Celestron Skymaster 15x70 or 25x70?

[Dazzyd]

Hi all

Been ages since I was on here, lots of things going on with life etc. I no longer have a telescope but currently have a pair of Celestron Skymaster 15x70 bins. I want to start doing some general stargazing again, especially now we have the clear (hopefully) winter nights coming and I was looking at the Skymaster 25x70 bins. Is it worth upgrading from the 15x70s to the 25x70s? £64 seems a good price but what's the viewing quality like compared to the 15x70s?

Thanks for any help

Daz :-)

[Gazabone]

£64 sounds a fantastic price, I have the 15x70 too and I think they're great. I'm not sure sure about increasing the magnification to 25x. I have enough problem hand holding at 15x sometimes, I think you'll need a fairly good tripod if you upgrade.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I would certainly not "upgrade" to 25x70. The FOV is smaller, the view is dimmer, it is harder to keep steady, and collimation issues are far more severe at 25x. I upgraded my BA-1 15x70 (Omegon branded rather than Celestron, but same bins) to BA-8s of the same theoretical specification (Helios Apollo in my case). THAT is a real upgrade, which takes you from what is effectively a 15x63 to a real 15x70. The Helios Stellar-II is reportedly also a good upgrade, and less expensive than the Apollo.

[Pete Presland]

They are a lot heavier and will require tripod as well. I have some 20x80's and they need a tripod at x20.

[Dazzyd]

Tripod isn't a problem, that's all ready, so it just comes down to viewing quality really. Thanks for the replies so far :-)