Celestron71008 SkyMaster 25x70mm Porro Prism Binoculars with Multi-Coated Lens, BaK-4 Prism Glass and Carry Case, Black

Beautifully clear image offered by the large 80mm lens. They have a robust feel and seem to be well made and should last for many years with care. These are a great starter pair for sky watching, but if that is your main use for them you W|ILL need a Tripod. They are heavy but thats not the real problem, if you focus on anything that is on considerable magnification it is impossible to hold them still enough to get any sort or real idea of the target image, in addition as soon as you try and adjust the focus, you loose the target you are focussing on. I bought these as a powerful set for sky watching, birding, and general scenery when walking and holidaying. Though bulky they are worth carrying for the quality and depth of the image that is available. Easily backpackable. I live in a city and it is amazing the way on a CLEAR night they cut through the haze that is there (but not visible) and allows you so see a complete vista of stars that are not available to the naked eye. I wish I could have afforded the 25x100, but for that cost I will supplement it and buy myself a good telescope. These are fantastic powerful general purpose binoculars and can be used for sky watching WITH a tripod, dont believe reviews that say you dont need it. Great Value. Recommended. I wish they had provided a better padded carry bag.

No I didn't spell it wrongly. I am an occasional sky watcher not an avid star gazer. I carry a pair of binoculars in the car to stop and be nosy from time to time an do a few minutes of bird watching if something catches my eye. I asked for a decent (but not expensive) pair of bins for Xmas but was not trusting my wife enough to let her loose on Amazon. I am on the downhill side of life (along with my eyes), I have imbalanced sight and astigmatism in one eye. I researched many Celestron products and some users were critical of bad collimation. These 25x70s were pretty well reviewed and at a very reasonable price for such a high mag product. I noted that some people thought them heavy and were only usable on a tripod and others were critical of the plastic tripod mount. I already had a decent video tripod but made sure I asked for a steel bracket as part of the present.They turned out to be a great Xmas gift and I have used them several times in the last month. Easy to focus and to balance out my eye problems. Heavyish, yes but manageable for a few minutes. Looked at planes flying overhead.....the narrow field of view makes it difficult to pick things up quickly. I scanned across the con trails and then followed the trails to the airliner. Amazingly close and crystal clear (great if you are a plane spotter, which I'm not) but you need to to be hand holding to follow moving objects like this.Left them outside on a tripod for an hour on a cold clear night recently (so that they didn't condense up on coming from my warm house) and then looked at a few stars. As I mentioned earlier I am no astronomer so I was amazed to see a cluster of small stars around a pinkish bright star in the eastern sky. A quick Google search told me I was looking at Jupiter with its moons, surprisingly clear. Our local moon was almost too bright, it completely filled the field of view and was crystal clear. A real wow moment!Great product, fulfills all my requirements for casual close-up viewing. The carrying case is a bit flimsy but fine for the car. Not a set of binoculars to go walking with but would be great if you owned a submarine or battle cruiser.

I have been on the lookout for a pair of bins with relatively high magnification since buying a telescope a few years ago. I use these bins for both terrestrial and astronomical viewing, and overall find them very very good - Why you may ask did I buy these if I already have a telescope - The main reason is that the telescope can be a drag to get out and set up - taking about 15 mins to get the settings correct - these bins give me adequate magnification for most astronomical views - from lunar viewing and planetary spotting - Jupiter can be seen along with four of its moons - and when used with a tripod Saturn and its general shape with the rings can be just made out - you wont see any of the planets crystal clear like in pictures in books if you expect to see this you will be disappointed - Jupiter for example is a non discernible blob with four other very faint blobs beside it - but if your into astronomy you wont mind this.Terrestrial viewing however is another thing entirely - excellent, clear views over seas, mountains, and bird watching you will be amazed with how much clarity the images appear - this is due to the 70mm lenses and their light gathering ability - excellent.The weight issue mentioned in a few other reviews is not a major issue in my case but when my partner uses them after a couple of minutes she has to put them down - so the inclusion of a tripod adapter is a necessary one - but I would recommend purchasing a metal one for about £10 as in any slight breeze the bins sway a little and that defeats the object of using them on a tripod.In conclusion as I use these bins for mainly astronomical viewing in retrospect I should have purchased the more expensive 25x70mm ones as there is only about £20 different in the price - but I was put off these after reading the reviews of them being too heavy - so my advice would be if your the average 40 something male (which I am) and are looking for primarily astronomical binoculars then I'd suggest the more expensive ones but if weight bearing on your arms is an issue then these are the ones for you - honestly a very very good quality product at a reasonable price - if your in the market for a new pair of binoculars - go buy these you won't be disappointed.