How much maginification for a newbie

BigTed · #1 17-09-2007, 10:00 PM

Hi All

First post on the forums. I have always had an interest in astronomy but thought I would need to outlay hundreds of dollars on a decent telescope. From reading the advice in the forums all I really need is a decent set of binos to start out with. Sounds good to me.

Lots of people have asked what the best binos are for a beginner. Was hoping to get some feedback on what magnification to go for my first pair.

I have read through most of the previous posts and still cant decide if I should get the AOE 10x50, 12x60 or 15x70. Im sure I cant go wrong with any of these.

I think like most new people I am drawn to more magnification. I am guessing the 10x50 bins are hard enough to hand hold without shaking. But I keep thinking the 15x70 would be more useful to me long term because of the greater magnification. I would be unlikely to buy a 2nd pair.

Any info on hand holding these binos would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Ted

DJVege · #2 17-09-2007, 10:19 PM

Hi Ted,

I have the 15x70s from AoE, and while they are great quality, I can tell you that they are difficult to hold steady when looking at the sky. I used to think, "Hey, if I can bench 130kg, surely binos will be easy to hold...but i was wrong. Anything above a 20/30 degree angle is difficult. The view is great with them, but shaky. I wouldn't recommend them as a first set of binos. I'm sticking them on a tripod now.

10x50s should be fine, I think, but someone more in the know, I'm sure, will advise you soon.

Oh, and welcome to IIS!

h0ughy (David) · #3 17-09-2007, 10:22 PM

really comes down to what you want. it your mad enough you will buy the biggest and only use then every third blue moon - but if they are more manageable then you will use them more often - either the 7x50 to a 12x60 would be good. It needs to be crisp view and feel good.

janoskiss (Steve H) · #4 17-09-2007, 10:30 PM

Your first set should be a low power pair, IMO 10x max. 7 or 8x is better though. You'll want one of these anyway for sweeping the sky and taking large chunks of it in at once. For a second pair 12-15x is good (and still hand-holdable under the right conditions) but for first pair 7-10x. If you're buying from AOE, I'd recommend the HR or WP models over the slightly less expensive ones.

erick (Eric) · #5 18-09-2007, 12:13 AM

May I suggest a trick I've seen. Don't hold them in the normal position - hold them by the barrels, as close to the objective (field) lenses that you can. You can understand the lever theory - any shaking is not as greatly magnified. It feels odd and takes a bit of getting used to, but may work for you.

DJVege · #6 18-09-2007, 07:53 AM

Don't know if you were suggesting that to me as well, but I'm going to try it!

Thanks Erick.

OneOfOne (Trevor) · #7 18-09-2007, 07:58 AM

I have 11x70s and find they are quite difficult to hold steady due to the magnification. 7x50 are probably the most common and they will give you great views of the moons of Jupiter and our Moon and the image will be quite stable. You could mount them on a tripod to improve the stability, but they will be difficult to use once the target is more than a quarter of the way up the sky.

rmcpb (Rob) · #8 18-09-2007, 11:00 AM

For a toe in the water I cannot recommend a set of 7x50s too much. Them, with a plansiphere and red torch will let you learn the sky and get some great views of the moon and Jupiter's moons. If you mount them on a photographic tripod the views of the moon will blow you away, its amazing just how much we move when any movement is magnified over 400000km or even light years.

If the bug bights deeper then larger binos and a parallelogram mount will be in your future, or even a scope, if the bug does not catch on you have a great set of general purpose binos.

Who said astrology and astronomy are unrelated, I just told Ted's future

Cheers

BigTed · #9 18-09-2007, 06:58 PM

Thanks everyone for their input. Everyone has given me something different to think about which is great.

Someone mentioned to me that being in Sydney I would be better off get 60mm binos because this would help me see fainter objects. In fact they also suggested I go to 70mm if possible.

But taking in to account the suggestion I should not go over 10X magnification im thinking that 9x60 binos might be the best solution for me.

BluMoon (Guy) · #10 19-09-2007, 09:44 PM

Welcome to ISS Ted,
I purchased my binos last August (a paire of 15x70's) and got home all excited on a clear night,only to find I returned to the shop the following week to buy a tripod!!
If your budget will allow the 15's are a great buy but if you buy the tripod as well.
I have just bought my first telescope but my binos will never leave my side on any night out.......They gave me my first view of the sky and one I will always recognise!!
Hope you coose well.
Guy