Celestron Skymaster PRO 15x70.

[tico]

Hello,

I am looking for some first-hand information about the Celestron Skymaster PRO 15x70 binocular for use in observing the night sky, wide angle deep sky, and also to observe aircraft during the day, I do not know if it will have too much AC.

Many years ago I had a Celestron Skymaster 15x70 but suffered from de-collision with some frequency and if I had CA for terrestrial observation, although I liked the 15x70 configuration, its field and its exit pupil, I used it habitually on tripode. Then I had a Celestron Skymaster 25x70, but both its mechanics and its optics seemed even worse than the 15x70 model, now I've read in some places about the PRO model, with good reviews ....
Also I have been able to use sometimes a giant Celestron 25X100, of a friend, but I have found it very uncomfortable and unmanageable, heavy, I prefer a much more manageable binocular

I would like to know your opinion about it, if it really is worth it, its value for money.
Thank you very much in advance.
Best regards.

Tico.

[Rick_It]

I had the SkyMaster PRO 15x70, I tested them two weeks but I was not satisfied and I returned them.

The reason is chromatic aberration in daytime use. Too much, at least for me. It was winter and I still remember the violet halo surrounding the branches of a tree I was looking at.

They were good for astronomy however.

 

[grzybu]

I have SkyMaster Pro 15x70 and first thing I've done after purchasing them I've replaced the eyecups with 3d printed ones. The binos are very sensitive to eye placement and if eyes are not centered then you will see a lot of CA.

Celestron provides winged eyecups but they are loose, not really comfortable and don't help with eye positioning. 

With proper eyecups CA is minimal, I can hardly see any CA on branches and very small amount of CA on Moon. 

I quite like the SkyMaster Pro 15x70. Image is bright, contrast is nice. The only problem is that brighter starts aren't as pinpoint as I see in my Nikon EX 12x50, but image is much brighter even if exit pupil is very similar. Looks like SkyMaster has better coatings than Nikon. 

This is how my 3d printed eyecups look like:

 

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

If you can stretch to a second-hand pair of Helios Apollo 15x70 binoculars, that is well worth it. Solid mechanics, excellent optics. I only sold them because I could get the even better Helios LightQuest 16x80 binoculars.

[PEAble2000]

I have a SkyMaster 20x80 that I fell works well.  Like you mentioned about the 25x100, they are a bit on the heavy side so I would definitely recommend a tripod, but they still work well even without one.  They provide a pretty clear image, but the standard eyecups are not very comfortable and should be swapped out as soon as you can.  I do think they are worth it for the price, though.