Can 10x50 binoculars be held steady without a tripod?

[Tucson_Tim]

I tried to search the forums but only found scattered info. If I missed a good thread, please point me there....

I had a cheap pair of 7x35s, which are now deceased. I want to buy a good pair of 7x50 or 10x50 but I need to know if the 10x50 can be held steady enough without a tripod??? I've been looking at the Orion website.

I have an old Criterion 6-in Newtonian reflector w/clock drive and I have an Edmund Astroscan.

(Almost) Any advice is welcome! :) Manufacturer recommendations?

Tim

[Tog_]

Steady is a relative term. At 40 degrees after the 5th Mt Dew of the night... no. not at all.

I have a pair of Simmons model 1107 10x50's. I can use them without a tripod pretty well. I originally bought them because they were cheap and I wouldn't care if I had them stole or stepped on at a star party. They did get stepped on BTW. I took them with me to an Observatory in Benson AZ, that was built into a bed and breakfast inn. I was ab;e to find an indistinct fuzzy spec that I was told was probably M104. They guy running the class seemed really impressed that I could make it out in 10 by 50's thinking that 70's were a minimum. I have no idea whether or not he was right about that. It was not bright enough that I would have stopped scanning and asked what I was looking at. We were looking for M104 and I did see something where it should have been. 10 years ago these cost me 30 bucks at Wal-Mart.

My only two complaints about them are first off that the lens covers are not attached to them in any way. I had to poke holes and buy buttons and string to not lose them. Second, they smell funny. Even now 10 years later they smell weird. I bought a second pair to replace the ones that got stepped on, and they smell the same way. It's kind of like the inside of a gas mask. Sort of a clean rubber smell but with a little kick to it. Very odd.

[Tucson_Tim]

So Tog, you recommend the 10x50s?

=====================================

I had to laugh at this...

"I'm not gullible because I'm a Leo.--Actually said to me by a co-worker"

A good line from the movie "Croupier":

Jani de Villiers: Are you a believer in astrology?
Jack: No. But then, I'm a Gemini, and Geminis don't believe in astrology.

[Dave Mitsky]

I have no trouble hand holding modern 10x50 binoculars.

Dave Mitsky

[redshifter]

I have a pair of 12X63's that I hand hold for short periods of time. 10X50's should be OK. For additional stability, get one of those folding lounge chairs and lay in it while binocular observing. I've hand held 15X70's doing this.

[Tucson_Tim]

I have a pair of 12X63's that I hand hold for short periods of time. 10X50's should be OK. For additional stability, get one of those folding lounge chairs and lay in it while binocular observing. I've hand held 15X70's doing this.

I've got the loungechair thing down pat!!!! ;)

[Tog_]

So Tog, you recommend the 10x50s?

I don't not recommend them. That is to say there may be better options out there, but my experience with the ones I have are that it is possible to stand still enough to steady them with no artificial support. 70's might be a bit much for me, but okay for someone else. I got to look through some 9X63 Swarovskis one night, and they were not a problem to steady either. Of course there is a price point to consider there.:D

As for the sig line... It's true. She really said it, and she was serious. I didn't even make it to the next room to laugh. This is the same woman I later convinced that you can't hear your own voice when you speak because the brainwaves to make the words exactly cancel the sound waves that enter the ear. This is why no one sounds like they think they do when they hear a recording of their own voice.

[tdvance]

I have 9x45s which are almost as big, and I have no problem holding them steady--though some I'm sure are different weight than others. I also have 20x80 and have a lot more trouble holding those steady--though with experience, I've learned to see detail in a moving image so I hold those with my hands when observing anyway.

Lounge chairs (particularly with the adjustable back) really help--as does taking short, 15-second glances and putting the binoculars down for a few seconds in between.

If the object is at the zenith, just lie on the ground and let the eyecups rest on the bone surrounding the eyes--the weight will be along a vertical line and won't contribute much to the unsteadiness then.

[Maksutov]

I tried to search the forums but only found scattered info. If I missed a good thread, please point me there....

I had a cheap pair of 7x35s, which are now deceased. I want to buy a good pair of 7x50 or 10x50 but I need to know if the 10x50 can be held steady enough without a tripod??? I've been looking at the Orion website.Try a monopod modified for binoculars (http://www.bigbinoculars.com/monopod.htm). The results will be great.

I have an old Criterion 6-in Newtonian reflector w/clock drive and I have an Edmund Astroscan.

(Almost) Any advice is welcome! :) Manufacturer recommendations?

TimWow! A Criterion! I remember drooling over those in 1960 when my budget could only afford a 3" reflector. Does yours looks anything like this? (http://www.telescopebluebook.com/reflector/criterion.htm)

[Tucson_Tim]

[Wow! A Criterion! I remember drooling over those in 1960 when my budget could only afford a 3" reflector. Does yours looks anything like this? (http://www.telescopebluebook.com/reflector/criterion.htm)

Identical! I bought it new in 1976 and it's been a good scope, but I really want a modern computerized scope... :dance:

[Maksutov]

Identical! I bought it new in 1976 and it's been a good scope, but I really want a modern computerized scope... :dance:Go To scopes are OK, I guess.

But there's nothing like finding things on your own, just using a star chart, sometimes the finder scope, and then discovering that pattern of faint stars you were looking for, and, voila!, there's the nebula!

For me at least, such endeavors result in one really knowing the night sky and being able to find faint objects based on one's knowledge of what the sky around them looks like.

It's like the difference between arriving at Grand Central, hailing a taxi and telling the driver you want to go to 79th and Central Park West, and driving there yourself.

[Tucson_Tim]

Go To scopes are OK, I guess.

But there's nothing like finding things on your own, just using a star chart, sometimes the finder scope, and then discovering that pattern of faint stars you were looking for, and, voila!, there's the nebula!

For me at least, such endeavors result in one really knowing the night sky and being able to find faint objects based on one's knowledge of what the sky around them looks like.

It's like the difference between arriving at Grand Central, hailing a taxi and telling the driver you want to go to 79th and Central Park West, and driving there yourself.

I hear you. I know this couple who just bought a new 6" go-to scope and they are able to view the same things that I find - but they know nothing about collimation, setting up an equatorial mount for their latitude, setting circles, star charts, R.A, or Declination. Similar problem today with the calculator-dependent folks...

Sometimes I think that, instead of buying a go-to scope, I may buy a larger Newtonian reflector (12"+) or a very large Dobsonian...

[Dgennero]

Back to the original question:
10x is easily held unless you're drunk :)
I have had many binoculars, up to 16x, and never needed a tripod.
A good 10x50 is Meade Travelview: http://www.peepsun.com/b120103.html
Actually, you'll get them for 30 bucks at Radio Shack, and I think they perform better than Bushnell in the same price class.

[Tucson_Tim]

Well, I finally bought 7x50 binocs - Orion Resolux Astro.

I went with the 7x50 instead of the 10x50 because I have an Astroscan richfield for intermediate magnifications and I have a 6-in Newtonian for higher mags.

Can't wait to try them out tonight....:) The Praesepe in Cancer is first on my list...

Thanks again for all the advice!