Celestron SkyMaster 25x100 Binoculars – Giant Aperture Binoculars for Deep-Sky Astronomy & Long-Distance Viewing – Multi-Coated Optics – Includes Tripod Adapter & Carrying Case

Beautifully clear image offered by the large 80mm lens. They have a robust feel and seem to be well made and should last for many years with care. These are a great starter pair for sky watching, but if that is your main use for them you W|ILL need a Tripod. They are heavy but thats not the real problem, if you focus on anything that is on considerable magnification it is impossible to hold them still enough to get any sort or real idea of the target image, in addition as soon as you try and adjust the focus, you loose the target you are focussing on. I bought these as a powerful set for sky watching, birding, and general scenery when walking and holidaying. Though bulky they are worth carrying for the quality and depth of the image that is available. Easily backpackable. I live in a city and it is amazing the way on a CLEAR night they cut through the haze that is there (but not visible) and allows you so see a complete vista of stars that are not available to the naked eye. I wish I could have afforded the 25x100, but for that cost I will supplement it and buy myself a good telescope. These are fantastic powerful general purpose binoculars and can be used for sky watching WITH a tripod, dont believe reviews that say you dont need it. Great Value. Recommended. I wish they had provided a better padded carry bag.

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.

I bought my 15x70's a couple of years ago as a back-up to my Telescopes for star-gazing! Sometimes the weather doesn't give much time to set-up a scope whereas the binoculars are ready to use at any time: only problem is the weight! After a few minutes the arm strain becomes unpleasant!Using a tripod and adapter does over-come this problem but defeats my original reason for buying them in the first place! However, I have found that lying in a deckchair, or leaning back against a wall, with elbows resting on chest I can support the binoculars for much longer periods without discomfort.While not ideal for viewing planets; Jupiter can be resolved with the 4 Gallilean moons, Saturn can be seen with its rings but little detail, the moon provides endless fascination but can leave you with "Snow-blindness" near to full-moon.Where these binoculars excell is in finding star clusters, the Pleiades look quite stunning!Nebulae and some of the larger galaxies are visible as smudges, some structure can be seen in some and a hint of colour in others.Where my binoculars have come into their own is on holiday: I frequently sleep outside in hot climates and can view many of the sights that are hidden from northern latitudes. They are great for day time use also; whether spying out distant ruins, whale or dolphin spotting, or even just watching those huge cruise liners in the distance. (Note: take as hand luggage on a plane to prevent moisture forming inside!)When unpacking the binoculars for the first time you will find a strange lump of plastic, described as a tripod mount: DISCARD THIS IMMEDIATELY: it's worse than useless! Camera tripods are generally too flimsy to take the weight of the 15x70's but with a good metal AdapterVisionary Heavy Duty Black Metal Binocular Tripod Adaptor - Standard 1/4" Tripod Fitting On Underside - Fits Most 'Traditional' Style Binoculars - Ideal For Very Large Bulky Binoculars and a good quality tripod ~ HALF PRICE ~ Tripod Universal Folding Good Quality Stand for Digital Camera Binoculars Telescope Spotting Scope SLR Camcorder Astronomy Stargazing & Photography Collapsable with Carry Bag 166cm Tall or 65" Inch High Pan Head Quick Release Fits all mak... they become quite manageable.The lenses are coated for night time use which allows excellent light transission to the eyepieces meaning that they work very well in low light conditions: the lack of lens-front reflection means that highly reflective surfaces (e.g. the sea) can dazzle. It might sound daft but the eye-cups allow the user to view through sunglasses during the brighter parts of the day!Excellent introdution to astronomy at a reasonable price, yet versatile enough to be used else-where. Lens quality is good and construction solid: I've now had 2 years of use in all conditions from -30c to +45C, sea level to 3,000 metres and it's never let me down; definitely money well spent!If you are looking to use this for astronomy I would suggest you add a Planisphere Philip's Planisphere (Latitude 51.5 North): for Use in Britain and Ireland, Northern Europe, Northern USA and Canada, a red LED torch OVL Dual Beam Astronomers Torch and a good reference book Astronomy Manual: The Practical Guide to the Night Sky or Binocular Astronomy (Patrick Moore's Practical Astronomy Series)