I watched the last lunar eclipse here with my 10x50 Leicas. Purples, oranges and blues coming out, just actually beautiful to watch it unfold. I did not even bother setting up my 85mm scope. You have some great gear.
Very useful perspective! I have the Svboby SV202 8X42 on the way as a general purpose binocular. I've thought about the 10X50 for the stars and more sedentary land use. But is there any disadvantage, optically, going with a cheaper porro design in the 50-60mm range if it's portable enough for my use?
Are your 10x42 roof or porro prisms?? A lot of roof prism binos don't have enough room between the barrels for the tripod adapter to fit, even if they do have a 1/4" slot for one. Some come with their own custom type adapter for tripod use, but others don't.
@@genefoster8936 Awesome!! I haven't had any roof prisms that would fit on my adapters or the attachment point on my p-mount, but my IPD is pretty small so that may play a part. I've seen slim adapters made just for roof prisms, but all mine are full-size. I guess it mainly comes down to the size & shape of the binos. Glad to hear yours has the ability to be mounted tho.
I bought the SV202 10x50 specifically for stargazing after reading several favorable reviews. They do not disappoint, neither for daytime use or for astronomy, and they are much cheaper than any famous brand offering the same performance. The views are super sharp and clear, and with true and bright colors. The SV202 can be mounted on a tripod with an accessory that screws into the threading on the front of the bridge. The threading is covered by a round knurled little cap. I really enjoy the laid back style of your videos, keep them coming!
Hey Vlad, Really interesting vid. You do get some fun kit!! 😃👍 Have found that binoculars (I just use a set of Nikon 8x42) are a lot of fun with night sky. They make the milky way really pop. For something like the plaides, they certainly give a better view than our vixen AX103 and C8 edge, whilst being a fraction of the price. With the scopes, it’s too difficult to differentiate the brightness against the background stars. The binoculars have been quite good for the comet too….. just getting the first hint of green with them.
HI Vlad, I really enjoyed your vid. I have a Celestron 8SE scope like yours, and decided to try some binoculars after a while for viewing things like the Pleiades. I played it cheap and bought the Celestron 7X50 (7x) for about $35, not expecting much. I was so amazed at how much I could see, and how the depth of what I could see in a marginal night sky improved so dramatically. I sometimes wish I had taken other astronomers' advice early on, and started with the binoculars instead of the scope! I then decided more should be better, so I made the mistake of buying a more powerful pair of binoculars--a 25x70 (25x) pair. Just like you said, I realized after about 60 seconds that I was going to need a sturdy tripod for them. No way can they be easily used handheld. I still use the 7x pair all the time, and only rarely pull out the big pair--with the tripod I had to get for them. Cheers and thanks, Dave
Glad to hear that you are enjoying the 50mm's you have! I don't think you did the wrong thing by starting with the scope. The binocs are a great compliment to the scope, not a replacement!
Just getting started with astronomy, only binoculars for now. Started with Steiners 7X50 I got for years, but now, I have replaced them with Nikon Action Extreme 10X50s, Fujinon Polaris 7X50s and when I travel or hike, my daylight birding bins, the Leicas 10X42s. Looking for a large 15 to 25X bins. I like porros for astronomy because 1, they are easy to mount on a tripod or monopod and 2< they seem to pass more light than most roofs. at the same price level. Saldy only Fujinon, Nikon, Steiner and Swarovski seem to do premium porros this day. One thing I do not understand well are the type of eyepieces on binoculars, The cheap one seems to use Kellmers, most use Erfle this days, but the expensive ones like Leicas, Swarovskis or Fujinons FMT seem to use complex eyepices. Rarely the manufacturers say what kind of eyepieces they use. But often the size of the field and the flatness tell.
Yeah I don't think most basic Binoculars use any special eyepieces. I think they don't list them since most are not interchangeable. Sounds like you have some nice units though👍
I’ve been thinking of getting these 100mm’s with the parallelogram for a few years now. Might have to go ahead and get them 😉 I really want that chair though.
