Whats the best pair of binoculars for astronomy?

[Mrshredder2]

Last night i was outside with my brothers pair of binoculars they are not designed for astronomy but i saw more stars then i can normally see.

Just wondered what the best pair of binoculars are for under £300 as im really interested in getting a pair.

I would like a pair that can view nebulas etc etc?

Also what other objects could i see if i get a decent pair of astronomy binoculars?

Cheers in advance.

[themos]

People who have looked through the Takahashi Astronomer 22x60 Fluorite bins don't want to look through anything else.

[fmeireso]

True, but it's no more available and it has a small FOV and is (was) way over 300 £

I vote for the BA8 series 15x70 : translated an Apollo 15x70, one can get it from FLO.

Very good binocular, bright and contrasty. Handholdable for very short periods. FOV 4.4° still big and affordable under 300 quid.

You can see nebulae, on a dark spot like M42,M27,M1 etc although most of them somehow faint.

[Solar B]

People who have looked through the Takahashi Astronomer 22x60 Fluorite bins don't want to look through anything else.

True....everything else is awful,perhaps apart from the Kowa Highlanders,which are still available but still a little more

than £300.

Brian

[Darren B]

25x100's, but you will need a good tripod.

[ollypenrice]

The key question is tripod or hand held? You can't hand hold for long at more than 10x. If hand holding I feel that 10x50 is optimal. On a tripod the sky's the limit but don't go for anything with an exit pupil of more than about 5mm. (Divide aperture by magnification.) Eg 11x80s are available but the exit pupil is wider than your adapted pupil so the light is entirely wasted.

Olly

[LukeSkywatcher]

The Celestron 15X70 Skymasters seem to be a very popular choice of bins. Then there are the Revelation 20X80s which have really good reviews. Like Olly says..........anything over 10X50 really will benefit from being tripod mounted. The larger the apeture...the more light gathered so those faint fuzzies become visible:nebulae,galaxies,clusters etc.

If it is DSOs you seek then i would say a good starting point would be 15x70.

[ollypenrice]

As Paul says, 15x70 has a lot going for it. I have the Revelation bins in this size. They are not premium optics but at less than £70 I thnk they are the best astro bargain I have ever had. They are really very good but if you have ever looked through a pair of Leicas (someone else's in my case, alas) you will know what is optically possible...

Olly

[GazOC]

I like my 15x70s, the show a lot more than my 10x50s and are (just about) hand holdable. I only tend to use my 10x50s for spotting with my Dob, the 70s come out when I'm using the binos on their own.

[Captain Tweaky]

True....everything else is awful,perhaps apart from the Kowa Highlanders,which are still available but still a little more

than £300.

Brian

So if I understand you correctly - if you don't have the money to buy either the Takahashi or the Kowa you're probably wasting what small amount of money you have on something awful? I think someone needs to visit the real world! 

Yours aye - Cap'n

[Crebles]

I like my 15x70s, the show a lot more than my 10x50s and are (just about) hand holdable. I only tend to use my 10x50s for spotting with my Dob, the 70s come out when I'm using the binos on their own.

GazOC has summarised the nub of it for me: a dinky pair for handheld starhopping and orientation (I use some 680g 8x42's), and a larger 15x70+ pair on a monopod for a binocular observing evening.

[dezzie]

I have the helios appollo 25x100s on  a p mount, binos were 275 quid, the mount was second hand eq3 with a clever fella at my club making the metal p mount, total cost was £75 but that's with a 20 quid tip, the binos are fab although I haven't looked in any fancys ones but I am more than happy with my views, even fast tracking the ISS which looks great in them!

[cotterless45]

Revelation 15x70 for about £60 will give you a superb taster into. The wonderful world of nebulae, clusters and galaxies. They can be held without tripod and give good views. They are also good for terrestrial viewing,

Nick.

[Jason71]

I have the helios appollo 25x100s on  a p mount, binos were 275 quid, the mount was second hand eq3 with a clever fella at my club making the metal p mount, total cost was £75 but that's with a 20 quid tip, the binos are fab although I haven't looked in any fancys ones but I am more than happy with my views, even fast tracking the ISS which looks great in them!

Iv heard a lot about the helios appollo . I'm very very tempted to buy a pair but it's hell of a lot of money. Are they just as good as a small telescope.

[BinocularSky]

Are they just as good as a small telescope.

Depends on the telescope and which Helios Apollo . Assuming the 15x70 and telescopes of similar cost, such as Evostar 102-EQ3/2 or 200P Dob;

For portability and speed of set-up, the Apollo wins hands down.

For Moon, planets & double stars, it's a toss-up between the two telescopes - the Dob has the advantage of more resolution, but the mount of the Evostar makes it  easier to track at high magnifications.

For faint fuzzies, the Dob wins.

In brief: if portability and speed/ease of set-up are not issues for you, get the Dob - that 200P is possibly one of the best VFM astro-packages available.

[Jason71]

Depends on the telescope and which Helios Apollo . Assuming the 15x70 and telescopes of similar cost, such as Evostar 102-EQ3/2 or 200P Dob;

For portability and speed of set-up, the Apollo wins hands down.

