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Orion binoculars: 9x63 or 10x50?


ismangil

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I was looking to buy my first binocular, and is now confused to choose between magnification or size.

So I get pretty much that 10x50 is better than 7x50 if you can hold it steady enough.

But what about 9x63? That is smaller magnification than 10x50, however larger lens means brighter image, right?

Anybody got any thoughts?

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I would be more inclined to go for the 9x63 as the light gathering power will give you brighter images as you said, which will benefit you more than the small difference in magnification will I should think.

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I would be more inclined to go for the 9x63 as the light gathering power will give you brighter images as you said, which will benefit you more than the small difference in magnification will I should think.

It depends. If you are young enough (<35 y/o) still to have a pupil which can dilate to 7mm, the 9x63 will be better. If you are older, your pupil will dilate to not much more than 5mm, and the 10x50 is better. This is because its exit pupil (the ratio of aperture over magnification) is 5mm which matches your pupils. In the 9x63 the exit pupil is 7mm, which means that if your own pupil is 5mm, only the light coming from the inner 45mm of the objective will enter your eyes.

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Yup, the larger the lens the more light getting through, but remember to think about 'exit pupil'. I personally like to use bincs with an exit pupil of around 5mm. To calculate divide the lens diameter by the magnification.

Andy.

edit: Michael - snap.

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It depends. If you are young enough (<35 y/o)

Ah, yes exit pupil factor, nearly forgot about that. As I am 40 yrs old, I probably won't have as large pupil as 7mm.

So yeah, I guess the extra size and weight of the 63mm size is probably not worth it.

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If you were wanting the bigger aperture, someting like a pair of 15x70's may be suitable.

10x50's are lovely bincs though.

I find a sunlounger is a fun and relaxing way to view with a heavier/higher power pair of bincs. Does away with a tripod and is more kind to the neck !

Andy.

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If you were wanting the bigger aperture, someting like a pair of 15x70's may be suitable.

10x50's are lovely bincs though.

I find a sunlounger is a fun and relaxing way to view with a heavier/higher power pair of bincs. Does away with a tripod and is more kind to the neck !

Andy.

Are we reading eachother's minds? That was what I wanted to say! :D

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Hi

Orion 9x63 Weighing in at a little over 2½ pounds and as far as I can see they have been around since 1994 so they must be good there is a report on them on Cloudy Nights forum , you can also get binoculars that are waterproof worth a look , Strathpey mariner are good as well

Doug

Essex

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Hi

Orion 9x63 Weighing in at a little over 2½ pounds and as far as I can see they have been around since 1994 so they must be good there is a report on them on Cloudy Nights forum , you can also get binoculars that are waterproof worth a look , Strathpey mariner are good as well

Doug

Essex

The fact that the specs are the same does not mean they are the same since 1994. My Bresser 10x50 is a different type from the current ones. I do not doubt that the Orions will be good however, its just the exit pupil that might be an issue. Strathspeys have a good rep, and the marine types tend to have individual focusing, which is great for astronomy.

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10x50 work well for me and i,m 50yrs old

Thanks for all the comments!

Now moving to brands, it seems looking at people's signature there are no real consensus. Bresser, Meade, Pentax etc.

I've seen the Cloudy Nights, and the two Sky at Night mag group tests - probably too much info as I now can't decide on how much to spend for my first bino.

I know I don't want to spend 400+ on a Fujinon, however I don't want it to be too cheap as to disappoint me not finding anything!

Is setting the bar around up to £150 realistic? Or even too much as there won't be that much difference in that price range anyway?

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I've always been of the opinion when buying bincs, it's best, if possible, to go to a shop to try different brands/types out 'live', so to speak.

I find that's the best way to gauge the optical and mechanical qualities of each type and also to determine if paying the extra for a more premium brand suits you personally. It's difficult to determine that from pics and other folks opinions.

Just a thought.....

Cheers,

Andy.

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I plan to replace both my bins in the more distant future (15x70 first) for similar pairs with individual rather than central focusing. The latter is much better for astronomy in my opinion, because they do not lose focus as easily. I am aiming at the APM or TS Marine 15x70 type (nitrogen filled). There are various manufacturers which stock 10x50 marine type. The Strathspeys are reported to be good, and well within your price range. The TS/APM are more expensive in 10x50 (229 Euro from TS), but i could not say whether they are better.

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I am aiming at the APM or TS Marine 15x70 type (nitrogen filled). There are various manufacturers which stock 10x50 marine type. The Strathspeys are reported to be good, and well within your price range.

Sorry for the newbie question: what does TS and APM stand for?

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Hi, Micheal H F Wilkinson

I thought that being up graded would have been taken for granted after all these years , sorry for not being more precise was trying to keep it simple, as the lad is new

Doug

Essex

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Sorry for the newbie question: what does TS and APM stand for?

TS = Teleskop Service = very decent brand of kit + web shop

APM = very decent brand of kit + web shop

They often sell the same stuff under their own brand. I have good experiences with both suppliers, though the shipping costs to the UK of APM are high, if I recall correctly. As I live in the Netherlands I do not have that problem.

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  • 3 months later...

Very interesting thread IMHO.

I'm actually looking out for some Bino's at the moment. (smallish ones for terrestial)

Historically, I was told many years ago, to never have bin's with a mag/lens ration of less than 5mill to every 1x mag. Avoid zoom, and unless your going to have a tripod/mount anything above 10x could be tricky.

Reading Michael's fascinating post concerning pupil size , brought this old advice to mind, and helped illustrate findings of some bins I tried just a few days ago. The bins , were all Opticron Vega II models and were 10x 50 , 7x50 and 8x40 respectively. All were tried terrestially. Both myself and my companion, were of the opinion that the 7x50's gave a clearly better image than the other 2.

Something that put over a message, especially as the bins were just different models in the same range. I'm in my later 50's...so really, as Michael points out , the pupil size should not make a lot of odds to me..however , after being driven mad by having to wear glasses for some years ,two years ago, I went and had eye surgery....(No more glasses!)..So I wonder if that explains why I found the 7x50 's superior....very superior in fact. My younger companion was of similar view.

Anyhow, that leaves me today with trying to find some suitable (carry about) bins ....reluctant to go for 50's... (size) so looking for 6x30 or better, 6x42 ...the first used to be a standard spec....does not seem that way now though .Sadly!

Keep looking eh?

Cheers, Nigel

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I have tried some quite heavy 10x50s (Pentax) and some heavy 15x70s (Helios Apollo) and although optically they were excellent I found :

1) The image could not be held steady without support

2) It was not very comfortable on the neck

3) The views were nice but nothing compared with a scope.

So I sold both pairs and bought some more eyepieces :(

However, I do like to have a pair of bins generally and have some decent (but old) 7x36 Opticron BGAs (roof prism). These are very easy to use and light. I suspect they is a slight misalignment and I am now thinking that I should get a new pair of average quality 8x40s (perhaps these http://www.firstlightoptics.com/porroprism/opticron-aspheric-wa-zwcf-ga-8x40.html) for a quick look in the sky as initial finders or to take camping etc, pending being able to afford a small APO refractor which would be my choice for this sort of low power wide field observing.

To my surprise, despite using bins all my life in other hobbies, I have not got on with bins for astronomy.

Not a very positive viewpoint but I thought I'd share it :)

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Hi ,checkout the two pairs i`ve got for sale at the mo!

celestron ultima 8x56 very sharp optics,and opticron 11x80 very contrasty,both pairs have been used for astronomy and have been very satisfying.Bonoculars are so personal you must try as many as possible.

Goodluck with your choice

Regards

Mike

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