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Binos ?

roKAZ

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roKAZ

roKAZ

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Hi thanks to everyone who has answered my numerous questions about buying a beginner scope , unfortunatley i still cant decide what to buy so im considering buying some binos to begin with as i feel they would be a very useful piece of kit

I was wondering which to get for the £100 - £150 mark , i would like a good quality pair that will hopefully last me , and also what objects would i expect to see through them (I have lots of dark skies where i live just no scope or binos :) ) and what detail if any from jupiter and saturn

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Nexus 6

Nexus 6

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Hi roKAZ, yes for that figure you will get a decent pair, thing is what size were you thinking of? 10x50 are great as you don't need to mount them on a tripod, as you go a bit bigger its pretty hard to hold them steady so you will need to factor in the cost of a tripod as well.

As for views they are great for widefiled views thus star clusters like M44 look amazing for one, planets can be observed but you will not get too much detail at such low magnifications ie my 20x90's although the moons will show well, for our Moon they are great though :)

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roKAZ

roKAZ

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Hi nexus i was hoping to get 15x70 as i would like to be able to just up and go observing at any time without having to take tripod , i think i would manage 15x70 for extended periods ok but as ive read any binos bigger will require a mount

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Nexus 6

Nexus 6

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Hi nexus i was hoping to get 15x70 as i would like to be able to just up and go observing at any time without having to take tripod , i think i would manage 15x70 for extended periods ok but as ive read any binos bigger will require a mount

thats a tricky one, I think a lot of people would still use a tripod even with 15x70's I guess if you are very strong it may not be a problem. nicnac has posted some decent choice's, I am looking out for a new pair of 10x50's myself as I gave my old one's to a freind who is interested in astronomy now, wonder were he got the idea from? :)

I will want some fairly cheap one's which is not to say they will be no good but I have not yet made up my mind which to buy.

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Ad Astra

Ad Astra

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Hi there!

No matter what you spend, consider build quality and optical performance. Remember that astronomy places great demands on binos that birdwatching (or anything terrestrial) simply does not.

Stick to lower power (10x and less) if you want a pair to hold by hand. High power bins are tempting, but they also magnify your hand tremors, so holding 12x and up is almost impossible for most people.

Exit pupil is important - this is the cone of light that comes out of the eyepiece end, it should be at least 4-5mm to fully illuminate your retina and give you the best image. Find this by dividing the aperture by the magnification: 7x50 bins will be 50/7 = 7.1mm exit pupil. Compare that to say a pair of 15x25 bins (yeah... they actually make 'em!): 25/15 = 1.7mm - a tiny exit pupil that will result in a dim image and poor resolution (image quality).

Stick with a reputable local dealer - make sure you tell them you want a pair to observe 'hand-held'. Make sure you know the ins & outs of their return policy, too! It saves many a headache later.

Last but not least (I bang on this drum all the time), spend an evening with the local astro club. There are loads of folks there with lots of experience and kit that runs the gammut from recycled/homebuilt to OMG!-class premium goods. They will all be happy to let you try their kit and give you the advantage of their experience... heck, they'll probably talk your ear off if you let 'em! :)

This is all pretty general, caveat emptor stuff, I hope it helps a bit. Let us know what you decide on!

Dan

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roKAZ

roKAZ

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thanks for your advice nexus . I have seen a few users that have 15x70 revelations in their equipment set up and wondered if dso observing is possible and also are the rings of saturn viewable through decent binos?

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roKAZ

roKAZ

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Thank you Dan . Yes my stubborn mind tells me to go as big as possible lol if it wasnt for you sound people on sgl i might nearly try holding up two 150mm skywatcher pl's after pulling them out me pocket lol

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Nexus 6

Nexus 6

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thanks for your advice nexus . I have seen a few users that have 15x70 revelations in their equipment set up and wondered if dso observing is possible and also are the rings of saturn viewable through decent binos?

yes, you will see plenty of great sights using a pair of 15x70's :)

dso's that are seen easily include many Messier objects including both M42 the Great Orion Nebula and M31 the Andromeda Galaxy for Saturns rings you will see them clearly enough but with out too much detail :(

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thunderbird

thunderbird

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One thing that I would add is with the revalations you will need a sturdy tripod they can be very uncomfortable without one.

Purely out of curiosity is there a discount being offerd on these at the moment or is the discount code for something else ? If you dont want to answer that no problem I'm just being nosey !:)

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roKAZ

roKAZ

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One thing that I would add is with the revalations you will need a sturdy tripod they can be very uncomfortable without one.

Purely out of curiosity is there a discount being offerd on these at the moment or is the discount code for something else ? If you dont want to answer that no problem I'm just being nosey !:)

Im not entirley sure if i can get a discount . but i read a thread that said members with more than ten posts can get a discount code for certain items by emailing FLO for the coupon . maybe im wrong but ill give it a go:)

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Bone_Idle

Bone_Idle

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I can vouch for the Revelations, with your budget I'd also look at getting a tripod mount and either a tripod or monopod to help with prolonged viewing.

I'm a pretty strong guy, but after a while it's hard to hold them steady and once the shakes set in yo might as well give up.

A tripod is not without issue though, as it's hard to get comfy when looking at objects over a certain elevation. A reclining garden chair and a monopod might be a better option.

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brantuk

brantuk

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Hi Rokaz - the 15x70's are great but bounce the object around quite a bit after a while holding them. A great solution is a monopod (bit like a tripod but only one leg lol). Dead easy to grab and go and provides that little extra stability I think you'll need - google it and see what you think :)

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