!THIS IS A LEGACY ARTICLE! CLICK HERE FOR THE MOST RECENT BEST BUYS!
ScopeViews’ Best Buys
Here are our current best buys, sifted
from many recent reviews, some ongoing. Things have changed quite a bit this
year as new models have come along and some old favourites (like Nikon’s 12x50
SE binoculars) have gone out of production.
Best
Buy High-Power Astronomy Binoculars
Zeiss Conquest 15x56 HD
These big Zeiss binoculars are not the
very best in their class – that accolade would go to Swarovski’s 15x56 SLC HD.
But the Conquest HDs are almost as good whilst substantially cheaper. Zeiss
throw in a quality tripod adapter as well. Amongst the big-eye, high power
bino’s we’ve seen, these hit the sweet spot for performance and value.
The Conquest 15x56s give a very wide,
sharp and detailed view and are of very high optical quality. A bit too much
field-edge false colour lets them down during the day, but at night you won’t
notice it. They have a wider (apparent) and flatter field than their 10x56
sibling.
So, if you want a big-aperture,
high-power hand-held binocular for hunting down DSOs, these are the best value
out there, especially since they’re made in Germany and have the promise of
long-term Zeiss support.
Best Buy General Purpose Astronomy
Binoculars
Swarovski
10x50 EL
Given that 10x50 is perhaps the ideal
format for a general purpose astronomy binocular, it’s a shame there are so few
premium examples to choose from. Neither Zeiss nor Nikon make a premium 10x50
at the time of writing. That’s not a problem though, because Swarovski make a
10x50 version of their Swarovision EL line and if you are prepared to spend the
cash it is a superb do-everything binocular.
The EL 10x50 shares its basic qualities
with other members of the EL range. It gives a wonderfully wide, flat, bright
and aberration-free view. It’s not a big or heavy binocular for a 10x50 either.
So if you choose to buy it you get the best of both worlds – a view like the
best birding binoculars, but the night-sky reach of something larger. The only
price you’ll pay (literally – they are much the same cost as the 10x42 EL) is a
couple of hundred grams extra weight.
The 10x50 EL is anything but cheap, but
we can justify its best buy status because it does everything so well it you
could save you money by being your only binoculars.
If
you want to treat yourself to just one pair of fine binoculars for birding and
astronomy, make it a pair of Swarovski 10x50 ELs.
Best
Buy Budget Binoculars
Nikon Monarch 5 10x42
These binoculars seem to be a bit of an
exception to the rule that you get what you pay for. Online you can get them
for as little as Ł250, yet the view is very comparable with the next price
bracket up which includes budget models from premium brands at over twice the
price.
On the upside, it is very light weight,
well made and gives a bright, sharp view. The Monarchs use ED glass to kill
false colour and do it as effectively as any binocular I have tested. They
handle well, have good eye relief for specs-wearers and a smooth focuser too.
They work well for birding, but very acceptably for casual astronomy as well.
The only downsides to the Nikon Monarch
5 10x42s are that they have a narrow field of view and a bit of astigmatism at the
edges; but overall, it’s an excellent binocular from a quality brand for a
modest outlay.
Best Buy Travel Binoculars
Zeiss
Victory 8x32 FL
If you want a pair of ‘proper’ binoculars
for that special trip (or maybe lots of special trips) it’s going to have to be
small and light or you’ll end up tossing it out of the case to make room for
more underwear.
So which is the smallest and lightest
proper binocular that gives a really great view? The answer, in our view, is
easy – the Zeiss 8x32 FL.
The Victory 8x32 is an old model now.
It’s the last of the Victory FL range still on sale and there’s a reason: it’s
still an unbeatable package. The 8x32 FL is tiny but it gives a wide, bright,
sharp view, has an excellent focuser and is very rugged.
You’ll appreciate the composite body of
the tiny FLs because it’ll keep your hands warmer on the deck of that
ice-breaker you’re taking beyond Svalbard. And its super-bright optics will let
you find the Magellanic Clouds and Eta-Carinae on that big trip down under.
Competition? Not really. Yes, the
Swarovski EL 8x32 gives just as good a view, but it’s significantly larger;
heavier too. The Leica Ultravid 8x32 HD is just as compact and slightly
lighter, but it has too little eye relief and a lower level of optical
performance. The Swarovski 8x30 Companion is even lighter, but the view just
can’t cut it –narrower and dimmer and not HD. The Kowa 8x33’s focuser was too
stiff and its view not as sparkling.
