Just bought Binoculars

[supernova1965 (Warren)]

My first real introduction to astronomy was when I went to our local recycling center and bought the gear listed in my sig I thought great I will see some stuff with this. And I did with some help from all you fine fellow astronomers and some locals. But little did I know until tonight when I took out the 10x50 $25 Binoculars and looked up into the same sky I have been prowling with my scope which I thought looked empty with interesting things spread quite a distance apart. I was expecting more tightly packed stars but after looking with the binoculars I think that I may have been looking past all the stars because suddenly the sky was alive. Is it because my lowest power EP is a 20mm that I am missing all those stars and clusters or is it that my scopes main mirror does need re coating. I can see Jupiter great with it and the ring nebula with the center hole showing do I need to get lower powered EP's to get the most out of the scope. I know that I started backwards by getting the big Dob first and then trying Binoculars but I was extremely surprised when I looked through the Binoculars. What EP's would you all recommend to get a similar view as the binoculars it has given me a new outlook on what I can see from my own backyard.

[Blackant (Ant)]

Hi Warren,

I'll leave it to the more experienced people to give you advice about eyepieces but I just wanted to say that bino's are really great for astronomy, and I think that it makes a big difference to your ability to see stuff by using two eyes.

I know that I used bino's for years before getting my scope, and after I got the Dob I didn't pull them out again for a couple of months. I had them out a little while ago, and it was brilliant to just scan up and down the milky way with them. I don't how to explain it, but although I can see fainter stuff with my scope, when I look at the brighter stuff like the milky way in some ways it looks brighter and more starry with my bino's

A bino guru from the US Philip Harrington says in the intro to one of his books that "many observers enjoy up to a 40 percent increase in the contrast of hazy objects merely by using both eyes" and "It is not unusual to experience a 10-percent improvement in perception when viewing with two eyes instead of one".

My 15X70s plus cheapo camera tripod are gonna be my 'grab and go' scope for a long time to come

Kind regards

Ant

[mental4astro (Alexander)]

Hi Warren,

Ain't binos amazing! I always take them with me, dark site or from home in Sydney.

Eyepieces, well...

Nothing will really give the same experience in a scope as binos. Both are different beasts. Closest thing will be wide field eyepieces in long focal lengths.

First, what size EPs does your scope take. From what I've been able to gather from the net on the Starfinder 10" it has a 1.25" focuser. Thing is really good EPs giving a really wide field of view come in 2" configuration in long focal lengths, eg 28mm, 35mm or longer. Very hard to find anything wider than 52 degrees in 1.25" EPs.

Upgrading the focuser is easy & inexpensive (see Andrews web site, GSO), but good EPs are not cheap of your fast, f/4.5, scope. My dob is of the same focal ratio. Still, some options are available, allowing for some margin of distortion. I bought a GSO 30mm Superview to get me by until I remodel my scope. It is good, very good for its price. It does show distortion on the outer edge, but I've seen greater distortion in more expensive EPs of the same focal length in my scope!

The EP on my wish list is a TMB Paragon 40mm. I had a chance to use on of these last month, & now I want one. $300 new though. The technicalities of its suitablity should not have shown such a good image, but it did. Beats me why it was so good.

This is just my short rant. EP suitability is a real learning curve. It can be very involved. Take your time, & enjoy your binos.

[supernova1965 (Warren)]

Originally Posted by mental4astro

Hi Warren,

Ain't binos amazing! I always take them with me, dark site or from home in Sydney.

Eyepieces, well...

Nothing will really give the same experience in a scope as binos. Both are different beasts. Closest thing will be wide field eyepieces in long focal lengths.

First, what size EPs does your scope take. From what I've been able to gather from the net on the Starfinder 10" it has a 1.25" focuser. Thing is really good EPs giving a really wide field of view come in 2" configuration in long focal lengths, eg 28mm, 35mm or longer. Very hard to find anything wider than 52 degrees in 1.25" EPs.

Upgrading the focuser is easy & inexpensive (see Andrews web site, GSO), but good EPs are not cheap of your fast, f/4.5, scope. My dob is of the same focal ratio. Still, some options are available, allowing for some margin of distortion. I bought a GSO 30mm Superview to get me by until I remodel my scope. It is good, very good for its price. It does show distortion on the outer edge, but I've seen greater distortion in more expensive EPs of the same focal length in my scope!

The EP on my wish list is a TMB Paragon 40mm. I had a chance to use on of these last month, & now I want one. $300 new though. The technicalities of its suitablity should not have shown such a good image, but it did. Beats me why it was so good.

This is just my short rant. EP suitability is a real learning curve. It can be very involved. Take your time, & enjoy your binos.

Yes it is a 1.25" Focuser thanks for the tip on upgrading the Focuser

[glenc (Glen)]

Warren if you want to really get blown away try 20x80 triplet binoculars.
They cost $219 in Sydney. Lie down on a reclining lounge and enjoy the sky.
http://www.andrewscom.com.au/site-section-11.htm

[Robh (Rob)]

Originally Posted by supernova1965

I know that I started backwards by getting the big Dob first and then trying Binoculars but I was extremely surprised when I looked through the Binoculars. What EP's would you all recommend to get a similar view as the binoculars it has given me a new outlook on what I can see from my own backyard.

A good pair of binoculars will supplement the greater magnified views given by the telescope. As Ant pointed out (post 2), the stereoscopic view provided by binoculars will improve the contrast and perception of objects and will give you large breath-taking fields of view. Your binoculars will give you a true FOV around 5 to 7 degrees. You just can't get this visually in your telescope. A low power EP say 30mm will still only give you a true FOV around 1 degree.
Enjoy the closeups in the telescope and the wide-fields in the binoculars.

Regards, Rob.