100mm binocular + tripod purchase advice sought

[GrahamE]

Hello everyone,

I'm in the market for a pair of 20/22/25x100mm binoculars in the £250-£300 range. I also want a tripod for the binos.

Any recommendations?

Can anyone comment on the comparative optical and mechanical quality of:

Revelation 20x100

Strathspey 22x100

Pulsar Optical 25x100

Helios Quantum 3 25x100

Helios Quantum 4 25x100

Strathspey 25x100

Celestron Skymaster 25x100

Are there any reviews of these online?

As regards the tripod I'm considering the Horizon 8115 tripod and head and the Red Snapper RS-324 tripod with RSH528 3-way panning head. I'm not concerned about weight or compactness as it will mainly be used in my back garden. However, I need the tripod to be very stable and tall as I'm 6' 1".

All recommendations gratefully received!

Many thanks

Graham

[ashworthacca]

Graham, welcome to the forums.

I can't really help you with online reviews or comparisons between the models you have indicated, I'm sure there will be members along offering some superb advice.

In the classified section I have for sale a pair of Helios Quantum 4 25x100 binos for sale. In the thread there are some photos of the them attached to a Horizon 8115 tripod which for the money is an excellent choice and more than capable of being used with big heavy binos.

My thread is located HERE

Obviously before you do decide see what views you get from more experienced members.

Regards

[ashworthacca]

Graham, here is a review of the Quantum 4's.... see Oberwerk 25x100 IF which is thesame bino

REVIEW

Regards

[Astorix]

Hi Grham, i do not own any of the pairs listed however my friend has a piar of Celestron Skymaster 25x100 and he loves them! here is a review i found which basically sums them up in a nut shell!

Celestron SkyMaster 25x100 Review: Powered by ConsumerGuide and HowStuffWorks

[PeterW]

A parallelogram mount would allow you to see stuff above about 45degree elevation. The tripod will hold them, but not hugely solidly. You may need a post extender (e.g from scopestuff) to attach them to the tripod plate.

Cheers

PEterW

[Stardust]

I've got a pair of the Revelation 25x100's on a Manfrotto 055 tripod with a 410 geared head. Very stable and the geared head is better than a pan and tilt. I think there is a BCF version on ebay at the moment.

The Bins give very nice views but the rear end is like a normal pair, so care needs to be taken. They probably wouldn't take a hard knock without damage. Not really a problem but worth a mention.

I haven't compared them with any others, but the Quantum IF series sound good.

Sky at Night mag did a review of big bins a while back, I'll try to find it.

good luck

[GrahamE]

Having had a careful think about which of the two tripod combos (Red Snapper or Horizon) is likely to be the better mount for 100mm binos I today called Red Snapper and spoke to Joe Bowes. Joe was very helpful and as a result I ordered the RS-324 tripod & RSH-528 head combo which Joe assures me will be with me tomorrow.

I'll report on the suitability of the Red Snapper RS-324 tripod & RSH-528 head for large binos when I've tried them.

In the meantime I'd appreciate any help anyone can give me regarding the respective (especially optical) merits of the 100mm binos listed in the OP.

Many thanks

Graham

[LukeSkywatcher]

As you can see from my signature i have a pair of 20X90 bins and a Horizon 8115 tripod.

I LOVE my bins.

I cant comment on any other bins because i have no experience with them.......BUT essentially you really want to go for the largest apeture you can afford because this means more light gatering ability and objects will be brighter.

I would not worry too much about magnification, but as with apeture (specially on bins), bigger is better.

The Horizon 8115 is a rock solid tripod very capable of holding a good bit more weight then my 20X90 bins which weigh in at 6.5 Lbs.

I have been looking for a travel tripod for my Canon 450D and the Redsnapper tripods (RS-284) with a 3-way head is top of the list. The RS tripod looks every bit as solid as the Horizon 8115 and comes in a few pound cheaper (also for travel purpose it is smaller and lighter).

I would discount bins of 20X100/22X100 IF you can afford 25X.

My 20X90 bins are a bit smaller then the X100 you are interested in but i can assure you that even with 20X90 bins that very faint star clusters and even galaxies are highly visible.

You will NOT get the same view of planets/nebulae as you do with a scope so be prepared for that situation.

Binocular astronomy is GREAT.

[GrahamE]

As regards parallelogram mounts - well I'm prepared to consider one but it pushes the price up so much (in round terms £100 + £300 + £300 = £700 for tripod, pgram mount and 100mm binos respectively) that the Helios Quantum 7.4 at £1200 - £1300 looks like much better value for money.

Paul thanks for your reply - I should have made it clear that I am an experienced binocular observer (25+ years) but that neither of my current binos (Japanese made Celestron 11x80 Comet Hunter and Canon 10x30 IS) are ideal for astronomy.

The Celestrons have have very good colour rendition and are nice and sharp in the centre although they suffer from coma toward the edge - but I am no longer able to use all the light they throw out.

The Canons are lovely due to their light weight and image stabilisation and have remarkably little coma for a binocular in this price category although they suffer from ghosting and very minor chromatic aberration. From my very heavily light polluted site in south east London they (just) out-perform the (handheld) Celestrons! But of course with only 30mm objectives their light grasp is limited. My experience with the little Canons has put the Canon 10x42 IS and the Canon 15x50 IS on my shopping list.

Anyhow, what I really need is advice on which of the 100mm binos in my OP are generally of the best optical quality. Does anyone have any experience of any of these binos?

Many thanks

Graham

[chuenmanc]

Have a look through this lot on CN.