Cometron 12x70 binoculars first light

[Jeff-Colorado]

I just tested my new Celestron Cometron 12x70s and I thought I'd share a brief review. I got them from High Point Scientific for $55 (free shipping), so these are obviously BUDGET binoculars. I already have an Olympus 10x50 DPS I binoculars, but wanted a bit more light gathering power (about double, to be more exact), a little more magnifaction (20% more).

First I tested it for terrestrial observing since I live on the edge of open space. In my chair, with my elbows tucked in for maximum stability, I had little difficulty in holding the binoculars steady. Free-hand and standing, not so much! They come with a tripod/monopod bracket, so I used that to attach it to my pretty decent Bogen monopod. I had read from some reviewers that the bracket is flimsy, but I did not find that to be the case. It fit on solidly and was quite stable. For terrestrial viewing, it is great. In near darkness, the 70mm binoculars almost seemed like night vision scopes and I saw lots of wildlife.

After darkness fell, I pointed it skyward with the monopod mount and brought out the Olympus 10x50 DPS I for comparision.

Collimation - mine arrived well collimated. Yay. Stars were pin points. I had read that it is hit or miss with inexpensive Celestron binoculars.
Chromatic Aberration - there is some with these binoculars (almost none with the Olympus)
Coma - noticeable coma with these 12x70s for objects not in the center of view. For example, Saturn in the middle half of the field of view, is fine. On the edges--bad coma. No coma with the Olympus 10x50s.
Vignetting - didn't really notice any

My overall impression is that the Cometron 12x70s have with their Bak-4 glass prisms, have obvious limitations. This is not high end binocular astronomy and the coma and chromatic aberration are issues. That said, for $55, I see noticeably fainter stars than I can with the smaller Olympus 10x50s. The tripod bracket works well, it has a good feel and finish, and it comes with a nice case/bag. The image is sharp, the eye relief good, and I enjoyed seeing a sky rich with stars. I look forward to camping under dark skies, sitting in a reclining camp chair, and looking up at the heavens with these 12x70 binoculars very soon.

[Ben the Ignorant]

People (including me) criticize cheap stuff but then they (including me) buy it because it has to be around, for obvious reasons I don't need to state again since that has been done so many times.