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SNIP! As more of us ventured into binocular astronomy we discovered that unless we live under very dark skies of Mag 5.5 or darker and have young eyes we can't fully take advantage of that large 7.1 mm exit pupil. For most of us higher power binos with exit pupil of 4-6 mm offers darker sky background and bigger image scale. Making dimmer stars visible under suburban skies.

SNIP!

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I have a wonderful pair of Celestron 11x80's. I measured the light circle (marking a piece of paper) and get 76mm, give it +/- 2mm. This pair is marked "Coated Optics" "Field 4.5 [degrees]. Mine does not have a brace between the two halves at the objective end, which I believe was adopted later on in the evolution of astro binoculars. They weigh in at 4.5 lbs. I've owned or looked through about 5 pairs of 11x80's, branded Celestron, Meade, and some others whose details I forget. There is a range of quality, from acceptable to great. That is assuming collimation is on.

I also had a pair of Stellarvue branded binoculars 15x63's*. Comparing the two bear out Eric's comments quoted above. But, I preferred the 11x80's, based on use in NELM 3-6 skies (dark suburban and mountains north of Los Angeles). Maybe the pupils of my 50 plus year old eyes open up more than average. But, I would say that the two gave different views. The 11x80s give a wider FOV with a spacewalk feel. The 15x70(63)'s definitely had much more contrast, making the background sky ink black, and the stars sparkled much brighter.

I would argue neither is 'better,' but they are 'different.' When I downsized my binoculars I kept the 11x80's. I would not argue that a smaller exit pupil will give you a more contrast, and you can see more stars. But for the term 'better,' I would say, better for what? For wide scanning of The Milky Way or star fields, or comet hunting 11x80 may be 'better.' For me, the preference is more an aesthetic preference. Sorry to harp on this point, but I make it because it seems to be a minority opinion on this forum, often not stated. Or rather, the fact that a smaller exit pupil will show more contrast and fainter stars has been at times been presented as the final word on the subject. I wish new 11x80's or something similar were being made.

Of course, the real solution is to get two, three, five pairs of binoculars in different sizes!

*Stellarvue sold some 15x63's and 20x85's around 2004, if I remember right. They show up on the used market occasionally. I can recommend the 15x63's, but have not looked through the 20x85's. They were made in China, and tested under dark skies before shipping.

Littlegreenman

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I wish new 11x80's or something similar were being made.

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I also have a pair of University Optics 11x80 binoculars (though the quick aperature flashlight test indicates it is closer to 70mm).
I am overall quite happy with these, I aquired them this past summer, and they appear to have been never used by the previous owner.
So I was curious about these binos, and emailed the University Optics website to ask for more info on the 11x80.
I was informed these are about 20 years old, made in Japan, and probably fully multi-coated.

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