Zoom binos

[dannat]

Anyone used zoom binos from either Aoe or Andrews, in 50 or 60mm aperture..Are they best avoided or reasonable to look through.

will use both for astro & birding/wildlife. Hope to zoom in on birds to get finer detail

any advice appreciated

[chris lewis]

Hi ! Generally speaking Zoom binoculars are to be avoided. They have multiple negatives 1/ Narrow F.O.V. - they tend to give tunnel like images. 2/ They give dimmer images then the equivalent size non zoom binocular. 3/ They are difficult to achieve and hold collimation [alignment] well 4/ There are more mechanical components to go wrong 5/ They have extra auxiliary internal lens which reduce overall sharpness 6 / They are expensive and are difficult to fix if and when they do go wrong.
The main positive is the ability to 'dial up' a magnification.
However the negatives far out way the positives.
Having said that I do have a well made Japanese Tasco 10-22x50 binocular that I use occasionally for terrestrial use and occasionally lunar viewing. It is reasonably sharp to edge with aberrations from about 80%. I got it for a bargain price and would normally not have got it.
A high quality 10x50 porro or a 8x or 10x42 mm roof would suit you better as a hand hold able 'cross' over bino.
Sorry - 'Zooms' are not recommended

Chris