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10x50 for atro use? (1 Viewer)

T

timmay

Well-known member
Looking to step up from a 8x42 to something a little better for night astronomy.
The Monarch 7 8x42's I have are surprisingly bright at night but Id like more magnification for astro use.

I know there are tons of great 10x42 ( I actually just found out how bright and nice the new Bushnell M series are in 10x42)

Im wondering if I should just get a 10x42 with a good field of view
or step up the objective lens size to try and get more brightness (all other things being equal) to a 10x50 or 10x56 but then the FOV goes down

I was considering the Eagle Optics Ranger ED 10x50 but its field of view kind of sucks
The Celestron Granite 10x50 has a much better field of view.

I have noticed that when looking through something with ED glass with dielectric coated prisms vs non dielectric the view is much brighter to my eyes, So Id like to get something with the dielectric coated prisms


So Im thinking:
Bushnell Legend M series 10x42 (these seem brighter to me than the Vortex Talons)
Celestron Granite 10x50
Vortex Vulture 10x56..maybe even the 15x56 (not sure if these are dielectric coated like the talons and Vipers
Vangaurd Endeavor ED 10.5x45
Zen Ray ED3 10x43


Suggestions for astro use for under $500 with decent field of view, minimum of 10x, dielectric prisms?? Keeping the exit pupil of at least 5mm would be nice too but I think the absolute minimum would be the 4.2mm of the 10x42 if they are bright enough
 
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From 8x42 I think it would be nice to double the magnification to see a major difference. And handheld that, it means Canon 15 or 18x50 IS. The moon and open star clusters will thank you for it (not to mention M31, M42 and many other Messiers, double stars and the biggest globulars). Field flattener is a plus and the same applies for UD glass.
 
Check out cloudy nights and what they have to say above the Fujinon 10x50. An amazing value too.

Many around here seem to acknowledge the ratings on Allbinos. Check out how they rate the fujinons. No Leica or zeiss ever tested at any price can match them at allbinos. That's the 7x50. The Astro mob generally prefer the 10x50 as the sweet spot in the range. The 7x50 are so good, so difficult to technically fault.......except for birding they are 1.42kgs and have IF. The 10x50 will be identical excepting power. It also has a much larger apfov.

Just a thought,
Rathaus
 
I have a Lunt Engineering 10x50 Magnesium Series porro, which is one of several Chinese-manufactured versions of the Fujis. It has a 6.5 degree field of view, just like the Celestron Granites you mention, but I bought mine for under $300. If you are planning to use the binoculars exclusively for astronomy, I would recommend a porro prism binocular with individual eyepiece focusing rather than roof prisms with center focusing. Porro prism binoculars are cheaper to manufacture well (due to less-strict tolerances on prism alignment), and porro prisms have the potential for even better light transmission than dielectric-coated roof prism binoculars, since all prism surfaces employ total internal reflection. Eyepiece focusing can be cheaper and more robust than the conventional center focus, and for astronomy you're always focusing on infinity anyway--why spend money on a feature you don't need?

The overall consensus seems to be that 10x50 is the largest and most powerful binocular that can be "comfortably" hand-held, but for me even an 8x binocular can have an annoying amount of vibration when I'm looking at stars. When I mount my Lunts on a tripod I can see considerably more stars and the distracting vibrations are gone--I recommend this for any observing session longer than a few minutes. In fact, considering how often I mount my 10x50s, I think my money would have been better spend on a pair of 15x70s, which could be mounted on the same lightweight tripod but would show significantly more detail.
 
perseid28 said:
I have a Lunt Engineering 10x50 Magnesium Series porro, which is one of several Chinese-manufactured versions of the Fujis. It has a 6.5 degree field of view, just like the Celestron Granites you mention, but I bought mine for under $300. If you are planning to use the binoculars exclusively for astronomy, I would recommend a porro prism binocular with individual eyepiece focusing rather than roof prisms with center focusing. Porro prism binoculars are cheaper to manufacture well (due to less-strict tolerances on prism alignment), and porro prisms have the potential for even better light transmission than dielectric-coated roof prism binoculars, since all prism surfaces employ total internal reflection. Eyepiece focusing can be cheaper and more robust than the conventional center focus, and for astronomy you're always focusing on infinity anyway--why spend money on a feature you don't need?

The overall consensus seems to be that 10x50 is the largest and most powerful binocular that can be "comfortably" hand-held, but for me even an 8x binocular can have an annoying amount of vibration when I'm looking at stars. When I mount my Lunts on a tripod I can see considerably more stars and the distracting vibrations are gone--I recommend this for any observing session longer than a few minutes. In fact, considering how often I mount my 10x50s, I think my money would have been better spend on a pair of 15x70s, which could be mounted on the same lightweight tripod but would show significantly more detail.
Click to expand...

Im thinking you guys are right, if I have an 8x42 for general use, then I should step up to something with much more magnification for astronomy use. (why go from an 8x to only a 10 for looking at stars...youre right it doesn't make much sense)
I could either go with something like a Vortex Vulture 15x56 and still be able to somewhat hand hold them for quickness
Or just go straight to a designated tripod set like a Celestron 20x80
Are the Celestron Sky Masters decent?
 
timmay said:
Are the Celestron Sky Masters decent?
Click to expand...

I think it depends on how picky you are. If you read Cloudy Nights or look at the Amazon reviews for the Sky Master 20x80, you will see that there are people who are satisfied with them, and people whose binoculars had a fatal issue (like arriving out of alignment or being impossible to bring stars to focus), or gave images that just weren't up to the buyers' expectations. Certainly, a more expensive binocular would give a better view, but you could always try a Sky Master (purchasing from a dealer with a good return policy), and if it doesn't meet your standards you could try a more expensive model.
 
The 15x70 I had are mediocre,yet cheap. Oberwerk sells quality binoculars of the same configuration.
 
Ill look for a better quality. I would think I should be able to find a good poro in 15x70 or 20x80 for around $300-$400. The Fuji are a little steep for me.
Ive seen the Oberwerk has good reviews.
Celestron has the echelon but are in the $600+ range
 
timmay said:
Ill look for a better quality. I would think I should be able to find a good poro in 15x70 or 20x80 for around $300-$400. The Fuji are a little steep for me.
Ive seen the Oberwerk has good reviews.
Celestron has the echelon but are in the $600+ range
Click to expand...

And don't forget to make a small footnote in your notebook, for when the time comes - Takahashi Flourite 22x60.
 
Takahashi Flourite 22x60
Click to expand...

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