My Dob would hate me if I had that chair because he'd never get to go outside lol... I've got a pair of Zhumell Tachyon 25x100mm that I bought second hand from Cloudy Nights, they're the same as the Orion's (made by same company, just different rubber style on outside). I use them on a old Bogen 3040 Pro. They work great for low targets but for anything above 60°-70° I prefer using my 15x70mm just because I've got a p-mount (Orion Paragon-Plus) for them. Of course they're just a cheap pair of SkyMasters, but the 15x70mm don't hold a candle to the 25x100mm!! Through the 15x70mm Jupiter is just a bright washed out disk and Saturn is a elongated football shape. With the 25x100mm I'm able to see the equatorial bands on Jupiter (at dusk when contrast is better) and to split the rings from the disk of Saturn. Good deals on big parallelogram mounts don't come up to often, but you can easily find a good pair of used 25x100mm on Cloudy Nights & AstroMart at a decent price. I got the Tachyons with hard case, plus a sketchy built p-mount (I don't trust it so it doesn't get used) on a pretty decent tripod shipped to my house for $200.
Just keep in mind that most 25x100mm like ours are fast achromats, running at something like f/4. That along with the big 4" objective lens does give some false color, and of course they won't be as contrasty as something with ED glass or a true apochromat. But the chromatic abbreviations aren't nearly as bad as my smaller SkyMasters and isn't distracting at all to myself. Same with the optics, they're not perfect out to the edge (good out to maybe 70%) but they're pretty good on-axis. So although you'll get a little false color and some distortion, the views these bad boys throw up are still awesome!! They're able to pull in a lot of light, 25x gives pretty decent low power views, and the 2.6° AFOV is enough to frame most DSO nicely. So, would I rather have a pair of Oberwerk or APM with exotic ED glass?? Hell yeah!! Will I let that keep me from enjoying the views my cheap secondhand Tachyons give?? Not in the slightest. These are enough to impress most observers who aren't scope/bino snobs, and they'll absolutely knock the socks off people new to the hobby (like myself).
Hi Vlad. I wonder, is it true that roof prism binoculars gives much less 3D effect comparing to porro prism binos in which this effect is visible? Or is it a myth?
Yo Vlad, I got an idea for a future video: "How to bring equipment in and store it after observing." I had an interesting experience the other night when all my gear got covered in frost after observing all night. Would be interested to see how someone with a lot more experience actually goes through the process of drying their gear, letting it get slowly back up to indoor temps, and properly storing it between uses.
Good idea, I just had the same thing happen to me. I will put together a very short video on the subject. There is not too much special that I do, but do have a couple of important things to point out.
BTW Vlad, I spent all freakin' night outside observing E3(ZTF). I used 3 different binos and all my EPs in my 8" Dob. Best detailed views of the coma were through the 12mm Delos I bought from you. It gave me 100x, 2mm exit pupil, and 0.72° TFOV. Contrast through the Delos is awesome!! Thanks again dude!!
I just added a pair of Pentax PCF WPII 8x40mm to my gear setup. I've got Celestron SkyMaster 15x70mm on a Orion Paragon-Plus p-mount and Zhumell Tachyon 25x100mm on a old Bogen 3040 Pro but I didn't have a pair I could use handheld, which really misses part of the what makes binos great for astronomy. So I added the 8x40mm. They work great but I found 'em to be heavy as hell for what they are. I just bought a pair of Japanese made Tasco 425Z 7x50mm "Halley's Comet Series" binos that look brand freakin' new still in the box with the plastic wrap. They're more of a collectors item and I haven't tried them out yet, but I was told that they do amazingly well for something made by Tasco during the Halley's Comet craze. Idk yet if they'll get used or not, but I believe that 7x might be the sweet spot for handheld, especially with 50mm objectives.
I was using my 7x50mm Celestron to get a bead on the ZTF comet just last night in the city. I use the 7x as its easier to hold steady, those 10x need a steady hand. Back of my apartment blocks most lights and faces North so I found it, but was so small I wasn't sure, but I put an angle finder on my scope at the same degree as the comet and moved right in on it. I used a 32mm wide angle 62 degree eyepiece then switched to a 12mm wide eyepiece at a little better than 100x. Was hard to keep it in view so switched to a 18mm ED and observed it there. I should have used my bigger Newtonian instead of my 102 Maksutov with its narrower fov, but was being lazy as the Mak is on an AZ mount and lighter. Then the freezing temps got to me around 10 and I went inside.
