Which binos?

[matt]

With my attention about to turn to DSOs...

I'm finally getting round to thinking about buying binoculars.

Now, I'm only going to be using these to help find my way around the sky and to take in some of those more spectacular widefields which the scopes can't provide.

So, I'm looking for advice/recommendations for what to buy.

Don't worry about price limitations at this stage, although I don't want to spend thousands.

I'm more looking for thoughts on aperture and magnification.

Thanks in advance

Matt

[asimov]

I'm no bino expert but I have a pair of 15X70's from AOE That I like a lot.

http://www.aoe.com.au/binoculars.html

Theres better ones out there of course. One thing to consider is mounting them, & on what if you decide to. I ended up mounting mine on a EQ2. Not much fun hand holding bino's for any length of time IMO.

My first set of fairly big binos so I can't compare 'em to anything else, but I'm very happy with both the 70mm aperture & 15X mag.

Good luck with choosing.

[snowyskiesau]

I bought a pair of Andrews' 20x80T recently and I'm very happy with them.
I've only used them in the backyard (Sydney, inner west) and they are quite amazing, look forward to trying them at a dark site.

[Johno]

Matt, I have a pair of quite cheap Tasco 8x40 binos. I've had them for about 20 years and they're great for looking around the night sky. They saw 'first light' on Halley's Comet! My wife also has a good quality German pair of 7x42 which she never thought of using for looking at the stars until I showed her what can be seen. The first night we were using them she 'discovered' Omega Centauri and was really excited. She'd never seen anything like it.

I think there are two important things with binoculars. 1. Don't go for high power unless you're also going to use a tripod or some sort of bino table. 2. Go for the largest aperture reasonable.

For me the 7x or 8x is a good magnification because I can hand hold them and still see Jupiter's moons. Also this gives a good wide field and isn't that what we want with binos? My 8x FOV is just enough to see the whole Southern Cross. There are a lot of binos around at 10x but I rekon that is getting too high for hand held viewing at night. If I were buying a new pair today I would go for something like 7x50.

Just my 2bob's worth.

[norm]

Hi,

I've got a pair of 15 x 70 Celestron Skymasters. Nice binos for quick scans of the night sky. Looking thru Omega Centauri, Eta Carinae, Scorpius area at dark skies definitely give a wow factor. The only downside is weight. You could hold them up for a minute but after that its just outright tiring.

Should you go down this path for size or bigger, the tripod/mount needs to be solid, anything less will be unstable with a lot of vibration and end up being annoying.

I use a banana chair and find that more comfortable than say standing up, but even then you still need something in the end to prop those binos.

[Johno]

..and by the way I showed my wife Omega Centauri again last night with the C9.25 with 40mm EP. It was quite stunning. It was the second object I looked at after Jupiter on my 'scope's first night out.

[ballaratdragons]

Matt,

I have the Andrews 20x80T. I am sure the 'T' stands for 'Terrific'. I find them fantastic, but they are 20x. Not as wide a field as 10x.

I hear a lot of you saying that your Knockies get heavy and hard to hold still.

I have found that the way you hold your Knockies makes a world of difference.

Try holding them (especially very heavy ones) up near the objectives, and keep your elbows in! Looking at lower Latitudes you can rest your elbows on your chest.

Obviously, a layed back position is better. Mounting them is best.

Tell the truth, how many of you hold them at the hand-grip area with your elbows splayed out like an airplane.

[asimov]

Not me mate! AOE told me how to hold 'em properly before sending them to me :thumbsup: