Celestron 71008 SkyMaster 25x70mm Porro Prism Binoculars with Multi-Coated Lens, BaK-4 Prism Glass and Carry Case, Black

Before I bought this, I didn't know much about Binoculars, let alone astronomical ones. Having said that, since then I have learnt a great deal.Let me categorize my reviews here:1. Build quality / construction: This is designed and built very well and is very sturdy. The quality of materials for this price is unmatched and it has a good grip due to the surface all over the binocular. This also makes it very easy to hold despite it's weight. The lens caps on each end are of good quality and they cover the lens with a tight seal, however, the only criticism I have is that the covers (especially on the objective lens) are individually removable but have no strap or tags to attach them to anything, you'd have to keep them separately in a bag or pocket and are easy to lose.2. Operation: The adjustment at the center is done by a plastic wheel with knurling on it for better grip, it feels a touch too tight, but it is better this way as plastic degrades over time and you don't want it on the loose side.3. Image quality: The overall performance of these binoculars are good, but I have noticed that the image gets very slightly distorted when I used it for terrestrial viewing on a hot day. Also, the adjustment, in my opinion, could have been a touch finer, especially when you are looking at a full moon. Due to the magnification, the field of view (portion of the sky one could see) is small, but because of the massive objective lenses (70mm dia) you could see quite deep into space with reasonable contrast as it collects more light.4. Stability: All binoculars of this size and magnification suffer from instability as very small movements can cause the image to shake violently. The only way to cure it is with a strong tripod, not the cheap £20 ones though. On Amazon, my gf bought me an Amazon basic All-metal tripod for about £42, which came with a trigger grip handle - which is very articulate and incredibly strong, stable and a breeze to maneuver.Overall: This is by no means the best binocular out there, but by far, THE best one for the price. If you are an amateur astronomer starting out and looking to spend little dosh to observe objects Hundreds and thousands of lightyears away, this is the one to buy.

No I didn't spell it wrongly. I am an occasional sky watcher not an avid star gazer. I carry a pair of binoculars in the car to stop and be nosy from time to time an do a few minutes of bird watching if something catches my eye. I asked for a decent (but not expensive) pair of bins for Xmas but was not trusting my wife enough to let her loose on Amazon. I am on the downhill side of life (along with my eyes), I have imbalanced sight and astigmatism in one eye. I researched many Celestron products and some users were critical of bad collimation. These 25x70s were pretty well reviewed and at a very reasonable price for such a high mag product. I noted that some people thought them heavy and were only usable on a tripod and others were critical of the plastic tripod mount. I already had a decent video tripod but made sure I asked for a steel bracket as part of the present.They turned out to be a great Xmas gift and I have used them several times in the last month. Easy to focus and to balance out my eye problems. Heavyish, yes but manageable for a few minutes. Looked at planes flying overhead.....the narrow field of view makes it difficult to pick things up quickly. I scanned across the con trails and then followed the trails to the airliner. Amazingly close and crystal clear (great if you are a plane spotter, which I'm not) but you need to to be hand holding to follow moving objects like this.Left them outside on a tripod for an hour on a cold clear night recently (so that they didn't condense up on coming from my warm house) and then looked at a few stars. As I mentioned earlier I am no astronomer so I was amazed to see a cluster of small stars around a pinkish bright star in the eastern sky. A quick Google search told me I was looking at Jupiter with its moons, surprisingly clear. Our local moon was almost too bright, it completely filled the field of view and was crystal clear. A real wow moment!Great product, fulfills all my requirements for casual close-up viewing. The carrying case is a bit flimsy but fine for the car. Not a set of binoculars to go walking with but would be great if you owned a submarine or battle cruiser.

