Quote:
Originally Posted by Solanum
I've been a birdwatcher for nearly 30 years and I would consider strongly whether you want to use them for daytime use as well or not. I have found that fairly cheap bins serve pretty well for astro use, but are very disappointing for daytime use.
For birdwatching I wouldn't look at anything less than about $400 (for 8x40 or the like), but you can probably pay less than half of that for very acceptable bins for astro use.
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Sorry that is very incorrect. The optical qualities required for astronomical use are generally greater then those for terrestrial use. 'Cheap' binococular's do not work for astronomical use. Distortions and aberrations will soon show up. Stars need to be pin point with no secondary reflections or flareing esp. on bright objects. There needs to be minimal curvature of field. Collimation needs to be exact. Those qualities are not found in cheap or entry level binos.
Cheap binoculars do work for astro or birding use. It is best to get as high quality bino if you can.
Chris