Cheers

i just happened to notice you'd replied to this topic. there's nothing wrong with the barska blackhawks except for they are coated for daytime observing and not for night. if you're a bird watcher, these are fine. but if you're primarily interested in using them for astronomy, the coatings will dim the starlight considerably because they were meant to reduce daytime glare.

hope this helps!

PORRO
Celestron 72023 Skymaster ($300)
Orion Mini Giant ($200)
ROOF
Meade Astro ($120)
Barska Blackhawk ($90)
Tasco Low Light ($150)

Can someone explain why I shouldn't buy the Barska Blackhawk? Are the Celestron and Orion worth that much more, and why? I'm an amateur. Be nice. And thanks.

im a newbie in astronomy.

I periodically check back for questions, so please pardon the delay.

Yes, ruby lenses and ruby coated mean essentially the same thing… But these are NOT good coatings for astronomical binoculars. Ruby coatings were meant for daytime applications to reduce glare and will significantly destroy the light from astronomy targets.

Mars is the wrong object to view with binox – you need well over 100x to see much of anything on Mars (on a great night).
For Binox, sweep the Milky Way in Cygnus or Cassiopia on a cool fall night – you'll soon be lost….

Another great UT article – Thanks Guys!!!

Nikon, Cannon, Bushnell, Celestron, Meade, Orion, Leica, Ziess… these are all ones you will never be dis-satisfied with. (and i'm sure there's a lot more names i haven't mentioned!) Quite honestly, I've even picked up a pair or two that I knew were low quality and still liked them. The ones mentioned in the article were chosen because I know they're the highest quality at the lowest possible price. Just be careful of ones that you can't examine personally. It's perfectly safe to order binoculars from an internet site, but make sure you pick a reputable dealer that carries quality brands.

As for imaging with binoculars… Wow. That's a tough question. In this case, all I can do is answer from my own personal experience and invite other readers to share theirs.

I have a pair of digital imaging binoculars. When I got them, I was thrilled! At last… Now I could take some great sky shots, like Venus and the crescent Moon, you know? Guess what… Yep. It doesn't work that way. If I want to take a picture of my german shepherd digging a hole in the back 40? Perfect! But not for even the most bright astronomy applications.

But… I'm also not one to give up. (and this is going to get weird, ok?)

I've tried experimenting with photography afocally with binos. (don't eat me for breakfast, astrophotographers! i'm a writer… not a shootist!) If I remember correctly, afocally is the right word for what I did… adjust the focus with my glasses on for 20/20 vision, mated my digital camera lens to one side and took aim with the other. Did it work? Darn right it did. I've got nice images of the Moon, and bright little dots that at least I know are Saturn, Jupiter and Venus.

Now… Do the same thing with a camcorder! Only this time, you can even finer tune the focus by watching what you see on the flip side screen. Again… Really, really nice pictures of the Moon. It's not Theirry LeGault's work, but I was delighted! (pssst… an ordinary webcam works, too!)

The bottom line is, if it's not bright – it's not going to show up on film without a timed exposure and rock steady mounting. If you want to do something on that order, consider getting a spotting scope! Almost all of them come with at least a tabletop mount and quite a few have removable lenses so you can even mount the camera right on them.

Hope this helps!

Holding binoculars steady isn't easy… especially if you're trying to pick out fine detail. And buying a monopod or tripod isn't in everyone's budget. Using a broomstick, seat yourself comfortably where the broomstick is at least as tall as eye level when held in front of you. Now, hold your binoculars in one hand. With the other, put the end of the broomstick under the body of the binoculars where they flex (also where the mounting holes are for a tripod.)

If you're looking at an object that is not overhead, the ground end of the broomstick should be tilted ahead of you. If it's overhead, the broomstick will be almost straight up and down. To change positions, either move the ground end of the stick towards you to support the binoculars when looking up… or away from you when looking ahead, etc.

One of the reasons the painter's poles work very well in the circumstance is because taller people can easily screw on another 1 foot section to make the finn stick longer and their seat doesn't have to be as low… But the majority of people are able to use a broom handle with ease. It doesn't take long before your hands get the trick of just where to steady the binoculars and you're off and running!

I often give binocular programs to large groups of youngsters and the Observatory simply can't afford 15 tripods… but it didn't take long to come up with 15 old broom handles! (i use the painter's poles because i'm tall, and when i unscrew the sections at the end of the observing lesson, i can easily store them all in an old tube sock. and… believe it or not… adding a crutch tip at the ground end and more sections makes it easy to make a very tall pole you can use standing up while on pavement! cost? under $2.)

Astronomy… on the fly!

Not as good for viewing planets as my old 6" reflector I had as a kid was though.

For digital photography, I haven't seen any.

"The only problem, and maybe its just me, but I cant hold binoculars still. Trying to view Mars with shaky hands is annoying."

Indeed it is a problem with binos. There are a number of solutions though…

Try taping a broom handle or similar to the binos in some way – its inertia stops small rapid wiggles very effectively.

You can try using a tripod if you have some extra dosh to spare, and a parallelogram mount with a tripod is even more effective.

http://www.gcw.org.uk/bino/binonet.htm

But truly the best innovation for small binos has to be the Skywindow. It really makes bino viewing a pleasure, and if you can't afford one they can be made DIY with a little ingenuity and resourcefulness.

http://www.tricomachine.com/skywindow/

In relation to the use of binos for amateur astronomy – they really are the best introduction to amateur astronomy you can buy. You see a lot, learn the sky quickly and even a mediocre pair of binos will show you the sky much more effectively than a mediocre telescope.

Let me just state that again – DO NOT buy a poor quality telescope if you are starting out in astronomy, and by poor quality I mean any telescope sold at a department store, a generic 'science' shop, most camera shops and almost any telescope on ebay. Good telescopes can be had for not much outlay, but speak to a specialist telescope shop to learn about them and to sort the good-but-cheap scopes from the cheap and nasty stuff.

Really though, if you haven't been using binos for a while, then a telescope is probably too much too soon. A pair of binos and a good introductory book on the subject is the best way to get into amateur astronomy.

http://www.amazon.com/Touring-Universe-through-Binoculars-Astronomers/dp/0471513377