Binoculars - Late Chrissy Prez'

[stovesy]

So it seems that after dropping off the Christmas jumper, new bike, scalextrix and Guiness World record book (I wish !), Santa has sorted me out with a couple of hundred quid to do what I like with

 

A massive bag of penny chews is out of the question, but a nice pair of bins is on the cards.

 

So my questions are....

 

Do I need to spend hundreds of squids ? (I've seen some 20x80 for £90ish and 15x70 for £55 - Rother Valley)

How important is brand ?

Are 20x80s to large for casual observing?

Should I go for 10x50s???

 

I want these to primarily to get me used to the sky and to help me learn my way around some objects.

I do have a really old  (maybe 20 years) set of 10x50s which are sort of OK, but they came from Currys or Dixons so I'm guessing are a bit crappy

I do have a photo tripod which I can use.

 

I understand I need Porro prism with  bak-4 type optics.

 

Thanks.

Pete.

 

[Brantuk]

Hi Pete - hope you had a good Xmas

 

For your stated objective a pair of 10x50's can't be beaten for getting to know the sky. You may find your Currys/Dixons model is fine but being older I'm guessing you'll get a fair bit of CA. But you don't need to spend hundreds on a new pair - I got some coated porro prisms from Lidl for the handsome sum of £14.99 (on offer) and they are surprisingly good.

 

I also have a set which are a little better that cost £65 from a camera shop - again Bak4 Porros which are great. After all it's the wide fields you are after and bins are very good at that. To be honest you won't see a whole lot more in the 15x70's (I have the Celestron ones) - what they mostly do is add weight and make your arms ache - a tripod it essential to keep the view steady.

 

At this stage the 20x80's also require a good sturdy tripod which may cost as much as the bins themselves - but you are getting to a size where you start to get a bit more detail (eg banding on Jupiter) but they will be close to your ETX aperture without a whole lot of benefit over it.

 

£50-£60 on a half decent pair of 10x50's would be my advice for skimming round identifying stuff and learning the sky - that's what Sir P. allways said and he wasn't wrong. Go for the larger ones when you have more specific objectives in mind. Hth

[philjay]

Hi Pete

From experience what Kim suggests is the best way, a nice pair of 10x50s will be eay to handle, show loads of stuff and give you a good head start in learning the sky. They make excellent grab and go set ups for when you havent got time to set a scope up. As for which brand then Im sure some of the other more experienced binobusers will join in.

[+RonC]

Hi Pete, give Nigel (DN18) a shout, he has an optics shop near the Humber Bridge and is a regular on here. I visited him a while back to change my birding scope and it's nice to go out the shop and try before you buy!!

 

Cheers

Ron

[BAZ]

Hi Pete, 

The wife has some thirty odd year old Dixon brand Bins, Miranda's, if my memory still works I think Practica built their camera's and bino's for them. To be fair they are quite good, and although there is a bit of fringing, they still turn out a good view.

 

I have a pair of Revelation 15x70's, and I love them. They really bring out the clusters, M44 is my favourite, it's just chock full of stars.

Celestron do a similar set, I don't think there is much between them, as both are made in China. The 15x70's can be hand held if you get seated in a sun lounger with arms, or the Horizon tripod is a popular mount for them.

 

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/tripods/horizon-8115-2-way-heavy-duty-tripod.html

 

Or Get a clean brush turn it upside down and rest you arms on the head, letting the handle take the weight.

Unless you can haggle it you will also need a tripod adapter, don't get a small one as they oscillate side to side, and you can imagine how annoying it is. Get a big one, and save yourself the hassle.

 

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/binocular-accessories/l-type-binocular-tripod-adapters.html

 

Hope that helps.

[stovesy]

I think Ill give those Prinz 10x50's another airing. Save that cash for another day.

[Doc]

Pete you will be surprised what a pair of 10x50's can see from dark skies. When I was at EMS1 I saw M81 and M82 with a pair of 10x42's. All of the clusters and most of the large galaxies will be viewable.

[BAZ]

Have a look at this Pete, it will give you a good idea of what to expect.

 

http://www.minds.may.ie/~astro2/IFASData/IFASBinocularHandbook.pdf

 

If you haven't already got a Star Atlas, I would recommend the Sky and Telescope pocket Star Atlas. It is reasonably priced and packed with info, and the pages are plasticized so it doesn't go soggy.

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sky-Telescopes-Pocket-Atlas/dp/1931559317/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1356789068&sr=8-2

 

Have a shop round as it can be had for a better price than this.