI looked through some rebuilt by a professional optician and those were darned good.)

If you can run to the 20x90 you will get more of a change from your present bins, I'd have thought.

Olly

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yeti monster

yeti monster

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If you are getting really BIG bins, they should come with a suitable tripod adapter. I'm trying to compare the ones I brought home from China last trip with the leading brands, to see if they are the same, as so many optics seem to originate in the peoples republic these days. I'm certainly well impressed with them.

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russ

russ

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I had the Revelation 15x70's too and they were fantastic. But i've seen a few posts indicating the QC is perhaps not too good and getting a good pair (like i had) maybe a lottery. Pretty sure the Celestron are the same binocular but as you see very few people moaning, Celestron must demand a much higher control on QC. Perhaps the left overs end up as Revelation and Adler? I replaced my Revelation 15x70 with Adler Jupiter 20x80 and got my hand bitten. The first pair were indeed faulty and the second pair were okay but didn't seem as good as the Revelation optically. I couldn't put my finger on it.

Just for information, Scopes'n'skies have a pair of Helios Stellar 15x70's in their clearance section for £115 delivered. Display model in A1 condition.

Russ

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johnnyp

johnnyp

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A couple of votes for the revelations then, and these seem really good value.

Yetimonster- A comparison would be great. I like reading binocular reviews for some reason:)

Im leaning towards the celestron or the revelations, but havent ruled out the strathspeys. I guess its quite possible they are all one and the same?

Any other suggestions/advice most welcome and thanks for the replies so far.

John

PS. Russ, cheers ill check those out.

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AndyH

AndyH

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Mine came from here.

AV 20X80 Wide Angle Giant DELUXE Astronomy Binoculars - Telescope Warehouse

Cost me less than £80 inc shipping and got through customs unscathed. They weren't available here at the time.

I've been using mine hand held on a sun lounger. Pretty stable, surprisingly.

Andy.

ps: think I've got some pics in my photo album, if you have a hunt.

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johnnyp

johnnyp

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Mine came from here.

AV 20X80 Wide Angle Giant DELUXE Astronomy Binoculars - Telescope Warehouse

Cost me less than £80 inc shipping and got through customs unscathed. They weren't available here at the time.

I've been using mine hand held on a sun lounger. Pretty stable, surprisingly.

Andy.

ps: think I've got some pics in my photo album, if you have a hunt.

Those look decent for the price. Wide angle appeals to me. What are the chances of gettin somethin through customs without gettin stung??

ill check out your album, nice one.

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russ

russ

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With regards to customs always budget to get caught and pay the max, that way you don't get a nasty (expensive) surprise. I've never got a single item through. Yet Rob has ordered from the same place on almost the same day and not a thing. The last thing i bought from the states was a Stellarvue Diagonal. It got snagged by customs and i saved a grand total of 19p over the UK price (that was 2006 when the pound was strong). I wouldn't bother now unless the taxed price was a good (at least £25) saving on the UK.

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yeti monster

yeti monster

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I've got a pair of 20x80's, bought from the US, when the £/$ was better, a while ago. They look very, very similar to these,

Revelation Premium 20x80 Binoculars

Fantastic for the price. Good quality, mechanics wise, and the views are great. Huge eyelenses make for comfortable viewing.

Andy.

Those are exactly the same as the ones I brought home, right down to the case and strap, Union Optics of China produced, mine are branded "Mystery" and I also picked up a good strong tripod at the same time. I paid about 75-80 earth quids for mine (after a wee bit of haggling) including the tripod which would put the bins alone around 55-60 ish I recon, although the earth quid has dropped in value once more, so the price would be higher if I bought them now.

As I haven't been able to physically compare against any other BIG astro bins, I can only say that they are very good but with a slight chromatic aberation in the left side, but that is only noticable on planets, for which they are of no real use anyway.

They give a great wide field view, eye relief is good for me with the rubber cups positioning my eyes perfectly. Exit pupil may be a tad large, but rather that then too small I say.

The tripod (I'm trying to find a similar one, to find a brand name, can't remember mine) is also excellent, having allowed me to track ISS from horizon to horizon with ease.

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johnnyp

johnnyp

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Those are exactly the same as the ones I brought home, right down to the case and strap, Union Optics of China produced, mine are branded "Mystery" and I also picked up a good strong tripod at the same time. I paid about 75-80 earth quids for mine (after a wee bit of haggling) including the tripod which would put the bins alone around 55-60 ish I recon, although the earth quid has dropped in value once more, so the price would be higher if I bought them now.

As I haven't been able to physically compare against any other BIG astro bins, I can only say that they are very good but with a slight chromatic aberation in the left side, but that is only noticable on planets, for which they are of no real use anyway.

They give a great wide field view, eye relief is good for me with the rubber cups positioning my eyes perfectly. Exit pupil may be a tad large, but rather that then too small I say.

The tripod (I'm trying to find a similar one, to find a brand name, can't remember mine) is also excellent, having allowed me to track ISS from horizon to horizon with ease.

like the sound of these if they are indeed the same as andyh has. i would be gutted to get stung by customs though:(

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yeti monster

yeti monster

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Yes, ye olde customs mannie. As I was bringing mine into the UK as hand luggage (once more, my cabin bag weighed more than my hold baggage) I could quite easily say that they are not new. If you have to have some shipped in, then that is an altogether different kettle of fish.

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yeti monster

yeti monster

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I really couldn't say, to be honest. My suggestion is to try to visit an outlet and inspect them as best you can. Either that or try to get a shot of someones Binos at a star party etc. to see which suit you best. I knew that it was a gamble buying a set of astro bins at a ferry port, but I inspected the goods well, tried and researched them as best I could prior to forking out my hard earned. I also have the added bonus of them being "something I picked up on my travels".

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muddy

muddy

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hi

Just received my second celestron 15x70 from amazon the first pair were out of collamination.Amazon sent the second pair out the next day. I am pleased with them so far only had a chancr to use them once.

The optics seem fine but two things spoil the overall paackage 1 being the eyepiece covers are one piece and keep falling off and 2 the tripod adapter is a bit flimsy.

Lots of reviews at amazon for these binos. I tend use this site for reviews of equipment I buy.

cannot fault amazon's after sales they even arranged pickup labels for DHL.

good luck hunting

dave

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