[syousef]

Hi,

I own several pairs of cheap binocs. By far the worst for astronomy are my DSE Digitor 10x50s. So I decided to get myself some slightly better 10x50s. Anyway I ended up going with Andrews 10x50 WA for $49. I had to go back as they only had a display pair in the shop, but they were by far the best of the $49 pairs I tried.

Anyway I went looking to see what else was out there and came across Saxon 10x50 BFWA binocs which appear to be exactly the same as the Andrews binocs, down to the thumb wheel with the orange filters. As far as I can tell the only difference is the price.

I also managed to pick up a pair of Bushnell 20x50s the other day for $30 at Parklea markets. I realise these are difficult to hand hold but the optics are stunning compared to the junk I'm use to.

What I really wanted was Orion Scenix binocs for which all the reviews I've read are positive. They sell for $90 + $10 postage in the US but they won't ship here. I'm still very tempted to ask a friend working over there to forward on a pair for me. I suspect they'd outclass the Andrews/Saxons and Bushnell by a margin.

The other ones that I was looking at were Tasco essential 10x50. From what I've read the "zip focus" mechanism leaves something to be desired for accuracy. You can pick these up for $25 in the US but of course here they are $110.

My first pair of binocs, bought around year 2000 were "Winner" brand but have developed a collimation issue. I'm going to have a go at re-collimating because I think their optics isn't bad.

Pricing in Australia is just awful. Suppliers don't need to look very far to work out why people buy overseas whenever possible.

Would be interested to hear from anyone who has any experience with any of the binocs I've mentioned.

In case you're wondering why I'd want so many binocs, I'm happy to have backup sets and sets for my family to use. At ages 3 and 2, my children can't really use them just yet but the 3 year old is getting close to the point where he could use them supervised. At the moment I'd rather have 5 okay pairs to play with than one really good one.