Celestron Skymaster 20x80

[StuartT]

I just bought a pair of these and I wondered if any of you had experience of them? I've not had a clear night yet, but I tried them on a distant skyline object during the day and was a little alarmed at the degree of chromatic aberration. Are they uncorrected perhaps? I guess that might explain why they weren't very expensive (£100)

[kev100]

Hiya,

I have a pair of these and, although I do see some CA during the daytime and on the moon (less than the daytime amount), it's not noticeable on anything else. I have heard of these sometimes arriving out of collimation from the supplier, but mine are are fine (though the first pair had to be returned for replacement after a couple of years as they went out of collimation and couldn't be fixed).

Try them out at night time, on the Pleiades, for example, and see how they fare (looks amazing in mine), or the Owl or Double clusters. You should be able to spot some galaxies too (like the Leo triplet, for example).

Kev

Edited April 8, 2021 by kev100
Spelling

[StuartT]

4 hours ago, kev100 said:

Hiya,

I have a pair of these and, although I do see some CA during the daytime and on the moon (less than the daytime amount), it's not noticeable on anything else. I have heard of these sometimes arriving out of collimation from the supplier, but mine are are fine (though the first pair had to be returned for replacement after a couple of years as they went out of collimation and couldn't be fixed).

Try them out at night time, on the Pleiades, for example, and see how they fare (looks amazing in mine), or the Owl or Double clusters. You should be able to spot some galaxies too (like the Leo triplet, for example).

Kev

Brill! Thanks for this Kev. Very reassuring. Only had thick cloud so far of course! 🤣

[kev100]

No worries, and fingers crossed that yours are okay. Are they the standard version or the ‘pro’ version.

[StuartT]

2 hours ago, kev100 said:

No worries, and fingers crossed that yours are okay. Are they the standard version or the ‘pro’ version.

Ok, so we had a bit of clear tonight and I tried them out. But I am seeing a double image. I was looking at Arcturus (as a very obvious target). Whatever I do (adjusting the eye width, the diopter adjuster in the right eyepiece) I can't get a single image. And I'm talking about a big separation - about 1/3 of the entire field of view

Any ideas?

Edited April 8, 2021 by StuartT

[neil phillips]

You might want to check collimation closely. They do have a reputation of going out of collimation. Not sure the clips holding the prisms are very consistent.  replaced mine from new with Opticron Oregons. Lots of happy users of the Celestrons out there. But there reputation is not the best if you want honesty

[StuartT]

3 minutes ago, neil phillips said:

You might want to check collimation closely. They do have a reputation of going out of collimation. Not sure the clips holding the prisms are very consistent.  replaced mine from new with Opticron Oregons. Lots of happy users of the Celestrons out there. But there reputation is not the best if you want honesty

hmm.. ok. Thanks. Slightly depressing.

I found this video

 

Edited April 8, 2021 by StuartT

[neil phillips]

Ive seen youtube vids you could try that

[neil phillips]

Hopefully you got them for a good price, which might be worth trying to collimate. New i would send back.

[StuartT]

4 minutes ago, neil phillips said:

Hopefully you got them for a good price, which might be worth trying to collimate. New i would send back.

they were brand new. So I may just send them back. That video is for a different model. Mine don't seem to have collimation screws visible

[neil phillips]

Collimate Celestron Skymaster Binoculars - YouTube

[neil phillips]

3 minutes ago, StuartT said:

they were brand new. So I may just send them back. That video is for a different model. Mine don't seem to have collimation screws visible

Get the Oregons no question

[Nik271]

8 hours ago, StuartT said:

they were brand new. So I may just send them back. That video is for a different model. Mine don't seem to have collimation screws visible

Best to send them back. It is possible to adjust the prisms inside but its not a real collimation but a conditional one: it will work for you and anybody with the same inter-pupillary distance but not for others. The Skymaster series appears to be hit and miss, clearly they don't do much quality control at this price.

[kev100]

My first pair went out of collimation after a few years, and celestron replaced them free of charge. The second pair have been great ... 🤞

[GrumpiusMaximus]

I have a pair of Skymasters 20x80s and they are in collimation (had them a couple of months) and they do have a small amount of CA when lunar observing but nothing serious.  They give very good views through my newbie eyes.  I'd definitely send your pair back if you're not satisfied!

[BinocularSky]

On 08/04/2021 at 23:36, StuartT said:

So I may just send them back.

Yes, do. These are notorious for losing collimation. But then, two objectives, two 80mm eyepieces, two focusing mechanisms, four prisms, and associated housing/tubing all for the cost of a single reasonably good eyepiece: what quality (and, possibly more important, quality control) is it reasonable to expect?  However, the Skymaster Pro are in an altogether different class.

[StuartT]

On 10/04/2021 at 13:51, BinocularSky said:

However, the Skymaster Pro are in an altogether different class.

really? they are not much more expensive, I see. In what way are they superior? 

[neil phillips]

Thought this was interesting read

APM MS 20x80 ED - A Brief Comparative Review - Binoculars - Cloudy Nights

[StuartT]

On 10/04/2021 at 13:51, BinocularSky said:

Yes, do. These are notorious for losing collimation. But then, two objectives, two 80mm eyepieces, two focusing mechanisms, four prisms, and associated housing/tubing all for the cost of a single reasonably good eyepiece: what quality (and, possibly more important, quality control) is it reasonable to expect?  However, the Skymaster Pro are in an altogether different class.

I was interested to read this statement in the review posted by Neil Phillips.

A note here about the Skymaster and the Skymaster Pro: the only clearly recognizable difference I found between the two consists of a brighter image in the Pro version; in all other respects, the Pro did not do substantially better than the basic Skymaster.

 

[neil phillips]

13 hours ago, StuartT said:

I was interested to read this statement in the review posted by Neil Phillips.

A note here about the Skymaster and the Skymaster Pro: the only clearly recognizable difference I found between the two consists of a brighter image in the Pro version; in all other respects, the Pro did not do substantially better than the basic Skymaster.

 

Yes concerning when your spending more money. If the reviewer is correct ? But i note he owns all those binoculars. Uses binos a lot, many different ones.

He also said out of the cheap options against the two Celestrons the Opticrons were the best.

 

I like you got The Celestrons new. They also were out. Replaced them for the Opticrons lo and behold they was far better. sharper for sure. I never tested the pros version of the Celestrons though. He says the Opticrons are working at 70mm ? Uk reviewers put them at 76mm. The pro Celestrons are working at 80mm. So worth considering. But with a tiny sweet spot compared to the Opticrons. For the price performance the Opticrons are worth considering. I like em

Edited April 13, 2021 by neil phillips

[gurneyfan67]

I also had a pair of these and found that they would not stay in collimation. I was able to re adjust them but eventually they would go out . Another problem that I had with them was that in the warm summer months the focuser would "drift" when observing near zenith. I got them at a bargain price so I just gave them to a friend who used them for birding on a tripod.

[StuartT]

Based on the review posted above from Cloudy Nights, I decided to buy the APM 16x70 ED APO instead. They just arrived and I look forward to trying them out. 

Easier to handhold and the lower magnification is preferable for general observing, I think.

Edited April 13, 2021 by StuartT