Quote:
Originally Posted by Mickayeel
So what Bino's did you end up getting? And how do they work?
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Well, I guess I got bit quite deeply by the stargazing bug and I ended up with
a very good 25x100 binocular and in the process spending ~360 AUD against the initial ~200.
I've never used other binos than an old Tasco 10x50, so I can't tell how better my big gun is over a 15x70 and actually I look forward to try one to find it out.
I can tell you that Orion nebula is not so drammatically better through my old 10x50, but I can see lots of other faint items I never seen before like several globular clusters, other nebulae and the carpet of fainter stars in the background of the Milky Way.
This binocular can't resolve single stars in the globular clusters I observed, but let me tell you Omega Centauri left me speech less the first time I saw it.
The only problem with this binocular is its 4.6Kg weight, which requires a very sturdy support. I bought on eBay a very reliable Manfrotto tripod tailored to bear 5Kg (actually the head was for 4Kg). I have had to sell it (luckily gaining a little bit in the process
) because it wasn't sturdy enough. I'm now in the process of making my own observing chair, which is taking too long to complete (I promised to post pictures of it here and will do asap), but that is just me.
Suzy and others were right, when they told me then I could have bought a decent 2nd hand dobsonian with the same amount I spent on that big binocular.
Hence, my advice is to go for the Andrews 15x70 because they seems to me the best compromise between quality, magnification, lens aperture, price and weight.
The 25x100 are fancy but if you want to see more than with a 15x70, you can then get a Dobsonian (I just bought a 2nd hand Saxon 10" dob from another forum member and will pick it up in a couple of weeks
). At that point, when you will have a similar dob (if you will not have been killed by your wife, as it is going likely to happen to me, when she will see the new toy
), your 15x70 will still be very useful as a sort of free hand finderscope in helping you to orient where exactly to point the dob.
Good luck and clear skies
