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Can the Celestron 15x70 binos be handheld?


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Can the Celestron 15x70 binos be handheld?

I'm looking to buy a pair of binoculars. They need to be manageable handheld as I plan to take them on my travels. Can anyone, that haves one of these, tell me if it's viable to do a 20/30 min session without a tripod?

If not I'll probably get the pentax 10x50 water proof ones.

BTW, if anyone used both is there a noticeable difference in the quality of view?

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I have the 15x70's and I can hold them for 5 mins before my arms ache - and the view is jumping all over the place. You can steady your arms on a firm surface but they really are best on a tripod. I also have a fine tuning head which works a treat :(

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I feared that would be the answer. It's not practical for me to carry a tripod while travelling.

I guess the 10x50s will have to do, unless someone can recommend me an ultra-lite, portable but STEADY tripod.

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Paulo don't dismiss the 15x70 just yet. It would be difficult to handheld these for a continuous period of 30 minutes. However, I have used mine tonight in conjunction with my 10" Dob. I held them for at least 10 minutes to determine the exact location of the comet.

Yes as Brantuk has said they are better on a tripod but I guess I use mine 50% handheld.

You need to judge whether the reduction to 10x50 is worth a little arm ache. The other alternative is to point them down into one of these binocular mirrors.

Mark

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I'm sure they can be very useful as a visual aid with the scope, but with the 5.5 mag here I don't really need any aid as I see more then enough stars naked eye to star hop.

The idea is really to use them as the only visual accessory while travelling. I'm thinking about Brasil for my next trip and would like to bag some south hemisphere DSOs (At least the Magellan cloud I hope).

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wouldn't even a lightweight tripod be steadier than tired arms?

That's a good point. Maybe I should give it a try. I have a very light tripod stored somewhere (came on a package deal with a camera).

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I'll be glad to hear on that.

BTW just found another thread related to using large binos with a monopod. I'm coming around and will probably get a 15x70mm instead. But maybe I'll put out some more cash for a water proof ones. Here it's quite common to get fungus on my optics, when I keep them long enough, and the water proof should prevent that.

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I've just been out using my Celestron 15x70 binos for the first time and yes, they can be handheld but as others have said, the views are rather shaky.

I'm quite tall so attaching them to a tripod isn't really practical. My solution is lying on a camping mat on the floor or leaning on my car roof. Worked a treat. And the binos are well worth getting.

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hi all

I bought this actual kit from John http://stargazerslounge.com/equipment-reviews/110130-manfrotto-682b-monopod-triton-ballhead-action-grip.html and with the intention of it mainly being a 'travel scope'. it really is superb. I had a pair of Pentax 10x50s, again brilliant but heavy too and I found handholding them tricky for anything other than location.

I'd recommend a monopod at least for anything 10x and above.

I have also made a ome made parallelogram mount http://stargazerslounge.com/diy-astronomer/105230-home-made-parallellogram-mount.html which I wouldn't travel with but is good for showing others where things are. I'll be making a less makeshift version shortly. 15x70s are a completely different experience to 10x50s.

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Thanks all for your opinions/advice!

I went with the Celestron 15x70 (@FLO) for now, although I was tempted by the Helios Quantum 4 and Apollo ranges. I think I'll benefit more saving my cash for a bigger scope sometime next year and the binos need to be light, easy to travel with and I don't want to be in some "unsafe" country concerned about loosing expensive kit.

To go with it, and my DSLR as well, I got a Giottos 190cm long monopod from Giottos and a friction ballhead from Manfrotto (@ amazon).

As I'm only 1,72cm tall it should be more then enough to look up without crouching.

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