Unfortunately, my best pair is only of use as a monocular, as one side cannot focus. With suitable filters, I also use it for looking at sunspots. They are Helios Stellar 15x70s. I reviewed their successor, Helios Stellar II and they were great but much heavier. I must confess these days that my cameras see more of the sky than I do.John Baars wrote: ↑Tue Jun 16, 2020 9:26 pm A common wisdom is the saying that the best telescope is the one you use most.
I think that goes for binoculars as well.
Over the years I collected several bino's, my wife asked when I would start a museum. Some of them were new and maddening expensive. Others were saved from the garbage-can and made nearly new again. Many of them didn't make it to a permanent place in my cupboard and were sold again or given away. Never made any profit though.
Still, there is one pair I always use. Bought them more than 30 years ago. Manufactured 36 years ago.
An ausJena 10X50W Jenoptem. Not the most expensive. Not the best. Not the clearest, certainly not the most CA free, rather unsharp stars at the edges. Reasonable FOV 7,3 degrees and it still has that typical smell of Zeiss-grease. I love it.
Which is your favorite??
Which binoculars do you use most for astronomy?
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Re: Which binoculars do you use most for astronomy?
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Re: Which binoculars do you use most for astronomy?
Unfortunately, my best pair is only of use as a monocular, as one side cannot focus. With suitable filters, I also use it for looking at sunspots. They are Helios Stellar 15x70s. I reviewed their successor, Helios Stellar II and they were great but much heavier. I must confess these days that my cameras see more of the sky than I do.John Baars wrote: ↑Tue Jun 16, 2020 9:26 pm A common wisdom is the saying that the best telescope is the one you use most.
I think that goes for binoculars as well.
Over the years I collected several bino's, my wife asked when I would start a museum. Some of them were new and maddening expensive. Others were saved from the garbage-can and made nearly new again. Many of them didn't make it to a permanent place in my cupboard and were sold again or given away. Never made any profit though.
Still, there is one pair I always use. Bought them more than 30 years ago. Manufactured 36 years ago.
An ausJena 10X50W Jenoptem. Not the most expensive. Not the best. Not the clearest, certainly not the most CA free, rather unsharp stars at the edges. Reasonable FOV 7,3 degrees and it still has that typical smell of Zeiss-grease. I love it.
Which is your favorite??
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Re: Which binoculars do you use most for astronomy?
I have7x50's BA8 Helios Apollo and 4x22 17° Kasai wide binoculars, but the binoculars I use most for any purpose are these 8x42 Bresser Everest ED: I believe they are now discontinued, but the identical Celestron Granite ED is still available for around €400.
The view of the Bresser is 8.1°. Colours are vivid, contrast is strong and the image is very crisp in the centre. Only at the edge sharpness drops off and some chromatic aberration becomes visible. If you want a step better than an Everest or Granite, but stay under €500, try the Nikon Monarch 7. Vortex Viper HD might be slightly better still, but costs around €550.
Roof prism binoculars perform best at around 42mm lens opening. Expensive phase coating of the roof prism is required to avoid a dull looking image. If you want an
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Re: Which binoculars do you use most for astronomy?
I've been following a discussion about them on the "Your very next astro gear purchase?" thread, and my interest has been piqued.
Having re-read this thread I am still a bit confused as to the size I actually need to be aiming for. The 15x70 gets a few mentions as a reasonable size for general usage.
My main areas of astronomy, besides the Moon, are the nearest celestial bodies and constellations. I'm not looking to view deep space objects or do any photography through them.
I know a lot of binocular choices are personal, and there are good and bad points for each brand and size. Also, cost has to be taken into consideration.
I don't want to spend hundreds of pounds on the top of the range binoculars, as my skywatching is not intense but more casual.
I'll keep checking back to see what other suggestions are made for specific models to do further research into.
Nikon D82 Fieldscope with 30x/45x/56x angled eyepiece.
Olympus DPS-1 10x50 binoculars.
Leica 8x32BN binoculars.
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Re: Which binoculars do you use most for astronomy?
As you can tell from my signature I like binoculars. I've owned smaller ones and larger ones, but my all time favorite has always been a good pair of 10x50s. They just have the perfect combination of power and weight and field of view. They are my "go to" binos of choice. HOWEVER my wife just found an almost new pair of Celestron Skymaster 15x70s and bought them for me. The field of view isn't as wide and I can't hand hold them as long, but they do have a good field of view and I can hand hold them for a while. The views are much better than I expected. I can also put them on the tripod. I've noticed recently that I am conflicted about which pair to pick up first.
