Image Stabilised Binos

Because two pairs of 10x50s and a pair of Right Angle giant Binos aren't enough to satisfy my urges for more gear, I've been looking at Canon's image stabilised binos. They're fairly steep in price, but I'm wondering if they're worth the extra few quid.

Anybody have any experience with them, or their equivalents?

Thanks

I've tried them and, to be honest, though they give very steady viewing, I can't say I consider them worth the cost. Yes, the image IS steady, but you still only get the light-grasp of quite small lenses. For that money you could get a much better binocular for astronomical use and just put it on a tripod, lie on a lie-low or deckchair, or just flat on the ground and let gravity help you hold them steady. As I said, they give very good steady viewing, and the image quality is OK, but I would consider them a gimmick item, perhaps more suited to marine or other applications where steady viewing could be required but a tripod or other mount isn't to hand. They would be great for the army too!

Denton P. Walter

Astronomy Ireland

I have a pair. They do, indeed, give a very steady image. I got them for when I'm travelling (i.e. eclipses) and don't want to carry around or fumble with lots of gear (e.g. tripods). So, given that I now don't have to have a tripod with me, I found them to be useful.

While this solution may not satisfy your inherent need to blow loads of dosh on a shiny new pair of binos, you should check out the October edition of Sky&Tel (pg. 107) on how to Image Stabilize Your Binoculars. I've made up one of these rigs and it works just as well as the Canon I-S binos I have tried... and I made it out of scrap!

You could also mount your current I-S binos on one of these rigs and have Enhanced Image Stabilization!

Phil.

I've got Cannon 18X50's and an 8" reflector. If i'm luckey I get 10 days a year good enough to set up telescope, however I use the binos all the time. Even during bad nights I often nip out for a quick half hour between the showers.

I enjoy them, great for nebula, clusters, double stars, the moon and alot of galaxies (eg M51, M81, M82, M101 easy targets). You wont see much detail for galaxies, but it is nice to find them almost straight away & lets face it I dont get that much detail with my 8 inch anyway.

On the down side they are not great for planets, you will see jupitors moons, however Jupitor itself flares a bit, I think you can just about see Saturn's ring............might be my imagination!........although you can definatly see Saturns ears.

The field is about 3 deg with good detail at edges. With regards to weight, they are light enough, although the only way I can manage long sessions is to sit in reclining deckchair (which is very relaxing in any case). I saw a review in Cloudy Nights where some guy used them with a telescopic Monopod thich hung around his neck, hence the weight was transfered from his arms to his chest. I will probably check this out futher.

Good advice on telescopes & bino purchase is the best equipment is the equipment you use. Based upon that selecton methodology I think Cannon Stab Binos are well worth the money.

Damon

I borrowed someone pair at Whirlpool as I had never seen through them before. They are impressive, and do hold the image steady. But they are the type of equipment that you would keep in the car, or take on travels where you want to be able to use binoculars but carrying around a decent tripod is impractical. I'll stick with th 10x50's and my high tripod.

If you want to waste money on optics you can get a nightvision scope. I got one second hand some time back, and although its of very limited use for astronomy (green fuzzy images and ruins dark adaption) its great for watching wildlife at night.

Cheers,
~Al