@@AVTAstro Yes, without them it's hard to find objects in Bortle 5-6, but easy with binoculars. I just have an inexpensive but a good pair of Celestron Cometron ones. They're really good in the daytime too.
Dear vlad sir Thank you for your very clear explanations about the binoculars That really helps me to take purchase decisions Thank you sir and stay happy sir
Orion don't actually make any binoculars but instead just rebrand them with the Orion name. I settled on a pair of Helios Apollo 15x70 on a trigger mount and tripod. The Svbony binoculars objectives looked a lot more reflective than the Orion making the Orion coatings better. Or it could just be the camera angles. Thanks Vlad 👍.
Binocular astronomy is underrated I think. I have an 8 inch scope and 4 pairs of binoculars for astronomy. I dare to say I enjoy the binos as much if not more than the scope. 11x70s are excellent for grab and go
I watched the last lunar eclipse here with my 10x50 Leicas. Purples, oranges and blues coming out, just actually beautiful to watch it unfold.
I did not even bother setting up my 85mm scope.
You have some great gear.
Very useful perspective! I have the Svboby SV202 8X42 on the way as a general purpose binocular. I've thought about the 10X50 for the stars and more sedentary land use. But is there any disadvantage, optically, going with a cheaper porro design in the 50-60mm range if it's portable enough for my use?
I think they will work just fine.
I have Razor 10X42 binoculars. At the front you can unscrew the logo and attach an accessory that will attach to a tripod. The Svbony looks similar.
Are your 10x42 roof or porro prisms??
A lot of roof prism binos don't have enough room between the barrels for the tripod adapter to fit, even if they do have a 1/4" slot for one. Some come with their own custom type adapter for tripod use, but others don't.
Gene, you are right! This one has the same thing. Though and adapter to actually use it is not included.
@@Astro_Ape Roof Prism and there is room for the tripod adapter.
@@genefoster8936 Awesome!!
I haven't had any roof prisms that would fit on my adapters or the attachment point on my p-mount, but my IPD is pretty small so that may play a part. I've seen slim adapters made just for roof prisms, but all mine are full-size.
I guess it mainly comes down to the size & shape of the binos. Glad to hear yours has the ability to be mounted tho.
I bought the SV202 10x50 specifically for stargazing after reading several favorable reviews. They do not disappoint, neither for daytime use or for astronomy, and they are much cheaper than any famous brand offering the same performance. The views are super sharp and clear, and with true and bright colors. The SV202 can be mounted on a tripod with an accessory that screws into the threading on the front of the bridge. The threading is covered by a round knurled little cap.
I really enjoy the laid back style of your videos, keep them coming!
Glad you like the binocs! Thanks for the nice feedback as well👍
Hey Vlad,
Really interesting vid. You do get some fun kit!! 😃👍
Have found that binoculars (I just use a set of Nikon 8x42) are a lot of fun with night sky. They make the milky way really pop. For something like the plaides, they certainly give a better view than our vixen AX103 and C8 edge, whilst being a fraction of the price. With the scopes, it’s too difficult to differentiate the brightness against the background stars.
The binoculars have been quite good for the comet too….. just getting the first hint of green with them.
Very cool, I'm sure the Nikon units are quite nice!
HI Vlad,
I really enjoyed your vid. I have a Celestron 8SE scope like yours, and decided to try some binoculars after a while for viewing things like the Pleiades. I played it cheap and bought the Celestron 7X50 (7x) for about $35, not expecting much. I was so amazed at how much I could see, and how the depth of what I could see in a marginal night sky improved so dramatically. I sometimes wish I had taken other astronomers' advice early on, and started with the binoculars instead of the scope!
I then decided more should be better, so I made the mistake of buying a more powerful pair of binoculars--a 25x70 (25x) pair. Just like you said, I realized after about 60 seconds that I was going to need a sturdy tripod for them. No way can they be easily used handheld. I still use the 7x pair all the time, and only rarely pull out the big pair--with the tripod I had to get for them.
