I’ve been the owner of a pair of 10×50 Tento binoculars for years, so I decided to upgrade and treat myself. I looked very carefully at each Celestron Skymaster binoculars available to see what might suit my needs. After doing some research and checking each spec, I decided to opt for the 15×70 Skymaster and boy does it do what it say’s on the tin. Excellent clarity, great field of view and surprisingly not as heavy as what some people would say. Granted, without a tripod (which I might purchase in the future), they can feel a little heavy after a while, but if you place your hands at the end of the binoculars by the objective lens, the weight kind of balances itself out nicely. Setting up and calibrating the Skymaster to your eye’s is very simple. To be honest, unless you are a serious sky watcher, don’t get anything bigger than this as your field of view will be seriously decrease and you will need a tripod. 15x magnification is what I would say is in the Goldilocks zone. My Skymasters arrived less than 24 hours after I ordered them with standard delivery and that was without Prime. There was a crescent moon the same night and boy was I blown away. I could see far more details than I ever could with my old pair of bino’s. At this price, the build quality is awesome and feels way more expensive than it’s price. Just a good bit of advice though which I found when I was doing my research, if you do buy a tripod, purchase a metal tripod holder for your bino’s as the plastic one supplied is pretty much useless as your binoculars will bounce at the slightest touch, spoiling your view time, but a metal tripod holder will keep your binocular as steady as a rock.

I have been on the lookout for a pair of bins with relatively high magnification since buying a telescope a few years ago. I use these bins for both terrestrial and astronomical viewing, and overall find them very very good – Why you may ask did I buy these if I already have a telescope – The main reason is that the telescope can be a drag to get out and set up – taking about 15 mins to get the settings correct – these bins give me adequate magnification for most astronomical views – from lunar viewing and planetary spotting – Jupiter can be seen along with four of its moons – and when used with a tripod Saturn and its general shape with the rings can be just made out – you wont see any of the planets crystal clear like in pictures in books if you expect to see this you will be disappointed – Jupiter for example is a non discernible blob with four other very faint blobs beside it – but if your into astronomy you wont mind this.Terrestrial viewing however is another thing entirely – excellent, clear views over seas, mountains, and bird watching you will be amazed with how much clarity the images appear – this is due to the 70mm lenses and their light gathering ability – excellent.The weight issue mentioned in a few other reviews is not a major issue in my case but when my partner uses them after a couple of minutes she has to put them down – so the inclusion of a tripod adapter is a necessary one – but I would recommend purchasing a metal one for about £10 as in any slight breeze the bins sway a little and that defeats the object of using them on a tripod.In conclusion as I use these bins for mainly astronomical viewing in retrospect I should have purchased the more expensive 25x70mm ones as there is only about £20 different in the price – but I was put off these after reading the reviews of them being too heavy – so my advice would be if your the average 40 something male (which I am) and are looking for primarily astronomical binoculars then I’d suggest the more expensive ones but if weight bearing on your arms is an issue then these are the ones for you – honestly a very very good quality product at a reasonable price – if your in the market for a new pair of binoculars – go buy these you won’t be disappointed.

I wanted something I could leave in the car for astronomical use which would not take up a lot of room unlike my scope.Overall the binoculars seem well made and give a good image. Due to the power of them you will need to attach to a tripod of brace the on something to avoid shake. They come with a soft case a lanyard which is very thin and a tripod mount. The tripod mount is not that solid and I replaced is with another make.Overall I am happy with the binoculars and feel they are well priced for the performance

