Celestron Skymaster 15x70 & Helios Apollo HR 15x70 Binoculars

[Moonshane]

I agree with John

the Apollo are really top notch quality. they are heavy and really need to be mounted in some way but you find your own methods I suppose.

the other options may not be as heavy but the magnification makes some kind of mounting a definite requirement in my opinion.

[abettertomorrow]

I wish i could afford a set of giant binos, let alone an expensive pair of 15x70's. i havethe celestrons and i am very happy with them.

i suppose it's up to you what you will accept in terms of optical quality and for me - i am a learner so do not know any better!

to me the celestrons are brilliant!

[Polar Bear]

Hi John

thanks for the report, real world tests always triumph over advertising blurb.

I also found the Celestron 15 x 70's excellent value even though I bought mine when they first appeared at £79.00.

Do you have any experience of ultra wide field low power binoculars ?

I am looking for some to try observing meteors . LP is terrible where I am and has a great limiting factor on visual observation of them.

Paul

[johninderby]

Do you have any experience of ultra wide field low power binoculars ?

I am looking for some to try observing meteors . LP is terrible where I am and has a great limiting factor on visual observation of them.

Paul

I haven't really done much observing with low power bins but I did once use some Swift 8x42 Ultralites that were really, really nice for low power wide angle use. I'd like to get a pair myself but they are a bit on the pricey side though.

Other than that I think the 7x50 is the most commonly recommended type for low power observing as they usually have a wide FOV.

John

[steve_bham]

Opps wrong thread

[Matt2011]

Would you recommend the Helios 15x70mm Binoculars or the Helios 25x100 Quantum ones as I want to be able to do some deep sky like view star clusters and stars and double stars and nebula and more importantly satellites like the ISS and also asteroids. What mount would you recommend for binoculars of this size and would the Horizon mount from FLO be ideal. Thanks

[BinocularSky]

Would you recommend the Helios 15x70mm Binoculars or the Helios 25x100 Quantum ones as I want to be able to do some deep sky like view star clusters and stars and double stars and nebula and more importantly satellites like the ISS and also asteroids. What mount would you recommend for binoculars of this size and would the Horizon mount from FLO be ideal. Thanks

For a very comprehensive list of binocular reviews, take a look at this thread on CN. The Helios Apollo is the Garrett Signature in the US. The Quantum4 25x100 is the Oberwerk IF 25x100.

Caveat: I've not used the Quantum4 25x100, but based on various reviews and general experience, the answers to your questions are probably:

• The Apollos will have sharper images
  
• The Q4 will have brighter images (but it does only have an effective aperture of 93mm) and will therefore see "deeper"
  
• The wider field of the Apollo will make it easier to use for tracking objects
  
• For the 15x70, I recommend a monopod and trigger-grip ball-head
  
• I don't recommend photo/video tripods/heads for straight through binoculars: even at low altitude your legs and the tripod's legs compete for the same bit of space.
  
• The Horizon 8115 head is, in my opinion, inadequate for both binoculars (but marginal for very low altitude stuff with the 15x70)
  
• The best mount for the 25x100 (apart from a Star Chair! ) is probably a parallelogram with sufficient length and degrees of freedom to permit you to observe seated (standing is not really an option for high-elevation objects and a straight-through binocular)
  

Just my £0.02...

[Space Dragon]

What Steve says........I've owned both and would recommend the 15x70s by a long way, having said that, the Q4s were on a Horizon and would be loads better on a P-mount I would think.

If you want to split the difference, the Apollo 22x85s will be 85mm aperture against the 92/93mm of the Q4s but the overall image will be far superior but again, they will be heavy.

There's a pair on ABS at the mo'

http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=69984

[Matt2011]

Many thanks everyone for your help and good advice and I will buy the Helios 15x70mm and I like the idea also that the field of view with these will be larger as the larger the binoculars the smaller the field of view but as far as the mount is concerned i have a Orion Optics Deluxe Alt Azimuth mount and use that with a Skywatcher 127mm Maksutov Scope, I will need to get a good adapter for the mount and a L Bracket and FLO have sold out of the adapters and the L Bracket for the Binoculars when I get them but I have found some on the Harrison Telescopes Site which both come to £37.00 and £280 for the Helios 15x70mm Apollo Binoculars, I was thinking about going for the 15x85mm Apollo's but I am not sure an extra £100 warrants the extra aperture which is 85mm myself. Has anyone seen any satellites with the Helios Apollo 15X70mm and would be interested in knowing your experiences with them, The Monopod looks cool from amazon.co.uk for the binoculars and would this be better than using an alt azimuth mount. Thanks Matt

[Matt2011]

My Orion Optics Deluxe Alt Azimuth Mount!

[Astro_noob]

Just received a pair of apollo 15x70 bins and they come with an adapter made of metal to attach to a tripod. Seems very similar to the strathspey adapter I purchased a few months ago.

[Matt2011]

Nice, I will probably check with FLO in the morning when I place my order if they come with a metal adapter but if not I will order one from Harrison Telescopes as they got loads in stock and are the Monopods better for the Helios Apollo 15x70mm Binoculars do you know. There quite cheap on amazon and not sure how well they perform myself. How are you getting on with your Helios Apollo's 15x70mm and have you seen a lot of the messier objects with them and what are they like.

[BinocularSky]

The type of tripod adaptor to get is this one (negative reviews are for the earlier, plastic, version) -- much more versatile than the bent aluminium L-brackets. Also, the tripod bush on the Helios Apollo 15x70 is recessed, so then bent aluminium type may not fit.

[Matt2011]

Many thanks and I will go ahead and order now that tripod adapter and looking forward to getting my Helios Apollo 15x70mm this week!

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Very nice report. Fits in well with my experiences with the Helios and a Celestron clone

[221B Observer]

A very interesting read. I have just tonight ordered the celestron 15 x 70s and I am just so excited at the prospect of seeing Jupiter! And her moons!

[Matt2011]

Good luck with them and hope they bring you many nights of enjoyment. I am trying to decide what to buy at the moment and the Helios 15x85mm Apollo or the Opticron 16x80s seem to interest me at the moment!