What binoculars would be good for wide field star watching and astronomy?
I want to study the stars along the Milky Way and also Messier objects, and general stargazing. I have been thinking along the lines of 30 x 80 or 25 x 100...definitely tripod mounted. I want to bring out as many stars as I can in the depth of field and observe objects such as M31. Any make or model that would be the better? Budget is $500 plus some for accessories.
I own two binoculars: Celestron Pro 10x50s (discontinued, but Orion UltraView is similar) and Orion Little Giant II 15x70. I find that I use the 10x50s a hundred times for each time I use the 15x70s. I strongly prefer hand holding my binoculars to using them on a tripod. The 10x50s are easy to just pick up and use; I can just barely handhold the 15x70s by sitting down and bracing my arms, and I find setting them up on a tripod very inconvenient. I tend to use one of my telescopes instead. One solution is a proper binocular mount, but I just have never gotten around to buying one...other priorities.
I've found the optical quality of Orion binoculars to be excellent, and they offer a wide range of models:
http://www.telescope.com/jump.jsp?itemType=GATEWAY&itemID=5
My Orion 15x70s are Japanese made and very sharp, as compared to the Chinese models widely available today which are less expensive but poorer quality. I've also tested Orion 25x100 binoculars. The views though these were really spectacular, but they were not as sharp as my 15x70s, and were even harder to mount.
How to Buy a Telescope : Binoculars for Astronomy
 |
£12.99
