On 06/10/2010 22:44, Craven wrote:
Hi, can anyone recommend a pair? I was told to get 10 x 50s, but when I
use an old pair everything is bouncing around like crazy - and I'm sure
my hands don't shake that badly. Is there anything I can do to avoid this?

You have to learn to hold them steady enough. It will come with practice
and is easier to learn in daytime looking at distant objects than
craning your neck at awkward angles looking at the sky. A very small
amount of movement actually makes faint objects stand out more, but if
you can't keep them approximately steady then that is no help.

You might find 7x50 binoculars less of a handful with the
correspondingly lower magnification provided that you have dark skies.

Also, the adjuster to compensate for differences between the left and
right eye - is this only set once or does it change with the distance of
the object I'm focusses on (I realise this doesn't change with
astronomy, just if I use the binoculars for any short distance work).

The adjuster should only need adjusting to match the eyes of the person
using it. If only you use them then it is a one time adjustment. Though
you might find the right setting is slightly different between daytime
(when the iris is small aperture) and night dark adapted when the iris
should be wide open.

Thanks for any help, it's much appreciated.

I prefer 7x50 and 11x80 myself. My skies are fairly dark (N Yorks). The
latter are a bit of a handful and any higher magnification will
generally require a tripod for comfortable viewing.

Regards,
Martin Brown