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werewolf6977
Lord High Smasher
Reged: 12/15/03
Posts: 7408
Loc: Hanover, Ohio
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Take my situation for example: I work (nominally) 4:00-12:00 Midnite. a great deal of the time, I just don't have the time to set the dob outside and give it 30-90 minutes to cool properly, ordrive an additional 8 miles to my brother's place, and fight with the Beast in the dark setting it up. But, it only takes a minute to grab a pair of bins and go out the door. I find my self by necessity enjoying wide angle views more and more. If I want to some real wide-field work (play?) I grab the Outsiders. Going deep? The 15X70 Skymasters. Just toolin' around? The 10X50's. I know, I know I need to mount the Skymasters really, but since I'm more of a recreational observer than a scientific one, I don't mind the occasional bobble in the fov. I do know that stuff like M42, M31, M45 are very enjoyable with the 15X70's. If I want to go into detail, that's where my scopes shine.
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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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John Jarosz
I'm being watched...
Reged: 04/25/04
Posts: 2184
Loc: Chicago area, IL
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Yes, I'm realizing this now as well.
My new 20x80's get the entire length of Orion's sword in the field. What a sight!
In addition, the light pollution by me is so bad that it's difficult to know right away what the sky conditions really are (with my eyes).. Using the binos I can tell what kind of night it is. If it's a good night, I can setup the binos properly, or even get out a scope.
The 20x80's were a great thing to get.
john
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6" F4.6(w/Paracorr) GEM reflector, 8" F11 Dall Relay Scope
6" F5 RFT Refractor, Garrett Gemini 20x80 LW
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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I agree. I have the same sentimemt wtih my 20x80 bins living near the boston area. And they're certainly more easily toted around than the BT100.
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Glassthrower
Vendor - Galactic Stone & Ironworks
Reged: 04/07/05
Posts: 14599
Loc: Hurricane Alley
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One musn't forget some other advantages that binoculars have over scopes :
1) no need to understand sidereal time, right ascension, declination, and other esoterica related to precision navigation of the sky. Binoculars are mostly a "point and shoot" affair, and I like it that way. Less math, which I am convinced is the work of some malign entity who despises the human race.
2) With care, binoculars will hold collimation better than most non-refractor scopes.
3) Binoculars are an investment that has a finality to it. Unlike scopes, all fixed power binoculars are a stand-alone affair. No swapping out eyepieces (and cases for eyepieces, and caps and the eyepiece bag), no fiddling with filters (unless you insist on trying to use a UHC filter by holding it in front of one eyepiece, like me), and 1001 add-on purchases, accessories, and the plethora of doo-dads that accumulate with a scope. Like Pete said, just grab the bino and the tripod and start viewing.
Clear dark skies...
MIkeG
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Michael Gilmer - Member of the Meteoritical Society & Collector of Falling Stars.
Galactic Stone & Ironworks - Buy/Sell/Trade Meteorites, Moon Rocks, Mars Rocks, & 35 different falls and types!
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Well said Mike. Simplicity is a beautiful thing.
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Mark9473
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/21/05
Posts: 2664
Loc: 51°N 4°E
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Next to all that has been said on this topic, here and in countless other threads, for me binoculars are exceptional in providing me a RELAXING time out under the stars.
And the reason for that is not only due to the benefits of two-eyed observing, or the ease of set-up, or many other physical parameter. It is because a pair of binoculars is least affected by a series of different situations which would make the use of a telescope frustrating on so many nights.
Think about it: if you're into lunar and planetary observing, the number of nights with sufficiently good seeing is minimal. If you're into deep sky imaging, your local light pollution and lack of transparency may be a real problem, and so on. There are as many potential causes for frustration as there are telescopes in backyards.
Binoculars don't care about all that because, IMHO, they do what they do on proportionally more nights than any other instrument.
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Mark
Leica 8x20; Vixen 8x42; Swift 8.5x44, 10x50 and 20x80; TS 7x50; Orion 15x63
WO Megrez II 80 FD + Baader 90° T2 Amici
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KennyJ
Reged: 04/27/03
Posts: 10082
Loc: Lancashire UK
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< Binoculars don't care about all that because, IMHO, they do what they do on proportionally more nights than any other instrument. >
Apart from bottle - openers and corkcrews !
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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