For Moon, planets & double stars, it's a toss-up between the two telescopes - the Dob has the advantage of more resolution, but the mount of the Evostar makes it  easier to track at high magnifications.

For faint fuzzies, the Dob wins.

In brief: if portability and speed/ease of set-up are not issues for you, get the Dob - that 200P is possibly one of the best VFM astro-packages available.

Thanks for the info. Reason I asked is because I'm thinking of getting a 150p dob telescope but on the other hand I'm looking at the Apollo 15x20.

Now if the Apollo can give me what the 150p can then I go for them. And get a telescope at a later date.

What is your view on this?

Jason.

[Jonny99]

The Skymasters are brilliant but you need a tripod to use them otherwise you'll end up with muscles like popeye

[BinocularSky]

Thanks for the info. Reason I asked is because I'm thinking of getting a 150p dob telescope but on the other hand I'm looking at the Apollo 15x20.

Now if the Apollo can give me what the 150p can then I go for them. And get a telescope at a later date.

I don't think there's an Apollo 15x20; I assume you mean 15x70?

Unless portability is an issue, the 150P will be better for you: it will show you more.

[StarSapling]

A well mounted pair of 20x80's.  When I sweep the Milky Way with mine, it is like I'm looking out the window of "ten forward" on the starship Enterprise.

[Beulah]

For the budget-minded, as I am, I have just bought my third pair of Olympus 10x50s - simply because members of my family wanted a pair after borrowing mine.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Olympus-118760-Binocular-10x50-DPS-1/dp/B0000AKGX3

They are fabulous for the price with a wide field of view.

I use these alongside the Celestron 15x70s when the old arms start to ache. Haven't got round to building a tripod for the monster bins yet, though....there should be an Olympic sport as to who can hold the Celestrons the longest... 

The Celestron 15x70s, coupled with a good tripod, would make a great hiking-to-a-dark-site setup.

I suppose this advice is for those who cannot afford to pay more than £100 for binoculars; in my opinion, the bins described above are the best in that price range.

A budget for £300 would get you something extra special.

[Charic]

Mrshredder2......You really need to test some optics BEFORE you purchase, make sure you have a returns option!. As an example Ollypenrice (sorry Olly for picking you) loves the  Revelations -  I hate them for astronomy, and no doubt, if we swapped pairs, I doubt we would change our minds, as they are the same optics, unless mine are seriously faulty, but I just do not get to see any detail on anything except the Moon, and I wanted to see Planetary details on Jupiter for example, but  during the day, I think their perfect for my needs?

The Binocular Sky site  (Steve) is a hive of information, if you cant find your information there, then it doesn't exist?  you can buy from him or our site sponsor, first Light Optics.

Please try before you buy.

[mjpfc]

Revelation 15x70 for about £60 will give you a superb taster into. The wonderful world of nebulae, clusters and galaxies. They can be held without tripod and give good views. They are also good for terrestrial viewing,

Nick.

Just so Nick, just so...........I have just had a pair of Revelation 15x70s delivered.

Nice and light, nice optics (looking around under the clouds) £58 including delivery from Telescope Warehouse.

They'll do nicely together with my ancient 10x50s

Mick

[Charic]

Wow! how time flies?

Since my last post, I've discovered that the Revelations fair better when used from a darker site, which is often the case when it comes to astronomy optics.

Its still in the back of my mind though, as to whether a premium BA8 binocular just might offer a little more ( ? )  from the present light polluted back garden, over the Revelations?
As most of my observing takes place from the garden, then I need to work around/with this issue. I'm still unaware about the lighting in my street, if it will  ever change to LED, but at present, the light  (North of my garden)  looks just like a big illuminated fish bowl, and its hard to avoid the glow, even when working from the shadows or inside the Dob-tent, there's just too much orange glow from all/any surface nearby?

I expected much better and more  from my TeleVue Delos EP's  over my BST Starguider EP's, but this was not the case, believing that somehow, a better eyepiece will fix something here?  If I purchased some premium binoculars, in the belief that they could somehow, magically improve the situation, that would be great. however,  I might be barking up the wrong tree, considering the same issue with the eyepieces!

It was a fresh offer to acquire  buy some BA8's that has  provoked a visit back to this thread.

[25585]

http://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/telescope-reviews/binoculars

I have the Strathspey 7x50 Marine and confirm they are good as the report  says.

[mikeDnight]

I read an article many years ago regarding the richest star fields vs aperture, and it turned out that 9X60 offers the most stars for the aperture and magnification. My first binoculars, which i bought second hand, were 12X60's. The bridge was broken so I had to hold the right hand eyepiece in focus using plastercine. Despite this, they really were great and I observed almost all the Messier objects with them. I also had my first taste of observing and tracking comets with those bins. Mounted on a tall wooden home made tripod with altaz fork, they kept me happily occupied for several years and were a better choice than many of the Dixon's telescopes that were on offer back in the early 80's. Attached is the only photo I have of my bino set-up from around 38 years ago.