Celestron 15x70 Skymaster Binoculars
4.5
5
12
12
Get what you pay for
Pros:
Excellent magnification
Excellent in low light condition (stargazing): In a clear night sky with only a handful stars visible with the naked eye, I could see tens of stars through these
Excellent price: Got them on sale. Best bang for the buck.
Cons:
Not collimated: I see stars double. I'll see if I can exchange them at the store, or have them collimated/replaced under warranty. There are instructions on how to collimate them all over the net, but I'd rather avoid going through that procedure.
Flimsy mount adapter: It's advised to fill it with epoxy to improve its strength.
Hard to hold steady: Due to it's weight, a tripod is recommended. Holding it with hands causes the image to move.
Perhaps I had bad luck with the collimation, but if you google "Celestron Skymaster collimation", you'll see I'm not alone.
December 12, 2012
Not Bad for the Price.
These have proven to be an excellent pair of binoculars for those who like the jumbo size. The sale price of $49 and the regular price of $149 is a bit misleading. These binoculars sell every day on Amazon for $49.
November 25, 2012
Blew my socks off indeed!
I heartily agree with the reviewer who used that phrase in the title, and disagree with the other who said these are not for astronomy. I'll chalk that up to either having a rare defect or shipping damage, or maybe having unrealistic expectations, like seeing the face on Mars with them, or have them penetrate city smog or light pollution.
The only thing I don't like about owning them is that I don't get to use them often enough!
My pair have pinpoint sharp stars, no distortion, no color fringing, are collimated correctly, have no perceptible internal reflection or any other optical defects. I own a pair of Zeiss binoculars that have more to complain about.
As said below, they easily resolve the moons of Jupiter, sights like the Pleades are spectacular, and lie back in a lawn chair with them and you'll feel like you could fall into the milky way. Finding the nebulae in Orion's sword and belt and the Andromeda galaxy is possible even under city lights.
For such a large binocular, they are lighter than one might expect, and although thoughtfully built the compromise between weight and ruggedness is there, so durability gets only 4 stars, these are not the kind of instrument you should plow vigorously through the woods with them around your neck careening off every other trunk. Not that non-ruggedised "normal" consumer binoculars would like much of that either. So on the one hand, they're light enough to actually hold, on the other, they're not ruggedised for abuse. All I'm trying to say really is that they should last a lifetime with reasonable care, they're just not your "knockaround" binocular, like even a cheaply made pair of 8x30s are. (Where just with everything being smaller makes them that much harder to break)
One could take the tack however that the weight saving in the design is ingenious, and they are amazingly well built for how light they feel. This is comparative to size, they are still "heavy" to hold for long. However they are "only" as heavy as 20x50s a relative owned, or about the same as one vintage pair of 7x50s I have.
What I'm trying to say, is that these are an excellent compromise that pushes the limits of the objective size and magnification of binocular that can (Just about) be handheld, though obviously the tripod mount is a must have for prolonged use.
They are not the ultimate astronomical binocular, but you can spend thousands and get quite silly there, and need some fancy suspension system for those. On a price/size/weight/sanity scale though these are the best you can buy. At the MRSP they will bring more joy than any similarly priced department store telescope, and most up to double that. At the sale prices they are a real steal.
For people of average size and strength, you may find they are best held nearer the objective rather than on the body, once focused. People with shorter or less strong arms may not find this too comfortable however. They can be stabilised easily by leaning your elbows on the roof of your car, or other convenient object, for a longer look. If you want to be an interstellar "tourist" though, find a sunlounger with arm rests (Those gravity chairs work well), and kick back in that on a clear night. Fatigue will however set in, so do plan on using a tripod for long sessions.
All in all, a wonderful product for stargazers of all levels.
August 29, 2012
Celestron 15x70 Skymaster Binoculars
Celestron also makes telescopes,so they really know how to make lenses,It is amazing how far you can see with these binoculars.
August 20, 2012
good quality Binoculars
good quality Binoculars
adapter is included
Binoculars is a bit on the heavy side
but if you want clarity to see nature you could not get better model for the money...
when it on sale for $49.99 is a must buy... if you need a good quality Binoculars
August 13, 2012
Trust Celestron
Bought this on sale, and they are great. Just pointed in the night sky near some visible stars. What I saw was more stars not seen by the naked eye, even spotted a nebula amongst them. Celestron classifies these binoculars for deep space observation. I also have the Sky Scout planetarium GPS device. The two devices can be mounted to-gether for night sky observation. Also tripod mountable for stability of view. Can't wait until the weather warms up a little, to try it out. For the price and quality of Celestron, this binoculars are Fantastic.
December 28, 2011
Decent Binoculars
First and foremost: These are NOT astronomy binoculars, so be advised. That said, day time use is excellent for the price. I have owned for three years and while they assist in finding objects in the night sky, other than lunar viewing, the rest leaves to be desired.
As with everything else out there you get what you pay for. In astronomy, power and size are not nearly as important as image quality and contrast.
They make for very good object locators, but that's where astronomy ends for these binos !
June 19, 2011
execellent product !!!!
The Celestron 15X70 Skymasters are by far and away the best amateur astronomy instrument for the money on the market right now. They are truly and incredible value. You could spend $600+ on binoculars and have a very fine instrument, but after using these, that would be a hard argument to make. i bought these a week ago they are great . In12 years of watching the skys and they are the best binoculous iv bought so far...
May 5, 2011
Best binoculars I've owned
Incredible set of binoculars. I found the weight to be manageable for viewing anything earthbound. However for star gazing and moon watching using a tripod definitely makes it a more enjoyable experience. These binoculars really allow a lot of light in low light conditions. The amount of details I can see when looking at the moon are breathtaking. Wearing eye glasses while using them is not an issue at all with the long eye relief. The included tripod mount works well. The binoculars include the tripod mount lens covers, eye piece cover, binocular strap, carrying case and a cleaning cloth. I actually saw these online at the sale price of 89.99. The sale was ending in about 5 minutes. I was disappointed. Nevertheless I decided to go to Canadian tire the very next day and ask them if they would be wiling to sell it to me at the sale price that just ended the day before. Two stores agreed to do this for me. I was very pleased with this response. That's customer service. I highly recommend these binoculars.
July 31, 2010
Good deal for these
Lifetime warranty for good quality binoculars. I used these for stargazing as well as hunting and the image quality is very good. They are heavy as expected, so if using for an extended length of time, a mount is preferred.
April 20, 2010
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