Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 Astronomy Binoculars – Bestselling Binoculars for Stargazing & Long-Range Viewing – Includes Tripod Adapter & Carry Case – Multi-Coated Optics

I purchased the 15x70 Celestron Skymaster Binoculars primarily for casual astronomical viewing. Most of my remarks and observations center around using them for deep sky scans.First, the basic stats:Magnification: 15 power (50% greater than 10x50's)Objective size: 70mm (equivalent light gathering power twice that of a 50mm binocular)Field of view is 4.4 degrees or 230 ft. at 1000 yardsA surprising near focus of a mere 43 ft.--exceptional for this type of binocular.Eye Relief: 18mm so one can wear eyeglasses--providing the rubber eyecups are folded downExit pupil is 4.67mm (only .33mm less than 10x50's at 5mm)Other stats: Center focused; BAK-4 prisms, Porro design; Multi coated (but not fully multicoated) optics; Tripod adapter included an extra value (3 ½ inch vertical clearance). Case with strap--the latter the weakest part of the whole package.During daytime, we used it for scanning distant wildlife and mountain ridges. Excellent performance. Tripod adapter best used when viewing level or slightly above level angles. I found it too tedious and straining to attempt oblique views with a conventional photographic tripod. A tip on holding it steadier by hand: rather than grasping it the normal way, try holding each 70mm objective end with your hands.For amateur astronomers and novices wondering what you can see and its limitations, here are some notes in viewing familiar objects: Jupiter is readily resolved as a disc but seems too bright to see its bands. Its four moons can be easily seen (when in view); Saturn was near the sun but I think one may be able to resolve or infer its ring shape; Compared with a traditional 7x50 or 10x50 binocular, The Pleiades (M45), the Lagoon Nebula (M8), M35 in Gemini and the Orion Nebula (M42) are all breathtaking. So are the Scorpius open clusters M6 and M7. M13--the great Hercules Globular Cluster--was tantalizingly larger than the fuzzy spot I saw in my 10x50's. If you have a favorable southern horizon, the globular cluster M22 in Sagittarius also exhibits size. You can resolve some of the Wild Duck Cluster, M11. The shape of the Beehive open cluster (M44) in Cancer can be traced. Given a dark night, the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) almost sprawls across the entire field of view with the companion galaxy M32 glimpsed as a fuzzy smudge. Even under urban and suburban skies, M31 does show expansive width. Both the North American and Pelican Nebulae near the star Deneb at the top of Cygnus the Swan--the Northern Cross--can be detected on a dark night's viewing--with patience. The colorful double star Albireo (at the opposite end of Cygnus) can just be resolved if you can manage a steady view. Mizar & Alcor in the Big Dipper's handle are easy to separate. I found it difficult to keep the stars in the Pleiades from dancing across the view unless I used a flat surface to lean on or a tripod.In terms of field of view (4.4 degrees): You can see the entire belt of Orion in one field; you can capture the entire sword--including M42--in one field of view; The near parallelogram head of Delphinius the Dolphin fills a field; So do the Coat Hanger and Kemble Cascade asterisms, respectively; In Lyra, Vega and the stars epsilon and zeta fill a field. The latter two are revealed as double stars. So also is Castor in Gemini. The Perseus Double Cluster and nearby open cluster Stock 2 can fit in one field, but in urban or moonlit settings this is more of a challenge. The three delightful open clusters sprawling across Auriga can be seen two at a time: Either M36 and M38 or M37 and M38, respectively. One of the four keystone stars in Hercules, eta, can be positioned with the globular cluster M13 also in the same scene. As the field of view is less than five degrees, one cannot place the pointer stars in the Big Dipper in the same field nor contain the entire of the Hyades in Taurus. The central four stars in Cancer the Crab are just barely outside the field.I also own a pair of Celestron OptiView 10x50's and have found the increased magnification and light gathering power of the Skymaster 15x70 worth the price to upgrade. In a quick comparison, the increase in apparent size of Jupiter's disc in the latter is quite noticeable as is that of M13 and M31. There is a pair of stars several degrees west of M13 that appears white in the 10x50's (at least to my eyes) yet are a stunning red with the 15x70 Skymaster. The moon, of course, can be seen with greater clarity in the Skymaster yet it does not fill the entire field of view. The down sides--and no surprise here--are that I can hold the former much steadier and see more of the sky with the smaller binos. There is also some chromatic aberration with the brighter objects like Jupiter but then again, for the price point (about $60), that's part of the game.All in all, I find the Skymaster 15x70 an excellent investment for the price. I've already relegated my trusty 10x50's to backup and use the Skymaster to quickly and effectively tour the heavens on nights when I don't want to take the time to set up my 8" SCT. I'd especially recommend it as a portable alternative for those considering purchasing the typical 60mm/2.4 inch department store telescope. The caveat is that one will have greater satisfaction with the use of a tripod or other means of steadying for sustained observing of stellar objects. I suggest acquiring a different tripod adapter such as the all metal Celestron Binocular Tripod Adaptor (#93512-A or equivalent) to alleviate some of the strain of viewing because it extends the height and clearance from the tripod an additional 1 1/8 inch vertical dimension beyond that of the supplied Bakelite tripod adapter.

