Meopta MeoStar 10X42 binoculars.
This report includes:
- The back story
- Ooops!
- Pyramyd AIR
- Hawke binoculars
- Using binoculars
- Field target
- Light pollution
- But wait!
- Summary
Something a bit different today but it’s something we all need to know! Binoculars and how they can be used.
The back story
BB jokes with reader RidgeRunner about being cheap but BB is also spend-iferously challenged. Hey—I’m an airgunner, right? Well, I’m currently writing a science fiction novel that’s set in space, so astronomical telescopes came into question. Space is neat and I have always wanted to see the Andromeda galaxy (M31) so okay, I’ll get one!
Ooops!
Then I discovered how much a good astronomical telescope costs. Reader Ian McKee gifted me with a telescope he had on hand, but after trying to search the heavens I discovered it’s really best for terrestrial objects. Oh, the manual shows Galileo looking at the sky with a telescope, but the way both the tripod and the eyepiece for this scope are configured my eye has to be 2.5 feet / 76.2 cm off the ground to look straight up.
I do have several tripods I could use to correct this but in my research I discovered that people also use binoculars for astronomy. And I have a really good pair of binocs—the MeoStar 10X42s pictured above.
I wondered what sort of binocs are needed for astronomy and it turns out 10X42 is the smallest size recommended. Fancy that!
Pyramyd AIR
Hey—I wondered if Pyramyd Air sold any binocs? And that’s when I awoke to the fact that BB Pelletier is apparently late to the party! They sell LOTS of binoculars—including a pair called the Vortex Diamondback HD 15×56 Binoculars that could be used for astronomy! They come with a tripod adaptor that any binoc with great magnification really needs.
Pyramyd AIR sells these Vortex 15X56 binoculars that come with a tripod adaptor! No doubt they are meant for terrestrial use but they would work for the stars as well.
Hawke binoculars
The Hawke brand is well represented in the many binoculars they sell. They even have several 10X50 and 12X50 binocs that will also work well for the night sky.
You guys all praise Hawke optics and the riflescopes I’ve used were certainly great. I reckon their binocs have to be good as well. And they are a heck of a lot less expensive than my Meoptas!
While looking at the Hawke line of binocs I saw the Hawke spotting scopes that are also on the Pyramyd AIR site. Now BB doesn’t need a good spotting scope because he paid a bundle years ago to purchase a Meopta MeoPro 80 HD spotting scope. That thing is fantastic! In fact I used it recently to look down the 100-yard tunnel at AirForce. The only trouble I had on that day was finding the target in the scope! It took me about 10-15 minutes to get on the target with the scope.
Which leads me back to today’s topic—binoculars and what they are good for.
Using binoculars
I use binoculars as a spotting scope 95 percent of the time. In fact only when I need to see .22-caliber holes in the black of a bullseye at 100 yards / 91.2 meters do I need a real spotting scope, and not an el-cheapo, either! Bad experiences with cheap spotting scopes in the past have taught me to cry once and only once.
But most of the time my binocs do the job quite well. Those MeoStars 10X42s I mentioned above have really served me well at closer distances.
Out to 50 yards / 45.72 meters I can see .22 caliber holes in black bullseye targets with this set of binocs if the light is bright. Most of the time that’s more than I need.
Field target
I used to compete in field target and when I did I always wore a small set of binoculars. When I attended the Pyramyd AIR cup in September I wore a set of small Tasco 8X20 binos that fit in the palm of my hand. When they saw them people remarked how “cute” they were. Then, after I called their misses on target faces 50 meters away they started to rely on me watching every shot! You simply cannot NOT have a good pair of binoculars if you are an airgunner!
My “cute” Tasco 8X20 binoculars let me see .177 pellet strikes on a painted steel target at 50 meters. When people needed that information they suddenly became less cute and more necessary!
Light pollution
Now back to astronomy. I live in a built-up area and the night sky is polluted with lights from the city. And I am searching for something that in a very dark sky used to be considered a cloud. They called it a nebula, which is Latin for a cloud of mist.
It wasn’t until the 1920s that astronomers proved Andromeda is really a huge spiral galaxy of stars! It’s similar to our own Milky Way, and some have believed it is even larger! It’s bigger than the full moon but a LOT fainter. All I want to do is SEE it! And my binoculars should do the job quite well.
But wait!
