hey everyone,

I am new to the hobby, and was interested in getting started with binoculars. there is so much debate as to what are the best to get started with. weight is no object since I plan to buy/use a tripod. Should I go all out and get a 25x100 pair or start with something smaller? I know this might start a debate, but some help or advice would help me out a great deal. I am looking to spend (at maximum) $300 on them. what should I do? Also, I wear glasses. One eye is better than the other, does this mean I should get a pair that has individual focus?

DrJawhn:

A tripod and mount suitable for 25x100 binoculars would cost at least an additional $300. Most beginners start with 10x50's to get a feel for the night sky before getting big binoculars. (I'm currently using my wife's 8x42's.)

There are a couple of books that might help: Touring the Universe Through Binoculars, by Philip S. Harrington, and Binocular Astronomy, by Craig Crossen & Wil Tirion. Both are available from various vendors, including Sky&Telescope.

http://skyandtelescope.com/shopatsky/detail.asp?catalog%5Fname=SkyPub&category%5Fname=&product%5Fid=13377

http://skyandtelescope.com/shopatsky/category.asp?catalog%5Fname=SkyPub&category%5Fname=Books&Page=5
Scroll down to the seventh item and click on the title or picture for a description.

Most currently available binoculars have center-focus for both eyes plus a focusing right eyepiece to adjust for differences between the two eyes. Some premuium nitrogen-filled water-proof binoculars have individually focusing eyepieces. At the comparatively low magnification of binoculars, personal astigmatism can be a problem. Viewing with glasses on is important for most persons with astigmatism.
Eye relief is important if you plan to view with your eyeglasses on. Also, sufficient interpupillary distance is important for comfort, depending on your eye-spacing and the size of your nose.

Laird

I am an eyeglass wearer too, and it is important for us to select binos with adequate eye relief. That means the distance from the eyeball to the eyepiece of the binoc needs to be long enough so the whole field of view can be seen without crunching the eyeglasses. If you shop for binocs on the net, they usually will list the eye relief in mm for comparison, but you can't beat trying them out in person to be sure.

Most astronomy-worthy binocs will have separate focus adjustments for each eye.

IMO, for a beginner a smaller pair of binocs with a wider field of view might be somewhat easier, but I wouldn't let that deter you if jumbo binocs like 25x100 are extra-appealing to you.

Dr. Jawhn,

Beware the ides of March. Beware the 25X100 Celestrons. I am returning a pair today to Adorama. I previously purchased the 15X70s which were a remarkable deal, but the bigguns just don't cut it. The horrible purple flares make my eyes hurt. I find it hard to beliebve that this binocular could have passed through a quality control. Chromatic aberration this pronounced is easily detectable. Sometimes it seems Celestron and Meade are competing to see who can produce the shoddiest equipment.

As a complete novice you need to start with low magnification for wider field of view. This will help you identify the dimmer stars in constellations and help to build recognition of their complete patterns. I always recommennd 7x50 for a novice. However i purchased a pair of 7X35 Nikons of Japanese manufacture from Sam's Club this last Christmas. They were a gift for my daughter and under $50.00 They have excellent optics. Leslie Peltier started out with this size objective.

QUOTE: Originally posted by DrJawhn

hey everyone,

I am new to the hobby, and was interested in getting started with binoculars. there is so much debate as to what are the best to get started with. weight is no object since I plan to buy/use a tripod. Should I go all out and get a 25x100 pair or start with something smaller? I know this might start a debate, but some help or advice would help me out a great deal. I am looking to spend (at maximum) $300 on them. what should I do? Also, I wear glasses. One eye is better than the other, does this mean I should get a pair that has individual focus?
I would recommend the Apogee 25x100 or Zhumell 25x100 binoculars mounted on a Paragon Plus XHD tripod. I have the Zhumell 25x100 which I am very satisfied with the optical performance with them. www.opticsplanet.com For a good price on a steady tripod under the clearance section go to www.telescope.com Yes get the individual focus. Rick.... Clear Dark Skies

QUOTE: Originally posted by DrJawhn

I am new to the hobby, and was interested in getting started with binoculars. there is so much debate as to what are the best to get started with. weight is no object since I plan to buy/use a tripod. Should I go all out and get a 25x100 pair or start with something smaller? I know this might start a debate, but some help or advice would help me out a great deal. I am looking to spend (at maximum) $300 on them. what should I do? Also, I wear glasses. One eye is better than the other, does this mean I should get a pair that has individual focus?

Since you're just getting started, I strongly recommend a good-sized field of view. If you rarely or never get to a dark location, an exit pupil (objective divided by magnification) of 5mm is fine. With 10x50 you will be able to see a lot with not too small a FOV. Cutting the diameter of the FOV in half means you only see one-fourth as much sky. That makes it harder to find objects you're looking for. It would be great if you could try out some different ones at a star party, or at least compare them in a store.

You can use binoculars with your glasses on, but if you do so you need to have plenty of eye relief or you will lose some of your field of view. Actual, usable eye relief of at least 15mm is strongly recommended. My binoculars (8x42 and 10x50) are both listed as having 22mm eye relief, and it's great for me.

You don't need individual focus, especially with eyeglasses on. Almost all binoculars have the right-diopter adjustment, which allows you to fine-tune the focus for both eyes.

You should get "fully multicoated" (FMC), and BaK-4 prism glass is preferable. In general, I think it's still said that porro prism models are more recommended for astronomy than roof prism.

I really like the eyecups that rotate up and down.

