hazelblue
member
Reged: 03/29/08
Posts: 47
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Hello. (:
I've been doing some research on the pair of binoculars I want to get. I caught a pair of zhumell's on sale at telescope.com, but have heard mixed reviews ('russian roulette?') as far as quality.
I'm looking for a pair in which I can hold in my hand, but would give me about 15x-20x and under $200.
Any suggestions? 
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hallelujah
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 07/14/06
Posts: 1417
Loc: Colorado Rocky Mt. High
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Quote:
Hello.
I'm looking for a pair in which I can hold in my hand, but would give me about 15x-20x and under $200.
Any suggestions?
Take a look at these: http://www.garrettoptical.com/category-s/28.htm
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Pentax 12x50mm PCF WP II asph FMC/WP/FP
Pentax 16x60mm PCF WP asph FMC/WP/FP
Pentax 20x60mm PCF WP II asph FMC/WP/FP
Orion 15x70mm Little Giant II FMC/Japan
Orion 16x80mm Giant FMC/Japan
Orion 30x80mm MEGAView FMC/Japan
Barska 30x80mm X-Trail LW FC
Burgess Optical Series II 20x90mm FMC/WP/FP
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Rich N
Post Laureate
Reged: 09/22/04
Posts: 5176
Loc: San Francisco Bay Area, Calif...
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Suggestions? Yes. Think binocular mount.
I would be very surprised if you can get a useful nighttime view with a hand held 15x or 20x binocular that costs under $200. There aren't any image stablized binoculars, that I know of, that are under $200 and are 15x or 20x.
I don't think telescope.com sells Zhumell binoculars. Maybe you aren't spelling the address correctly?
It is much easier to get a good 15x or 20x view for about $200, if you get a telescope like a short tube 80mm and put it on a photo tripod.
Rich
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GlennLeDrew
sage
Reged: 06/18/08
Posts: 285
Loc: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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For hand holding, even 15X is on the high side; general recommendations state 10X is being the practical limit. But I've done binocular observing with 14X and 15X binos, although the view is always somewhat "shakey". But even simply bracing elbows on some support does improve this quite a bit.
I've looked through a couple of examples of the inexpensive 15X70 binos that have seemingly flooded the market, and have been favorably impressed with them, given their almost shockingly low prices. And for hand-holding, I don't know if any others of the same aperture are lighter. Quite a few names are stamped on basically the same model, so it's up to you to choose the vendor.
Or you could scour the web for a better quality, but used bino up for sale.
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Home-made 11X50 right angle bino, 8.1 deg. FOV
Modified 26X100 bino, 3.5 deg. FOV
Mediocre minds discuss people. Good minds discuss events. Great minds discuss ideas.
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hazelblue
member
Reged: 03/29/08
Posts: 47
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er...telescopes.com
My mistake.
I guess hand-held binos are all but out of the question.
Luckily I have two tripods.
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SeanOD
member
Reged: 06/10/08
Posts: 12
Loc: South Africa
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Maybe not. As a very recent (June 10) recipient of a pair of Oberwerk 15X70's ($149 base price) I can agree with Glen that they are hand holdable, but not for long. Depending on your build, hold and targets, they can work for a while and then you shake!
I'll second Glen on the views as well, which are very impressive, given the price. I have not had a look through the Ultra/Resolux/Signature models, nor have I had the privilege of looking through the Fujinon 16x70's but hope to soon.
Sean
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Oberwerk 15X70
Pentax PCF 12X50
Nikon 7X50
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Rich N
Post Laureate
Reged: 09/22/04
Posts: 5176
Loc: San Francisco Bay Area, Calif...
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I can hand hold 20x80s but the night time image isn't very useful, at least not for more than maybe 20 seconds at a time.
I've looked through the 15x70 Resolux. They give very nice images but you get more from them if you use a mount.
It is easy to see the difference between hand holding a 15x with and without the IS feature. My Canon 15x50 IS lets me many more small stars with the IS turned on.
Rich
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GlenM
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 05/20/07
Posts: 786
Loc: 53° 36'N 2° 06'W
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I like my new GO Signature 15x70's. I can hand hold them for short periods. I have had a couple of clear nights although not good one's the transparency wasn't good. I am now waiting for a tripod,head and a Oberwerk mirror mount.
