Optics for views and casual astronomy

[Participant]

Hi all

We're going on holiday to S. France soon and the property has spectacular views of the French countryside. It's nowhere near a city either so the sky is very clear.

What I'm after is some binoculars or scope of some kind that will be suitable for this kind of thing. I already have a camera scope so whatever I buy can be used on a tripod if necessary.

I suppose the thing I'm partly struggling with is that it would be nice if they were somewhat portable, for walks and days out etc., but their primary usage will be from the back garden.

Am I best getting a spotting scope for the views and a cheap pair of Olympus to carry about?

Budget wise - I'm thinking not top of the line as it's just for casual use, but I want good optics and a quality product.

Many thanks for any thoughts and recommendations.

 

[Alan1969]

I use 8x magnification binoculars primarily to look at the moon (but you can also use them for any stars etc). Even at that lowish magnification you will have trouble holding them steady - try butting your elbows up against something or force your elbows down and into your ribs. The greater the magnification you go the more problem that you will have with shake.

As regards to what make of binoculars I bought a cheap (£35) pair of celestron from the internet - they weren't much good. later I went on a boating holiday and bought a waterproof pair of Kodak for about £70 and they are very good. I think that you get what you pay for and I would recommend not going too cheaply Ie. spend £70 whereas £35 was a waste of money.

 

[Participant]

Thanks @Alan1969.

I bought some Nikon Aculon A211 10-22x50 Zoom Binoculars from Amazon for £129 (- cashback) in the end, on the understanding that the zoom functionality will come with some payoffs in respect of brightness and FOV, especially at full magnification.

They're arriving tomorrow...will report back.

 

[Alan1969]

Thanks @Alan1969.

I bought some Nikon Aculon A211 10-22x50 Zoom Binoculars from Amazon for £129 (- cashback) in the end, on the understanding that the zoom functionality will come with some payoffs in respect of brightness and FOV, especially at full magnification.

They're arriving tomorrow...will report back.

The cheap celestron pair that I had were zoom and could not keep focus when zooming Which I think is called columnation. I think that non zoom bingos are meant to be superior. However I imagine that you have a good pair for that price. Still with Amazon you should be able to return them if your not happy. 10 x mag as I said before is already a large mag and you will have trouble holding them still enough. As mentioned try butting your arms up to something or even your own ribs. I like looking at craters on the moon and 10 to 22 mag is more than enough for that. The greater the mag the more trouble you will have to hit the target even the moon but as you have zoom then you can zoom in once you have it in your sights.

I look forwarding to hearing all about how you get on, including if you get used to how you set each eye up.

 

[Participant]

They've arrived and from an uneducated point of view, I'm really impressed. Love the flexibility of the zoom, and never having owned a decent pair of fixed zooms, I'm not missing any reduction in accuity or FOV.

 

[Alan1969]

To see if the zoom is good, adjust the left eyepiece and focus on something close by on low zoom and then try to zoom in on a distant object to determine if it stays in focus. You will have to get used to how to set up the eye piece by closing one eyes and then other, and also get used to how to minimize the shake (by butting up against something or squeezing your elbows down) when using the high zoom