15 replies to this topic

[Star Geezer]

My first year owning a telescope, I spent most of my time observing naked-eye and with 10x50 binoculars. In that year the scope seen first light and had been out for a few events.

 

I have been without a decent pair of binoculars for quite a while now and am really missing that binocular view.

 

I have been seeing these Celestron Cometron 7x50 binoculars at Barnes & Noble. So, today I set out to get a pair. What Luck, sold out. The Mrs. and I preceded to Walmart, to do some shopping. Sporting goods had a cheap pair of Bushnell 10x50, I’m not spending that much on cheap. Behind the glass was a pair of Bushnell quality 10x50 binoculars for about $160.00. Following much thought and lunch, the Little Woman gives me the thumbs up. What a girl.

 

Back in Walmart checking out the binoculars, the interpupillary distance could not be adjusted. Well, that’s not going to work. I was hopping to keep magnification 10x or less. Anyway, I settled on the Bushnell Legend quality 12x50 binoculars for $15.00 less.

 

Still, socked in by cloud cover, I like what I see. Nitrogen purged optics using BaK-4 prism glass. Fully multi-coated with Ultrawide band coating.

 

Should I have stuck with the Celstron?

[Neptune]

Not sure about you, but there is no way I can hand hold 12X anything.

 

I do own a very nice pare of Celestron Granite with ED glass. These are real sleepers, sharp, bright and a fairly wide field of view.

[Star Geezer]

Was not planning on hand held even at 7x. I have a pistol grip mount on a tripod and a zero-g chair.

Edited by Star Geezer, 17 January 2021 - 08:55 PM.

[astronomus1930]

I think you made a wise choice. The Cometron's lenses are not FMC and the prism is ABK-7. Bushnell's optics are superior.

Clear Skies!

[hallelujah]

The Bushnell was a very good choice.

 

Stan

[Cestus]

I use my 12x50's on a monopod. It works very well.

[Jay_Bird]

In the pinned posts for "best of" this binocular forum at top of lists, there are in-depth articles or reviews going back many years.  "EdZ" did some reviews of popular sizes in the 40mm to 50mm+ range.  For 10x50 Porros, the Legends did not take #1 spot for test charts, but did well enough to earn a discussion of why they were a good pick for best all-around: a wide sharp area within their degree field of view, waterproof, and comfortable ergonomics as I recall.   

 

You won't worry if a passing shower finds them on the patio table or in your hand while on a hike. 

 

For roofs,  the 8x42 Legend (back before 2010?) was among the test models that the expert kept for his personal use in afterword to those old reviews.

[Star Geezer]

Arrived home from work a little before 1:00 AM. While walking the hounds I noticed the area around Orion looked pretty clear of clouds. Around 1:15; I had the Bushnell binoculars out for first light. I have never seen so many bright pinpoint sharp stars in the Cr70 cluster before, an amazingly beautiful sight. For 50mm aperture the Orion Nebula appeared brighter and fuller then I would have ever expected.

 

Dancing all over again. I think I will be keeping these binoculars.

Edited by Star Geezer, 21 January 2021 - 02:53 AM.

[ToddZ71]

I occasionally use binoculars for finding celestial targets to help in referencing parts of the sky to aim my finderscopes/telescopes, when I go camping, for quick looks at the sky, etc. I used to have a pair of 7x35s. One year my son took my 7x35s outside in the winter and I never saw them again until spring. To replace the binoculars that fell victim to my child's carelessness, I bought a pair of Simmons 10x50s. I believe they were $30-$40 at a Wal-Mart?

These Simmon 10x50s turned into a great buy. They are very well built. The optics are great and have a rather dark green multi-coating on the objectives and the eyepieces seem to be more of a blueish coating. I spend more time at the telescope eyepiece than binoculars so I don't mind buying a budget pair. I can't see myself going in too deep on expensive binoculars. I would rather put that money into my telescopes and accessories.

