Image Stabilised Binocular

[Greenswale]

In pandering to my shrinking iris and less stable hold, I am considering purchase of an image stabilised binocular. The item of interest is the Fujinon 14x40 TS 1440 Techno Stabi.

While exit pupil is suitable for me, I wonder if the stability of +/-5 degrees is worth the expense.

What thoughts?

[raymo]

+/- 5 degrees seems woeful, even 0.5 of a degree would be awful. You could hold them much steadier than that. You sure that figure is right? Fujinon is good gear.
My daughter's Canon ones are magic. They REALLY work. Rock steady. I wish I could afford some.
raymo

[Greenswale]

yep, tolerance is correct, thus my concern!

[dannat]

=/- 5 degree's of stability is quite a lot, esp. when the fov of them is only 4 deg.
the nikon 16x32 provides about 3 degree's of correction, and canon do not always publish a figure but 1 degree is bandied about -it has the least stabilisation.

do you want them for astronomy? -which objects are you after -the canon 15x50 would prob still be my pick -even though they offer the least stabilisation & are prob the easiest to break -they are all electronic

overall i found stabilisation makes a big diff, i could easily spot dbl stars in my 12x36 canon that i had trouble with a 10x50,

he other thing you might consider if you want dso's -is to find a 60 or 70mm bino & use it with a monopod -though its much less portable

if you want these for terrestrial its a dif matter again, the nikon or canon 12x36 would be good, how much can you get the fujinon for? the 2K mark?

[Greenswale]

A bit more research found this: http://www.wexphotographic.com/blog/canon-8x25-is-binoculars-practical-or-pointless

The video demonstration has solved my problem - 'stabilised' binos are not for me!

[Dave221]

The 'Equipment Reviews' section has a comparison between these Fujinons and Canon equivalents. The Fujinons supposedly correct for 5 degrees of movement compared to less than 1 degree for the Canons, consequently the Fujinons work better when there is a lot of movement such as on a ship.

I have a pair of Canon 15x50 ISs and they work extremely well.

[Greenswale]

Thanks David, really useful.

I have had a think about the +/- 5degrees. Most likely this means that the binocular can stabilise the image if moved within that range.

It's all about interpretation!

[raymo]

One degree of movement in the sky is twice the apparent width of the
moon; there's something wrong if you can't hold binoculars steadier than that. As I said before, my daughter's Canon IS nokkies are great.
raymo

[Camelopardalis]

I have the Canons and you can't go back to destabilised ones afterwards :lol:

Another solution is using a tripod and mount of course ;)

[CAAD9]

This thread is probably dead and I hope the topic starter has a nice set of IS binos by now. But I'll add my 2 cents anyway. Dunk was most kind to let me look through his* 15x50's on my way to getting the Canon 10x42's ( I was happy to sacrifice the magnification for the wider fov).

Dunk is absolutely right, you can't go back once you have enjoyed the rock steady view with the freedom of hand held binos! It is nothing short of amazing.

Yeah, they cost a bomb. Worth every penny!

*thanks again mate

[Greenswale]

Did I end up with IS binos?

Nope! I went for a Nikon 8x42 binocular and a 4" Sky Watcher APO on a Vixen porta mount.

The Nikon is quite stunning with its ED objective and a broom stick provides reasonable stability. The 4" needs no introduction.

My rationale was to enjoy sweeping wide (and very sharp, correct colour) views with the Bino, and to use the 4" for any detailed viewing; all for just a bit more $.

As an aside, several friends have purchased Nikons for both Astro and birding. All are very, very impressed with them.

See Nikons at the upcoming Snake Valley camp.

[Satchmo]

10 X 42 IS would be on my bucket list . I have used the 15 X 50 IS before .

There seemed to be a contradiction about them though. The are so heavy as to encourage only short spells of looking up . One could spend less money for a parralelogram and a bino and not have to hand hold them !