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Old 08-October-2009, 02:39 PM
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mahesh mahesh is offline
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Default Binoculars, Advice please!

Hello My Dears!

I have an opportunity to get a pair of Carl Veitch 30x60 binoculars.

I would appreciate any thoughts or advice or experience of having used something like this. And any comments about the optical quality/performance.

Currently I use a pair of Meade's 10x50.

Thank you kindly, for your time.
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Old 08-October-2009, 03:16 PM
Nick Theodorakis Nick Theodorakis is offline
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If you're using them for astro, then you will need something to stabilize them.

Nick
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Old 08-October-2009, 09:03 PM
glappkaeft glappkaeft is offline
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I also think that extended objects (planets, galaxies, nebulas, etc) will be rather dim. The exit pupil is only 2 mm while something in the neighbourhood of 5 mm (like on the 10x50mm) is recommeded.

Patrik
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Old 08-October-2009, 09:58 PM
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Not sure about the quality, but 30x seems like too much on 60mm binoculars for astronomy. For magnifications higher than 20x it's more practical to use a telescope. These seem meant for long range terrestrial observation. Astronomy binoculars are supposed to do mainly wide field scanning and give bright sharp views.

And of course, you'll need a tripod to use them for anything. If you want really powerful astronomical binoculars, and you have a tripod, I would think some 20x80s would be a better choice.
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Old 09-October-2009, 08:02 AM
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I agree with the others here, the 30X60 might not be that great for astronomy. It'll be nearly impossible to hold them steady at that magnification, so a tripod is a must. That's not a bad thing, just be aware of the added expense. How well do you like your 10X50's? That's a great size for astronomy. If you've got the upgrade bug, you could get a higher quality 10X50's or as Siguy mentions, move up to 20X80's--good exit pupil and lots of aperature.
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Old 09-October-2009, 05:58 PM
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I have three pairs (many years now) of 10x50's and one of them is Meade. This has good eye relief, when compared to the other two. I use two of them pretty much regularly.

No [I]redshifterI]...it's not the upgrade bug. Just that the 30/60's came my way. Otherwise, I' quite content with the ones I have. And I thought perhaps you folks here could enlighten me further. Which you've done. Thanks for that.

I do realise about the need for a tripod, to stabilise the larger ones. Thanks Nick.

Siguy, I note what you say about 30x...thanks.

Thanks glapp..., and y'all. I hear.
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If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe. CARL SAGAN

Mak: Pass the pepperoni please.
Fazor: "Hail, Bautainia! We pledge our hearts to thee! Science and woo, some babbling too, and astron-oh-meee!"
slang: And it made ash out of yew and tree.
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Old 24-October-2009, 02:47 AM
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jim_ag3y jim_ag3y is offline
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Ever seen one of these things ?

http://www.telescope.com/control/pro...oduct_id=05376

Kind of pricey, but I bet one could be fabricated from one of those parallelogram arms that are used for microphones or those workbench lamps!

How handy are you with tools ?
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Old 24-October-2009, 10:16 PM
Nick Theodorakis Nick Theodorakis is offline
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You could also MacGyver yourself up a do-it-yourself home-made binocular image stabilizer.

Nick
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