Remember—I also have a telescope with super-high resolution. And it has an 80 mm objective lens that should work well with the 20-power magnification on its lowest setting. I call it a spotting scope but nothing prevents me from pointing it at the sky!
MeoPro HD 80 spotting scope from Meopta should also be good for astronomy. Photo provided by Meopta.
Summary
So, as an airgunner, I also have all the optics I need to see the stars when I want to. And I can also see pellet holes without walking downrange, or targets drop in Gunslynger matches, or pellet strikes on distant field targets. And I’m only touching on a few things that good binocs can do.
Do you know any more?
Tom,
Took a look around the local marketplace and majority of the those available are questionable Chinese manufacture. If I’m lucky I might be able to locate a good branded pair but most likely with our tropical climate will have fungus on the lens. Any suggestions about those?
Siraniko
Siraniko,
Yes! My suggestion is to avoid them like the plague. I just acquired a cheap pair of Tasco binocs from Hawaii and they were out of collimation and also not adjustable. They were highly corroded by salt air. The really good ones like Bausch & Lomb will disassemble for lens cleaning.
BB
Siraniko,
I hate to say it, but most optics are made in China these days including Hawke optics. I think it depends on whether the mother company is overseeing what is going on and enforcing standards.
Siraniko, praying you and your loved ones have not been impacted by the awful stormy weather your country has sadly been through.
FawltyManuel,
Thanks for the prayers FM. The storm’s fury was greatly decreased when it stumbled on the Sierra Madre mountain range of Northern Luzon. Still the death toll currently is at 18 and hopefully will not run any higher. This is a lot less than the previous week’s storm which had a death toll of 232. Lots of property damage before the storm hit the mountain range. Our storm season usually lasts until the end of November averaging 20 storms a year. This is already our 21st. Who knows how many more before the Weather Bureau decides that the storm season is over? I seem to recall experiencing storms until early December. We are used to the storms. We always pull through. Right now the country is experiencing unrest upon the discovery of “Flood Control Projects” funds being siphoned off by our politicians.
Siraniko
I remember when Tasco used to sell those.
They were about as minimalistic as you could get.
But THEY WORKED !
Happy Monday
Ian
Ian,
Tascos are good when they are older. I have a pair from the 1960s that are fine. But I just bought a cheap pair of Tasco binocs from Hawaii and they were out of collimation and also not adjustable. They were highly corroded by salt air.
BB
When Tasco scopes and such were made in Japan, they were top shelf optics. Now they are Chinese trash.
RR,
I seem to recall reading in one of the British airgun mags back in the 80s that the guy who founded Tasco had been a bombardier on a B17 during the war and thus had firsthand experience of the importance of high quality optics.
I had not heard/read that before. Yes, the bombsight he had used would have had to had superb optics.
Shooting from my deck rails perch under a fully adjustable easy up/down beach umbrella I have found a retired from duty 16×50 rifle scope is the cat’s meow. It has a loose turret spring that only goes hay wire when bumped sharply. But it has a reasonable field of view making it easy to find the target. Pellet holes are easy prey even at dusk. I lay it on whatever shooting bag rest I’m using and eliminate twitching. It is a must when shooting guns not fitted with a scope.
I have taken a renewed interest in the cosmos and thanks to one of your readers I too look at NASA’s photo of the day (currently shutdown) first thing every morning. Much as I’d like to peek at Andromeda from my deck it ain’t going to happen living too close to city lights. I have several pairs of binoculars and quite a few telescopes mounted on air rifles. I’m fascinated by the extremely powerful binoculars advertised in online catalogs but think they would be useless without a tripod.
Deck
Back when Light Optical Works of Japan manufactured Tasco “We” knew they were quality but speaking for myself I did not know how good we had it until a holding company bought Tasco and voided all previous warranties and ruined the company.
In 1982 a World class Tasco 3x9x40 cost $75.00 and a Leopold Vari-X 2 3x9x40 cost $195.00. These were very similar scopes in feature and quality also warranty. I owned both in multiples still have one Tasco World class and a few “Pronghorns” . I still have eighties vintage Vari-X 2 scopes on My Wife and I’s go to deer rifles. I believe the Leopold’s were slightly better in build quality but value wise The L.O.W manufactured Tasco’s were impossible to beat value wise.
FM has learned something here – he better hold on to the Tasco International Series 400 7X35 binocs his parents gave him about 54 Christmases ago. These have served well, even more now that FM’s eyeballs are not what they used to be.
