100mm Binoculars

[nigelwr]

Hi,

I am thinking of buying a pair of 100mm Binoculars. The price range of these is from around £250 ish to over £1000.

Is it worth paying the extra or will the cheaper ones function just as well? what are considered to be the best alround value bino's

[dark star]

I have a pair of 20x100 Revelation binoculars which I bought second hand. New I think they are still good value.

I like them a lot. They have a little false colour (chromatic aberration) on bright objects, stars such as Vega and the planets.

They are great on widefield objects such as the Beehive Cluster, so this does not really matter.

However I should warn you that they are very big!

I have an Horizon tripod that I use with them, this is alright, but I tend to get a crick in my neck if looking at objects high up.

Ideally I would get a heavier duty tripod and a specialised binocular mount to aid viewing near the zenith, but I don't have unlimited funds!

The set up I have is still a lot of fun, and I would recommend it unless you want to spend a lot of money!

I have read great reviews of the Apollo 28x110 binoculars, and would like one day to get these.

Unfortunately, I have not looked through any so can not compare them with my own binoculars.

However, they need a very heavy duty mount and the cost of the mount and binoculars would add up to a lot!

I guess I would say if you are going to concentrate on binocular observing then it may be worth splashing out.

Otherwise maybe buy some not so expensive binoculars that will still give you a lot of pleasure, and you can always upgrade later on.

[Wobbly Bob]

Hi, I pondered for ages on which 100mm bins to buy. I have seen quite a few at star partys going for a very rasonable price BUT the main reason for not grabbing any of these bargains is the dreaded neck ache when viewing over 45deg. So I sold some STUFF an went for the 90deg Quantum 6. They are an absolute dream to use, expensive YES, easy to use YES.

Bob

[nigelwr]

thanks thats very helpful guys.

What tripod do you mount the Quantums on Bob?

Nigel

[Wobbly Bob]

I was lucky enough to find a couple of Manfrotto trpods at the carboot, whith a bit of handy work I made a U mount to fit in the tripod, works a treat.

[nigelwr]

Looks good Bob as I already have a Manfrotto tripod it looks like thats the way to go, where did you get the side attachment bolts from?

Nigel

[dark star]

And could I ask what you made the U mount from/ where you got the material?

I would like to make one, but I am not very good at D.I.Y.!

[yeti monster]

I would like to make one, but I am not very good at D.I.Y.!

You shouldn't be so negative DS, sure you are good at DIY, besides, at night who's gonna notice a crooked join?

[kniclander]

I would agree that if you can run to a pair with 45 deg or 90 deg e/ps it is well worth it for the viewing comfort.

[Wobbly Bob]

And could I ask what you made the U mount from/ where you got the material?

I would like to make one, but I am not very good at D.I.Y.!

The Knobs were found in one of of my many junk boxes, I had to run a 3/8 BSW tap through them. As for the U bracket material, well the crossbar is some sort plastic (very difficut to drill, gets very hot) but a bit of hard wood would do. The sides were actualy bits of laminated flooring, I wanted to make them out of aluminium but had none handy.

As far as DIY goes, just remember measure TWICE cut ONCE.

Bob

[nigelwr]

Thanks again Bob. If I cut the laminate floor pieces from under the rug do you think I will get away with it? lol

[Wobbly Bob]

:D Depends where you take it from. BTW that 3/8 BSW is WRONG, if you plan to make a U bracket PM me and I will explain how to make the pivot parts.

[ashworthacca]

I'd definitely buy a pair with 45 or 90 degree eyepieces, much more comfortable to use. I ended up with these. I now don't have a scope for observing.

Regards

[nigelwr]

Thanks again Bob.

Martin those are nice Bino's bit over my limit cost wise unless you want to sell em cheap?

Nigel

[ashworthacca]

Thanks again Bob.

Martin those are nice Bino's bit over my limit cost wise unless you want to sell em cheap?

Nigel

Sorry Nigel, would love to sell them cheap but my better half would kill me.

I got them ex demo so saved a few hundred quid. I'd recommend saving up and seeing if you could find a bargain as the 45 degree eyepieces make the world of difference.

All the best.

[nigelwr]

never mind worth a try!

[LukeSkywatcher]

If i EVER decide that bins are going to be my only means of observing i will certainly be purchasing a set of 45 or 90 degree bins. I'd imagine 90 degree one are more comfortable for observing at zenith compared to 45 degrees?

I would also be upping the magnification to about 25X and apeture to 100mm (25x100).

I think with bins that even though the upgrade seems small that the performance difference will be quite big?

[ashworthacca]

If i EVER decide that bins are going to be my only means of observing i will certainly be purchasing a set of 45 or 90 degree bins. I'd imagine 90 degree one are more comfortable for observing at zenith compared to 45 degrees?

I would also be upping the magnification to about 25X and apeture to 100mm (25x100).

I think with bins that even though the upgrade seems small that the performance difference will be quite big?

Never tried 90 degree bins but I'm sure they would be better for observing at zenith.

I've got 20x and 40x eyepieces, both offer superb views and surprisingly even at 40x it's not that much dimmer but sharpness and contrast is maintained. Lovely.

[dark star]

How you managed to make the U mount out of laminated flooring amazes me, I will have to try it, we just moved and I think we have some bits lying around.

It wouldn't be appreciated if I started ripping up the floor covering!

I am not totally useless at D.I.Y, as I did manage to make a finder scope out of an old pair of binoculars, and was ridiculously proud of this!

Some binoculars with right angled eyepieces are on my ever increasing list of astro gear to buy if I ever win the lottery or get promoted at work!

[durr]

This is a photo of my 100mm quantum 6.3 binoculars on a u mount. The beauty of this type of binocular is that you can view all night and still wake up with a normal neck. Finding objects can be difficult but you get used to it eventually and manage to work around it, practice makes perfect so they say. The handle on the case was a bit suspect so I strengthend mine and it feels a lot better. The rings of Saturn looked particularly good and clusters and many Messier numbers can be seen without too much trouble. The moon is particularly awesome. Steve

[durr]

Side view of binoculars.

[nigelwr]

Where did you get the U mount Steve?

Nigel

[durr]

Nigel. it came with the binoculars but I believe The widescreen centre can supply them. Steve