What it shows
Through the family's typical instrument: 53 mm at f/4.5, with the eyepiece a beginner would use for each target. Computed, then darkened by the sky — never a photograph.
- The MoonRecognisable10× (23.9 mm eyepiece) · 53 mm · 5.3 mm exit pupil
- SaturnRecognisable10× (23.9 mm eyepiece) · 53 mm · 5.3 mm exit pupil
- The Hercules ClusterDetectable10× (23.9 mm eyepiece) · 53 mm · 5.3 mm exit pupil
- The Whirlpool GalaxyNot visible10× (23.9 mm eyepiece) · 53 mm · 5.3 mm exit pupil
Photo credits
These thumbnails are built from real photographs, scaled and darkened by the same arithmetic as the large view.
Which level of detail a target reaches is a rule of thumb from observers; the magnification, field and exit pupil are arithmetic.
What it is for, goal by goal
Every score with the sentence behind it, highest first.
- Learn the sky5/5 ExcellentNothing else teaches the sky this fast. Wide field, right way up, and the view matches what a star chart shows.
- Travel5/5 ExcellentFits in a coat pocket's worth of bag.
- With a child4/5 GoodA child can hold them, and there is nothing to break or misalign.
- Deep sky3/5 FairStar clouds, big clusters and the brighter nebulae, in fields no telescope can frame.
- Sun2/5 WeakAt binocular power: the big spot groups, small, and a partial eclipse whole. The cell has to hold each model's own outside diameter, so it depends on the model: from €90 to €118 for 50 mm. Each model's page names its own. Every time: certified filter over the front · finder capped · never an eyepiece filter · an adult with children · never without the filter · measure first · both sides.
Not for this
- Moon & planets1/5 PoorThe Moon is genuinely lovely at 10× (50 mm, an exit pupil of 5 mm). The planets are points of light.
Not scored: Photo, Serious photo.
What it does well
- Ready in the time it takes to open the case
- Both eyes, which makes faint things easier to see than the same aperture through one
- Five to seven degrees of sky at once — no telescope shows the Pleiades whole
- Useful for birds, and therefore used in daylight too
What it costs you
- The planets stay dots. Jupiter's moons show; its belts do not
- Hand shake costs about a magnitude of faint detail — a tripod adapter fixes it
- No magnification to grow into
The Sun, safely
The Sun with this family
The cell has to hold each model's own outside diameter, so it depends on the model: from €90 to €118 for 50 mm. Each model's page names its own.
At binocular power: the big spot groups, small, and a partial eclipse whole.
- 50 mm: outside diameter not sourced — once measured, one of: euro EMC SF100 1B (48–61 mm), Omegon Helievo 60 (44–68 mm), euro EMC SF100 (57–71 mm), Omegon Helievo 72 (64–88 mm), Omegon Helievo 92 (84–108 mm) (€90–€118).
The listing names no standard; no international standard exists for filters on telescopes, binoculars or lenses (AAS).
Counted against this family: €118, the filter for its smallest model — its cheapest route, where its price band starts.
Every time
- A certified solar filter over the FRONT of the instrument, fastened so it cannot slip or blow off.
- Cap or remove the finder. It is a second telescope, and it has no filter.
- Never a filter at the eyepiece end: the concentrated sunlight there can crack it in an instant.
- With children, an adult is there every time.
- Never look, or point, without the filter on. Check it before each use; a scratched or torn filter goes in the bin.
- Measure before ordering. A cell that sits loose can fall off.
- Binoculars: both sides filtered, always.
Sources for the Sun
- American Astronomical Society — How to View a Solar Eclipse Safely — filters on optics go on the front; eclipse glasses never with optics; children supervised
- American Astronomical Society — Solar Filters for Optics — eyepiece filters are dangerous; the finder capped, removed or filtered; the filter attached securely
- American Astronomical Society — About the ISO 12312-2 Standard — EN ISO 12312-2:2015 covers naked-eye viewers only; no international standard covers filters on telescopes, binoculars or lenses
- Société astronomique de France — Guide des observations solaires — a filter at the front, never one screwed into the eyepiece, the finder capped
- NASA — Keep Your Eclipse Glasses to See the Sun's ‘Freckles’ — a large enough sunspot shows through eclipse glasses
- AAVSO — Le Guide d'Observation Solaire de l'AAVSO, v1.1 (2017), p. 6 — archived copy — “Les ouvertures plus grandes que 100 à 125 mm sont généralement limitées par les effets de turbulence atmosphérique”; 50 to 80 mm is enough to count sunspots
Next to it
Smaller
Nothing smaller in this family.