“Oh, the manual shows Galileo looking at the sky with a telescope, but the way both the tripod and the eyepiece for this scope are configured my eye has to be 2.5 feet / 76.2 cm off the ground to look straight up.”
There is a 1971 movie titled “The Andromeda Strain” about an extraterrestrial virus from that galaxie. For your predicament (described in the quote above) I suggest laying down on a low cot. Or else there might be a different type of andromeda “strain”.
Of the options you have shown, I would likely try the spotting scope. I think the angled eyepiece would help reduce neck strain. My neck has always complained if I look up for long periods of time.
Elmer,
I just fall over backwards when I try to look straight up. 😉
BB
B.B.
Maybe you should not drink so much? lol….
-Y
FWIW-I have a Cannon 10-24X zoom binos.
-Y
Yogi,
I am officially jealous.
BB,
When at the NC Airgun Show last month, I traded a decent spotting scope I had just picked up the week before at a yard sale for a Meade 20X80 binocular that has a tripod mount. These binoculars are huge!
Now I have an old Kalima 7X50, a small, handy Bushnell 12X25 and this humongamous Meade 20X80. I think I have the binocs covered.
I used to have a real nice spotting scope that would convert to a lense for my 35mm camera. I very stupidly got rid of it. Ah well.
P.S. I like your “cute” little binoculars.
RR,
Me too.
BB
I bought a pair of Jason Commander (importer’s name) 10×50 Model No. 161 from a pawn shop in the 1960’s. They were made in Japan and have sharp focus. The Japanese navy in WW2 had some high quality binoculars.
Deck
With all the readers perusing this blog, I’m surprised no astronomy buffs have chimed in. Years ago, I started to get into astronomy and my research showed the ideal binocular power was 7×50. The idea is you need to gather light and the 50 mm objective lens paired with the 7 power eye piece was considered a good choice. 10×50 can also be used but the almost 50% increase in magnification degrades the light gathered. The power really isn’t the factor when you’re looking at something 500 light years away. And it better be on a tripod! That is, if you want to view stars and galaxies, not planets or the moon. Minimum scope (reflector – with a mirror) as I recall, was 4″ and was mounted on a tripod with a clock drive so it stayed on your object as the earth moved.
Please anyone who is a hobbyist astronomer, feel free to correct me.
Fred formerly of the Demokratik Peeples Republik of NJ now happily in cold Georgia
Fred,
We had our first snow today. Not much and it did not hang around, but it did snow.
RidgeRunner of the Peeples Demakratik Republik of Virginia
Folks with older binos may need service, as Cory Suddarth provides. Don’ wait till the fungus attacks the mirrors or the repair might exceed the value. My old Leitz are unfortunately a story of such neglect.
BB,
A good spotting scope is an easy way to do some sky watching. One caveat, don’t look at the full moon without a filter! (don’t ask me how I know that one)
If star gazing is interesting to you, see if you can find a local star party, where amateur astronomers get together to look at the night sky and show off their toys. Most are more than happy to let you look at the heavens through their ‘pride and joy’.
To get an idea of what is possible, go to the commercial website obsessiontelescopes.com and look at the ‘images’ page. (the prices might scare you, if you’re like me & financially challenged)
Keep looking up.
Bill
PS- If you wear glasses, I have been told that you should look through the telescope/binoculars without them, as the optics are inferior to the optics of the scope.
billj,
Most of the amateur astronomy folks are very much like the folks who frequent this Blog of Tom’s!
Eye Glasses are a problem. But if the optic belongs to someone else DO NOT CHANGE the ocular without specific permission of the owner!
shootski
Shootski,
Thanks for that addition.
Changing telescope focus without permission would be like changing scope/sight settings of someone’s airgun, without the owner’s permission.
Bill
This is off subject, but I felt like making a whole bunch of folks a bit envious.
At the NC Airgun Show last month, I managed to procure almost mint One through Six editions of Airgun Revue and an almost mint Beeman R1 book.
RidgeRunner of the Peeples Demakratik Republik of Virginia
RidgeRunner,
Not envious at all! I bought all those NEW from Tom & Edith directly :^p
They were worth every penny back then and i suspect your collection continues to be worth at least that many pennies. Enjoy!
Hopefully you voted in our last election and will in our next as well; too many of the Virginia conservatives forgot tht ALL POLITICS ARE LOCAL.
shootski
shootski,
I and my wife did indeed vote. Alas, it was to no avail. If we are fortunate, our county will be one of those going to West Virginia soon.