UPDATE: Had a proper chance to use these as there was a clear enough night from my back garden and quite a few stars could be spotted, had a look at Jupiter. You can clearly see its 4 galilean moons. I had a budget tripod so it was hard to get everything focused up and Jupiter in the centre of the field of view, but when I did, absolutely amazing. That alone is worth the price, it was also a waxing gibbous moon so it was very bright looking through the binoculars but the detail was amazing, easily spot tycho and the detail in the different shades of colour. I also just glanced around the night sky with them and you can see so many more stars, I looked into what seemed like blank space with the naked eye and through the binoculars it was full of stars, I will probably get a lower magnification pair of bins to suit more of a wide field of view to spot constellations as these wouldn't be suitable for that, but great for looking at stars when you find them. Overall extremely good value for moneyBought this for stargazing, a new hobby of mine, these bins were perfect out of the box, I have seen reviews of people having problems with these but thankfully mine were okay.The image quality is crystal clear for budget binoculars like these, and with such a high magnification also. I don't think they are heavy, but I have no frame of reference, you can easily hold them up and view things in mid range distance, but I would imagine keeping them held up would be a task, and for full length magnification, you will need a tripod,I purchased the Neewer portable 56 inch camera tripod along with my order, also great value for money they're more than capable for handling the binoculars, there is a weak point however, the included tripod mount that comes with the binoculars is plastic crap, buy a better metal mount and you'll be glad you did, I bought a metal mount for 7 or 8 euro I think. The plastic mount will have a slight sway all the time when mounted, the metal is much more stable and if you want to get the most out of these on a tripod, id use a metal mount.All in all I would recommend, to my knowledge both the 15x70 and 20x80 skywatchers are better quality but these do just fine.If you wouldn't like to buy a tripod, the 15x70 would be a more viable option, if you want even more clarity, better overall quality, buy the 20x80 as I believe there are better quality materials,glass lens in those

Firstly let me tell you a little about why I purchased these bins. A few month ago, I was browsing the NASA website for one reason or another when I stumbled upon the 'spot the station' page. I found myself staring at the sky looking at the ISS (international space station) when it was due to fly over the U.K. During this period all I could see was a very bright light travelling at some speed above me, then that got me thinking about what I might be able to see through a pair of bins, deeper in to space is what I wanted, planetary views, lunar views, messier objects, whatever.. I wanted a closer look!As weeks went by, I kept spotting the space station, wishing I had the spare cash to purchase some decent binoculars. When the time eventually came for me to buy some, I did my research on hell of a lot of pairs & for what I wanted, the Celestron 25x70 skymasters hit the nail on the head.As soon as these arrived (next day as I'm impatient) I cracked them open. They arrived well packed, a box within a box within a box which I suppose is quite fiddly but better they stay protected! They also come with a carry case, lens covers, a neck strap, cleaning cloth, instructions AND a tripod mount.I was dumbfounded at the lunar views I was getting, but then after a minute or so came the shakes and arms hurting to due the weight of these bins and holding them up & steady for any length of time is quite difficult!I called for my nephew to come & see what I was seeing just to make sure I wasn't dreaming & there it was in full view, lovely crisp super up-close images of our moon, craters and all!I wanted better quality, steadier images, so I went ahead and purchased a tripod (AmazonBasics 60-Inch Lightweight Tripod with Bag)I have left a review on the tripod I purchased so I wont go in to detail here, but the difference it made is fantastic.The build quality of these bins is excellent, they feel very sturdy. One problem I read about the Celestron bins is that they tend to come out of collimation, but luckily enough mine didn't (and neither did the 20x50's I purchased separately)If you are an amateur like me and wish to purchase something a little more than 10x magnification, I suggest these 25x with a tripod (and I can also vouch for the 20x50's too!) All in all my decision on these binoculars paid off big time!Go ahead and buy them you wont be disappointed!

No issues, everything working as it should, great magnification but unless you only want a quick glance at something, you need a tripod. I am using my projector tripod which isn't ideal (too flimsy) until a more robust one arrives. Focus was easy to attain and for the price it's an amazing piece of kit. Although on the heavy side they're not unbearably heavy unless using for extended periods of time. Comes with carry bag with shoulder strap and neck strap for convenience (I changed the neck strap for one more comfortable), comfy eye cups which fold down for spectacle wearers and nice fit on your face. Big powerful bino at an affordable price which fits my needs perfectly. Would recommend this product and supplier.

These binoculors are second to none, i enjoy the wildlife while out with my dogs. The focus on these are so clear and are easy to use due to the travel case. The carrying case is handy while i am out. Im sure i will enjoy bird watching with these and the durability seems very good.

Just to start off, these are superb.I bought them for star/planet gazing.Bro, while Jupiter is visible from my backyard in North London, I looked up with these and saw the wonderful sight of Jupiter and three of its satellites. Unseen with my naked eye, but clear as anything with these. Seeing all the details of the Moon, like so many craters, clear as anything.I now need to invest in a better tripod than the one I have. When holding them, I'm not very stable, but I found that using the tripod accessory (see pic) as a holding apparatus keeps me more stable, making it easier to focus.Black friday deal helped me to be able to afford but worth full price if you ask me. Sturdy high quality. Really chuffed with these.

