Star binos

[Eli21]

I'm 6 months in the game and wanting to know the best binos to start with. Originally looked at the Barska 20x80 cosmos - now veering to Pentax WCP2 10x50/12x50. Vixen 12x80s would be ideal but it's pricey. Thanks.

[Larryp]

Bintel sell Gerber Deluxe in 7x50, 10x50 and 12x50. I have the 10x50, which cost $199.00
Excellent optics and very well made:)

[SkyWatch]

Just remember that anything higher power than 10x are hard to hand-hold, and you will need some sort of mount for longer viewing. Larger than 50mm lenses are often heavier too, and this makes it harder to hold for any length of time.
10x50's are a great place to start, very versatile, easy to hold and good light gathering. If you have young eyes you could look at up to a 7mm exit pupil, but 5mm (as in 10x50's) works very well.
The Pentax WCP2 should do the job well too. Lots of brands available and most are good quality at that price point. Don't go for any cheap red-lens ones!
Best to check out a good camera/telescope store, see what feels good in the hand and look through them. Check for good colour rendition, bright images (some have better coatings and allow more light through), and the bigger the "sweet spot" where everything is sharp the better. (All binos tend to tail off at the edge of the field, but some are sharper across a wider field than others. All tend to have some lateral colour towards the edges as well.) Check how easy they are to focus, and general quality of the build. Watch out for plastic bits! ;)

All the best,
Dean

(PS: the Astro-Physics ones (supposedly hand-picked (by AP) and re-badged "BA8" generic binos) currently for sale in the Classies: http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=123750 would be very good, but they are also very big and heavy, not at all suitable for hand-holding... depends what you want.)

[Amaranthus]

You can go comfortably to 18x50 with hand-held if you get image stabilized, but these are pricey (worth it though, IMO). Once you use 'em, you never want to go back (but I still need to finally get my 1st pair...)

[Eli21]

Thanks Laurie. Trying to find specs for Gerber 10x50 - nothing on Bintel. (eg FOV - Pentax 10x50 is 5 deg.). Thanks.

[Eli21]

Thanks Dean. Do you get a lot of cloudless viewing nights in SA? I live in Perth - not too bad over here. Dave.

[Larryp]

My Gerber 10x50 say 6.5 deg:)

[Allan_L]

Orion 9x63 "Mini Giants"
Bought mine from Bintel on their recommendation.
Very Happy!

Magnification : 9x

Optical diameter : 63mm

Field of view - angular : 5.0°

Apparent field of view : 45.0°

Eye relief : 26.0mm

Exit pupil : 7.0mm

Near focus : 27 ft.

Coatings : Fully multi-coated

Prism : BAK-4 Porro

Interpupillary distance range : 58mm - 70mm

Focus style: Center focus

Waterproof: No

Tripod adaptable: Yes

Diopter adjustment: Yes

Weight: 2.6 lbs.

Height: 8.6 in.

Additional included accessories: Hard carry case, Deluxe wide neck strap

Warranty: Five year

$329.00

[SkyWatch]

Not too many cloudless nights in Adelaide lately! (Only when there is a full moon... ;) )
I have heard good things about the Orion Mini Giants as well, but depends on your budget.
I second the comments about the image stabilised binos: they are terrific, but very expensive!
Just a comment about FOV: often those with wider FOV aren't particularly sharp at the edges, and their effective FOV is therefore less: something to check out when you look through them.

All the best,

Dean

(PS: if you look at the Orion ones on the Bintel site you will note their "Resolux" models: these are the same as the Astrophysics one in the classies, just a different badge.)

[Renato1]

Hard to say, because it really depends on how well you can hand hold, and for how long.

I can hand hold my 15x70s and 18X80s for short periods. But I can't really hand hold my lighter 15X50s because of the shaking.

When I attach my 20X80s to a tripod, and then hand hold the tripod, I get decent views through the 20X80s (though the field is pretty narrow, and I spend a lot of time mucking around trying to find what I want).

Obviously I have no trouble with my 7x50s, 10X50s, 10x70s and even my 12x42s.

My recommendation is to get a pair 15X70s (though an additional pair of 10X50s would be handy). If you can't hand hold the 15X70s, you can attach them to a tripod, and then hand hold the tripod. And they won't be as frustrating finding objects in the sky relative to the 20X80s.

I do own 15X50 Image Stabilised binoculars. They are fine, but I prefer the 15X70s.
Regards,
Renato