Oberwerk 11×70 (non image-stabilized) astronomy binoculars.

An economical way to gather a lot more light than 10×30 binoculars

First, the plusses: At $181 shipped from BigBinoculars.com, the Oberwerk 11×50 binoculars are really nice binos at a great price. I learned about them from Todd Gross’ web site. Todd is a long-time TV meteorologist in Boston, MA, and an avid stargazer. His review of the Oberwerks helped me decide. They really do grab a lot more light, and at 11x, they are less susceptible to shaky hands than the higher-magnification 15x model.

The only down side is that they are a bit heavy, and therefore prone to image jiggle from tired arms (at least, my arms). To solve this, I ordered the tripod mount (included in the $181 price), and put the Oberwerks on a cheap Sears tripod I’d had since high school. This has helped a lot, and not only to plant the tripod on the ground and line up a star or planet for someone else to see. It also gives me more stability when I hold the binos in one hand, with a finger on the focus knob, and then hold a partially extended tripod leg in the other hand. I can even do this in a lawn chair, to look toward the zenith.

Unfortunately, Comet Encke was too low in the dusky western haze by the time I had my new binoculars, free time, and good weather. Well, I’ll have other opportunities. Although I’d buy them again, the Oberwerks are my least-used instrument so far. They are great for wide-angle, low-power views of larger clusters (Pleiades look especially amazing through them), but in general I only use them when the 10×30 Canons are too dim and my telescope’s field of view is too narrow. I really miss the image stabilization feature of the Canons, and it feels like I see more with them.

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