For the price, an Excellent Binocular with expansive field of view & generous eye relief, especially for night sky viewing
Upgraded my SkyMaster 15×70 binos to the 20×80 model. This review concerns astronomical use, especially as it relates to casual observation. I just returned from two evenings with it under the dark skies of WV’s Monongahela National Forest1) Field of view offers wide angle eye candy. 3.7 degrees with the feeling of expansiveness–even at 20x. I could place Orion’s belt in one view; Orion’s sword in another; The entire Pleiades (M45) in one glimpse; much of Kemble’s Cascade; nearly all sections of the Veil Nebula complex; The Lagoon (M8) and Trifid Nebulae in one field; Can almost place M7 with M6 in Scorpius in the same field, also the Coathanger asterism fits nicely into the field of view.2) Spectacular views offered of M7 near the Scorpion’s tail, The Swan nebula (M17), Dumbbell Nebula (M27), a billowing Orion Nebula (M42), Pleiades (M45), Andromeda Galaxy (M31) with companion galaxies…can seem to infer some stars on the outskirts of globular clusters M13 (Hercules) and M22 (Sagittarius). Veil Nebula is breathtaking under dark sky (t5he western side resembles a fuzzy fish hook). Can see North American Nebula near Deneb at top of Cygnus. I returned to several of these again and again–so rewarding were the views. I set it up a week ago for a backyard star party and the Pleiades was really impressive for viewers as was the Perseus Double Cluster and Albireo double star. The Orion nebula is also magnificent.3) Generous Eye Relief is best utilized by folding the eyecups back4) Used a 30 year old aluminum camera tripod that is sturdy enough to hold the 20×80 with ease. How I found it effective was to sit in a wooden kitchen table chair with the tripod legs fully extended and tripod close in with bino eye cups folded back. My tripod has a shaft that can rise about 10 inches more so I used that incrementally as viewing angle was increased–not unlike a barber’s chair raising or lowering. Ample eye relief coupled with the folded back eye cups and raised tripod slant the bino was attached to meant I could view objects 45 degrees up from the horizontal. Objects near vertical I could manage limited viewing by actually leaning back with binos and tripod legs laying across me. That’s how I viewed the Veil Nebula. Be mindful of the weight before trying this!! It was OK for me but may not be for you. Test that carefully. The 20×80 mount is more robust than the attachment I used with the same tripod with the 15×70’s.5) Clarity of image was NOT sharp all the way to the edge. However, for the comparatively low price of the 20×80 I really can’t complain about this as I’d pay much more for that level of optics.6) I have an 11″ SCT telescope. The 20×80 is a nice, satisfying casual alternative to setting up my larger scope and I had so much fun with it one evening I never bothered to set up my SCT.7) These binos are HEAVY so a sturdy tripod is recommended. The 20×80 is significantly heavier than my 15×70 set. I can use each hand held on their own for limited viewing by gripping the large ends with each hand.8) The moon is not excessively bright as it tends to be telescopically so you need not be overly concerned about temporary “blindness” from viewing the moon then switching to other stellar objects. Eye recovery is but momentary.9) Did finally view Jupiter. The line up of the moons is more as one sees telescopically rather than with traditional binocular views. Be advised that surface brightness is so great one will likely NOT be able to the bands on Jupiter. Mars and Jupiter are definitely bright discs. haven’t yet had a good look at Saturn as its currently near the sun in the sky.

El complemento perfecto
Si ya tienes un telescopio y buscas una herramienta que te permita tener mayor campo y la flexibilidad de poder tener una sesión de observación in promptu, vas a amar estos binoculares.Bien empaquetados y protegidos llegaron a mi puerta en solo 16 horas. Excelente colimación, buen funcionamiento mecánico (ningún detalle), buena óptica (el recubrimiento casi no refleja luz) y accesorios decentes (la bolsa y el adaptador funcionan; el strap para colgarlos parece broma). Representan un excelente valor dado el precio durante la más reciente promoción (de hecho más barato que en USA).Al recibirlos, en los primeros 10 minutos de prueba pude observar las Pleyades, las Hyades, El cúmulo doble en Perseo y para mi sorpresa M31, con una extensión ligeramente mayor que en mi pequeño reflector de 4.5″. Todo desde mi jardín en medio de la ciudad. El enfoque es preciso, el relieve ocular suficiente y cómodo, la aberración cromática es prácticamente inexistente con la posición ocular adecuada y dentro del 85-90% del campo de visión. A pesar de que no tengo mucho interés por la observación lunar, estos binoculares me están haciendo cambiar de opinión con su efecto casi tridimensional.Son pesados y grandes. Para una sesión de observación casual puedes sostenerlos en tus manos unos pocos minutos. Si quieres estudiar los objetos en turno, necesitas un buen soporte. O bien un tripié fotográfico de buena calidad, sólido y que puedas subir hasta la altura de tus ojos, o un monopié para observar sentado. En mi caso lo he solucionado con una excelente base de micrófono para estudio y un adaptador bastante robusto que carga 3 kg.Muy recomendables. Si los ves a buen precio no lo pienses, no te vas a arrepentir.