Telescopes: 50mm refractor, ED80 triplet, 90mm makcass, 10" dob, 8"SCT, 11"SCT
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Binoculars: 10x50, 12x60, 15x70, 25-125x80
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Re: Which binoculars do you use most for astronomy?
Maybe another tick for the 15x70s :Think:
Nikon D82 Fieldscope with 30x/45x/56x angled eyepiece.
Olympus DPS-1 10x50 binoculars.
Leica 8x32BN binoculars.
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Re: Which binoculars do you use most for astronomy?
Butterfly Maiden wrote: ↑Fri Sep 04, 2020 1:34 pm I've just started to follow this thread more closely again, as I'm now looking to upgrade my equipment.
I've been following a discussion about them on the "Your very next astro gear purchase?" thread, and my interest has been piqued.
Having re-read this thread I am still a bit confused as to the size I actually need to be aiming for. The 15x70 gets a few mentions as a reasonable size for general usage.
My main areas of astronomy, besides the Moon, are the nearest celestial bodies and constellations. I'm not looking to view deep space objects or do any photography through them.
I know a lot of binocular choices are personal, and there are good and bad points for each brand and size. Also, cost has to be taken into consideration.
I don't want to spend hundreds of pounds on the top of the range binoculars, as my skywatching is not intense but more casual.
I'll keep checking back to see what other suggestions are made for specific models to do further research into.
Vanessa, when I first asked that question, a good number of people recommended 10x50. I am a fairly strong and steady-handed guy. And you can see Jupiter and 4 Galilean moons - Europa, Ganymede, Calisto, and Io. BUT there is no way to see them without some shaking in the hands. The reason is, at that magnification, you notice any slight movement in your hands.
Personally, I would (and did) start with 10x50. Mine is the Bushnell Falcon 10x50 as listed in my signature. A camera tripod with an adapter is all you would need with it, and I believe you already have a camera tripod. My binos only cost about $33 USD. Not sure what that is in Euros or Pounds.
You can't beat that price. And I know you are not interested in looking for
Just putting it all into perspective for you as you decide.
Binos: Bushnell Falcon 10x50
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Re: Which binoculars do you use most for astronomy?
How much better would 15x70s be for seeing Saturn's rings for example, or is that still stretching it a bit?
Nikon D82 Fieldscope with 30x/45x/56x angled eyepiece.
Olympus DPS-1 10x50 binoculars.
Leica 8x32BN binoculars.
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Re: Which binoculars do you use most for astronomy?
With normal handheld binoculars, like 10X50, the rings of Saturn are not visible. They are too small. 15X70 will show a somewhat elongated form, on a tripod that is. To observe the rings with some more comfort a magnification of 35x-45x is necessary. One really needs a small telescope on a tripod for observations with that magnification.Butterfly Maiden wrote: ↑Fri Sep 04, 2020 3:13 pm How much better would 15x70s be for seeing Saturn's rings for example, or is that still stretching it a bit?
A 10X50 is a good instrument for the kind of observing you want, and even a lighter 8X40 or even more lighter 7X35 can be a candidates. Note: all three of them have 5mm exitpupils. They all will give very pleasant views. They will all show starclusters like Hyades, Pleiades, The central part of Orion, the double cluster in Perseus and even several deepsky objects like Orionn nebula and Andromeda nebula.
The 10X50 is the connection to the first
Anecdote. As a member of a public observatory I always show people the stars above. Some of them take along their own binoculars. Funny how they apologize for the small instruments they have. ( not really that small) Until they see a tiny 8X30 dangling around my neck...
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Commonly used bino's : *Jena 10X50 , * Canon 10X30 IS, *Swarovski Habicht 7X42, * Celestron 15X70, *Kasai 2.3X40
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Re: Which binoculars do you use most for astronomy?
I did have a pair of 15X70 Celestron Skymasters but someone knocked them off a coffee table and now "Her right eye looks at Dallas, her left one at Fort Worth." They were inexpensive but fragile.
The Astronomy club I belonged to up north had a pair of Celestron SkyMaster DX 9x63 Binoculars as loaners. They gave excellent views. If I ever replace my Discoveres I will likely pick these up.
