SingAstro

Hi gurus,

I'm new to this. And so i was wondering will a Zoom Binoculars be suitable to do astro viewing?

I read that zooms are not that good. Cos after 10x magnification, it'll be difficult to get a steady view while hand-holding. And I think zooms will make the final image dimmer than non zooms, so its more difficult to catch dimmer stars. Daytime terrestrial usage i guess its fine, but for astronomical uses, the brighter the better.

But then again, experts, please correct me if I am wrong.

Hi sgnic. Welcome to Singastro. Zoom binocular is not suitable for stargazing compared to non-zoom types. I suggest you read the book Star Ware (available in the public libraries) or Backyard Astronomer's Guide for more info about using/buying binoculars for stargazing purposes.

For stargazing puposes, 7x50 or 10x50 or 8x42 are quite popular choices among stargazers. If you dont mind using a binocular with a tripod, 15x70 20x80 25x100 are quite suitable.

You may find the following materials useful:

http://www.backyardastronomy.com/Backya ... ulars.html

http://www.backyardastronomy.com/Backya ... Books.html

Zoom binoculars are not suitable for stargazing. Been their, done that, it is not pretty.

Objective of a binocular 4 stargazing: Give a WIDE field of view

What a zoom bino does: increases magnification, decreases field of view.

They are contradicting.

I think weight might be an issue as 22X might really be heavy. Most ppl's arms get sore even after holding a pair of 10X50 bino after a few mins