In my many years of observing the wonders of the night sky, I have used every imaginable type of equipment, from the ultra-simple to the dauntingly complex. Although I am far from a Luddite, these days I find myself leaning more and more to the understated end of the technical spectrum. Fact is, I have always been a low-tech observer at heart.

My first serious piece of astronomical equipment was a binocular and binocular observing under a dark sky is still my favorite way to do astronomy. Time was, when a 7x50 was standard equipment in an astro binocular, but then came the giants. I suppose this was inevitable, given the usual American attitude that if something is good, then bigger must be better. The current drive toward ever larger objectives and magnification has turned what was once the simplest of observing tools into behemoths requiring as much in the way of supports and mounts as a telescope.

Somewhere in all the marketing hype, the lowly 7x50 has become lost in the shuffle as a serious astro tool. I have used the larger stuff for years - 10x70s, 11x80s, 25x100s - and I have come to the conclusion that the gap in performance between a 7x50 and these big boys is not as great as the advertisers would have you believe. This may be heresy, but so be it. As far as open clusters and large extended nebulae go - and those are the forte of an astronomical bino - I am here to tell you that you won't miss much with the smaller binos, except, of course, the weight and the tripod and the price.

Time to get off the soap box and go home

Joanie