Image stabilising bins?

[Macavity]

I see there are quite a lot of favourable reports appearing on the astronomical value (pun intended) of Image Stabilising binoculars? But it would seem that the stability might equate to a few extra mm's(?) of aperture and enable higher powers. I sense they are going to be heavier and (apparently) get through a battery set every few hours. Perhaps not for the [currently] "economically challenged", but intriguing nonetheless... Anyone have a pair?

[brantuk]

I've used my mates pair - surprisingly light to hold - lighter than most other binocs I've used - unbelieveably stable images - crystal sharp - and a joy to use after regular ones - get's rid entirely of the moving dots syndrome. Just a tad expensive - his were around £600-£700 I seem to remember.

[themos]

A rectangular wooden frame worn over the shoulders and a fence post works out cheaper than that.

[robbieince]

I have a pair.

I chose the canon 15x50IS AW - they are relatively heavy to hold but an absolute joy to use. I don't consider them to be too unwieldly but is still prefer to lean against a wall or sit in a chair if I am goint to use them near the zenith.

I have spent whole nights just trawling around the sky with them at star parties (Kielder is absolutely superb with them) when there is broken cloud and itsborderline for scope use and regard them of one of my best buys - if also one of the most extravagant.

Wholeheartedly recommend them.

[Stu]

I have a pair of Canon 15x50is and am very pleased with them. They are not too heavy and quite easy to hand hold. I normally use them to have a quick look at the stars when it is not worth putting a scope out or if I am travelling. Battery life on this basis is never much of a problem for me. The stabilisation works very well and when hand holding eradicates all the high frequency vibrations. The image does still tend to swim around a bit but is much clearer than without stabilising. If you lean against something or have some other support then the image is rock steady. I think i got mine for around £650, expensive but I would say worth it. Hope that helps

[ronin]

Tried out the whole renage of Canon stabilised binoculars (3 sets I think) at the bird fair at Rutland a couple of years back. Very impressed.

They simply did what they said and produced a more stabile image.Recall the 2 lower magnification models were for some reason better. Possibly the highest magnification ones were at the limit of what the system could compensate for.

Compared my comments with someone else there are they said the same.

Didn't seem heavier even though they look a bit odd, comfortable to hold and use. So over all impressed.

[ollypenrice]

I thought the ones I tried were great but for me the bonus would be more magnification on wildlife. 14x hand held in the Canons was easy. But since a small refractor can get down to 15x, that's what I'd tend to use, with the benefit of a diagonal to give my neck a chance!

Olly

[PeterW]

I have some 12x36, excellent for daytime use... rock steady, even one handed. At night, points for stars, but small aperture, so not a huge number of them. For daytime use you can't beat them, like having a tripod all the time.

Cheers

PEter

[Macavity]

Thanks folks. <impressed> But I suspect I shall (anyway) have to "wait a bit"!

Interesting though. I imagined, at first, the bins contained a large pendulum. LOL. But perhaps they work on some method of image sampling - like an autoguider? Amazing what some optical devices are capable of these days...

[gliderpilot]

I think they're gyro stablised prisms. I use my 15x50 IS frequently. They're great for business trips, family weekends away or to supplement telescopic observing. No need for a tripod and You still get a stable image - you're arms still ache from holding them so they do benefit from a mount.

The optics are truly excellent: pin point stars to the edge of the field of view. The optics themselves are worth the money, the IS is a bonus.

Mark

[Stu]

There is some technical info on the canon site if you are interested

Canon Binoculars Technology 005 Product Finder - Canon UK