Pls Help! Can't decide between Meade 9x63 vs Orion 9x63 mini giant

[mbaddah]

Hi all

I am fairly new to the astronomy world and wanting to buy my first pair of binoculars for the skies at night.

I have narrowed them down to 9x63's, but can't decide between the Meade (roof) or Orion (porro). The Meade are $198 from Bintel, the Orion are $349.95 at Astrooptical (difference of $150).

Is it the quality advantage gained from the porro for night viewing worth the extra $150 over the Meade? your help would be greatly appreciated thankyou very much.

[dugnsuz]

Can't help with the quality issues I'm afraid. Be aware that there can be major differences in the price tag of the same binos when they carry a brand name.
More generic-type choices below!!!

http://www.andrewscom.com.au/site-section-11.htm

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

Many peeps on IIS have used models from the above dealers and have good things to say re price/ performance.
All the best
Doug:thumbsup:

[rmcpb]

If you are starting out I could recommend a set of 9x60s from http://www.aoe.com.au/binoculars.html

Mine are brilliant :)

[DJVege]

Although I don't own the 9x60s, I do have the 15x75s from AoE and I'd have to agree....they are awesome.

[chris lewis]

Hi ! the question I would ask is why did you decided on the 9x63 mm variety ?The 9x63's have a 7mm exit pupil [similar to 7x50's] and with age the ability for the pupil to dilate decreases from about 7-8 mm at age 20 to about 4-5mm at age 50. [There are variarions to this]. If your pupil does not dilate in the dark to 6-7 mm then you are effectively loseing light - if your pupils dilate to say 'only' 5.5 mm it would be similar to to you using a 9x50mm binocular. [approx].The other issue with 9x63 mm binoculars is that they are best used under dark skies [mag 5.5 - 6 + ] - in moonlight or under semi suburban light polluted skies [mag 4.5-5.5] they will magnify the bright background skyglow and this can result in a 'washed out' appearance. Binos with large exit pupils are designed for to maximum brightness and for use on faint extended objects like arms in galaxies, comet tails and nebulae etc. under dark skies. I have the Meade 9x63's - these are 'reasonable' binoculars - the main concern is that they are only 'Multi Coated' [the Orions are 'F.M.C'. which is desirable in Astro binos]. On axis stars are sharp with deterioration from about 80 % out. The Meades with 'only multi coatings' gives a moderate amount of noticable internal reflections / secondary 'ghostings' - esp. on brighter objects - this is also very noticable with lunar viewing. [Hence the need again for dark skies]. F.M.C. coatings improve light transmission, reduce internal reflections and also and give better color fidelity. The other concern with the Meades is that the quality control is variable - make sure they are well collimated and the build quality is sound. Make sure of your return policies with the company is good - Bintel is excellent. [Read the review on the Meades in Ice in space which I posted some time back]. One other point with 9x63 binos is that the Afov is not particularly wide - the Meades are 5.8* FOV which gives a 52.2 Afov - this is reasonably 'narrow'. The Orions have even less FOV at 5 degress - which results in a Afov of 45 degress which IS 'narrow' - it is important to know that these binos do not give 'wide view' images by any strech of the imagination. You may find this 'restrictive'. [A 65 * plus Afov - is considered 'wide' viewing]. I have not used the Orions so cannot comment on their performance - but by the various reviews they are do appear 'superior' to the Meades - esp. with the FMC lens and in the build quality. $150 worth of superior benefit ? - hard to say with out a side by side comparison. So in summary - if you are 'young' / and or have pupils that dilate to 6-7mm in the dark and you are viewing from a very dark situation - yes get the 9x63's. If you have light polluted skies or pupils that do not dilate sufficently then do not buy them - you are wasting aperture and you might as well buy some high quality 10x50's which will also give you a wider Afov ie. 70 * which will be more helpful if you are a novice. Hope this is helpful and not confusing !

[mbaddah]

Thanks for the reply was very in-depth and thorough. I do understand what you mean with narrow fov and exit pupil. I'm 24 years old and most people have said at my age they'd dilate to 7mm, hence the reason why was looking for 9x63. Also i thought since the 9x63 have higher magnification and greater aperature than the 7x50's why not?

What would be then your advice? Which binoculars should I buy if not from those two which other? One with wider fov?

Sorry if I seem to be asking many questions but I'd rather listen to those who are experienced then to dive in myself. Thanks :)

[janoskiss]

Exit pupil aside (depending on your eye physiology 7mm is justifiable at 24 y.o. btw) I'd stay away from roof prism binos at this price point and insist on full multicoatings (FMC). The Meades are only FC which is not good enough unless you are really going for cheap cheap (eg celestron upclose ~$60). OTOH, the Orion is an FMC porro prism bino so probably well worth the extra cost. As others have already advised I'd look into what AOE has on offer once their website is back online. I found them great to deal with and all their binos are great value and support is excellent.

[chris lewis]

Hi ! sorry to confuse - binoculars can be complicated and you do not want 'paralysis by analysis ! Yes - with your 'young' pupils you could go with the 9x63 binos and yes you will 'see more' then the 7x50's and yes the Meades are reasonably inexpensive - but you come back to the exit pupil problem. These 7mm exit binos will provide bright images - ONLY if the sky is very very dark. It is generally best to go with exit pupils betweem 4-5 mm at night. These are the 8x40's, 10x50's, 12x63's [Orion make one] and the 15x70's. Plus with these binos you will have a larger FOV - generally with these binos the FOV is between 6,7,and 8 degrees you will have a 'wider' image in your eyepieces - what you see will note as restrictive [or tunnel vision] as the 9x63's. [The 15x70 have a FOV of 4.4 but a 'wide' Afov of 66 degress]. However - remember once you start to get more then 12x magnification or in to the 70mm size binos you will have to look at tripod mounting for steadiness. Hence for a good all round 'starter' hand held astro bino I recommend the 10x50's - just get make sure they are Bak-4 prisms and F.M.C. lens. If you could borrow some 9x63's and 10x50's [and various others] and experiment a bit at night and you will be able to come to a decision as getting a decent bino that suits you is important. [Ps. if you do go for 9x63's - get the F.M.C. Orions from Bintel - know one ever regretting paying for quality].