Seeking advice on binoculars

[ChrisM]

Hi all,
I am in the market for a pair of binoculars for star gazing. I don't want to have to use a tripod so I'm guessing that something no more than 10 x will do. Can anyone recommend a particular variety that are known to have good contrast and a sharp image across the whole field of view? I've looked at quite a few in shops but of course can only see terrestial objects.

Any comments welcome!

Chris

[Ian Robinson]

I manage OK with my Unitron 20x80s.

Any good quality pair of 80mm binos will be fine.

[theodog]

Hop along to the local Astronomy group. There will be plenty of examples to look through.
Ask the owners what they think & recomend.

[IanL]

I have a set of Pentax 8x42 DCF HR2
They are great all round pair of Binos. Light with a longer barrel (Good for Astro) Good for bird watching.

Great pair of binos.
http://www.pro-binoculars.com/images/pentax%20DCF%20HR%20II%208x42.jpg

Snow, Water, Fog, Rain proof with phase coating.
ps they are high contrast and razor sharp accross the field. But don't buy a binocular without looking through them yourself. Do they feel comfy on your eyes when holding them for a while. Try before you buy.

Cheers
Ian:thumbsup:

[norm]

Look for something in the 10x50 range. Preferably FULLY multicoated, Bak4 lenses.
Unfortunately there are so many brands to choose from and the price varies depending on the brand.:doh:

I did check out a pair from Andrews Communications (Sydney based) 10x50, MB style binoculars at $349. That sounds pricey, but looking thru them, great eye relief, no colour fringing around the edges, robust feel....couldn't fault them. Not sure if they were nitrogen purged or not.

Likewise can't comment for star gazing either.
http://www.andrewscom.com.au/site-section-11.htm

I'm a great believer in that you get what you pay for.

BTW: binos in the 15x70 and up do get tiresome after a few mins holding them. You definitely need some banana chair/recliner for comfy viewing or some type of tripod/parallelogram mount.

Cheers Norm:)

[dannat]

the pentax pcf's are a great range on binos, WP too (waterproof)

the nikon AE (action extreme) is very popular on CN in the US

the 10x50 MB at andrews are a premium bino with great coatings, however it is fairly heavy for a 10x50 & could get uncomfortable for hand holding for long periods. the 70mm ultra binos (MB) at 2.5 kg need a tripod.

lastly I have recently bought a pair on celestron regals 10x42, the ecoatings are excellent,(phase) & WP also. however they are very expensive in AUst, i bought mine on ebay from US, less than half Aust price.

How much were you thinking of paying??

Apart from Andrews comms I would look on the aoe.com.au website - they have good quality - & i think check their binos. They have the ultra(same as andrews MB), the odyssey range (wp roof) and more budget 10x50 WA.

[JimmyH155]

I agree with Dannat. Go to aoe website They are a great company to deal with and very prompt in sending. I myself have a pair of aoe 10 x 50 HG waterproof BAK4 prism. Cost last year $119 , fully multi coated.
Then a few weeks ago, I bought for my son who is interested in bird watching, a ripper pair of 8 x 40 roof prism type . Called Oddysey range from aoe fully multi coated, BAK4 glass nitrogen filled waterproof. These were only $165 or thereabouts. They are so light:D and I tried them on both rainforest trees and stars, and I was flat strap finding the difference between his or mine. When I get a job again, I am going to shout myself a pair of those 8 x 42. The 8 x 42 can focus down to about 3 metres which is fantastic!!
I really cant see why go anywhere else than aoe. They look great quality to me;) and I have now fully tested two:D

[eze]

Hi

I have also started stargazing last year with a pair of 12x60 from AOE and they are great. The size is good for using without tripod but they can start shaking a bit after some minutes. That shaking didn't allow me to read a sign from lets said 400 metres during the day, but It doesn't affect me a lot for stargazing.

[mrsnipey]

Chris, I have a pair of 15x70 MB Ultras and they're fantastic. But they're *heavy* and it took me ages to be able to hold them up for more than 5 minutes at a time. I also have a set of 16x50's that I use all the time which weigh almost nothing. I use them primarily for finding objects.

I would definitely recommend the ultra's but i think you'd be better off if you got something smaller to start (or lighter).

[ChrisM]

Thanks guys for all the comments, reports and suggestions.

I've ended up with some York Optical 10 x 50s, which are quite solid and I'm very pleased with their performance. In the first few seconds of looking at The Pleiades, which were low in the sky, and with the binos hand-held, I easily saw some 8+ mag stars. On a tripod, and once again with the cluster at only about 20 degrees elevation, I could see a mag 9+ star.

I'll have to investigate the parallelogram-type mounts, because the tripod is not suitable for high elevations. The banana lounge sounds good too!

Cheers,
Chris

[Greenswale]

I'm in the market for binos. The Gerber Deluxe 10x50 read very well - does anyone have opinion on these?

Wren