Celestron SkyMaster Giant 15×70 Binoculars with Tripod Adapter
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Buy Celestron SkyMaster Giant 15x70 Binoculars with Tripod Adapter at Amazon
Amazon.com Review
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 $150, even $200. 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
Product Description
Buy Celestron SkyMaster Giant 15x70 Binoculars with Tripod Adapter at Amazon
US $.99
Bestsellers Amazon: Celestron SkyMaster Giant 15×70 Binoculars with Tripod Adapter (Binoculars) by Celestron
They are great! My FIL has them, and we use them to spot planets, look at the moon, bird hunt….you get used to propping your arms on your chest to hold them still. So you don't need a tripod, unless you are going to use them for photography.
Good price, too.
A binocular that size defeats the purpose of having a binocular. First of all, I've looked through many Barska optics and have yet to find one that is built well. A good binocular with low (8 or 10x) power will serve you better than a bad one with high power. Resolution is what you're after, not only magnification.
The high magnification will mean you need to mount this monster on a tripod to use it. Anything above a 10x will not work well when it's handheld.
EDIT
Binoculars are good for scanning the sky, looking at the moon, but to look at nebulaes or other planets in detail then you need a telescope. Binoculars just doesn't have enough power or brightness to handle that. I have a 60x spotting scope, even that won't give a good image of venus.
Celestron SkyMaster Giant 15×70 Binoculars with Tripod Adapter
Is this a parrot? I thought it was a hummingbird until I got the binoculars out & saw how big it was. [pic]
I have a not so good binocular. It’s cheap but it has some magnification . And a Fuji foto camera with zoom function (optical) 12x…Maybe I’ll try something and post it, no matter how bad it is.
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It sounds like to need to know what to expect from them more than anything else. The major difference between a set of night binoculars and regular binoculars is lens size. For your set, this is the 50 in 20X50. This is the lens diameter in millimeters. The larger the lens diameter the more light they collect. For night use, 50 is on the small end of the range. 60 or 70 mm lens would do a better job.
The 20 in 20X50 is the magnification power of the binoculars. 20 is much too high a power to be held by hand. It would be very difficult to hold them steady enough to see well. The image will bounce and jiggle around from small movements of your hand, arms, and body. Even your heartbeat and breathing would cause some problems. You will need to rest them on something or get a tripod. 10 power is about the highest you can go for handheld binoculars.
Loved it when Paul jumps in. Thanks for uploading this. Anyone know if SIdeshow is available on DVD?
No .. it's too big,.
127 means 127mm, 150 means 150 mm so 150mm is about 1" too big to fit a 127mm space
35 x 80 = 2800 (sum of scores for juniors)
15 x 70 = 1050 (sum of scores for juniors)
1050 + 2800 = 3850
3850 / 50 = 77 (average)
In September 2007 it became clear that Grove Creek Observatory would be better utilised as a fully remote controlled internet research facility and it was decided to close to the general public altogether.
(((; Mnie się podoba.
it depends on where you are going to be spotting from. I go to Manchester Airport every week and i use a pair of 10×25 binoculars and also a small 30×60 scope and they are adequate enough for me a lot of spotters use 12×50 binoculars, but my binoculars fit in my pocket nice and snug, some use scopes, its all down to individual taste and what you feel most comfortable with using.
If your Spotting for Tail Numbers in a Parking area I would say that a Spotscope or a Telescope would be the way to go. You can get a much better view then with Binoculars.
Now of course for In Flight your best bet would be a GOOD pair of Bino's.
I saw a lot of the locals using both when I was Stationed at RAF Mildehall. They'd use the Spots and Tele's for the Parked A/C and the Binos for Take-offs, Landings, and Taxis. Good luck.
Celestron SkyMaster Giant 15×70 Binoculars with Tripod Adapter
by Celestron
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ポスター素敵(^ω^)
maybe that
Multi-coate…
thank you for the help
Read this and then read the info on that website..
Lots of choices out there. But first, a little nomenclature. Binoculars all come with a set of numbers: 7×30, 8×40, 10×60, that sort of thing. So, what do they mean? Think of the second number as the diameter of the lens—how wide it is. This affects how much light can go through the lens and hit your eye.
B-20 optical glass : this performs much better than BK-7 glass used in some models. However, going up market (in the hundreds of dollars territory) they may not say again as they begin to adopt proprietary glasses.
I just saw a pair of Zalex B-20 binoc's for $132.
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