I suspect these will be very good when tripoded(new word).
My 10x50's are obviously much easier for my hand holding.
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Glen
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KennyJ
Reged: 04/27/03
Posts: 9956
Loc: Lancashire UK
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Glen ,
May I humbly suggest " mounted " or even " triped " as opposed to " tripoded " ! :-)
Kenny
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Two eyes and a preference to use both
Zeiss 7 x 42 BGAT
Captain's Helmsman 7 x 50
Nikon 10 x 42 Superior E
Swift Audubon Kestrel 10 x 50
Helios 15 x 70 Observation
Strathspey 20 x 90
Televue 76 APO
Zeiss 85 Diascope
Helios 102 f5 refractor
Various eyepieces barlows tripods mounts etc.
Panasonic Lumix DMC - TZ5 digital camera
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GlenM
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 05/20/07
Posts: 786
Loc: 53° 36'N 2° 06'W
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I just knew someone would have to say something. Why did I think it would be you Kenny? 
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Glen
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Mike Rapchak
sage
Reged: 11/17/06
Posts: 409
Loc: Indiana, USA
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The Oberwerk 10x60s are nice, and are within your budget:
http://www.bigbinoculars.com/mseries.htm
Mike Rapchak Jr.
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werewolf6977
Lord High Smasher
Reged: 12/15/03
Posts: 7037
Loc: Hanover, Ohio
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Those 10X60's look nice. HOwever, I find 15X to be the outside limit for any hand-holdability. I can do it, but like others, I like to throw on a decent camera tripod, and just pan...
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Pete
6" Apogee/LXD55 - "The Beast"
Starhopper 6" Dob - "Shiva"
Spaceprobe 130 EQ - "Spacey"
Bushnell Fatboy
The Abomination
Sun Pak Pro 7500 Platinum Edition
10X25 Bushnell Camo Roofies
7X35 Tasco Classic Plastic (good views though)
7X42 Tasco Rare Bird
10X50 Nikon Actions (Type 7)
15X70 Skymasters - "DroolMeisters"
One ratty old IBM 600E LapTop
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StarStuff1
sage
Reged: 04/01/07
Posts: 359
Loc: East Tennessee
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To me the upper limit for good hand held views is about 9X. I have some lightweight Russian 12X45s that are nice for about 15-20 seconds. 10X binos I can hand hold for 20-30 seconds. My 8.5X44 Swifts are pretty steady all the time. . A good 8X42 or 8x? might be the best in the long run. YMMV.
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Two dozen eyepieces, a dozen binoculars, a half dozen refractors, two reflectors and a homemade Image Intensifier Eyepiece (IIE). All products subject to change by the owner at any time.
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bcuddihee
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 11/04/06
Posts: 812
Loc: Cincinnati Ohio
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Try a pair of Nikon AE 8X40"S. I've been using them for a couple of weeks now. Check out Ed Z's reviews of 8x40's. They have a huge wide field and are very easy to hold steady.
BC
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B Cuddihee
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1968 Jason Empire 60X700mm refractor (my buddy from way back)
Celestron Nexstar 8SE with Feathertouch
Microfocuser (a remarkable 8" grab and go)
Stellarvue 50mm "Sparrowhawk" finder
Denk bino's with Power x switch
Pair of 28 RKE's
Pair of Smart Astronomy 19 EF's
Pair of 20 TV plossls
Pair of 15 TV plossls
Pair of 15 Garrett SWA's
7mm UO HD Orthoscopic
Agena 38 SWA
Agena 26 SWA
Garrett 2" 2x ED Barlow
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Protheus
Vaguely offended
Reged: 09/01/07
Posts: 3898
Loc: Illinois, US
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Hey Hazel. You will -- well, I do,anyway -- get about 20 or 30 seconds at a time of hand-held use from 15x70s before your arms get tired and start shaking too much. This is especially true the closer your target is to the zenith, since you've got to hold your arms out over your head.
You can use them for a quick look at something, but for extended viewing, you need a smaller binocular or a mount. Even a half-decent camera tripod with an L bracket should hold them perfectly well, though; they're light compared to a camera with a telephoto lens.
