Canon IS 15 x 50 binoculars?

Being brand new to this group I hope I'm not beating a dead horse by asking
what the general consensus is as far as the Canon Image Stabilized
binoculars is.

If there is an FAQ that would answer this, could someone point me in the
right direction for that?

I know they are expensive, besides that, what is the image quality like?
Good for binocular astronomy?

Thanks,
Francis Marion

I have 'em. I love 'em. Even built screw-on solar filters for 'em, and
bought nebula eyepiece filters from Howie Glatter that fit perfectly.
The views at night are nothing short of wonderful. Kind of heavy to hold
up, so the IS definitely helps. I highly recommend them, with zero
reservation. macnmotion

Francis Marion wrote:
Being brand new to this group I hope I'm not beating a dead horse by asking
what the general consensus is as far as the Canon Image Stabilized
binoculars is.

If there is an FAQ that would answer this, could someone point me in the
right direction for that?

I know they are expensive, besides that, what is the image quality like?
Good for binocular astronomy?

Thanks,
Francis Marion

"Francis Marion" wrote in message
news:Rsc2c.55277$PR3.1043844@attbi_s03...
Being brand new to this group I hope I'm not beating a dead horse by
asking
what the general consensus is as far as the Canon Image Stabilized
binoculars is.

If there is an FAQ that would answer this, could someone point me in the
right direction for that?

I know they are expensive, besides that, what is the image quality like?
Good for binocular astronomy?
It depends what you want.
They are extremely good binoculars, and as a 'grab and go' instrument to
look at certain types of object are superb. The IS system works pretty well.
However you still have to remember you have a fair 'weight' of binocular,
and after a while this becomes very tiring. At this point, you then think 'I
need a tripod', and realise that if you are going to use a tripod anyway,
there wasn't really much point in paying for the IS system.
For the same money, you could buy a tripod, and a larger pair of binoculars,
that are optically as good. However as a tool for taking camping for
example, there is probably nothing more effective for the total size/weight.
A friend has a pair, that have been modified with Ha solar filters, and
these are a fabulous tool.

Best Wishes

There's also a review of 6 IS binoculars in a Sky & Telescope article
published in (I think) the summer of 2000 in which they were very favorably
reviewed. One other question for the group--since the one objection is
their weight, what about the lighter Canon IS models--the 12x36 or 10x30?

Hi Roger,

I'm glad to hear your friend is pleased with the performance of the
custom Binomax. Last I heard it was cloudy and he hadn't had an
opportunity to use the setup.

I had the pleasure of speaking with him and his daughter at the last
Hands On The Sun conference and hope they will attend again this year.
Please pass along my best.

Regards,
Bill Dean

On Sat, 6 Mar 2004 09:53:05 -0000, "Roger Hamlett"
wrote:


"Francis Marion" wrote in message
news:Rsc2c.55277$PR3.1043844@attbi_s03...
Being brand new to this group I hope I'm not beating a dead horse by
asking
what the general consensus is as far as the Canon Image Stabilized
binoculars is.

If there is an FAQ that would answer this, could someone point me in the
right direction for that?

I know they are expensive, besides that, what is the image quality like?
Good for binocular astronomy?
It depends what you want.
They are extremely good binoculars, and as a 'grab and go' instrument to
look at certain types of object are superb. The IS system works pretty well.
However you still have to remember you have a fair 'weight' of binocular,
and after a while this becomes very tiring. At this point, you then think 'I
need a tripod', and realise that if you are going to use a tripod anyway,
there wasn't really much point in paying for the IS system.
For the same money, you could buy a tripod, and a larger pair of binoculars,
that are optically as good. However as a tool for taking camping for
example, there is probably nothing more effective for the total size/weight.
A friend has a pair, that have been modified with Ha solar filters, and
these are a fabulous tool.

Best Wishes

"Bill Dean" wrote in message
...
Hi Roger,

I'm glad to hear your friend is pleased with the performance of the
custom Binomax. Last I heard it was cloudy and he hadn't had an
opportunity to use the setup.

I had the pleasure of speaking with him and his daughter at the last
Hands On The Sun conference and hope they will attend again this year.
Please pass along my best.

Regards,
Bill Dean
I don't think it is the same guy.
These were modified by him, taking components from two of your filter
systems (he dismantled the blocking filters and built them inside the
binoculars himself. :-)
He got them owrking at the tail of last year, and though the Sun has been a
'rare visitor', has managed to show them on a couple of occasions.

Best Wishes

On Sat, 6 Mar 2004 09:53:05 -0000, "Roger Hamlett"
wrote:


"Francis Marion" wrote in message
news:Rsc2c.55277$PR3.1043844@attbi_s03...
Being brand new to this group I hope I'm not beating a dead horse by
asking
what the general consensus is as far as the Canon Image Stabilized
binoculars is.

If there is an FAQ that would answer this, could someone point me in
the
right direction for that?

