Which Binos?

[Moon]

I finally have to admit my faithful Binos need to be replaced. I've got a really old set of Japanese 7x50 that I've been very happy with, but alas a critical piece has snapped off one of the eyepieces and it no longer keeps focus.

The problem is there are so many options I don't know where to start. I also suspect there is a lot of junk binos around too. I don't want to spend a truck load of money - say around the $200 mark.
Generally speaking, I do almost all visual stuff with the Binos and I leave the CCD camera on the scope.

Any suggestions where to start? Second hand is ok. Also, any suggestions for a project to put old binos to good use?

James

[kayla]

I recently bought a pair of Celestron Skymaster 25-125X80 Zoom Binoculars from eBay for US$119! (approximately AU$116.82) These Binos are brand new, and come with a built in tripod adapter and carry bag. The binos are almost 3kg so they need to be supported on a reasonable tripod. With the shipping price, the price of the binos and the tripod I bought it ALL came to about AU$200 which I was happy about. These binos are spectacular, and I really enjoy them. The guy has a few instock so I will be glad to send the link and the sellers username through private message, just let me know. You are right though, there are alot of options to choose from! But these binoculars are fantastic and a brilliant save!

Have fun shopping! ;)

[el_draco]

Whats the coma like?

[mozzie]

hi james
i bought a pair of celestron 9x63 skymaster,not to heavy around 1100g,hardly any coma,crisp and clear all the way to the edge.and the views of a night are fantastic,5deg fov so you can work your way around the sky without getting to lost.....

[rmcconachy]

G'day James,

Were you happy with 7x magnification? You can see fainter stuff with higher magnification binoculars (e.g., 10x50 or 12x50) but they are harder to hold steady after a certain point and will have a smaller field of view. This matters less if you mount them but I am guessing that you hand hold your binoculars like most people do? Do you prefer a wider field of view with not so good image quality towards the edge or better image quality at the edge but a smaller field of view (for <=$200 I am afraid that you cannot have both a wide field of view and good image quality near the edge of the field of view unless you find a good second hand deal on something like a 7x50 or 10x50 Kunming BA8 series binocular)? Is weight a significant issue, e.g., would it matter if the binoculars weighed 1.5kg rather than 1kg? With a bit more information we can make better suggestions.

[Moon]

I was happy with the old 7x50 in terms of field of view and weight, so I guess something like that would be good. In terms of weight, I'm looking for something that I can hold without a tripod (at least for short periods of time)
James

[anj026]

Less then a year ago I purchased a Vixen Foresta 7x50 from My Astro Shop. It was $285. It is a great bino for hand held use and the optical quality is very good for the price. It is light in weight, has long eye relief and has adjustable eyecups. This model has received lot's of positive feedback on the Cloudy Nights bino forum. I have owned a Vixen 9x63 Ultima since the late nineties and that is an excellent binocular for astronomy but I find it not as easy to use hand held as a 7x50 and generally only use it on a lightweight photo tripod as an aid when using a telescope.