A good item for the star gazing beginner.They certainly look the part, feel a good quality item and are quite powerfull.Remember they are an impressive 25 x magnification!However after two years of occasional use, both folding rubber eye pieces has now completly split and perished.They are a little bulky , so you may find that a suitable heavy duty tripod will cost the same again.Also and most important, these binoculas are for really gazing at distant stars that you would otherwise be unable to see with the naked eye, and they do this job very well.This is due to the very wide angle of the lens,( bigger field of view ) which you dont get using a telescope, and so making it so much easier to locate stars and planets around the night sky without having to faff about !!They are not particularly brilliant at fine detailing on anything distant during the day, the quality of the lens is just not up to the job ,and the focusing fine tune rotaion wheel, is rather poor quality.All said and done, for the price this is a descent item for the star gazing beginner- but nothing more.Update 7.05.2015 - Binocula focusing wheel now useless, Viewing lenses moving all over the place and despite central screw being tight, so now unable to focus without double vision.Just thrown them in the bin.

I bought this for around ₹8,000 with card offers, the best ₹8K I’ve spent so far.This binocular is excellent for sky and stargazing. If your budget is around ₹10,000 and you’re looking for a powerful astronomy binocular, go for this without a second thought. The lens quality is very good, and the overall build feels solid and well-engineered.What I was able to see through this binocular:- Full Moon – The Moon does not fully occupy the lens; it covers roughly 60–70% of the field of view, which gives great perspective and clarity.- Jupiter and its 4 moons – Clearly visible on a good night.- A few star clusters – Bright and beautiful.- Orion’s Belt – You cannot see all three stars at once; they can only be viewed separately, which gives a good idea of the high zoom level.Important Note:This binocular is heavy, so a strong and sturdy tripod is mandatory (don’t go for cheap ones). If you want to capture photos through the binoculars, a phone mount is also recommended.I still remember the night I pointed this binocular at the sky and saw a star cluster for the first time, it was truly magical.If you are a space enthusiast, this is an absolute must-buy.Highly recommended!

La bête est impressionnante. J'ai pu l'essayer le jour même de la réception et la précision des objets observés à distance est impressionnante, par comparaison à mes anciennes jumelles 10x50. Il faut avoir des bras d'haltérophile pour maintenir les jumelles stables pendant un certain temps car elles sont relativement lourdes, au bout de quelques secondes, les mains les mains tremblent et les images avec. Pour une observation longue, il faut impérativement un trépied.

Very nice gadget, just as described on site

I picked these up to complement a pair of 10x binoculars that live on my desk. Most of the time the 10 powers are enough, but occasionally I want a closer look at distant wildlife, especially the hawks that like to perch in trees well beyond the range where my standard binoculars are comfortable.For that purpose, these have been excellent.The extra magnification makes a noticeable difference when observing birds at longer distances, and the image quality is much better than the bargain-bin high-power binoculars I've tried over the years. They're certainly not cheap, but compared to many other 20x+ options, I think they offer a reasonable balance between performance and price.A few things I particularly like:* clear image* good magnification for distant wildlife* reasonably comfortable to use* solid value compared to higher-end alternatives* noticeably more capable than true budget opticsOne thing worth discussing is the astronomy marketing.These are frequently advertised as astronomy binoculars, and while they can certainly be used that way, I'm not sure that's where they shine best. I've pointed them at the moon a handful of times and was genuinely impressed by the amount of detail visible. Beyond that, however, I haven't personally gotten much use out of them for stargazing.That may say more about me than the binoculars. Astronomy isn't really my hobby, and I'm sure someone with more experience under dark skies could get more out of them than I have.For terrestrial use, though, they've been fantastic.They're also lighter and easier to handle than I expected given the magnification. That said, 25x is still 25x. You can absolutely hand-hold them for casual viewing, but image shake is noticeable, especially when you're trying to study a distant subject for more than a few seconds. I haven't felt the need to buy a tripod adapter, but I do find they're much easier to use when I can brace myself against something. Most of my viewing is done from a desk, and simply resting my elbows on the desktop makes a significant difference in stability and viewing comfort.If your primary interest is:* bird watching* wildlife observation* distant landscape viewing* having more reach than standard binoculars without moving to a spotting scopethese are a very nice option.Overall, I've been very happy with the purchase. They filled exactly the niche I wanted between standard binoculars and a dedicated spotting scope, and they've become my preferred choice whenever I need a little more magnification.

Gezegenlere bakıyorum Jüpiter’in uyduları gözüküyor ama nokta gibi teleskop performansı beklemeyin gayet güzel ürün. Aya bakmak daha nasip olmadı. Tavsiye ediyorum ama tiripodsuz kesinlikle almayın çok titriyor. Telefonla dürbünden fotoğraf çekmek oldukça zor.Ürün çok güzel paketlenmiş ayrıca teşekkür ediyorum.