8 replies to this topic

[HouseBuilder328]

Wanted to complement my Celestron Evolution 9.25 with a good pair of binoculars and wondering how much power I should get.  Mainly, this is for my kids who love stargazing and some planet viewing so I can set it up much quicker than my telescope (which I do once every 2 weeks at this point, but still would like to teach the things more often).   And a lot of clear nights in NC these days so wanted something quick I can do right before bedtime. 

 

My question is the power - seems like anything above binoculars with 15 x 70 needs a tripod for stability?  I never expected to use my binoculars without a tripod.  Therefore, can I go ahead and buy a higher powered Celestron 20x80?  

 

Basically, what can you recommend when I am using my photography tripod for these binoculars? 

 

https://www.amazon.c...c4-3e7a9c0027d0

[sevenofnine]

20x80 binoculars will be a good wide view compliment to your scope. I would suggest looking at the Oberwerk equivalent for better quality control. Kevin checks collumation on every pair he sells... How sturdy is your photo tripod? These binoculars are pretty heavy for the typical light weight tripod. 15x70's will be easier to deal with and still be nice to look through. I've owned both and prefer the lower power. Either way, using the tripod from a seated position will increase stability. Just rock the tripod back on two legs to scan high overhead. As far as the kids go, they might like something that is more portable. Oberwerk stocks inexpensive 6.5x32 LW's that might be good for them. Good luck with your choice!

[vtornado]

The moon is nice at 20x, but the planets are still too small.

I don't think a kid is going to be able to hand hold even a 15x bino.  You are going to have to tripod or parallelogram mount the binos.

Part of the joy of binos is they are so easy to scan an point, once on a tripod some of their magic is gone.

 

For kids you might consider an 80 mm f/5 refractor on a small atl-az mount. 

With slow motion controls kids can probably track. 

An 80mm achro refractor can probably do 40 - 80x without too much CA.

[spereira]

Moving to Binoculars.

 

smp

[Erik Bakker]

Kids benefit from low power, lightweight, wide field binoculars, easy to hand hold and find new objects in the sky.

 

A Kowa BDII 6.5x32 XD is a wonderful and affordable quality choice available new for around €/$ 400. With a wide true field of view of around 175m and 1000m it is in a class of it’s own.

 

For the money and compact size, they are hard to beat for low power viewing.

[Jon Isaacs]

The moon is nice at 20x, but the planets are still too small.

I don't think a kid is going to be able to hand hold even a 15x bino.  You are going to have to tripod or parallelogram mount the binos.

Part of the joy of binos is they are so easy to scan an point, once on a tripod some of their magic is gone.

 

For kids you might consider an 80 mm f/5 refractor on a small atl-az mount. 

With slow motion controls kids can probably track. 

An 80mm achro refractor can probably do 40 - 80x without too much CA.

 

 

You can see some detail viewing the moon in binoculars, seeing Jupiter's moons is within reason. Seeing actual planetary detail should not be expected.

 

I think everyone needs a good pair of hand holdable 7-10x binoculars but for quick looks at the moon and planet's, some sort of small telescope is a better.

 

Detail can be seen, the rings of Saturn easily and the Cassini in a decent quaily small scope. Jupiter's cloud bands and moon's plus shadow transits are visible in a decent small scope.

 

Moving between kids and adults won't need adjusting the IPD every time (Interpupilary Distance) it will be more comfortable looking down.

 

Celestron Skymasters 20x80s are inexpensive binos and have a variety of issues, one is collimation. 

 

Jon

[Eddgie]

 Mainly, this is for my kids

I too would recommend something like an 80mm short tube. 

 

Better might even be something like this:

 

https://www.cloudyni...ck-observatory/

[HouseBuilder328]

20x80 binoculars will be a good wide view compliment to your scope. I would suggest looking at the Oberwerk equivalent for better quality control. Kevin checks collumation on every pair he sells... How sturdy is your photo tripod? These binoculars are pretty heavy for the typical light weight tripod. 15x70's will be easier to deal with and still be nice to look through. I've owned both and prefer the lower power. Either way, using the tripod from a seated position will increase stability. Just rock the tripod back on two legs to scan high overhead. As far as the kids go, they might like something that is more portable. Oberwerk stocks inexpensive 6.5x32 LW's that might be good for them. Good luck with your choice!

Looks like many people complain about collimation on the Celestron binoculars.  That's not something I want to deal with.  Should I just order directly from Oberwerk? 

[Erik Bakker]

20x80’s from any manufacturer are not a good match for children.