|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
beginners binoculars for astronomy?
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? 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). Thanks for any help, it's much appreciated. C. |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
beginners binoculars for astronomy?
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? 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). Thanks for any help, it's much appreciated. C. When I use my binoculars, I try to lean my hands against a wall, treetrunck, etc., which improves stability greatly. |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
beginners binoculars for astronomy?
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 |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
beginners binoculars for astronomy?
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? 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). Thanks for any help, it's much appreciated. C. I've heard of people using "monopods" for astronomy with binoculars. There may be something designed for binocular use available in telescope and optics shops. Tripods are fine but for looking nearly overhead you need something a bit different where the legs don't get in the way. Here are some results from the interwebs: http://fesunoff.com/astro/binoMount.html http://www.astunit.com/tonkinsastro/.../binomount.htm plenty of other sites mention this problem and feature various solutions. google for binoculars mount astronomy -- Mike Dworetsky (Remove pants sp*mbl*ck to reply) |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
beginners binoculars for astronomy?
On Wed, 06 Oct 2010 22:44:12 +0100, 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? 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). Thanks for any help, it's much appreciated. I've always found binoculars to be a rather tedious and unsatisfactory way to do astronomy. I realise that conventional wisdom is to start with a pair and graduate to a telescope, however I also feel that the conditions (bino's are cheap, ubquitous whereas telescopes are costly and uncommon) that gave rise to that advice is well out of date now. I've never been able to hold a pair of binoculars steady for any length of time - nowhere near as long as I like to look through the eyepiece of a telescope for. Plus, you can't let others "take a look" without losing the object that's being observed - at least not without putting them on a tripod or mount, which adds another £50 - £100 to your outlay. If you are determined to get a pair of binoculars primarily for astronomy, I'd suggest making sure they have a mounting "nut" as you find on SLR cameras, so you can place them on a mount. However, a normal tripod may not be high enough (plus they quickly lose their stability as they are extended upwards - and as more weight / bigger binoculars are placed on them, so you end up with everything bouncing around again) - high enough, as you won't be looking at things on the horizon, but above you so the bino's will have to be above your head. There are specialist ones that have 90° eyepieces which making viewing upwards easier, but we're getting into the high-price/premium instruments now. What I've done is build a "parallelogram" mount out of wood for my binoculars. A quick search will show you many designs. You still get a crick in your neck if you look upwards for too long, but they are more stable than hand-holding and you can move them up and down without losing the object they're pointing at. With all this palaver, I still reckon a cheap telescope on a cheap mount beats a pair of binoculars, hand-held or tripod mounted - plus you can always sell it on ebay if you find astronomy's not for you. So the financial risk that binoculars might possibly reduce isn't going to be that great these days. -- http://www.thisreallyismyhost.99k.or...3284815544.php |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
beginners binoculars for astronomy?
I've heard of people using "monopods" for astronomy with binoculars.
There may be something designed for binocular use available in telescope and optics shops. You could try the Argos catalogue. A tip I learned here a while ago is to use an up-turned broom. Someone else suggested a thing for cleaning windows as it's telescopic so can be set to the right hight for you. I found the broom to work well but was too short. Neil |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
beginners binoculars for astronomy?
I bought a pair of Helios Naturesport form GreenWitch after reading a review
in the BBC Astronomy mag several years back. They cost less than £100 - a small fraction of the cost of my WO Megrez, so I often feel a bit guilty about using them instead of teh scope, but they are so convenient (and maybe I'm just a bit lazy). Worth every penny. Pete K |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
beginners binoculars for astronomy?
On 13/10/2010 16:27, BillyPIg wrote:
I bought a pair of Helios Naturesport form GreenWitch after reading a review in the BBC Astronomy mag several years back. They cost less than £100 - a small fraction of the cost of my WO Megrez, so I often feel a bit guilty about using them instead of teh scope, but they are so convenient (and maybe I'm just a bit lazy). Worth every penny. Pete K Hey cheers, everyone, thanks for the advice. Think I'm going to get my pair today - got some nice trips lined up to Cornwall and the south of France where the skies are dark and hopefully clear. Cheers, Craven. |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
astronomy binoculars | Lux | Misc | 1 | June 27th 07 07:37 PM |
Binoculars for astronomy? | CptDondo | Misc | 8 | December 5th 06 07:08 PM |
Are Minolta Classic Sport 10x50WP Binoculars any good for astronomy? | [email protected] | Amateur Astronomy | 3 | December 29th 05 03:54 PM |
Astronomy-Binoculars | Stephen Manaton | UK Astronomy | 7 | September 28th 05 07:37 AM |
Astronomy Binoculars - Help Needed | TommyG | Misc | 0 | July 29th 05 09:07 AM |