I know they are expensive, besides that, what is the image quality
like?
Good for binocular astronomy?
It depends what you want.
They are extremely good binoculars, and as a 'grab and go' instrument to
look at certain types of object are superb. The IS system works pretty
well.
However you still have to remember you have a fair 'weight' of binocular,
and after a while this becomes very tiring. At this point, you then think
'I
need a tripod', and realise that if you are going to use a tripod anyway,
there wasn't really much point in paying for the IS system.
For the same money, you could buy a tripod, and a larger pair of
binoculars,
that are optically as good. However as a tool for taking camping for
example, there is probably nothing more effective for the total
size/weight.
A friend has a pair, that have been modified with Ha solar filters, and
these are a fabulous tool.

Best Wishes

On Sat, 6 Mar 2004 22:02:43 -0000, "Roger Hamlett"
wrote:


"Bill Dean" wrote in message
.. .
Hi Roger,

I'm glad to hear your friend is pleased with the performance of the
custom Binomax. Last I heard it was cloudy and he hadn't had an
opportunity to use the setup.

I had the pleasure of speaking with him and his daughter at the last
Hands On The Sun conference and hope they will attend again this year.
Please pass along my best.

Regards,
Bill Dean
I don't think it is the same guy.
These were modified by him, taking components from two of your filter
systems (he dismantled the blocking filters and built them inside the
binoculars himself. :-)
He got them owrking at the tail of last year, and though the Sun has been a
'rare visitor', has managed to show them on a couple of occasions.

Certainly a different guy! Thanks for clearing that up.

Interesting. If he'd like to drop me a line I'd love to hear more.
bill at coronadofilters dot com

Regards,
Bill Dean

I just wanted to mention that last night, I had a chance to use the Canon IS
15 x 50 that a friend owns. He has his attached to a monopod chest tripod
that all but eliminates the weight of the binoculars. What views!! I could
see the disk of Jupiter and its 4 large moons, Saturn's rings were
detectable, and the detail on the moon was remarkable!!

Being close to a full moon I didn't really spend too much time looking a
fainter objects but I would imagine that the views would be similar?

This monopod device is, for me, an excellent solution to the weight issue.

Now if I can figure out how to tell the better half that I would like to buy
a $1000.oo pair of binoculars......... I need to think about this one a bit.

Any additional comments, pro or con are appreciated,
thanks,

Francis Marion

"Francis Marion" wrote in message
news:QLp2c.189281$jk2.675756@attbi_s53...
I just wanted to mention that last night, I had a chance to use the Canon
IS
15 x 50 that a friend owns. He has his attached to a monopod chest tripod
that all but eliminates the weight of the binoculars. What views!! I
could
see the disk of Jupiter and its 4 large moons, Saturn's rings were
detectable, and the detail on the moon was remarkable!!

Being close to a full moon I didn't really spend too much time looking a
fainter objects but I would imagine that the views would be similar?

This monopod device is, for me, an excellent solution to the weight issue.

Now if I can figure out how to tell the better half that I would like to
buy
a $1000.oo pair of binoculars......... I need to think about this one a
bit.

You can get them on e-Bay for about $749, and Canon often offers $100
rebates.

I ended up paying $639 for mine, and I really LOVE them.

Francis Marion wrote in message:
Being brand new to this group I hope I'm not beating a dead horse by
asking
what the general consensus is as far as the Canon Image Stabilized
binoculars is.

If there is an FAQ that would answer this, could someone point me in the
right direction for that?

I know they are expensive, besides that, what is the image quality like?
Good for binocular astronomy?

Francis,

I have 'em and love them dearly! They are truly spectacular astro-binos. I
got my girlfriend a pair of the Canon 10x30 ISs and they're wonderful, too!
The 10x30s are unbelievably small and light, but give tremendous views of
stars - edge to edge of a 66º apparent field of view. We each had Celestron
Ultima binos before these - hers were the 8x56s and mine were the 9x63s.
Very nice binos, but no match for the Canon ISs. I recommend the Canons
without the slightest reservation. I don't find the weight of the 15x50s
prohibitive at all...but the 10x30s truly are so light that you forget
you're holding them up to your eyes. It's almost like you suddenly have 10x
eyes with 30mm objectives. I'll give you an example...are you familiar with
Alberio? the double star in Cygnus with gold and blue stars so close
together - actually about 35 arcseconds apart - they appear as one star and
appear as a single star in the ISs before the Image Stabilizer is turned on.
But AFTER the IS button is pressed, each of the components is clearly
resolved - and that's in 10x hand held binos! Even better in the 15x50s.
In the words of Bob Berman, author and contributor to 'Astronomy' magazine:
"Don't try them unless you're prepared to buy them - you'll sell your kids
to get a pair." Truer words were never printed. Did I mention that I
really like them?! I have a wonderful pair of 20x80s and all supporting
hardware - heavy tripod and super-duper parallelogram mount. They probably
will never see the dark of night again.

Clear skies to you and yours,
Dave Jessie