Cheers and thanks,
Dave
Glad to hear that you are enjoying the 50mm's you have! I don't think you did the wrong thing by starting with the scope. The binocs are a great compliment to the scope, not a replacement!
Just getting started with astronomy, only binoculars for now. Started with Steiners 7X50 I got for years, but now, I have replaced them with Nikon Action Extreme 10X50s, Fujinon Polaris 7X50s and when I travel or hike, my daylight birding bins, the Leicas 10X42s. Looking for a large 15 to 25X bins. I like porros for astronomy because 1, they are easy to mount on a tripod or monopod and 2< they seem to pass more light than most roofs. at the same price level. Saldy only Fujinon, Nikon, Steiner and Swarovski seem to do premium porros this day.
One thing I do not understand well are the type of eyepieces on binoculars, The cheap one seems to use Kellmers, most use Erfle this days, but the expensive ones like Leicas, Swarovskis or Fujinons FMT seem to use complex eyepices. Rarely the manufacturers say what kind of eyepieces they use. But often the size of the field and the flatness tell.
Yeah I don't think most basic Binoculars use any special eyepieces. I think they don't list them since most are not interchangeable. Sounds like you have some nice units though👍
@@AVTAstro My trick is buying second hand! After testing them of course.
I’ve been thinking of getting these 100mm’s with the parallelogram for a few years now. Might have to go ahead and get them 😉 I really want that chair though.
You should! Yeah the chair is the ultimate nerd bling. LOL
My Dob would hate me if I had that chair because he'd never get to go outside lol...
I've got a pair of Zhumell Tachyon 25x100mm that I bought second hand from Cloudy Nights, they're the same as the Orion's (made by same company, just different rubber style on outside). I use them on a old Bogen 3040 Pro. They work great for low targets but for anything above 60°-70° I prefer using my 15x70mm just because I've got a p-mount (Orion Paragon-Plus) for them.
Of course they're just a cheap pair of SkyMasters, but the 15x70mm don't hold a candle to the 25x100mm!! Through the 15x70mm Jupiter is just a bright washed out disk and Saturn is a elongated football shape. With the 25x100mm I'm able to see the equatorial bands on Jupiter (at dusk when contrast is better) and to split the rings from the disk of Saturn.
Good deals on big parallelogram mounts don't come up to often, but you can easily find a good pair of used 25x100mm on Cloudy Nights & AstroMart at a decent price. I got the Tachyons with hard case, plus a sketchy built p-mount (I don't trust it so it doesn't get used) on a pretty decent tripod shipped to my house for $200.
Just keep in mind that most 25x100mm like ours are fast achromats, running at something like f/4. That along with the big 4" objective lens does give some false color, and of course they won't be as contrasty as something with ED glass or a true apochromat. But the chromatic abbreviations aren't nearly as bad as my smaller SkyMasters and isn't distracting at all to myself. Same with the optics, they're not perfect out to the edge (good out to maybe 70%) but they're pretty good on-axis.
So although you'll get a little false color and some distortion, the views these bad boys throw up are still awesome!! They're able to pull in a lot of light, 25x gives pretty decent low power views, and the 2.6° AFOV is enough to frame most DSO nicely.
So, would I rather have a pair of Oberwerk or APM with exotic ED glass?? Hell yeah!! Will I let that keep me from enjoying the views my cheap secondhand Tachyons give?? Not in the slightest. These are enough to impress most observers who aren't scope/bino snobs, and they'll absolutely knock the socks off people new to the hobby (like myself).
Ok forget the binoculars, where do I get the Bond villain tilty chair?
Unfortunately no longer made as far as I know;(
@AVTAstro aw 😭
Dude, you really need to do a video showing and explaining your binocular viewing chair and mount. Is that a home built? Love the concept. Cheers!
These were commercially available in the early 2000's I believe. I'm sure there are not very many out there as they were pretty pricy.
Hi Vlad. I wonder, is it true that roof prism binoculars gives much less 3D effect comparing to porro prism binos in which this effect is visible? Or is it a myth?
