TheSkySearchers

I have a pair of good quality 15x70 binos, which are light enough to do brief sessions handheld, and for longer sessions work nicely on a monopod.

If I am to step up in aperture, are there any advantages of getting 20x80 over 25x100? It looks like 20x80 pushing 5lb - already too heavy for handheld. If I am to get a mount would I be better off stepping up to 25x100?

For those of you who have 20x80 and 25x100, or 15x70 and 20x80 do you end up using one over another?

I use my 15x70's as a grab-n-go for quick sessions or for general spotting of items I'm having trouble seeing in the 50mm RACI. The extra 20mm makes quite a difference. If I want a long bino session I use 25x100's since they have much better light grasp and magnification necessary to spot faint objects. By faint, I mean objects like M65 and M66, Leo galaxies which I can't see in 15x70's at home but can using the 25x100's. Need a parallelogram mount or equivalent to handle the extra weight. I have a dark sky trip scheduled for next week so finally I will be able to use the 25x100's under dark skies. Hope this helps Andrey. I have the Oberwerks.

Thanks Michael! 25x100 under dark skies should be quite an experience.

I was not shopping for larger binos but older Celestron (made by Vixen) 20x80 came out for sale today. After some (rather short) consideration I decided that I can't simply pass on a good deal like that. So, soon I will be able to tell you if it is worth to have 20x80 in addition to 15x70.