Just registered today, looking for a equipment to start

[buihia]

Hi all,

got to know of this forum through a random post in hwz forum..

basically im a beginner in this and just use the skymap app to look at jupiter and the orion stars around it, other than that i just use the same app to look at stars which are bright to the naked eye

my current room doesnt allow a scope to be purchased, and the high cost that comes with it..

however, i am interested to get a binoculars but not sure if it is advisable for a newbie to get a clearer look at the stars other than what we can see on a cloudless night with the naked eye.. Ive roughly browsed through the site and looks like i should be getting a 8x40 binoculars.

any recommendations on what i should be doing? e.g get second hand first to try out (and what to look out for when purchasing second hand bino), budget wise, what brands are good for newbies, or specific models i should look at?

thank you so much , and meanwhile ill be reading the forums

[Gary]

Hi all,

got to know of this forum through a random post in hwz forum..

basically im a beginner in this and just use the skymap app to look at jupiter and the orion stars around it, other than that i just use the same app to look at stars which are bright to the naked eye

my current room doesnt allow a scope to be purchased, and the high cost that comes with it..

however, i am interested to get a binoculars but not sure if it is advisable for a newbie to get a clearer look at the stars other than what we can see on a cloudless night with the naked eye.. Ive roughly browsed through the site and looks like i should be getting a 10x50 binoculars.

any recommendations on what i should be doing? e.g get second hand first to try out (and what to look out for when purchasing second hand bino), budget wise, what brands are good for newbies, or specific models i should look at?

thank you so much , and meanwhile ill be reading the forums

Hi buihia. Welcome to the forum! Glad you found this forum via HWZ.

Do let us know your budget for a telescope if you don't mind. It may not be that expensive than you think. Some beginner telescope can be very compact and fit into a small bag pack, so it may not take up a lot of space in your room/house.

Binoculars will let us see more stars than naked eyes. So any decent astronomical binocular should improve your naked eye views of the stars, galaxies, nebula, ...etc.

In addition to Sky Map on your phone, you can try the free Stellarium on your desktop (www.stellarium.org).

Do join a few public stargazing sessions and have a look through different telescopes and binoculars before your purchase so you have experiential knowledge of what is a suitable buy for your own needs.

Other than 10x50, you may also research on 7x50 and 8x40/42.

You may also borrow and read some nice stargazing books from the library to have a more systematic approach to acquiring the knowledge you need to make a good decision.

Take your time and slowly research and enjoy the free stargazing sessions in the meantime.

Good luck!

[buihia]

Hi Gary,

Thanks for your fast reply. My budget is below 120, so i think this can only get me a bino. Would really prefer a light and handy bino as i normally travel around at night and hope to just take out the bino and have a look at the sky..

it seems that popular recommendation include 8x40 or 7x40 as the difference between what we can capture is neglible..

may i know what specific models that i can consider, so i can roughly know what features i should look out for in a bino of this budget, and that is ease of use for a newbie..

[Gary]

Hi Gary,

Thanks for your fast reply. My budget is below 120, so i think this can only get me a bino. Would really prefer a light and handy bino as i normally travel around at night and hope to just take out the bino and have a look at the sky..

it seems that popular recommendation include 8x40 or 7x40 as the difference between what we can capture is neglible..

may i know what specific models that i can consider, so i can roughly know what features i should look out for in a bino of this budget, and that is ease of use for a newbie..

If you can increase your budget to about $170 - $200, you can buy a complete brand new 50mm refractor telescope. For example, Celestron's Travel Scope (http://www.celestron.com/astronomy/cele ... pe-50.html) and other 50mm travel scope by other brands.

The Celestron Firstscope 76mm (mini dob) costs about $139. Check out similar mini dob/newtownians by other brands too.

A telescope does not replace a binocular and vice versa. They each have their strength and weakness and appreciated for they are designed to do.

The main issue now for you is whether your prefer to observe with a telescope or binocular *first* with your budget.

This is just a very general guide -- choose telescope first if you are more eager to see better views of Moon and planets, choose binocular first if you prefer to see wider field of star clusters, sweeping the sky quickly and conveniently and learn about the constellations.

To choose a good binocular, you can read up more on quality of lens/coating, eye relief, ability to keep good collimation, weight, field of view, exit pupil, sharpness of stars at the edges ...etc. You can search this forum for such info too.

[Gary]

Forget to add, just saw a binocular ad in yesterdays Straits Times classified.

The Nikon Action 8x40 cost $118, which is within your budget. You may use this a reference model in your research and see if you can find a better model at same or lower price.

[buihia]

hmm Gary, you are right. I have not thought if i am more interested in sweeping across the sky or looking planets at a higher resolution.. haha i think because i have never tried both..

what i enjoy doing is casual walking looking at the sky without the need to setup a equipment and bound to one spot so i guess it would means a bino would suit me more. However, the trade off will be what i am more interested in, which is really move around the different spots i can identify in the sky and really zoom in and look at them..

one more question, there are many instances whereby some stars that appear on and off in the sky, and when they do, its very faint and blinking, i believe this is due to the cloud covering them. With a bino, can i get a clearer view of them..

my initial thought of getting a proper astro bino would really give me a new dimension of sky/star gazing at night

i will read up more on the stuff which you suggested, thanks very much..

[buihia]

Forget to add, just saw a binocular ad in yesterdays Straits Times classified.

The Nikon Action 8x40 cost $118, which is within your budget. You may use this a reference model in your research and see if you can find a better model at same or lower price.

looks like the eye relief is only 12mm.. Im wearing glassess unfortunately. Is it true i should be looking at bino with eye relief of 20mm at least for comfortable viewing ?

[orly_andico]

i'm using the nikon action extreme 8x40 - works fine with glasses.

[Gary]

Since stars are so far away, no matter how much you zoom in, it will still look like a pin-point source of light. A binocular can help to get a better overall view in the field of view by revealing fainting stars not visible to the naked eyes around the star you initially wanted to get a better look at. By pulling more light in, you may also see the colour contrast of colourful stars better than naked eyes. Or splitting what looks a like a single star in into double stars!

In general, if a patch of sky is not that clear, just try to look at other clearer patches. So it is important to learn where are all the interesting binocular stuff to look at at different locations of the sky.

As for eye relief, perhaps can try on the spot at the retail shop to judge how comfortable it is for your own eyes. Some manufacturers/retailers over or understate the specifications deliberately or otherwise. E.g. actual relief 17mm and overstate it as 20mm. So once you have a candidate list of binoculars, google search and read as much user reviews about them as possible before you approach the retail shop to do the final test for yourself.

[Airconvent]

Welcome to Singastro buihia, do check out our FAQs to get started as they contain general information our members shared throughout the years