Great for stargazing! The binos arrived a few days ago, well-packaged and perfectly collimated. It took less than 2 minutes to adjust them to my preference. And then they opened up the stars! They are definitely heavy, so if you have no intention of getting a tripod and you aren't unusually strong OR steady-handed, you will either want a tripod (more on that at the end) OR to get a smaller, less heavy pair. I wanted that extra bit of power, so I'm happy I chose these, and I added a tripod and adaptor to my order.In my about-30% light-polluted, mostly-rural sky, I was able to clearly separate the 2 "fried eggs" of the Orion Nebula, pick out the double and triple stars in the Sword, and even find an intriguing fourth stick-figure star group right on top of the Sword that nobody online seems to ever mention. The hilt?In fact, the Sword and Belt of Orion were so spectacular in these binos that I had trouble taking my eyes off of them. I could NOT separate the double-stars in the Belt, nor did I get any hint of the Nebulas that are supposed to be right near the last star in the Belt, but I was able to pick out quite a few star clusters. The Pleiades looks wonderful as you can just capture all of them in one shot, as with most star clusters. I could easily pick out two planets in the sky (update: the second "planet" turned out to be the star Sirius), but no good detail. I'm not sure if the really bright one was Saturn or Jupiter (update: it was Jupiter), but the Binos helped me pick out a sparkling belt of (moons?) around it, and it was stunning. I guess NO Binocular in this weight class is going to give you any detail on the planets, nebula, or allow you to do much more than get a faint, fuzzy glimpse of a galaxy. But if you are happy just knowing you found something even if it's not like the pictures, this is a really good option. I did NOT get the moon yet, so I don't know how that will look, but I suspect it will be amazing.As far as quality, it seems pretty good for the money. It comes with easy-on/off caps to protect the front and back ends, and as noted above, adjusting them is very easy. And they stay adjusted, too! That surprised me given how easy they are to adjust in the first place. Optics are about what you'd expect at this price point, but I'll say that I was very impressed with how sharp and clear the stars were, and how much detail I was able to get out of them. The outside has a rubber coating on it, which would provide a little protection if they were banged or dropped (UPDATE: and so they did). They do have some plastic on them, but it doesn't really come off as cheaply-made. My set came with a nice little carrying bag (that I will totally use), a cleaning cloth, and the aforementioned caps.These will be used regularly, even if I end up with an actual telescope. They are strong enough to scan the sky and pick out interesting areas, but have a wide-enough field of vision to use for spotting. After my first star party, I confirmed that some sky sights are actually better in these binoculars than in a telescope! I had a few telescope owners oohing at the sights from my binos (which I oohed over the extra detail available in their scopes!).Important note: Do NOT buy the Davis Vista tripod suggested by Amazon without doing some research first! The low $25 price, if it's the same one they recommended to me, also means that it's not actually built to support the weight of these binos - that tripod is not built for astronomy use. It's very hard to get these binos to hold still with the $25 tripod Amazon wants you to buy, and trying to look upwards is very difficult. If your budget allows, look for a heavier tripod that can support more weight and can be solidly locked even when the binos are on a tilt or tilted back. I think you should look for (if you can afford it):The TALLEST tripod you can get your hands on. You'd have to be, like, 5' tall to find 60" acceptable for stargazing.A tripod that can handle at least 10 pounds of weight with no problem (so you can lock the binos in place).A tripod with good support - you'll be tilting the binoculars constantly up, down, and sideways, and picking up the tripod frequently and moving it all around, so support really matters.The lightest tripod you can find that meets the above qualities. Again, you'll probably be picking it up a LOT and moving it around.I don't unfortunately have any suggestions yet - I will be asking the Astronomy Club I just joined as soon as I can for ideas. However, I'm pretty certain that you'll drop at least $75 into an appropriate tripod for these Celestron 15 x 70s, so... if your budget is tight, the cheaper tripod might be low-cost enough to be worth the irritation, as they will nevertheless steady up the binos at least enough to improve your view of the stars.**UPDATE a week later! My beautiful new binoculars FACE-PLANTED from the above-mentioned tripod right onto the concrete at my first star party, a fall of about six feet total, with time to accelerate. Thunk, omg, yikes.THEY SURVIVED THE FALL. I picked them up and was able to see fine out of them. It's possible the collimation is now slightly off, but I couldn't notice a difference.I can't give the SkyMasters another star as I'm already at 5/5, but I would if I could. All they got was a few scratches. WOW. I don't recommend dropping them on solid concrete as a rule, mind you - and I might have just gotten lucky - but it's a huge comfort to know that they CAN survive that sort of thing. I won't always have the luxury of using these on soft ground.(I also found a Ravelli APGL heavy-duty tripod at about $70 that should be able to handle a lot more weight, and will discontinue use of this "lightweight" tripod once it arrives. Lesson learned, and I'm only out about $25 from it, and these wonderful binos lived, so it could all be worse.)