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What are the best value 10x50 Binoculars for under £70 ?

Yeoman

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Yeoman

Yeoman

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Hi All,

New to the site and astronomy, I have a 10" Dobsonian scope on order which is coming tomorrow, however, as its a big thing I wanted to get some binoculars to take with me on holiday to do a bit of stargazing there, as well as doing a bit of stargazing at home in between clouds when its too much trouble or I dont have time to set up the scope...

I want them for general use as well so I think 15x70 will be too heavy for use for normal viewing of land or sea objects and I want some bins that I can use either with or without a tripod so I thought a good compromise would be some good quality 10x50's

I want to take them to Egypt on our nile cruise and also our Norwegian Fjords cruise which we have booked later this year so I want a really good general purpose binocular for scenery/whale watching etc and also skywatching.

I have bought a lightweight but strong-ish tripod to take on holiday so I can do a bit of light stargazing from the boat whilst in Egypt and Norway but I now need to choose some good binoculars...

Even if I dont stick with the stargazing hobby and sell the scope I will always need some good binoculars for holidays so I would like some that are sturdy and will last a long time as well...is this too much to ask in my price range ? I could stretch to £100 or perhaps more if they were something really worthwhile...

I have some Praktica CN-10 zoom 28mm compact bins which zoom from 10x to 30x, they were a gift and cost about £60 a couple of years ago but I get the feeling the quality isnt half as good as I first thought... they are handy in that they are small but I dont think the quality is good from what I have read and its hard to find anything through them when you turn the zoom up... however I dont know any better as yet so I think they might have been not the best buy... even though I use them a lot whilst on holiday...

Thanks for reading.

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Nexus 6

Nexus 6

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Hi yeoman, I would buy from FLO, look the top of the page, they make sure all their bins are collimated before they ship them, this is important, buying from elsewere you may get a set thats out and will perform poorly. As to what type? again they will be able to give you the best advice.

Alan

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Yeoman

Yeoman

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I have those MEade bins, got them for christmas, and they are cracking. Can make out the gallilaean moons of Jupiter. Would defintely recommend.

I will keep the Meade ones on my list, they seem a bit cheap though at that price, are they the best valiue do you think ? I can spend up to £100 if its worthwhile spending the extra...

I will give FLO a ring or an email maybe and see if I can get some more advice, I see there are some good ones here for £80 but I really dont know what to go for at this stage.

Helios

These look pretty good but I like to get as much advice as I can and as they are for normal "day" use as well as astronomical use I thought I would ask on the forum...

I know very little as yet and dont want to become an expert on optics etc but from what I can gather, I think good optics, robustness (if thats a word even) and them not being too heavy must be the main concerns for my "multi use" binoculars...

I have seen some Olympus DPS-1 10x50 Binoculars for £55 including UK delivery... does anyone know if these are any good ?

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Nexus 6

Nexus 6

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Hi Yeoman, I looked at your link to the Helios, the 10x50's may be £80 but I think the tag from the S@N magazine says it all! :)

I can't comment on any other brands for 10x50's, I have not used any apart from my own Bressers but would imagine they are all pretty good, but I can assure you which ever you choose you'll not be disappointed. Let us all know how you get on.

Alan

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BenM

BenM

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I've run through some cheap bins and they're awful. You get what you pay for. I've seen good 25mm bins that blew away cheap 70's in everything but magnification. Still, they showed things like Jupiter's moons far better because of the superior contrast and resolution. Also, I recommend 7x50's rather than 10's unless you'll use a tripod. 10x is shakey. In your price point, I'd look at better 8x32's or 8x42's. Good enough 50's run closer to 180 pounds. Besides, you won't have to keep a boat anchor around your neck. I can't recommend a specific one but I'd advise looking at Steiner, Nikon, Zen, Vortex, etc. You don't need Zeiss, Leica or Swarovski, but stay away from the bargain bins like Bushnell, Tasco, Barksa, Celestron etc. They're no better than the binocular equivalent of a Christmas trash department store telescope.

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BenM

BenM

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Also, consider a 50 or 60 finder scope instead. I like the look for the Baader 10x60 finderscope, or the Stellarvue SV50 and SV60. They use 1.25" eyepieces (so they're multipurpose and take advantage of your existing collection), they have decent optics (a doublet that's going to have good color under 40x), they work with diagonals, and they don't have any issues with alignment or collimation.

If you forgo the diagnonal, the 60mm stellarvue is said to work with a Nagler 22mm. 7.9 degrees TFOV and 82 degree AFOV. That should blow away the view in any binocular I've ever seen. The diagonal increases the focal length though so you can only get this straight-through with a helical focuser. The Baader should be similar.

