binoculars

[James Kirk]

Hi

I am looking at purchasing a set of binos

Am looking at the aoe 11x70 or 15x70 as they appear good value for money.

I do have a camera tripod but am not sure if I would get sick of using this and just use them hand held (much quicker and easier).

Does anybody have any thoughts/recommendations on this?

Cheers

James

[rmcpb (Rob)]

James,

Either of those sets would be great, I would probably go for the 15x70 but that is personal preference. They would both need tripod mounting for all but the shortest observing session as they are too heavy and the magnification too high to effectively hand hold.

If you are interested in a quick squiz of what is around before your scope cools then a set of 7x50s are great to orientate yourself in preparation of your observing session.

Cheers

[DJVege]

Hi James, I have a pair of 15x 70s, and, although I use them hand held, they are VERY difficult to keep still. Anything above 45 degrees you'll start shaking and won't be able to hold it at that angle for very long. I'd recommend smaller binos if you want to use them hand held for long periods.


...DJVege..

[Satchmo]

James, I'd go for 10 X 50's if you want to hand-hold the binoculars . Unless you are young and have a very dark sky , the image brighteness will be about the same as 11 X 70's anyway as your pupil will stop down the 70mm aperture to more like 50mm.

On a tripod the 15 X 70's will be way superior due to being able to utilise the full 70mm aperture and having the extra magnification which will provide better contrast and resolution in star clusters and double stars etc.

[erick (Eric)]

James, on a standard tripod, it is difficult to get to elevations much over, say, 60 deg, in any conventional way. One starts needing to get right under the tripod legs, bend your neck quite a bit, and sometimes tilt the tripod back on two legs (a bit unsteady then). You will need a different type of mount - there are many designs for "parallelogram" mounts - search this Forum and look into the "Projects & Articles" section at the left.

If you can handhold and get a reclining chair to rest your head against - and maybe high armrests to support your elbows - then you can get to high elevations much more easily.

Still, below 60 deg does leave a lot of sky to examine.

[James Kirk]

Thankyou all for the advice, all noted.

I ordered a pair of aoe 15x70 today. Will use them on a tripod if not too good handheld.

Will also check out the various mounts for them.

Cheers