The only downside is that the deals you
could once get on the 8x32 FLs seem to have all dried up. Perhaps everyone has
cottoned on to the fact it’s in a class of its own.
Best Buy Travel ‘Scope for Eclipses
Takahashi
FS-60Q
Lunar
eclipse through Takahashi FS-60Q.
The FS-60Q is a tiny portable
quadruplet refractor. It consists of the FS-60CB (an F6 fluorite doublet) with
a special doublet 1.7x extender called the ‘Q Module’ threaded into the OTA. It
sounds weird, but the result is superb small apochromat with a very well
corrected and flat field covering a 44mm image circle (in other words you get a
flat field across a full-frame sensor). The extender also removes most residual
aberrations, so the FS-60Q works at very high magnifications and image scales
for its size.
All that makes the FS-60Q a super-sharp
600mm telephoto lens for fantastic photos of the Moon that belie its small
size; it works brilliantly as a visual instrument too. It packs up into a tiny
carry-on bag and will fit on the smallest mount. So it’s ideal for travelling
to eclipses – both Solar and Lunar.
Questar
The reason this category has two best
buys is that the FS-60Q is just a telescope, whilst Questar is a complete
package in a way nothing else is: a tiny carry on case that contains ‘scope,
finder, mount, drive, star and Moon maps, eyepiece, barlow lens and a
white-light solar filter. No, it’s not cheap, but nothing else comes close to
its functionality as a travel scope. That case contains everything you need
(except maybe for a camera adapter).
Optically, Questar is a long-focus
Maksutov, so it’s not nearly as flexible as the FS-60Q for imaging, though
perfect for eclipses.
Best
Buy 3” Refractor
Takahashi
FC-76
The FC-76
replaced Takahashi’s superb-but-big FS-78. The FC-76 comes in two versions. The
FC-76DS weighs about 3kg and has a sliding dew-shield for maximum compactness.
The FC-76DC has a fixed dew-shield and so is longer, but only weighs a paltry
1.8 Kg.
But if you
want the carry-on portability of the DS with the light weight of the DC, you
can have it – it’s called the FC-76 objective unit. The FC-76 objective unit is
simply the front end of an FC-76DC. It screws onto an existing FS-60C in place
of the objective to create an FC-76DC that splits in half.
In the
split-tube form, the FC-76DC is one of the lightest and most portable 3”
refractors. But like the FS-78, the FC-76 is super sharp and takes
magnification much better than most F6 3” apo’s.
You don’t
have an FS-60C? No problem. You can create a complete split-tube FC-76 from the
objective unit. Here’s how:
·
Buy the FC-76
objective unit – Takahashi part TFK07650
·
Buy the tube
assembly to convert an FS-60C into an FS-60CB – Takahashi part TSK06211
·
Buy a 2”
Feathertouch focuser – Starlight Instruments part FTF2025BCR
·
Buy the
adapter for the focuser – Starlight Instruments part A20-302
·
Just thread
it all together!
(usual disclaimer – I take no responsibility for
this working out! Please check the part numbers with Takahashi/Starlight
Instruments before you order!)
Best Buy 4” Refractor
Takahashi
TSA-102
The TSA-102 is one of the most perfect
small telescopes. Its objective lens is of the very best, ultra-sharp and with
no false colour. Build quality is typical Takahashi – simple but beautiful. One
of the UK’s leading imagers who is also a Tak’ dealer uses a TSA-102. You
figure it out. It isn’t even expensive.
You can get a Feather-touch focuser
version for little extra. In that version, the focuser detaches to be replaced
with an optional blanking plate, thus reducing the 25” tube to about 22” for
carry-on portability.
The TSA-102 is equally perfect for
deep-sky imaging or high-magnification views of the Moon and planets. The only
downside is that the triplet makes it a fair bit heavier and bulkier than say
an FC-100DS, or even the smallest 4” APOs, like AP’s Traveler.
Best
Buy Budget Refractor
Sky-Watcher
Evostar 100ED
This is easy. The Sky-Watcher 100ED Pro
has excellent optics with minimal CA and a smooth dual-speed focuser. It is a
proper 4” APO, so shows a lot more than smaller APOs. Yet it’s available for a
very modest price, much less than the 120ED. It’s light-weight too, so you can
mount it on an EQ5. And you can get a cheap reducer for imaging.