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Erik D
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/28/03
Posts: 2565
Loc: Central New Jersey, USA
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Re: Does aperture rule in bino land?
12/06/05 03:57 PM
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Yes. Aperture AND Magnification.
I currently have about a dozen binoculars. Use the following frequently for astronomy:
12X50 Leupold Olympic Roof, 12X60 Oberwerk Porro(hand held). 20X80 LW and 25X100 mounted. I find myself using the 20X80 LW most often(70-80%) when I want to do serious observing vs scanning with binoculars.
I am fortunate to work with someone who is a big fan of Canon IS binos. I have acess to his 10X30 and 18X50 IS any time I wish. I have borrowed the Canon 18X50 IS for extended periods during the past few years. Most recently this past October for 2-3 weeks. This time I used the Leupod 12X50, Canon 18X50 IS and 20X80 LW for comparison. I observed the region around the summer triangle/ Northern Cross.
I am very comfortable hand holding 12X50s for astronomy and feel especially relaxed when I am sitting back in a reclining lawn chair with my elbows supported. I can just make out M57 as a non stellear object hand holding the 12X50. The Coathanger Group is very nice at 12X. Switching to 18X50 IS gave me 50% larger image scale with a steady view but can't say I saw many more dimmer objects from my mag 4.5 backyard. For me moving over to the the mounted 20X80 LW still offered the most dramatic gain. It's like walking into a room illuminated with a dim 60 watt bulb and flipping a switch to 100 watts.....That's is hardly surprising with the 80mm having 156% more light collecting area. (I have done the 18X50 IS vs. 20X80 mounted side- by- side on two previous occassions have been thinking I might want to invest in a 15X IS.)
Considering my 20X80 LW cost just $150 and the Bogen 3221WN/501 head another $300 it's hard for me to get excited about spending $800-$1000 for a 15/18X 50mm IS. I'd be more inclined to spend $850 for the Nikon 12X50 Superior E for the no compromise optics.....
To me the Canon 15/18X IS works very well as a low power spotting scope. I may consider getting a pair if I am going on a extended birding/astromy trip around the world and want to carry the least amount of gear.....close to home I prefer a BIG tripod mounted astro binocular with larger objectives and higher X. Seeing more is my primary consideration, cost & mount is secondary.
Erik D
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