A lot of the older threads seem to refer to AOE, which no longer appear to exist, and they refer to Andrews Bino's which I just can't find.
I was wondering what the 'best' value for money binoculars are for seeing the Messier objects at the following pricepoints:
Budget 1 - Up to $100
Budget 2 - Up to $200
Budget 3 - Up to $300.
Whatever you can contribute would be great! For the upper budget, the
Orion Mini Giants seem to come highly recommended at $299. The "skymaster" range also seem to be recommended, such as the SkyMaster 12x60 for $179 from Andrews. Has anyone used these / compared these, or have personal experience with them?
Am I doing the right thing? I guess I want to make sure I am really hooked before forking out on expensive equipment that will sit around, but also want to make sure I get a 'decent introduction' to the stars for the money and don't lose interest because of crappy bino's
They will need to be handheld though.. If I still love it, I will be getting a scope eventually (80mm APO ED Triplet of some sort on HEQ5), but am holding off on that decision until I get to know the stars better. I then will use the Bino's for helping with alignment, etc..
I have also read that some sort of a "7mm exit" is ideal. Can anyone elaborate on this, and how to determine whether a bino is ideal?