| Author | Message | ||
     Whisperstealth |
I recently picked up a pair of Sears Discoverer 10 x 50 super wide angle binoculars. Model # 6277-A. Best information I can find is they were made in the late 60's to early 70's. They made an awesome present for my brother, he loves them. Turns out they are fairly rare. The 7 x 35 binoculars are pretty common and easily picked up on flea bay for around $50. The 6277-A's are harder to find, and even harder to find in the excellent condition these are in. Came with leather case, eye caps, lens brush, cleaning cloth and instructions. They are leather covered made to look like alligator hide. The case even contained the previous owners name and contact info from when he lived in Illinois, on a card in a slot for it. A fantastic score for the $25 I paid for them. Now I am looking at a pair of Sears Discoverer 10-40 x 60 Zoom binoculars made in the 80's I believe, on flea bay. I've never handled or used Zoom Binoculars, and don't know much about them. Does anyone here have experience with them, and maybe even with the Sears Discoverer Zoom Binoculars. They are going for a reasonable sum, but if they don't work well, I like to know before I bid on them. Any input would be appreciated, thanks! | ||
| Hootowl |
I have binocular vision but I am afraid my expertise ends there. Now, having established myself as a complete know-nothing, Sears was a force to be reckoned with in the 80s. I suspect those binocs are of fairly high quality. | ||
| Whisperstealth |
Thanks for your thought! Sears was pretty cool back then. I mostly remember going with my father and looking at Craftsman Tools. The 6277-A's are fantastic. Good looking, built very well, and most importantly, work! The quality is great. The body of the binoculars is magnesium, so while at 10 x 50 they are still large and hefty, they aren't unbearable. They were made in Japan and part of the Sears Best line of goods. I have not been able to find much info on the one's on the auction site. They were made in Japan, I know that. And they look great in the pictures, darn near new. Right now they are going for $60 with a full day to go. | ||
| Hootowl |
That sounds like a steal. | ||
| Ourdee |
If you are looking for a current bargain glass that performs well, The Celestron Outland X 10x42 are a great deal. If you are using the binoculars after dark or for star gazing 10x50 are a good starting point. Larger the front lens the more light they will gather. I had a pair of 25x100 for night sky work. Heavy unless you have a tripod with a boom. You will need to learn how to correct the alignment when you start playing with the big ones. There are hidden screws in them. Your eyes have to be tricked to allow you to adjust them. If you get a chance to dial in a pair of swarovski binoculars in 10x42, have a look through them. You will start to understand why some glass is expensive. | ||
| Whisperstealth |
RD, Thanks for the tip on the Celestrons. Id love a pair of high end binoculars, but Im a cheap skate, and dont have the budget for the really good stuff. I bought the Sears 10-40x60 Discoverers on ebay. $60 bucks, $78 with shipping and taxes. Im hoping they are as nice as the 10x50s I picked up for my brother, or at least close. If not, my investment isnt too great. | ||
| Aesquire |
I don't know diddle about NA beer, but binoculars are cool. It's basic math. The magnification 7x50 and aperture give you 50/7 = 7.14 the image/exit pupil size. ( in millimeters ) 10x40... 40/10 = 4 mm Exit Pupil/image size gives you a rough number for light amplification. Human pupils run about 7 mm wide open at night to 3 mm in daylight. Thus a 7x50 is brighter that a 10x40, so if you want to look at Saturn, you get a bigger, but dimmer image out of the latter. So the 7x50 is better For astronomy, or seeing stuff at night, than a 7x35. ( 5 mm exit pupil ) For looking at the moon or the teens at the pool party down the street in the day, ditto. But there's more light than you can use watching the teens frolic their swiping fingers on their phones, so go for magnification in daylight. Then you get into quality and coatings. Optical coatings reduce the loss at each interface of the glass. ( glass/glass or glass/air ) & the rainbow spread of light. There's a bunch of interfaces in prism optics. So coatings are important for brightness and image quality. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binoculars Personally I can't hold a still image much past 10x because of micro tremors in the muscles, so a tripod is nice for higher magnification. Ymmv. I have a cheap spotting scope 20x40 and it's dim in bright sunlight and too high magnifying to use without a tripod, for me. ( math, cheap glass and coatings, ) And is pretty useless for astronomy, except the bright moons. ( as mentioned above ) And so either of your binoculars is a better choice for viewing Saturn or pool party. | ||
| Aesquire |
Btw 10x is just about right to see the Galilean moons of Jupiter on a clear night depending on your vision. So you can go look & mutter "But the Earth still moves" and trigger Tpehak.  Galileo had some gems for triggering. https://www.azquotes.com/author/5284-Galileo_Galil ei | ||
| Ducbsa |
I'd like a better look at her binoculars!  | ||
| Whisperstealth |
Who is she? | ||
| Ducbsa |
Dunno, I searched for "WW2 navy binoculars" images and she made the cut. | ||
| Whisperstealth |
Here are the binoculars I picked up.    | ||
| Ourdee |
Whisperstealth, Don't go thinkin' I'm all high kaflutin. I paid $5 in a local yard sale for my first set of Celestron Outland X 10x42 Binoculars. I was so impressed with them I found a second pair on fleabay for $40. The pair you picked up should serve you well for birding or star watching. Even for recon work. I was using a pair of 25x100 binoculars to look at Jupiter on a cold clear night. That was the first time I saw moons around another planet. Super cool! 25x is enough magnification for that. I think that pair had BAK 4 prisms. If you want good prisms, BAK 4 are good. Avoid BAK 7. The Celestron Outland X 10x42 Binoculars have BAK 4. | ||
| Ourdee |
Use the tripod mount under the right side! The threads should be 1/4-20. (Message edited by OURDEE on November 04, 2023) | ||
| Whisperstealth |
RD, $5? That's a great deal. Heck, even $40 for the second pair is a good deal. They are currently going for $73 on the web. The 10x50 6277-A Sears discoverer binoculars I got for my brother have the BAK 4 prisms. Not sure what kind of prisms my pair have. I'd like to use the tripod mount, but want to make sure that much uneven weight on the left side doesn't make the set up unstable. | ||
| Ourdee |
As long as the legs are extended you should be fine. You can always extend the leg more on the heavy side. | ||
| Ourdee |
So, I keep different pairs of binocs I've collected. Some were sold because I was offered too much to hang on to them. I got out one of my favorite astronomy pair tonight because I looked out of the garage and there was Jupiter staring at me. Years ago I picked up a Celestron Skymaster 25X70 for $35 on Craigslist in northern Il. I was looking at some of the moons around it before the clouds crowded in. I found the trick to these is to dial them in. Then rest my head on the back of the chair and hold the glasses at the far end so they don't move so much. Bonus part for free; There is an APP on android named Stellarium. You don't have to map the sky to see what you are looking at. Just point the phone like you are taking a picture. Cheating? It works. I've got the books, if I want to do it the hard way. | ||
| Ducbsa |
The app can sense your bearing and angle accurately enough to know what should be there? I'll have to look into that. | ||
| Ourdee |
I've used it for years and years. I used to use Meade's software and Redshift. Stellarium is crazy easy. | ||
| Whisperstealth |
I wrote out a nice long post, and the site refused to post it, even after multiple edits, so here are the Cliff notes. Binoculars came in. Work well. Bought a tripod of fleabay, once it comes in I will pair the two up and see how well that works. Also bought a pair of Celestron Outland X 10 x 42 for $40. Had too for such a bargain price. Wally world dat com has a vender selling the Celestron Nature DX 10X42 for $65. They are really highly rated at the $100 plus price point, $65 sounds like a steal... |
