For the price, these glasses are fantastic. I think they're easier to hand hold than I thought they'd be at least for an adult. I may even buy the step up; which is the 20 x 80's, although these are really great.
Average Rating:
Brand: Celestron
Model: 71009
Product Description:Celestron and ;s SkyMaster Series of large aperture binoculars are a phenomenal value for high performance binoculars ideal for astronomical viewing or for terrestrial (land) use - especially over long distances. Each SkyMaster model features high quality BAK-4 prisms and multi-coated optics for enhanced contrast. Celestron has designed and engineered the larger SkyMaster models to meet the special demands of extended astronomical or terrestrial viewing sessions. The 15x70 version is one of the most popular models in the series. It offers serious large aperture light gathering in an affordable and reasonably lightweight configuration.
Amazon.com Review:Binoculars come in a wide range of shapes and sizes these days, and an even wider range of prices. It's easy to spend less than 0 or more than 0 for what may appear to be, at least outwardly, comparable models. While they may look the same, they are probably quite different on the inside.
Recently, the binocular market has seen a flood of giant binoculars at prices that were unheard of just a few years ago. In general, giant binoculars are defined as those that magnify the view 10 times or more and have 70-mm or larger front (objective) lenses. It used to be that the least expensive giant binoculars cost in excess of 0, even 0. All that changed not long ago, when the bottom fell out of the price cellar. Now, several companies import giant binoculars that sell for half that, or less.
Celestron's 15x70 SkyMaster binoculars are one of the leaders in the low-price giant binocular arena. They certainly sound good on paper. The SkyMasters include multicoated optics and BaK-4 internal prisms, two features that promise brighter, better images, and key points to look for when judging a pair of binoculars. They also come with an adapter for attaching them to a photo tripod, which is a must to use them to their fullest, and a soft carrying case. But just because they are cheap doesn't always mean they are worth the price. Would it be better to save up for a more expensive pair?
To find the answer, I had an opportunity recently to judge the SkyMasters against a pair of Fujinon 16x70 FMT-SX binoculars , one of the finest pairs of giant binoculars sold today. Like the SkyMasters, the Fujinons feature BaK-4 prisms, but also have fully multicoated optics. As a general rule, superior coatings mean superior image sharpness and contrast. But then, that should be expected, given that the Fujinons cost many times more than the Celestrons.
While the Fujinons were clearly the better performer, the Celestron SkyMasters held up admirably. Image brightness, quality, and contrast were all remarkable considering their bargain price. Although images were a little soft across the outer 25% of the Celestron's field, the overall view was impressive nonetheless.
Some inexpensive binoculars have very sloppy focusing, causing the eyepieces to tilt and shift. Not so with the SkyMasters. I found that their center-focusing mechanism worked smoothly, with no apparently backlash or wobble. Eye relief (the distance you hold your eyes away from the eyepieces to see the full field) is stated to be 18 mm, a good distance for higher power binoculars and an important consideration if you must wear glasses when viewing. The SkyMasters are also light enough to support by hand for short periods of time, although buyers would be well advised to mount them on a sturdy photo tripod.
The bottom line is, if you are considering a pair of giant binoculars, whether for bird watching, stargazing, or another recreational use, and have a limited budget, Celestron's giant 15x70 SkyMasters represent an excellent value. --Phil Harrington, author of Star Ware and Star Watch
Pros:
- Exceptional value for the price
- Light enough to support by hand
- BaK-4 prisms
- Multicoated optics
Cons: - Outer 25% of the field is soft and a little blurry
- Requires a tripod to use for extended periods
Features:
- Multi-coated optics
- Large aperture perfect for low light conditions and stargazing
- Tripod adapter
- Long eye relief ideal for eyeglass wearers
- Diopter adjustment for fine focusing
Available at Amazon
List Price: USD 99.99
Lowest Used Price: USD 65.99
Lowest New Price: USD 65.00
Customer Reviews
Nice Binoculars, Terrible Tripod Adapter.
These binoculars are big, weigh 4 pounds, have lots of magnification and a narrow field of view. They are not something to just carry with you to a football game. They are nice for astronomy, giving good light grasp for very low cost.
The main problem is the tripod adaptor, which is plastic and has no lateral bracing.
Binoculars with more than 10x magnification cannot be held steady by hand. You must have a tripod and attach them to it. Therefore, the adaptor is CRITICAL, and this one is all but useless. If I so much as touch my nose to the side of one of the eyepieces, these binoculars begin to oscillate from side to side, taking maybe 10 seconds to die out.
I'm going to have to find an aftermarket adapter for this product.
Great Product Value
This is a great product for the price. Very clear viewing. I was a bit concerned about weight. But that really is not much of a problem as it is well balanced.
I think ours was built in a hurry.
When we bought these, we had no idea it would take 2 weeks before they would get shipped, once shipped, we got our in just days, BUT, the left lens had dust on the inside barrel and on the inside of the lens (with some smearing taboot). There was some green fringing at all ranges of use and this horrible ability to make us go cross eyed, BUT, for 15x and 70mm lenses, they do quiet well in most lighting situations, after your eyes come to terms with them that is. I personally think the manufacture was in a hurry to build these and skimped on the usual quality control, or, the company is simply going down hill, but I rather give them the benefit of the doubt and we just got a beat up pair.
Great Binos, but they are too much power for casual, hassle-free observing.
I'll start off with a few words about the optical quality, which in my opinion is very good. You really can't find a better deal on binoculars for this aperture size and magnification. That being said, this is a little bit TOO good of a deal, where the added magnification becomes a problem.
These binoculars NEED some sort of sturdy mount. I bought them as an upgrade from naked eye astronomy-I wanted something that would give me views of some of the fainter objects in the sky (messier objects, star clusters, exc) without me needing to make the big purchase of a telescope or any sort of tripod. Unfortunately, these binos just have too much power to be steadily held in the hands. Even when lying on my back I had problems keeping them steady, as every object I observed looked like dancing streaks of light through the binos. It was really quite frustrating. I eventually decided to build a parallelogram binocular mount, which has made my experiences with these binoculars much, much better. The wide view makes star clusters look fantastic, you can see Jupiter and 4 of its moons, as well as faint views of the messier objects.
All in all, these are fantastic binoculars IF and ONLY IF you have some way of mounting them. Unfortunately, this defeats a large part of the simplicity of binocular astronomy-the ability to go out on a whim with nothing but the binos and enjoy a night under the stars. The binoculars themselves are of great quality and you can't beat the price-just make sure that you know you will need some sort of binocular mount before you purchase them.