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Re: Which binoculars do you use most for astronomy?
According to Stellariun the rings are about 0.01129° wide and the globe is about a third of that.Butterfly Maiden wrote: ↑Fri Sep 04, 2020 3:13 pm How much better would 15x70s be for seeing Saturn's rings for example, or is that still stretching it a bit?
With 15x magnification the rings are 0.17° from end to end. Considering that the naked eye Moon spans about half a degree, you will at least be able to see that Saturn has rings, but the gap between rings and planet will be a challenge!
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Re: Which binoculars do you use most for astronomy?
I'll also say from experience that 15x70s are a world apart. Larger images and more light gathering power. Some can be handheld, but IMO they really need a tripod to do their best work - any hand or arm movement is going to be readily apparent and that makes dimmer objects harder to see.
I'll most likely buy a pair of 15x70s to replace my 15x70 SkyMasters and my inclination would be to take those on dark site trips over the 10x50s.
A lot of this is subjective - might explain why some bino fans have many pairs.
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Re: Which binoculars do you use most for astronomy?
I would assume the 15x70s having the larger magnification would suffer more with shaking than the others. Would a more sturdy tripod limit the effects of image-shake?
Basically, I'm trying to decide which model to research further at the moment :veryconfused:
Nikon D82 Fieldscope with 30x/45x/56x angled eyepiece.
Olympus DPS-1 10x50 binoculars.
Leica 8x32BN binoculars.
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Re: Which binoculars do you use most for astronomy?
Your assumptions are right. Much depends on the sturdiness of the tripod. Even with a light tripod you will see more stars than handheld.Butterfly Maiden wrote: ↑Fri Sep 04, 2020 6:36 pm How sensitive are both the 10x50s and 15x70s to say light breezes when mounted on a tripod?
I would assume the 15x70s having the larger magnification would suffer more with shaking than the others. Would a more sturdy tripod limit the effects of image-shake?
Basically, I'm trying to decide which model to research further at the moment :veryconfused:
I have even seen solutions with an upside down (clean) broom underneath handheld binoculars. Even that simple solution will reveal more stars than holding the bino's in your hands without support.
GrabnGo on Alt/AZ : *SW Startravel 102 F/5 refractor( widefield, Sun, push-to), *OMC140 Maksutov F/14.3 ( planets).
Most used Eyepieces: *Panoptic 24, *Morpheus 14, *Leica ASPH zoom, *Zeiss barlow, *Pentax XO5.
Commonly used bino's : *Jena 10X50 , * Canon 10X30 IS, *Swarovski Habicht 7X42, * Celestron 15X70, *Kasai 2.3X40
Rijswijk Public Observatory: * Astro-Physics Starfire 130 f/8, * 6 inch Newton, * C9.25, * Meade 14 inch LX600 ACF, *Lunt.
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Re: Which binoculars do you use most for astronomy?
Man... That's some icky-tasting stuff!
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Re: Which binoculars do you use most for astronomy?
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Re: Which binoculars do you use most for astronomy?
My next question is about filters. I'm not intending to take photos with them, so are they necessary for general viewing. If so, then I will need to look for a model that allows their fitting.
I think I already have a decent quality tripod. I have an Opticron birdwatching model that I've used for my cameras and a Nikon Fieldscope.
If a more stable one than that is necessary then please let me know.
Nikon D82 Fieldscope with 30x/45x/56x angled eyepiece.
Olympus DPS-1 10x50 binoculars.
Leica 8x32BN binoculars.
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Re: Which binoculars do you use most for astronomy?
I have a link somewhere to a filter review /test. I'll see if I can find it and post.
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Re: Which binoculars do you use most for astronomy?
Thank you pakarinen.
If it helps, we have
nFA mentioned in another thread that he uses neutral density filters which helps better than polarising filters for example. It was said that binoculars that can take filter attachments are more expensive. As my stargazing will be more casual than intense, it is probably not worth the extra cost for the benefits I would get. I don't know That's why I need as much help as possible before I commit to any purchase.
Anyway, that's pretty much my intentions at the moment anyway.
Nikon D82 Fieldscope with 30x/45x/56x angled eyepiece.
Olympus DPS-1 10x50 binoculars.
Leica 8x32BN binoculars.
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Re: Which binoculars do you use most for astronomy?
I'm sure more filter-knowledgeable folk will chime in.
Man... That's some icky-tasting stuff!
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