looking for binos advice please
  • paul
    Hi, had various telescopes over the years and I am thinking of getting some decent binos cause transporting an 8 inch dobsonian round with me is a bit too much effort now if I want to go to a darker site. Advice on what to go for please?
  • canopus7
    Supose it dep.on how detailed a view you want,and in a climate where the weather changes a lot itd be pretty sickening to haul out a huge telescope only for cloud to move it!I gen.just take either a 8x30 monocular or a Leica pair of 8x20 binoculars its amazing what you can see even with these small lenses.You can pick out M71 in Sagitta with 8x20s from a dark skies sight,will be trying for M51 when the Moon goes down.
  • John_BradyJohn_Brady
    Hi Paul,

    Generally the advice you'll find is to get as good a pair of 10x50's as you can, as they seem to be ideal for the job. But I have a pair of Nikon 8x40's and are very good, and light to hold. For that extra magnification and aperture I have some Celestron 20x80's which are of course very large so a tripod is needed.

    Yes Canopus it's surprising the stuff you can see with even small binoculars, especially from a really dark place.

    Here are some of the top binocular makes for astronomy according to the Jodrell Bank website... Leica, Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Swarovsky, Swift and Zeiss.
  • paul
    would I need a tripod with 10x50?
  • binocularviewbinocularview
    no you should be ok Paul hand held ...though if you have access to a long handled brush in the back yard just turn it upside down so you can lean your arms on the head for a bit of extra support if needed

    Tom
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