There's no complaining about what I've seen in them for that 20 or 30 seconds of good, steady viewing, though. Jupiter's disk can be made out at 15x, cloud bands and all, for example... Yesterday night I had my 15x70s (and a tripod) out looking at Jupiter for maybe two hours. It's quite enjoyable.
Chris
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"To tread the sharp edge of a sword;
to run on smooth-frozen ice,
one needs no footsteps to follow..."
"Well, people sometimes ask me 'how did you get involved in astronomy?' I said 'I got born, what's your problem?'" -- John Dobson
"In discussing the large-scale structure of the cosmos, astronomers sometimes say that space is curved, or that the universe is finite but unbounded. Whatever are they talking about?" -- Carl Sagan
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werewolf6977
Lord High Smasher
Reged: 12/15/03
Posts: 7037
Loc: Hanover, Ohio
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You must have some good eyes!!
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Pete
6" Apogee/LXD55 - "The Beast"
Starhopper 6" Dob - "Shiva"
Spaceprobe 130 EQ - "Spacey"
Bushnell Fatboy
The Abomination
Sun Pak Pro 7500 Platinum Edition
10X25 Bushnell Camo Roofies
7X35 Tasco Classic Plastic (good views though)
7X42 Tasco Rare Bird
10X50 Nikon Actions (Type 7)
15X70 Skymasters - "DroolMeisters"
One ratty old IBM 600E LapTop
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Tad S.
super member
Reged: 08/28/06
Posts: 134
Loc: SW Virginia
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For tripod-free viewing, 15x is just beyond my limit (for anything more than a few seconds). However, I can steady binoculars in the 12x range for much longer periods. I have been very pleased with my 12x50 Nikon Action Extremes and would not hesitate to recommend them. I have seen deals on them for under $150, well in your range. If you mount these, they are even better for picking out details. However, if you have decided to go mainly with a tripod now, bumping up the magnification a little might be more satisfying.
Not to change the subject too much, but I have recently noticed the Action Extreme series in a 16x50 size. Has anyone tried these for astro?
--Tad
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Orion XT8i, Vixen ED80Sf, Oberwerk BT-80/45
20x80 Oberwerk Std., 12x50 Nikon AE,
10x42 Celestron Regal LX, 8x40 Pentax PCF WP
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Luigi
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/03/07
Posts: 1560
Loc: Massachusetts
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For hand held astro, I like Nikon 10x50AEs, nice wide FOV. I also like the Canon 15x50 Image Stabilized bins but they are way more than $200. For higher powers, I use a mount.
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17.5" f/5 Discovery Truss
IM715 7" f/15 MCT (due July!)
Eon-120ED refractor
CG5A coffee grinder, Orion Skyview Alt-AZ
35,19,15 Pans.9 Nag. Meade 24.5 4kSWA, 4.7 5kUWA.
BO-TMB 7mm planetary.
Zeiss Diascope 85
Zeiss, Leica, Canon IS, Fujinon, Nikon binos
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leo9
member
Reged: 06/17/08
Posts: 41
Loc: Western Oregon, USA
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Man I must really have a bad case of the shakes! At the store my 12x50's seemed quite easy to hand hold. When I looked at the stars they looked like manic fireflys, still a bit shakey on a monopod, tripod use only for me. I would strongly suggest you try before you buy... this is one time that buying "blind" could bite you.
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Nikon 12x50 Action; Pentax 8x40 PCF WPII
Bogen 3220 w/3way+qw
Trico SkyWindow
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Protheus
Vaguely offended
Reged: 09/01/07
Posts: 3898
Loc: Illinois, US
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Quote:
You must have some good eyes!!
I'm blessed with good night vision. I spend a lot of time (relative to most people) in the dark. Did this even before I took up astronomy. Now the real question is, do I like the dark because my eyes are remarkably sensitive to small variances in light, or are my eyes remarkably sensitive to small variances in light because I like the dark?
Chris
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"To tread the sharp edge of a sword;
to run on smooth-frozen ice,
one needs no footsteps to follow..."
"Well, people sometimes ask me 'how did you get involved in astronomy?' I said 'I got born, what's your problem?'" -- John Dobson
"In discussing the large-scale structure of the cosmos, astronomers sometimes say that space is curved, or that the universe is finite but unbounded. Whatever are they talking about?" -- Carl Sagan
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