Binoculars for home not boat

[masterofnone]

Looking for some general purpose binos, you know wots that boat to/ wow doesnt the moon look big tonight type . would you go for these
Olympus DPSI 8-16 X 40 Zoom Binoculars
or these
Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 Porro Pris
thanks

 

[penberth3]

Looking for some general purpose binos, you know wots that boat to/ wow doesnt the moon look big tonight type . would you go for these
Olympus DPSI 8-16 X 40 Zoom Binoculars
or these
Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 Porro Pris
thanks

Er, neither! 15x or 16x hand-held isn't going to give you a great image. For star-gazing you need a wide field. A star is a white dot at any magnification - better to see more of the constellations - so 7x or 8x is good.

 

[mjcoon]

Er, neither! 15x or 16x hand-held isn't going to give you a great image. For star-gazing you need a wide field. A star is a white dot at any magnification - better to see more of the constellations - so 7x or 8x is good.

Although there was a brief period of clarity that had me looking at Saturn and Jupiter which are cuddling up to each other in the sky these days. Through my telescope at 25x it is easy to see the Galilean moons of Jupiter and at 75x just possible to see the rings of Saturn. N.B. the telescope was a cheapo, not fancy...
Edit: the telescope works in the day too. I chose a photo that shows out-of-focus TV aerials on a house between me and the Red Kite

 

[johnalison]

Handling quality is almost more important than optics. Any large diameter binoculars are going to be heavier and more tiring to use. If you can usefully hand-hold any x15 binoculars, then you are even better than Gunga Din. Traditionally, 8x30 was the standard for general use, but 7x50s are usual for low light on boats, and something like 10x40 are my preference for image-stabilised binos. For sky-watching, light-gathering power is more important than magnification because you will not see details on the moon or planets, but faint nebulae or comets need all the photons they can get.

 

[TernVI]

Some of the bird-botherers have some good telescopes with tripods.
Even a 'monopod' makes high-gain optics a lot more useable.
A bit of magnification is nice for the moon and planets.
I have a little pocket monocular, which has the advantage I'm more likely to carry it around.

Like most other toys/tools, there is no one perfect answer!

 

[dansaskip]

You might want to have a look at Hawke binoculars I have pair for general use and they are very good. All binoculars are a compromise in terms of size, weight, portability and magnification. If they are too big and heavy you will find you will leave them at home.

 

[mjcoon]

Another variation to consider: nearest focus. I have a pair of "Papilio II" binoculars by Pentax, discounted to ~£100. They are named as being good for studying butterflies, or any other small nearby objects, because they focus down to 0.5m.

 

[AndrewB]

I have Avalon 12x42 binos at home, which need to be steadied against a door or window frame, but are excellent for spotting Jupiter's moons, an interesting bird, or my neighbour who doesn't believe in drawing her curtains.

Any more magnification would need a tripod.

 

[mjcoon]

I have Avalon 12x42 binos at home, which need to be steadied against a door or window frame, but are excellent for spotting Jupiter's moons, an interesting bird, or my neighbour who doesn't believe in drawing her curtains.

Any more magnification would need a tripod.

Or a smaller neighbour?

 

[Frank Holden]

I have more than a few binos... I just seem to accumulate them.

My suggestion for shore use would be these Nikon 10x42s .. Nikon 10x42 Monarch 7 ATB Binoculars (Black)

Excellent for bird watching, planet watching, pretty much anything as they focus down to 2.5 metres ... I also take them on my boat along with myFuji 7x50s.. ... where they are handy for inspecting the rig.

Earlier this year I bought a pair of Nikon 12 x 50s.... just because I could.... Nikon 12x50 Action Extreme ATB Binoculars
OK but not as good as the 10x42s..... only focus down to 7 metres.... heavy... need a stable platform... they live in the cab of my 4x4 and don't leave the farm...

 

[jwilson]

At home looking out over the harbour I have a cheap £10 car boot sale Russian 7x50 (very heavy) by one window and in another room a pair of rather more expensive 10x50 Olympus binos bought new as a present. I also have a 30x (Opticron?) telescope, but that is currently packed away as the tripod on which it sat in the window got damaged. To be honest 99% of the time I prefer either of the binos, both are excellent quality.

I am not a fan of much more than 10x power for handholding, the jump to 12x definitely makes handholding worse. People sometimes get anorakky about ultra high quality and very expensive binos, by £100-150 or so you can get a pretty good pair. Avoid anything under £50 new.

 

[Slowboat35]

Even with a tripod you'll find the optical quality of such cheap binos is so poor you'll be fed up with distorton, shadow and refracted edges on the image. I doubt you'd get a reasonable quality pair for stargazing for much less than £150 - 200.
For handheld use forget anything over 10x and even that's a bit much unless you have a very steady hand.
I find the Kowa range is excellent value in the low-midrange, excellent optics but you aren't paying for the name.