Same budget, another way
130 mm tabletop Dobsonian- +87 mm
- +5.1 kg
- +€80 at entry level
Recognisable targets (of 14): countryside 9 → 14, city 6 → 10.
Bigger
76 mm tabletop Newtonian- +23 mm
- +1.1 kg
- +€10 at entry level
Recognisable targets (of 14): countryside 9 → 10, city 6 → 7.
Rule of thumb from observers, at each family's typical aperture.
The models
Each price is the cheapest one observed, with its date. Links marked paid link earn us a commission and cost you nothing extra; the list is ordered by price, then by name — never by what pays. How this site is funded
| Model | Aperture | Focal length | Weight | Eyepieces supplied | Cheapest observed | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bresser Hunter 10×50 | 50 mm | 200 mm | 0.8 kg | — | €50seen 7 Oct 2026 at Astroshop | At Astroshoppaid link4 other sellers
|
 Celestron UpClose G2 10×50 | 50 mm | 200 mm | 0.9 kg | — | €62seen 7 Oct 2026 at Astroshop | At Astroshoppaid link4 other sellers
|
 Levenhuk Atom 10×50 | 50 mm | 200 mm | 1.1 kg | — | €65seen 7 Oct 2026 at Astroshop | At Astroshoppaid link4 other sellers
|
 National Geographic 10×50 Porro | 50 mm | 200 mm | 0.8 kg | — | €70seen 7 Oct 2026 at Astroshop | At Astroshoppaid link4 other sellers
|
| Olympus 10×50 DPS-I | 50 mm | 200 mm | 0.8 kg | — | €95indicative, seen 17 Aug 2026 | No observed price, so no button.4 other sellers
|
| Nikon Aculon A211 10×50 | 50 mm | 200 mm | 0.9 kg | — | €120indicative, seen 17 Aug 2026 | No observed price, so no button.4 other sellers
|
 Helios Optics Mistral WP6 10×50 | 50 mm | 200 mm | 0.8 kg | — | €170seen 7 Oct 2026 at Astroshop | At Astroshoppaid link4 other sellers
|
 Omegon Brightsky 10×50 | 50 mm | 200 mm | 1.3 kg | — | €289seen 7 Oct 2026 at Astroshop | At Astroshoppaid link4 other sellers
|
Questions people ask
Binoculars, really, to start astronomy?
Yes — it is the oldest advice in the hobby. 10×50s show Jupiter's four moons, the phases of Venus, the Andromeda Galaxy, the Orion Nebula and dozens of clusters, in a 5–7° field no telescope offers. They do not show Saturn's rings or Jupiter's belts: 10× on 50 mm (an exit pupil of 5 mm) is not enough.
10×50 or 7×50?
7×50s give a 7 mm exit pupil (50 ÷ 7), wider than the dark-adapted pupil of most adults past 40, so part of the light never enters the eye. 10×50s give 5 mm, a darker background under town skies and a little more magnification. They are the best hand-held compromise; beyond 10× on 50 mm (an exit pupil of 5 mm), you need a tripod.
Do I need a tripod?
Not to start. Hand shake costs about a magnitude on faint things; a photo-tripod adapter removes it, and most 10×50s have the thread for one at the front of the hinge.
What about 15×70 or 20×80?
They weigh 1.5–2.5 kg and cannot be hand-held for more than a few seconds. On a solid tripod they show more, but they are no longer the ready-in-a-minute instrument that makes binoculars worth having.
Read next
- Telescopes under €200: what is worth itTwo good buys, one honest one, and the number that rules out the rest — with what each really shows.Updated 24 Sept 2026
- Giving a telescopeWhich one to give to whom, at what price, and when the best present is not a telescope.Updated 29 Sept 2026
- Which telescope for a child?Age by age: who sets the instrument up, what they will see on the first night, and what not to buy.Updated 24 Sept 2026