Advice please!!! 15x70 or 20x80 Binos??

[Mickayeel (Walaa)]

Hi Guys,

I'm just starting to get into Astronomy and I'm about to purchase Binos, rather than get a Telescope straightaway.

I'm trying to decide between the Celestron 15x70 or Saxon 20x80? Either way I'll be getting a tripod.

Which way should I go?

[erick (Eric)]

You don't want to hear this, but I recommend 10x50 or 12x60 to start with. You can mount those on a regular camera tripod as well as hand-hold.

I have 20x80 and I had 30x100. My experience is that they are extremely hard to use effectively without some form of mount. I did put the 20x80 on a camera tripod (not top of the line, but not a cheapy) and they broke it eventually.

The other point is that it can be a real challenge to locate an object at 20x, let alone 30x magnification, particularly at a significant elevation in the sky when you cannot start from a known object on the horizon and scan vertically to the object of interest. I had to fit my 30x100 on a big mount with a red dot finder to get what I wanted into the FOV.

[Mickayeel (Walaa)]

Hmmm interesting.

Assuming I have a good mount what is the major difference between 15x70 & 20 x 80? In terms of looking at the sky do you lose field of view on the 20x80's?

[erick (Eric)]

The answer is "most likely". But just read up on the specifications of the binos. They either quote FOV as degrees, or more commonly as "X ft at 1000 yards", or "X m at 1000 m" - you can turn that into degrees with a bit of trigonometry.

[Mickayeel (Walaa)]

Cool, thanks buddy!

[Gem (Grant)]

10x70 would be better. The lower the magnification the easier it is to hold and the nicer looking the image.

[dannat (Daniel)]

I wouldn't recommend 10x70 in a city like melbourne, 15x is hard to hand hold but if u have a tripod you should be fine
I prefer 15x70 but many have 20x80
As Eric says a 10x50 is a good choice, as is 12x50

You do lose sow fovwith 20x but thennagain in city pollution they go a bit deeper

[mercedes_sl1970]

If you are just starting off, a set of 10x50s may be a good alternative. They don't sound like much, but it is surprising as to what you can actually see and also easily handheld. Even a 7x50 is a good size.

To add to the "confusion" have a look at the Cloudynights website. They have a dedicated binocular section and also a very good selection of reviews and recommendations for those starting off:
Cloudynights Binoculars
and
Cloudynights Beginner Stuff 1
and
Cloudynights Beginner Stuff 2

I'd also suggest having a read of the Review section too.

Andrew

[Mickayeel (Walaa)]

Thanks Guys.

[stringscope (Ian)]

I also would recommend starting off with a good 50mm binocular, either 7X or 10X. A quality pair will give you a lifetime of viewing pleasure. I actually prefer 7X for hand held astro viewing as I find with this magnification the jitters are less noticeable.

[space oddity]

I started with Celestron 15 x 70 s .I found them quite hand holdable and acceptable quality. The 20 x 80 s will be too big to handle easily. The 10 x binos that others have recommended will be easier to keep steady as well as giving a brighter image. If your budget extends adequately, higher quality binos will give a sharper more pleasing view.The old ebay often has such higher quality binos. I picked up my Fujinons for 1/5 of the new price. Check reviews for higher quality 10 x 50s and look for second hand.