Binoculars, Monoculars, Scopes

I wanna buy a zoom binocular. I’ve selected some.
1. Barska Gladiator 20-140×80, Zoom Model#: AB11184

http://www.opticsplanet.net/barska-20-140×80-zoom-gladiator-binoculars-ab11184.html

2. Celestron Skymaster 25-125×80

http://www.opticsplanet.net/celestron-binoculars-skymaster-71020.html

Barska has no fog-proofing, but Celestron has. But Barska is pricier. In other cases, specs are almost the same.
So, what should I buy?
Does non fog-proof binos have a tendency to fog up inside?

You don’t state what they are goign to be used for but I would be hesitant to recommend either of them. If you think that by getting high-powered binos you are getting something for nothing because they do the same thing as a telescope forget it – even on an average bino mount this will be useless at 100+. If you plan on using them on a camera tripod forget the whole idea now.

Since you post in the astronomy area we will assume that is what you want them for. The key thing is aperture – 80mm in this case, and _low_ power – I would be hesitant of binos over 30 power even with a binos mount. At the kind of money you are looking at fixed magnification is the way to go – zoom binoculars tend to be poor until you start talking about four figure price tags. Use a telescope for high powered views. A telescope is designed from the ground up to work at high power, rather than having it tacked on so that it looks impressive in a listing, even if it is ultimately useless.

I do not want to spend too much money <$200 for a set of binoculars but do not want to skimp on quality and resolution, what are your recommendations? My husband is a hunter, would a rangefinder be beneficial?

Price will hold you back on some top quality gear. Nikon does make some low end optics

http://www.rei.com/product/708535

But for hunting a built in range finder is very helpful and non is in that price range but here is a nice combo set. from cabela’s

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat602007-cat20752&id=0049749712861a&navCount=4&podId=0049749&parentId=cat20752&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=9IS&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat601233&hasJS=true.

Compare low priced items you find with these you will want rigid water proof gear for hunting.
Good Luck! and Merry Chrismas Hohohohoho!

Hunting pronghorn antelope in southern Wyoming at the Tillard ranch in fall of 2009 using Weatherby rifles, Zeiss optics and Barnes bullets. Shannon Jackson owns Shannon Jackson Public Relations which represents Zeiss sports optics in the U.S. Read more at www.davesgunpages.com

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Know what features to look for when buying a telescope. Telescope buyers are faced with many options and confusing technological terms when choosing what to purchase. Find out what to look for when buying a telescope in this free video on home astronomy from a telescope salesperson.

Expert: Jesse Sturgeon
Bio: Jesse Sturgeon has served as a sales and customer service representative for Anacortes Telescope in Anacortes, Wash. for several years. He enjoys introducing people to the science & art of astronomy.
Filmmaker: Curtis Enlow

Duration : 0:1:5

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A guide to the Helios Mistral compact binocular.

Available at:

http://www.scopesnskies.com/

http://www.pulsar-optical.co.uk/

Duration : 0:2:36

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Technorati Tags: binocular, birds, birdwatching, compact, Helios, Mistral, Optical, Pulsar, Scopes, Scopesnskies, Skies, small

This is a music video/short film for an old and previously abandoned song of mine. It’s kind of stupid.

Duration : 0:2:35

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Seriously, last night about 7pm looking SW. The moon was near the horizon. My friend showed me this fuzzy turquoise blob about 45 degrees above the horizon using 25×100 Celestron binoculars on a tripod. Is this possible?
I had a feeling he was pulling a fast one!
So maybe I did?

yes i think it is Uranus
it vould even be seen in our naked eye

some lame answers there i think they meant neptune

I have a pair of 12X25 tasco binoculars. I have been told I should be able to find the four moons of jupiter with these. I am fairly new tp star gazing, how do I find these moons. Please help.

They are right beside Jupiter, arranged on either side of it. Their positions change from night to night. Jupiter is currently visible just before sunrise, as the brightest object in the southeast about an hour before sunrise. It will help to mount your binoculars on a steady support, like a tripod, as the moons are quite tiny and close to Jupiter, which is very bright.

[Edit] The answer above from gamer_legend is complete nonsense from somebody who has never ever looked at Jupiter!

Barska 20×80 Cosmos $240
Barska 20×80 $106
Barska 15×70 $60
Celestron 25×100 $298
Celestron 20×80 $199
Celestron 15×70 $84
Konus 20×80 $68
Oberwerk 20×90 $300
Oberwerk 20×80 Deluxe II $280
Oberwerk 20×80 $230
Oberwerk 15×70 $150
Zhumell 20×80 $140

My family has a rural bed and breakfast, with a 3+ acres of meadows and another 3+ acres of woods.
It is very popular with bird watchers, but it has been pointed out that it is very dark with good horizons, making it good for astronomy too.
We’d like to get some binoculars for our guests to use. Perhaps 2 pairs of 15×70’s and 1 pair of 20×80 or larger.
Are the more expensive Oberweks any better than the others? I would have expected the Celestrons to cost more…
I’d appreciate any experiences you’ve had with these or similar. Thanks.

The inexpensive Chinese big binoculars have pretty much wiped out the medium priced versions, though I think Orion still carries some of these. Be sure to get proper mounts for these, as they all are too heavy and too high magnification to hand hold. Some sort of parallelogram mount is best. Unless you make them yourself, the mounts will cost more than the binoculars!

I bought some Galileo 10-30×60 binoculars with a tabletop tripod the other day and was wondering what astronomical things I might could see around this time of year with them? Light pollution isn’t that much of an issue because I live in a small town in Mississippi to begin with and I can easily get in the middle of slap no where (I’ve done it before and the skies are brilliant!). Thanks!

The Astronomical League has several observing programs that are geared towards binocular viewing. While you need to be a AL member to receive the award, the observing lists are free for anyone to use.

http://www.astroleague.org/al/obsclubs/AlphabeticObservingClubs.html

I would also look at using a mount for the binoculars, so that you are not always holding them. Something like this can be made by just about anyone with simple tools.

http://www.astunit.com/tonkinsastro/binoculars/binomount.htm

Also, to help with weather forecasting in your area -

http://www.cleardarksky.com/csk/prov/Mississippi_charts.html