Anyone have Celestron 15x70 binoculars?

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I was thinking of getting larger binoculars, and was considering a pair of 15x70s from Celestron. I have seen some good reports, but has anybody here got experience with them

Cheers

Michael

[brantuk]

I'm very happy with mine - very sharp and clear - but a tad heavy to handhold so a tripod and adapter is a must. They're solid all round (no slop) - focus very well - good eye relief - my favourite object with them is Jupiter, the 4 nearest moons jump right out at you, but I have seen up to 3 of the further out ones too. Very good value for money in my opinion

[Mark at Beaufort]

Michael I have had mine for about 18 months and often use, them rather than a scope, to tour the night looking for Messier objects. Below is a report that I did a few nights ago. You can use them hand held but is better to have them on a tripod - as per photo.

Highly recommend them.

http://stargazerslounge.com/observing-binoculars/106657-binocular-setup-viewing-comets-lots-messier-objects.html

Mark

[Pete Presland]

super bino's as said previously a bit heavy to hand hold,but i do all the time to be honest.not sure i will with my new revalations 20x80

[old_eyes]

These were the first astronomical tools I purchased, and I have had great fun with them and continue to use them regularly. I wear glasses all the time and the eye-relief and adjustment is great.

As everyone says they are heavy, so my preferred approach is to lean my elbows on the roof of the car parked in the drive. It stabilises the view remarkably, takes the strain off the arms, and by walking around the car, the whole sky is available.

Sounds too easy, but I have had sessions of over an hour of continuous observing with this method in comfort.

old_eyes

[John]

I've just got a pair of Celestron 15x70's and I'm pretty impressed with them. I get nice sharp stars across most of the FoV and I've been able to get good views of DSO's and Comet McNaught despite the lack of proper darkness.

I think they are pretty good for their cost.

I find I can handhold for a quick "look & see" but I've a decent tripod adapter on it's wayt to me now so I can mount them and see what they can really do.

[bish]

I use mine alot. As already said you can get a stiff back/shoulders etc after hand holding for any length of time.

[jgs001]

I have a pair, normally use them tripod mounted. I use them on deep sky nights when the scopes are imaging... I found the outer two gas giants with mine...

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Thanks for all the feedback! I think I will order a couple shortly

Cheers

Michael

[kidlands]

Bought a pair a few months ago really pleased with them. After putting it off for as long as I could had to buy a tripod to get the best out of them.

Use them for satellite spotting and general scanning the sky thumbs up from me.

Got the bug now and will look at upgrading but not for a a couple of years.

steve

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Thanks everyone, I have just ordered a pair.

See the clouds rush in when I get them

[Muddy Rutter]

I bought a pair of Revelation 15x70's from telescopehouse.com for just under £50 - incredible value for the money. These are said to come from the same factory as the Celestron model of the same size. See some of the reviews on telescopehouse.com Website (sorry FLO!).

I use my old Benbo Model 1 photography tripod (see on Ebay) which is ideal for binnoculars or an anchor if you happen to sail a dinghy (i.e. it's heavy). I also bought a decent metal adaptor (not plastic) off Ebay as well for just under £10.

Regards

Nick

PS: Have to admit to cutting and pasting this from my reply to another thread!

[LukeSkywatcher]

Most of the BIG bins come from the same factory:Celestron,Revelation,Strathspey. They are just branded differently.

I have never heard a bad thing about the Celestron 15X70. Never heard a bad thing about the Revelations (any size) and i own a pair of 20X90 Straths and cant say a bad thing about them.

Definitely for anything above 10X50 a tripod (strong and sturdy) is needed for observing. For less then £100, the Horizon 8115 tripod or a Redsnapper tripod will do a very nice job with the 15X70s you have bought.

[Star child]

I've just ordered a pair, I wonder if i will be able to see comet 103p hartley/2 with them.

I think i will get a diferent tripod adaptor though as my freind who also has these says they come with a plastic adaptor, and i have read other reports that heavier binos need a more stable metal adaptor.

I have seen several metal adaptors availaibe which say they fit most traditional style binoculars, does the skymaster fit into that category?

[Quatermass]

I just opened my brand new celestron 10x50s this morning really nice for the price crisp and sharp and well made cant go wrong for 22.00 well worth it!

[S.A.M]

Celestron 15x70 are good binoculars, I have been using mine for about 18 months now. The views are crisp and clear, can be hand held but after a while could become a bit heavy, much better to put them on a tripod.

[pvaz]

Got some on the way too from amazon.

Unfortunately FLO (only 49.95£) won't ship them here so I actually had to pay a bit extra for them.

[nitram100]

Awesome binos, bought them last year and have used them more than my scope.

[Rob1961]

I've a pair from FLO along with the Horizon 8115 tripod and the large tripod adaptor - the one Celestron supply with the bio's is a bit too small. I've been well impressed with them and the eye relief is amazing. By wedging myself against a wall or other object they are perfect for grab-and-go. Very nice at capturing the Orion Nebula as well as a nice sharp image of the Moon and Jupiter. Thoroughly recommended.

Rob

[Star child]

I just got my skywatcher 15x70's! from first light optics, cant beleive how fast it took to deliver them, i only ordered them yesterday!

I'm looking forwatd to trying them out tonight, hopefully now i will see comet Hartley.

One thing im not so sure about is how to attach the tripod adaptor, i think i have to remove the round cap thingy with the celestron logo, but it seems pretty firmly attached and i dont want to go pulling things of my new binos!

[russ]

Jay, take a look on the Gemini/Taurus side of Auriga, you should see Hartley. The chart i saw online has Hartley not too far away from M37 on the 23rd. Just a shame about the moon now. And no escaping it with an early start.

[Tim]

Yes, you can

Even with badly moon polluted skies it was just about visible, easier with less moon.

[chiltonstar]

The round plastic cap unscrews to reveal a solid brass 1/4 Whit bush. As well as the various adaptors available and the (naff) one supplied, this will fit a standard ball and socket head (or Manfrotto bracket) which can then be mounted on eg a dovetail plate. I do this on my Vixen SP - works very well.

Using them - they are very good - is a delight. They are fantastic on Joop, but even on brighter DSOs eg M31 from a very dark site (Italian Alps at 11000 feet) the views are simply stunning. Unfortunately here in S. Oxon, I only get the usual UK light polluted views of a "smudgy blob".

Chris

[tom.yates]

In my opinion a very good pr of bins for genral /astro use quite light and good contrast

[pvaz]

Mine got here today. I only used 10x50s in the past so it felt nice holding this bigger ones. I didn't fully realized how long they are from the pictures. I'm glad I didn't grab the 20x80s on promo at amazon as they would be too large to take on trips.

The weather was terrible but I managed to get a quick opening in Cassiopeia so I toke a peek at the Ownl cluster. Not the ideal object for binos but it was nicely defined. Jupiter also cleared a bit and I managed to detect 3 moons and a darker stripe on the disk.

I'll try and write a review when I can test it properly.