RidgeRunner of the Peeples Demakratik Republik of Virginia 🙁
It is never to no avail to vote. It lets one know to keep on motivating others to vote for what is right and lets the “other side,” whoever/whatever the “other side” is realize they will always have opposition to reckon with; nevertheless, may country roads take you and your fellow citizens to the right place soon.
There is always the Free State of Florida. 😉 Perhaps that new documentary by Ken Burns on the American Revolution will be a timely reminder to our fellow citizens of the need to fight for and guard our freedoms, for the next 250 years and beyond.
RidgeRunner,
Best wishes for all of us who retain even a little bit of Common Sense.
For those of you that might not understand what would drive folks or jurisdictions from leaving the Commonwealth of Virginia a quick read of:
https://www.baconsrebellion.com/san-francisco-on-the-james/#more-140591
It will provide an abundance of clarity.
IF you have had thoughts of moving anywhere in Virginia you must read this linked article to understand that it is vital you change that plan if at all possible.
I pray the pendulum swing is actually going to swing the other way quickly once the Socialist Liberty hating Left Overreaching begins!
shootski
B.B. and Readership,
I love binoculars they provided me with some of my best direct airborne reconnaissance observation coups. We had gyro stabilizer equiped binoculars issued but i also used a (personally owned) tiny set of 10×20 Minolta for some of my best observations. I still have the Minolta binos.
I use the Minolta for initially covering an area for glassing to select areas for higher attention with my VORTEX RAZOR® UHD 18X56 binoculars. I use a swing arm mounted on my DOA Shooting Table, tripods with tripod adapter, or a gyro stabilizer: https://www.ken-lab.com
IF you use a tripod with heavy binoculars (or anything else mounted on the head) in the field make certain to use a LOW hanging/underslung wight from the shaft to give it some added balance and stability.
The VORTEX RAZOR UHD 18X56 impressed a number of astronomy buffs at a Dark Sky spot: https://darksky.org/what-we-do/international-dark-sky-places/all-places/
Keep looking up,
shootski
PS: https://petapixel.com/lens-fungus/
Observing nebula like Andromeda is enjoyable with big binoculars, even inexpensive models. The bigger the objective lens, which is the number after the power and the x, the more light they capture. You don’t need expensive resolution and color correction; you’re looking at a hazy star cloud. Brightness matters.
Stay comfortable and don’t strain. A recliner lawn chair is ideal. The longer you can observe an object, the more detail your eyes will register.
Be sure to dark adapt first for at least 20-30 minutes away from white light. I use red goggles in the house. Or get some red cellophane sheets and tape to your flashlight or your forehead or glasses. You’ll be amazed by how much more you see after the retina is adapted and night vision is active.
There are at least half a dozen showcase objects visible most nights of the year. Free software like StarWalk for iPhone is a huge help in locating them.
My best view ever of the Andromeda Galaxy, M31 on the Messier list, was with Fujinon 10×70’s in a dark country town. I actually saw the galaxy arms and it looked like the photos!
The reason binocs are so good to start with, compared to scopes, is that the field of view matches the apparent size of many binocular showcase objects in the sky. 10×70’s offer about a 5 degree FOV. M31 is a little over 3 degrees. That’s about 6 full moons wide. Most telescopes offer 1 degree or smaller FOV, good for the moon or small nebula, but not M31 or the Pleiades or the Great Orion Nebula.
Tom S,
To add to that great information: “In an ideal world the air would affect every part of a light wave equally. But if the refractive power of the air down one part of the telescope tube differs from the rest by more than just one part in 1,600, the ¼-wave tolerance will be breached. Such a change results from a temperature difference of just 0.2° Celsius.” That little variation is on of the things that causes some of the bedeviling POI shift we experience in our rifle scopes!” If that interests you it came from: https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-equipment/beating-the-seeing/ a great source for optics FACTS.
So much to learn and such a short life time to learn it.
shootski
The binoc and telescope buffs here might want to check these out – no doubt they’re not cheap but saw a sign once which stated, “cheap is not good, good is not cheap.” It was on the wall of a specialist auto repair shop.
https://www.luxxoptica.com/blogs/news/japanese-big-eye-binoculars-a-history-lesson
FM,
They shor are purdy. I think I will stick with my cheapo Meades though.