Having said that, I enjoy binocular viewing while sitting in a chair while camping under dark skies or laying down in a lawn chair. I hear many say that 7x-8x is less shaky than a 10× but I don't use them for long sessions. I do find the 10x is a bit shaky on occasion but, certainly manageable. The only time I really observe for longer durations with binoculars is when I am camping laid back in a chair as I said. The rest of the time it is for quick peeks or for reference points in the sky. I live in rural dark area now and viewing is rather good even with binoculars.

Comet NEOWISE was amazing over the summer in my 10x50s since it was so bright. It was low on the horizon as well and my telescopes with their larger aperatures suffered more due to that. The binoculars definitely are great for brighter comets. Binocular viewing can be fun. From a dark sky in the Adirondack Mountains when camping at Cranberry Lake I will pick a constellation, open the SkySafari app on my phone, and pick objects to view. Mostly in between the trees. If any one reading this they know those campsites have small windows to the night sky in between the tall pines. I always get a kick out of seeing what or how many DSO I can detect from a dark site with a simple pair of 10x50 binoculars. These objects may not look as defined, magnified or more resolved as in viewing through one of my telescopes but, it is indeed satisfying and fun. As the years go by I contemplate adding a bino viewer to my collection. It certainly has to be nice to see the night sky with both eyes on a grander scale. Maybe I am a binocular guy after all. Thoroughly enjoy using a pair on the few occasions I use them. Scanning the Milky Way with binoculars is awesome from a dark site. Have fun!

Edited by ToddZ71, 21 January 2021 - 09:55 AM.

[Star Geezer]

Hi, Todd.

 

I have my own collection of telescopes. Some would say the view is all in the eyepiece, for myself it is all in the scope or binoculars. To get the same contrast in view of the mottled structure of M31's spiral arms that I get in my 70mm f/13 at 36x magnification in the 8” f/6, I would have to match the 1.95mm exit pupil giving me a magnification of 104.5x. Just not the same. For that reason, I really enjoy a low power wide angle binocular view. There is just nothing else like it.

 

Before my first pair of 10x50 binoculars meet their fate, I started playing this game to see how many objects I could observe in 15 minutes. Through the seasons the numbers kept going up. Now, I can play some more and I hate to say it, the Bushnell Binoc’s blow my old pair away.

 

Clear sky's and bright stars.

Edited by Star Geezer, 21 January 2021 - 11:21 AM.

[Star Geezer]

I was thinking, how many Months is going to take me to get a new mount adapter. The knob to tighten the binoculars to the adapter was too large to fit between the oculars. Today I thought, I would try to adapt the adapter. Removed the c ring and found that the rubber knob had a smaller plaster knob underneath. Had to cut the rubber off with a knife. Perfect fit.

 

[ToddZ71]

Sorry for the late reply. What mount and adapter are these? Did you obtain them separately or did they come as one? How many degrees when tilted to maximum?

[Star Geezer]

It is a Ravelli APGL4 70” Vertical Pistol Grip Ball Head Tripod, I have observed with this thing straight up standing. The adapter was purchased separately, I don’t recall where I got it from or even the brand.

 

http://ravelliphoto....elli-apgl4.html

[Xeroid]

I may be wrong but that pistol grip looks similar to the Dolica G100 Pistol Grip Head at Adorama

[ToddZ71]

I like this tripod setup StarGeezer. Especially how it extends 70". I might have to get one of these for camping and bird watching. Useful for some celestial binocular viewing as well depending on how many degrees of travel. Not too bad on the price either. I like it. Thumbs up.

Edited by ToddZ71, 28 January 2021 - 08:12 PM.

[Star Geezer]

Believe it or not, I picked this up at the flea market for $30.00. The vender had several of them for sell. The Dolica G100 Pistol Grip Head looks identical except mine have no branding.

 

Addendum : It is with this setup I realized what a different view it was with a solidly mounted pair of binoculars.

Edited by Star Geezer, 29 January 2021 - 01:45 AM.