If you are young and will be spending time under dark skies, then especially since you plan to use the binoculars mounted, you could go for larger exit pupil models (7x50, 8x56, 9x63, 10x70, 11x80). But only if you are both young and a dark-sky observer. If you are not both of those, then the extra aperture will be mostly extra weight and expense but not much else.

If you don't have any star charts yet, for smaller binoculars I strongly recommend the Bright Star Atlas 2000 (third edition) by Tirion and Skiff, only $12. I'm on my third copy.

If you go for bigger, more powerful binoculars, you will (eventually, if not sooner) need star charts to much fainter magnitudes. I'm now using a copy of Herald-Bobroff for that.

From what I've seen in the last couple of years (or more), the most frequently recommended book for this type of observing is Binocular Astronomy by Crossen and Tirion. It has the same charts as BSA 2000, but with the extra text information not quite as handy to them. I need to get this book.

Clear, dark nights --

Ed Cannon - Austin, Texas, USA

Thanks to everyone for helping me out. I have a great list of books to start with and have decided to go with the celestron 15x70's and a smaller pair of 7x50's which i am getting today. Only I wish that it wasn't raining. The bad weather is just making me more excited to finally get out there. I figure that should be more than enough to get me started (and was pretty cost effective). So much to learn it's almost overwhelming.

May your nights be full of stars,

Al

QUOTE: Originally posted by DrJawhn

Thanks to everyone for helping me out. I have a great list of books to start with and have decided to go with the celestron 15x70's and a smaller pair of 7x50's which i am getting today. Only I wish that it wasn't raining. The bad weather is just making me more excited to finally get out there. I figure that should be more than enough to get me started (and was pretty cost effective). So much to learn it's almost overwhelming.

May your nights be full of stars,

Al



Sounds reasonable, Al, though I'd recommend 10x50s over 7x50s. You might pick up a copy of the April issue and read my review of several low-priced binoculars. There are several good choices there from which you can choose.

In my opinion when starting out in the hobby of astronomy you might want to start out with something smaller and less expensive. You are using them to learn your way around the nightsky. Most people that have the large aperture binoculars are using them for binocular astronomy, not for a beginner just learning the night sky...

You are looking to learn the night sky and assist in finding objects, then something around the range of 50mm to 60mm objective lens. is good.. A few reasons I say that is one, that is a good enough size for seeing and finding a lot of objects. Two, 50mm is a common size of finder scopes on most telescopes. So when you locate an object with the binoculars, the FOV will not be that much different when you switch to the finderscope on the telescope. And three, the size and weight is a comfortable weight to be viewing the night sky without the use of a mount of any kind.

If you are planning on just using them for binocular astronomy then get the larger ones. But if you are planning on getting a telescope, I would recommend also have the smaller size binoculars along with you at all times.

Dear Dr. Jawhn:

I would agree with most of the people who have answered this thread. Higher magnification is for telescopes. Binoculars work much better to give you a wide field perspective of the night sky. With 25x100 or 20x100 binoculars, you need a very, very good tripod. An above average camera tripod is pretty frustrating to aim with high power binoculars. It is very difficult to point to a very small piece of sky, and panning across the sky is almost impossible unless you have a superb tripod. I have seen that Celestron makes some fluid micro adjusters to tweek your aim, but I haven't heard of anyone who has used them. They may just be another mechanical linkage to get in the way.

I use Oberwerk 15x70's and they are just phenomenal. I have some friends who have 20x100's and they prefer the Oberwerks over their binoculars. Good optics and good coatings are much more important than a greater magnification.

Lee

I got my celestron 15x70's in mail on thursday and it had been cludy ever since. The day I got Binocular Astronomy in mail (yesterday) it was a clear night. My area is not very good for viewing, so the BSA 2000 in the back of the book did more to confuse me than help, but I am working on it. Seeing Jupiter's moons however, was a spiritual experience. I watched them for an hour and didn't get to bed until 1:30 am, which isn't bad until you consider I am a middle-school teacher. I am hoping for clear skies again tonight and I mapped out the compass points the celestial equator (Peaks at 53 deg. bearing south, right?) and where Polaris should be (37 degrees north) since It is obstructed by trees (which is why I had such a hard time last night). I am looking for good spots in my area to stargaze, but it looks like the best spot is in valley forge. However, I am oing to Mexico, England, and the edge of long island this summer. I can't wait for dark skies and clear horizons. Thanks again for all of your help, everyone.

Actually the celestial coordinate system is a little diferent than in land navigation with a compass.

Polaris being the north star will depend on what ever latitude you live at If you live at 37 degrees north latitude then polaris will be at an angle in the norther sky of 37 Degrees. The the celestial equator will peak at 90 degrees to the south of the celestial pole..The line from fro north to south along that plane is called the meridian. As you look straight up from where you are standing that is zenith.

For a better understanding of the celestial coordinate system here are a couple links:
http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/time/coordinates.html
http://lyra.colorado.edu/sbo/astroinfo/coords/coordinates.html

Although With binoculars you really are better off knowing the constelations and the stars within them.. The celestial coordinates are used more with equatorial mounted telescopes..

Once you start learning to identify some of the constelations and some of the major stars within them, you will be able to locate objects with much more ease..

Get the book called Night Watch by Terrence Dickinson. In that book you will find a lot of good information about astronomy. Also you will find some very good and easy to read star charts. Pointing out the major constelations and the major stars withing them.. Along with that they also show you most of the Messier Objects most of which are easy to find with a good pair of binoculars such as the one you just got..

another good accessory to go along with the binoculars is a good comfortable lawn chair. Preferably on with arm rest to help support the elbows. If you live in a area that is light polluted most of your observing will be high in the sky away fro the horizon. So laying down will be much better..