RidgeRunner of the Peeples Demakratik Republik of Virginia 🙁
A few years back I purchased 10X40 MeoPro Roof Prism binocs. They are not cheap but as good as units costing twice as much. Their scopes are great too.
Mike
B.B.,
You might enjoy reading this: http://www.scopeviews.co.uk/VortexRazor18x56.htm
Especially the Night Sky part!
shootski
I’ve a pair of Olympus 8×40 DPSI binoculars I bought about a decade or so ago.
They were a fantastic bargain at only 50 quid. They are light, compact and have excellent clarity. They have a wide field of view and the magnification is not too high for handheld use.
I mount them on a tripod for use as a spotting scope when shooting unscoped and can easily resolve .177 pellet holes at 50m.
I also enjoy lying in my beiwacht out in country darkness and stargazing with them. Can easily make out the 4 Galilean Moons of Jupiter, for example.
I have a pair of Celestron 25×70 Skymaster binoculars too, but they are a real handful and need to be tripod mounted to keep them steady. I reach for the little Olympus pair way more often.
BB,
For taking the leap into astronomy, I reckon the sweet spot is an 8″ Dobsonian telescope.
They are wide enough to capture a lot of light, but the tube is not too bulky and heavy for carrying about. Dobsonians are also very user friendly.
Check out the StellaLyra 8″ f/6 Dobsonian as a good example of the type.
Bob,
I’ve been looking into a SkyWatcher 150mm tabletop Dob with go-to.
BB
BB,
That looks an excellent choice for a tabletop model.
BB,
I was quite pleased to read your recent article where you stated that you wanted to see the air pressures come down in modern PCPs. As you are well aware, I too am an advocate of such.
When PCPs of the past would fill to no more than five hundred to one thousand PSI (pounds per square inch) and get twenty or more big bore shots, why are modern PCPs filling to over three thousand? I think someone got lazy.
TCFKAC has been marketing PCPs for many years that fill only to two thousand PSI. Hopefully Gamo will allow them to continue to do such.
Although I recently acquired a .177 Discovery and a .177 Maximus, I do hope to do such with a 3677. According to the new Crosman catalog that was at the NC Airgun Show, we should be seeing them this coming year.
Hopefully, we will see one that only fills to only one thousand PSI soon.
RidgeRunner of the Peeples Demakratik Republik of Virginia 🙁
FM sees what you and Tom are doing here, RR. Putting pressure on airgun manufacturers to deliver less pressure. Makes sense, even to FM. Less can be more.
Basil,
Let there be NO MISTAKE! Tom is DEFINITELY saying PCPs need LESS pressure! It solves so many problems that are currently plaguing the world of airguns.
BB
Just as, in the world of horsepower-and-vehicle size, a lot of the manufacturers would do well to tone down both, but FM thinks a lot of them are tone-deaf when it comes to that concept, same as the airgun companies whose sole philosophy of design and manufacturing seems to be “more power, more pressure, more velocity.”
But to each, his/her own. At least we the consumers have choices.
Before FM forgets – a blessed Veteran’s/Armistice Day to those who have served and still serve.
BB,
I liken the manufacturers who keep pushing up PCP pressures to the auto manufacturers who keep pushing up the horsepower. “Here’s a 2.5 liter, 3 cylinder engine that weighs about the same as a box of popcorn and produces 640 horsepower!” (Unfortunately, its lifespan is about 10K miles. The warranty is for 9K miles.)
There are costs involved in ‘pushing the envelope’ of performance, not all of them immediately apparent.
Bill
B.B. and Readership,
shootski has tried to point out to the airgun community for years that the Gas Laws clearly show that anything over about 3,600 psi (250 bar) is ridiculously inefficient even for Big Bore Airguns! A few manufacturers seemingly took note or figured it out on their own.
But i have also preached that just because a manufacturer indicates a MAXIMUM FILL PRESSURE that LAWYER/MARKETING notice does not mean that you MUST fill to that pressure LIMIT.
Since when is the entire airgun community made up of folks THAT stupid?
Crosman seems to have gotten the message and they share it with the airgun purchaser in the Owners Manuals.
Oh dang! We don’t need no stinken manuals…we can watch U Tube….
shootski
U.S. VETERANS,
https://department.va.gov/veteran-sports/national-veterans-golden-age-games/
air pistol and air rifle are two of the events.
Happy Veterans day!
shootski