advice on Bins please

[Spineynorman]

Hi all, Im new to astronony and wanted sone advie on bins (thought i'd start with a decent pair and learn a bit more befote buying a scope.

I am looking at getting a pair of Revelation 20 x 100s and a tripod to suit. My budget is around the £300-350 mark. Any other suggestions?

Cheers

i

[Stardust]

I've got a pair of them and the views are very nice. Strath spey binos are nice too.

[Moonshane]

I don't know the brand but make sure you budget for a tripod/monopod at least with the weight of them.

I have a superb pair of 15x70s which I bought from a fellow SGLer with monopod and a pistol grip for £300 total. it's an awesome set up - my holiday scope but they are really brilliant.

these are the actual pair/monopod I bought http://stargazerslounge.com/observing-binoculars/112265-celestron-skymaster-15x70-helios-apollo-hr-15x70-binoculars.html

http://stargazerslounge.com/equipment-reviews/110130-manfrotto-682b-monopod-triton-ballhead-action-grip.html

highly recommended.

[Skills]

Shane that's an interesting setup, do you use it as a monopod or a tripod? I've never used a monopod before, is there a technique?

[Moonshane]

I use it just as a monopod. the technique depends on where the object is. if low in the sky I tend to stand. if mid sky I will sit with the monopod between my legs and holding the bins. if it's high /zenith I tend to try and sit as low as possible and lean on eg a wall and that works too - or lay down on a sun lounger.

all of these methods work well and are very steady. the higher it is the more neck craning there is but less than with a tripod I feel. I suppose we all find our own ways of contortion eventually. at first I struggled a bit but now it's great. the ball joint helps tremendously.

[The Warthog]

Remember that the more powerful your binoculars, the more sturdy your mount will have to be. I have a monopod that I use with my 10x50s very well. I think it would be ok with 15x binocs, but I put my 30x spotting scope on it, and it's impossible to hold it still enough to see owt. This means that the price of the whole system will go up exponentially as the binocs get more powerful. But, you probably know that already. I can get as low as 20x if I wished to with my refractor, and aiming it and holding it steady would be easier than with a pair of binocs.

[Spineynorman]

many thanks all for your help and advice, however I've had a change of plans, and after talking it through with different dealers, reading threads here, Ive changed my purchase completely and now intend to jump in with both feet and get myself a Celestron 127 SLT MAK. i Will let yuo know how I get on with it, skies permitting.