Sorry, I don't have enough experience with different prism designs to answer that one.
@@AVTAstro thanks anyway. But reviews at Your channel are very useful.
@@KamilG.It's true. Roof prisms were designed for terrestrial viewing.
Just bought the sv202 50x10 for 153 usd on Ali
Very cool, congrats!
Yo Vlad, I got an idea for a future video:
"How to bring equipment in and store it after observing."
I had an interesting experience the other night when all my gear got covered in frost after observing all night. Would be interested to see how someone with a lot more experience actually goes through the process of drying their gear, letting it get slowly back up to indoor temps, and properly storing it between uses.
Good idea, I just had the same thing happen to me. I will put together a very short video on the subject. There is not too much special that I do, but do have a couple of important things to point out.
BTW Vlad,
I spent all freakin' night outside observing E3(ZTF). I used 3 different binos and all my EPs in my 8" Dob. Best detailed views of the coma were through the 12mm Delos I bought from you. It gave me 100x, 2mm exit pupil, and 0.72° TFOV. Contrast through the Delos is awesome!!
Thanks again dude!!
Yeah sounds like at 2mm exit pupil you are right there at the sweet spot for a lot of dso observing! Glad you like the eyepiece!
I just added a pair of Pentax PCF WPII 8x40mm to my gear setup. I've got Celestron SkyMaster 15x70mm on a Orion Paragon-Plus p-mount and Zhumell Tachyon 25x100mm on a old Bogen 3040 Pro but I didn't have a pair I could use handheld, which really misses part of the what makes binos great for astronomy. So I added the 8x40mm. They work great but I found 'em to be heavy as hell for what they are.
I just bought a pair of Japanese made Tasco 425Z 7x50mm "Halley's Comet Series" binos that look brand freakin' new still in the box with the plastic wrap. They're more of a collectors item and I haven't tried them out yet, but I was told that they do amazingly well for something made by Tasco during the Halley's Comet craze. Idk yet if they'll get used or not, but I believe that 7x might be the sweet spot for handheld, especially with 50mm objectives.
Yeah, that sounds like they would be wider than the Svbony set I have. Should be great!
I was using my 7x50mm Celestron to get a bead on the ZTF comet just last night in the city. I use the 7x as its easier to hold steady, those 10x need a steady hand.
Back of my apartment blocks most lights and faces North so I found it, but was so small I wasn't sure, but I put an angle finder on my scope at the same degree as the comet and moved right in on it. I used a 32mm wide angle 62 degree eyepiece then switched to a 12mm wide eyepiece at a little better than 100x. Was hard to keep it in view so switched to a 18mm ED and observed it there. I should have used my bigger Newtonian instead of my 102 Maksutov with its narrower fov, but was being lazy as the Mak is on an AZ mount and lighter. Then the freezing temps got to me around 10 and I went inside.
Yeah, I'm planning on utilizing these binocs as part of my normal observing routine.
@@AVTAstro Yes, without them it's hard to find objects in Bortle 5-6, but easy with binoculars. I just have an inexpensive but a good pair of Celestron Cometron ones. They're really good in the daytime too.
Dear vlad sir
Thank you for your very clear explanations about the binoculars
That really helps me to take purchase decisions
Thank you sir and stay happy sir
Glad to hear that! Thanks!
Orion don't actually make any binoculars but instead just rebrand them with the Orion name. I settled on a pair of Helios Apollo 15x70 on a trigger mount and tripod. The Svbony binoculars objectives looked a lot more reflective than the Orion making the Orion coatings better. Or it could just be the camera angles. Thanks Vlad 👍.
Glad you liked it. 👍
the chair was far more interesting, dream setup for plane spotting.
Yeah the chair was certainly a cool piece!
Binocular astronomy is underrated I think. I have an 8 inch scope and 4 pairs of binoculars for astronomy. I dare to say I enjoy the binos as much if not more than the scope. 11x70s are excellent for grab and go
Yup, like I said in the video this is one aspect of astronomy that I have kind of neglected myself unfortunately.
Niesamowite krzesło 🪑🕹️ 🤩🔭🔭 👍💪.
Thanks!