New guy here just ordered first pair of Binoculars!

[ManOnTheMoon (Matt)]

Hey all!
Im new to the stargazing world ( through and instrument anyway! ) but have been reading about it for awhile. I bought a little red book called
"A guide to the night sky" from Aus post and have spent the last 6 weeks reading it cover to cover. Its full of star maps and stuff so I decided that I should get myself some binoculars at first to check it out. I looked around and ended up buying this - Barska 15x70 X-Trail Binoculars w/Tripod brand new for $112 including postage from the USA on ebay. This sell for RRP $289 in Australia! so im happy with that.

[erick (Eric)]

Looks like you are going to have fun, Matt! Tell us how it goes.

[chris lewis]

Hopefully they work out for you. Just ensure that they are well collimated when you get them [both barrels are aligned and there is no double vision]. Do they have any return policy if they are faulty ?
'Barskas' are more entry level Chinese binos hence the cheaper price. Often the optics, build qualities and Q. and A. will reflect that.
However if they are 'good ones' they should give you a good introduction to the night sky. 15x70's are considerd good large astro binocular with out having the weigh of the larger 80mm + versions.

Chris

[ManOnTheMoon (Matt)]

Just got my new Barska X-Trail 15x70mm binoculars today. I have looked them over and tested them on a mountain range thats over 50km away and its all collimated properly and the image is very sharp and highly detailed. I hope to try them out tonight but its very overcast here today. My only real complaint with them is the size of the tripod that they come with. Its only about 30cm high. Only really good for puting them on a outdoor table and sitting back in a chair to look through them I guess.