Quote:
Originally Posted by Screwdriverone
I am sure Eric (moderator Erick) could offer some good advice on size/quality/budget considerations here as he had an avatar pic of himself a while back with about 4 pairs of binoculars around his neck and therefore I think he is a bit of an afficionado...
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moderator? You guys don't want to wish that much trouble onto yourselves!
I just like binoculars for certain uses. If I could have a binocular telescope (newtonian reflector based) I would!
I've only ever had cheap binos - but I guess that, since I have a set of Pentax now, I'm drifting up the $ scale.
Don't look at anything under 50mm aperture for astronomical binoculars. If you can extend to 60mm, the extra aperture can be worthwhile. Probably not have greater than 12 magnification for hand-held. I have a pair of 12x60 and a pair of 10x50 that I use hand-held. I have a pair of 20x80 that have to go onto a mount to be effective. I had a pair of 30x100 which must be mounted. But, in truth, if I want to study an area or compare with a star chart or telescopic view, I always mount on a tripod, even the 10x50s. The higher the magnification, the harder to locate your target. I used a red dot finder in conjunction with my 30x100s!
If you are thinking of trying to see detail on Saturn, Jupiter or the Moon, my experience is that a telescope will always do better. If you are looking at nebula, galaxies, open clusters, starfields - a binocular view can be very pleasing.
Plus binoculars can always be readily used for terrestrial daytime observing without modification, unlike the majority of telescopes. And portable - very!
There are plenty of threads on choosing and using binoculars if you search.
Look to spend $140+ to get a respectable pair of 10x50 or 12x60 - plus the extra for a robust tripod (the better camera tripods - $100+) plus an "L-mount" bracket (the bracket is very cheap at Andrews - get the metal one not the plastic one).
Two eyes open wins!
Cheers
Eric