Binoculars Decision

[Marclau (Marcel)]

I'm looking at the option of buying some large binoculars and have almost settled on the AOE 25X100 OR 30X100.

I cannot decide............I do have a 5" refractor telescope but i'm kinda past it looking out into space with one eye and budget is another issue.

On a good steady mount, I'm assuming the 30X100 will give me some serious good viewing of planets, starts and galaxies etc??

Any advice would be awesome.........

[Dennis]

Hi Marc

I have the Vixen 30x125 binocular and they are fabulous for wide, sweeping views of the Milky Way and some deep sky objects such as M42, Eta Carina, Omega Centauri, etc. I have them mounted on the Vixen forks and they have a 45 degree eyepiece which makes zenith viewing quite feasible, although it is much more comfortable to limit the viewing to around 70 degrees to avoid raising the tripod too high and having to sit low down.

The x30 mag is very restrictive on the Planets – I can make out Saturn’s rings and the Cassini Division and you can see the Galilean moons of Jupiter and some banding, but if you want to see nice detail on the planets, then in my opinion, x30 is insufficient.

Mounting is a major issue. Unless they are well mounted, easy to carry out, set up and operate smoothly they may soon fall into dis-use.

I use the Kendrick dew heater system on the objectives and eyepieces and this prevents them from dewing up. The Vixens also have a 7x50 finder scope which is required to locate objects, despite their 1.6 degree field of view.

Cheers

Dennis

[Marclau (Marcel)]

Thanks Dennis...........

Yeah, I too have been wondering about the mounting issues....is there not a generic mounting bracket you can by which would allow to then mount onto say a equatorial mount like a Saxon EQ3 or something similar??

And when you mention restrictive at X30, is that because of field of view or simply not enough magnification and not restriction in diameter allowing for more or less light to enter?

cheers
Marcel

[Wavytone]

Originally Posted by Marclau

I'm assuming the 30X100 will give me some serious good viewing of planets, starts and galaxies

Hmm... much the same aperture as my refractor and not a lot smaller than your 5" - I'd say these will give you much the same as what you see with your 5" if you use the right eyepiece to give 30X, probably something in the range 25-40mm. Magnificent for trawling the Milky Way in dark skies and good for comets.

But for planets, you need both more aperture and a lot more magnification - which means a much longer focal length than binoculars have.

As for galaxies these are way too small - there is no substitute for aperture and 20cm is the minimum, at 30cm aperture you'll start to see interesting things.

I'd suggest a modest Dob would be a better choice - 20-25 cm, easy to set up, easy and comfortable to use and best of all, able to give much better views of planets and galaxies than the binoculars.

[dannat (Daniel)]

mounting binos onto an EQ mount is not a recommended startegy. the eq mount moves ep location, with binos uually you stay in one place & just move them up/down or across.
The two most common methods of mounting big binos is a p-mount(parallelogram) or photo tripod with video head. I personally prefer video head but both have adv/dis-adv.If going for a video head you will need an expensive one to cope with the weight, think manfrotto or similar (i think you would need to budget $200 for basic tripod/head & 400+ for much better fluid head/tripod

The big binos will give you really good views of dso's & the brighter/bigger galaxies..they are not really for planets - and the mag adv of your 5" would knock them away.
Using two eyes has an advantage though and the 100mm bins equate to apporx 141mm monocular scope

[Marclau (Marcel)]

Thanks guys...........appreciate the feedback........

Not sure what to do now......after nearly 15-20 lapse and remember the sore eye strain and face muscle contractions, hence my enquiry into powerful binoculars...........but if like you said, i might as well still with my tel, i might be waisting money for nothing.

I have researched high and low about binoculars and although some get very got reviews, they are out of my price range especially the ones with 45' viewing.........damn it, so confused now.............ARGHHH!!

[Marclau (Marcel)]

Which would be a better buy; Bintel 10" DOB with fan or a Saxon 10" DOB...both around the $800 mark........i could only afford an 8" but am prepared to save for an extra 6 months and go the 10".........is it really worth an extra 40% for a 10"??

I think I might now be resigned to go back to a telescope and look at getting a better chair........since my current tel is a refractor, would a DOB be the next couple of levels up to see me and my children use it for the next 10 years??

[erick (Eric)]

Marcel

I think you need a good chair to sit on and an eyepatch! Then everything will be fine with your scope.

Search "eyepatch" in the threads to learn why this makes observing so much more comfortable - no more "ore eye strain and face muscle contractions".

Cheers
Eric

[chris lewis]

"I cannot decide............I do have a 5" refractor telescope but i'm kinda past it looking out into space with one eye and budget is another issue".

The other option is too invest in a Binoviewer for your 5 in. refractor. I use a Stellarvue B.V. with my Equinox ED120 almost all the time.
I much prefer 2x eyed viewing - it is far more relaxing and the 'psuedo 3D' effect is visually far more stimulating and satisfying. I can view for hours with no eyestrain. Any light loss is overshadowed by the fact that I 'see' more detail esp on. planets and the moon.
There are negatives - increase cost [doubling your EPs,], you will not get a seriously wide F.O.V. and the weight gain, but still for me these are minor 'cons' considering the viewing pleasure that it gives.
Just some thoughts.

Chris

[dannat (Daniel)]

BV is something than 8" loses a lot of light - in my 5" intes mak things went dark when i put it in with twin TV 20mm plossl

maybe choose a really good eyepiece with long eye relief - maybe quality 2"ep - try & get to the morn penin astro society meeting to try some out

[Marclau (Marcel)]

Arghhh, you guys.........making it soo hard.

O'K I like the eye patch idea. In that case, which is the better scope........the Binter or the Saxon as mentioned previously?? OR are the others in the same price range between $800 - $1000?? (for a 10")

Finally, is the collapsible one a better choice or will too much light passing through be an issue hence a solid tube scope?
Car is not an issue........have a nice new Jeep Grand Cherokee........

UPDATE: Located 12" GSO ASDX reflector DOB for the same price.............anyone have any experience with this little baby??!!