Which Binos

[mark993]

Hello all,

I am thinking about getting my first set of binos. I have been looking at the Celestron UpClose 10x50 and Celestron SkyMaster 15x70.

I am wondering if the 10x50 would actually show me very much of interest or should i go for the bigger slighty more expensive one and not waste my money on the smaller one.

Any help is as always greatly appreciated

[Ian123]

Hey Mark, i personally have some Helios 10x50 bino's and they suit me, i can find my way around easily and get to see some nice sight's. You are never going to see anything spectacular with binocular's(not in detail anyway)!

Plus if you opted for the 15x70 i think you would need to purchase a tripod to aid you otherwise you wont be able to hold them suckers steady for a second, good luck, good viewing.

[Regan]

I've gone for the Celestron 15x70 after reading all the good reports.

plus FLO have them on special at just under £50

steve

[JamesM]

I agree that the larger binos won't reveal a huge amount of difference but the difference in objective lens size will facilitate better light capture which is needed for the extra magnification. I have some and they a little heavier than my 10x50's but not by a lot (25x100 different story!) It depends if you're going to be using them continuously or simply to help you guide your scope. The only disappointment I have had with them is that I paid more for them than FLO's current great price.

James

[Pete Presland]

Celestron 15x70 all the way! great optics,powerfull but still fairly light

[mark993]

I think I am leaning more toward the smaller ones because of the price. Will I be able to see much worthwhile?

[JamesM]

Depends on what you think is worthwhile? If a pair of binos were all that you needed to use to observe the universe they none of us would have telescopes. Binos are an excellent bit of kit to read the sky, to understand where the constellation are. The attraction for beginners using them is that they provide a wide filed of view so that you could look at for example the Pleiades, Double Cluster and Haydes star cluster and see them in context with the surronding stars. The other big factor of course is where you're viewing from as light pollution can make a big difference.

Price as a consideration is only relative to what you get in exchange for it. I don't know how much the 10x50's are so I don't know how much you will save or what you can afford. Those Celestron binos are a great deal, they are brighter, offer more magnification so for the moon would be better but the choice is yours.

James

[pbyrne]

I had a cheaper pair of 15x70s that I was happy with, that was until I got a pair of Pentax PCF WPII 10x50s. The Pentax binos were so much better, they were brighter, the image was far superior and I could see more. Of course the price is much higher, but IMHO the extra was worth the outlay.

[Moonshane]

I think that is you have good enough dark sky then a pair of 10x50s are really quite good. personally I could never hold even 10x50s steady for long and I am no 8st weakling. I decided to go for some 15x70s which albeit better quality than the Celestron (and 4x the price) and MUCH heavier are a revelation. they are quite superb on things like the Pleiades cluster and other larger clusters; the recent comet Hartley was better in these than anything else. 15x70s reveal masses more than 10x50s in my experience. I use them on a monopod and it's a great set up and is my holiday 'scope' now. even with 10x50s, get either a tripod or monopod for comfortable and steady viewing.

[brantuk]

For a great value pair of 10x50's - the Rockwells that Lidl offer from time to time are excellent at only £13. Check the collimation though on the ones you get - try 'em in the car park first. They're very clear and crisp and have good twist up eye relief.

The Celestron 15x70's are also great value at £50 from FLO (mine were £85 2yrs ago). A cheap s/h camera tripod will do (£25) - plus I got a fine tuning head from the For Sale section for £20 which gives me dead steady alt/az tracking.

For around £100 total you'd never need another pair of binocs (unless you went "image stabilised" for around £600 lol).

[mark993]

Well i went ahead and got myself a pair of Celstron upclose 20x50. I got them 2 days ago and as you would expect nothing but total cloud cover. Awesome living the dream!