 

[Humblebee]

Lot of good advice above and I totally agree with the view that any magnification over 10X makes binoculars too difficult to hold steady. I'm not keen on zoom bins either, the optics always seem to be a compromise and I learned a useful lesson once when trying a pair in town. At low magnifications I could read a car registration plate some distance away then when I increased the magnification the same plate became unreadable because of the darkening of the image. Light gathering power is important so go for 8x or 10x but no more. Incidentally, 8x42 is quite a common size nowadays and useful if you aren't going to be carrying them around much. When I am out walking I carry pocket sized Olympus 8x21s.
Oh, and one last point, eyes differ and within individual makes binocular quality differs so if possible try first before buying.

 

[Frank Holden]

At home looking out over the harbour I have a cheap £10 car boot sale Russian 7x50 (very heavy) by one window and in another room a pair of rather more expensive 10x50 Olympus binos bought new as a present. I also have a 30x (Opticron?) telescope, but that is currently packed away as the tripod on which it sat in the window got damaged. To be honest 99% of the time I prefer either of the binos, both are excellent quality.

I am not a fan of much more than 10x power for handholding, the jump to 12x definitely makes handholding worse. People sometimes get anorakky about ultra high quality and very expensive binos, by £100-150 or so you can get a pretty good pair. Avoid anything under £50 new.

I know someone who says he has Swarovskis on his boat...... poser...

I think there is a very slight difference in quality between mid range and very expensive... however going down the scale quality can drop off pretty quickly...

Nikon do 10x42s across the range... starting quite cheap and I imagine of reasonable quality.
Binoculars: Products, Reviews, Guides | B&H Photo Video
I don't really understand the US pricing... here in Au my Monarch 7s were 'only' £200 new from a reputable dealer 2 years ago.

 

[johnalison]

The bees' knees for general use are image-stabilised, for which you pay somewhat more. Mine are 10x40 and now 20 years old and working well, but all choices involve compromise. Moon-gazing and planets are always going to be disappointing with binos compared to even a modest telescope, but nebulae, comets and double stars can be interesting. Until recent times comet-spotters used binoculars, though larger than most home ones.

 

[peterhull]

I joined the birding forum a few years ago and although I have not logged many times they are a mine of information on binos but of course for birding not astronomy.

My understanding is that one pair of binos will not do all you may want to watch.

I would buy a pair for your main use and maybe a telescope with tripod for astronomy stuff.

 

[peterhull]

bought a lovely pair of secondhand Vortex Spitfire 7.5 x32 for £30 on Facebook. Modern binos have improved greatly over the last few years. Even the cheaper end of the market have sophisticated coatings which improve light transmission. They are also lighter and more compact and easier to carry.

Beware of some brands they have several versions of the same model, each have different qualities and specs, a good camera shop will give you advice depending on what you want them for.

 

[Adios]

Most of the interesting wildlife things to look at happen in the early hours or around dusk so maximum light gathering is critical for wildlife and general purpose binos. The ratio of objective lens and magnification is critical with 8x56 being widely considered ideal. Any bigger an objective lens at that magnification is no improvement while any smaller will start to restrict the light. To get the same ratio at 10x mag (10x70) are a pretty big bino while 8x56 prism binos are still pretty compact and not too heavy for most. You are MUCH better off with a clear bright image at 8x mag than a dingy 15x mag image. You'll perceive the object in more detail regardless that it is smaller and you'll have a wider field of view into the bargain. You might need to see that yourself to believe the difference as its a bit counter-intuitive.

I used to have a Bushnell Trophy 8x56 and found it to be good quality for the price, probably a sweet spot for value for money. Opticron used to be excellent value, British company selling made in Japan quality without a premium for the brand name, but I can't confirm they haven't moved to china. If they are still Japan made will be worth a look at their waterproof 8x50 Discovery models.

 

[johnalison]

I joined the birding forum a few years ago and although I have not logged many times they are a mine of information on binos but of course for birding not astronomy.

My understanding is that one pair of binos will not do all you may want to watch.

I would buy a pair for your main use and maybe a telescope with tripod for astronomy stuff.

That is entirely true, but not everyone wants to cart a telescope around. I have a telescope, 7x50s for the boat, 10x40 stabilised for general use, and 8x25s which are brilliant as they fit in a pocket and I can take them anywhere. They are also handy if I am taking the 'scope and want to keep weight down.

 

[Adios]

and 8x25s which are brilliant as they fit in a pocket and I can take them anywhere.

I ended up swapping similar for a monocular, Opticron BGA 10x42. Partly because my smaller binos were poor quality with hard to line up images but overall happy as pocketable and still with a decent size objective lens for low light. I don't like looking through one eye for long though, but good to have as a standby