To be fair, I haven't actually used one, but I'm looking at them as an alternative to binoculars none of which I've been completely happy with, but mostly because my small children can't look through them due to insufficient minimum interpupilary distance. I need 47mm, which limits me to 8x21 folding pocket jobs.

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SimonR

SimonR

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I have a pair of Helios 7x50s, the 'ultimate HR' ones. Not cheap but they are far better than the old Zeiss 7x50s I used to have.

edited to add:

I ought to explain that - the Zeiss's were soft at the edge of the field and suffered chromatic distortion, the Helios ones are optically very clean. The Zeiss was heavy, the Helios is light but feels well made. The eye relief on the Helios ones is very good, wearing glasses I can use them with the eye cups folded down and, glasses off, they are comfortable with the cups folded up. I've had them for about 15 years and will keep them forever.

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Yeoman

Yeoman

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I have now seen these for £127:

Pentax 10x50 PCF WP II

Porroprism - Pentax 10x50 PCF WP II

So I was thinking of upping the budget... they will get more day use than night use as I have my scope (10" Dob)... these Pentax ones seem to have good reviews and I like the look of them but I am worried they might be too heavy for day use and to wear around my neck.... they are 1030g apparently.... I have a tripod I can use for night use so thats not a worry...

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E621Keith

E621Keith

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The Pentax has a lot of good review, but I have never use a binocular in that price bracket so I can't comment. However, if your are considering binocular of that quality, I'd suggest asking the question in the Observing-Binocular section of the forum.

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Yeoman

Yeoman

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I have decided to definitely go for one of those two options... either the Pentax ones or the Opticron ones.

FLO recommended the opticron ones and they are almost 200g lighter (I want them for normal day use as well as night use on a tripod).

The Pentax ones look really modern and hi-tech and would probably get a better resale price if I upgrade later whereas the Opticron look more traditional...

The weight is a consideration... I read one advert for the Opticron that says you cant get better binoculars for under £250...

FLO say I will be pleased with either pair but I just cant decide... AARRRGGGHHH!!!!

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Yeoman

Yeoman

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Ye, that would make a difference after 10 mins or so holding them, against the Pentax. :D

Alan

I wonder how many times you ever hold your bins up for ten minutes when out and about in the day though ?

We often pass the bins we have now from one to the other every few minutes if there is anything good to look at...

Up to now the best ever set I have had is the set of Practika 28mm with 10 to 30 zoom my partner bought me and they weigh only 350g...

I really am drawn towards the Pentax ones, other sellers are stating the RRp as much as £217 on the pentax ones...

But then the Opticron ones are so highly recommended too...

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laser_jock99

laser_jock99

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I'd be on the lookout for a second hand pair of Williams Optics apochromatic 7x50's

William Optics - 7x50 (10x50) ED Astro Binoculars

William Optics*7x50 ED Astro Binoculars: Best Deals On Astronomical Telescopes, Eyepieces and Accessories - Skywatcher, Meade, William Optics, Bosma, Bresser, Celestron, Helios At Ace Cameras - Canon, Leica, Swarovski, Bushnell, Nikon, Avian & All To

William Optics - William Optics 10x50 & 7x50 ED Binocular

I've seen them come up on e-bay now and again for under £100, got mine for £90 I think. No lightweights though- 1.6kg of military grade build quality! Best bins I've used other than a Leicas costing 5x as much!

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Yeoman

Yeoman

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I'd be on the lookout for a second hand pair of Williams Optics apochromatic 7x50's

William Optics - 7x50 (10x50) ED Astro Binoculars

William Optics*7x50 ED Astro Binoculars: Best Deals On Astronomical Telescopes, Eyepieces and Accessories - Skywatcher, Meade, William Optics, Bosma, Bresser, Celestron, Helios At Ace Cameras - Canon, Leica, Swarovski, Bushnell, Nikon, Avian & All To

William Optics - William Optics 10x50 & 7x50 ED Binocular

I've seen them come up on e-bay now and again for under £100, got mine for £90 I think. No lightweights though- 1.6kg of military grade build quality! Best bins I've used other than a Leicas costing 5x as much!

I loke the look of the WIlliams optics ones ut they are far to heavy for everyday carrying about...

Still torn between the Opticron or the Pentax, it means raising the budget to £130 but would rather have something i am happy with... its just which to buy...

as someone else said 200g is a lot over a long period of time to hold up but I just really like the look of the Pentax ones...

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Ronseal

Ronseal

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I got some Helios stellar 15x70's off ebay for £70 normally retail at around £160, V nice binos, not too heavy at 1.3kg so can be hand held but with some form of support (wall, fence post etc) and give stunning views!

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