Celestron 71008 SkyMaster 25x70 Binoculars – Powerful Binoculars for Detailed Long-Distance Viewing and Binocular Astronomy – Multi-Coated Optics – Tripod Adapter & Carrying Case

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.

I've been the owner of a pair of 10x50 Tento binoculars for years, so I decided to upgrade and treat myself. I looked very carefully at each Celestron Skymaster binoculars available to see what might suit my needs. After doing some research and checking each spec, I decided to opt for the 15x70 Skymaster and boy does it do what it say's on the tin. Excellent clarity, great field of view and surprisingly not as heavy as what some people would say. Granted, without a tripod (which I might purchase in the future), they can feel a little heavy after a while, but if you place your hands at the end of the binoculars by the objective lens, the weight kind of balances itself out nicely. Setting up and calibrating the Skymaster to your eye's is very simple. To be honest, unless you are a serious sky watcher, don't get anything bigger than this as your field of view will be seriously decrease and you will need a tripod. 15x magnification is what I would say is in the Goldilocks zone. My Skymasters arrived less than 24 hours after I ordered them with standard delivery and that was without Prime. There was a crescent moon the same night and boy was I blown away. I could see far more details than I ever could with my old pair of bino's. At this price, the build quality is awesome and feels way more expensive than it's price. Just a good bit of advice though which I found when I was doing my research, if you do buy a tripod, purchase a metal tripod holder for your bino's as the plastic one supplied is pretty much useless as your binoculars will bounce at the slightest touch, spoiling your view time, but a metal tripod holder will keep your binocular as steady as a rock.

UPDATE: Had a proper chance to use these as there was a clear enough night from my back garden and quite a few stars could be spotted, had a look at Jupiter. You can clearly see its 4 galilean moons. I had a budget tripod so it was hard to get everything focused up and Jupiter in the centre of the field of view, but when I did, absolutely amazing. That alone is worth the price, it was also a waxing gibbous moon so it was very bright looking through the binoculars but the detail was amazing, easily spot tycho and the detail in the different shades of colour. I also just glanced around the night sky with them and you can see so many more stars, I looked into what seemed like blank space with the naked eye and through the binoculars it was full of stars, I will probably get a lower magnification pair of bins to suit more of a wide field of view to spot constellations as these wouldn't be suitable for that, but great for looking at stars when you find them. Overall extremely good value for moneyBought this for stargazing, a new hobby of mine, these bins were perfect out of the box, I have seen reviews of people having problems with these but thankfully mine were okay.The image quality is crystal clear for budget binoculars like these, and with such a high magnification also. I don't think they are heavy, but I have no frame of reference, you can easily hold them up and view things in mid range distance, but I would imagine keeping them held up would be a task, and for full length magnification, you will need a tripod,I purchased the Neewer portable 56 inch camera tripod along with my order, also great value for money they're more than capable for handling the binoculars, there is a weak point however, the included tripod mount that comes with the binoculars is plastic crap, buy a better metal mount and you'll be glad you did, I bought a metal mount for 7 or 8 euro I think. The plastic mount will have a slight sway all the time when mounted, the metal is much more stable and if you want to get the most out of these on a tripod, id use a metal mount.All in all I would recommend, to my knowledge both the 15x70 and 20x80 skywatchers are better quality but these do just fine.If you wouldn't like to buy a tripod, the 15x70 would be a more viable option, if you want even more clarity, better overall quality, buy the 20x80 as I believe there are better quality materials,glass lens in those

Love these. Heavy and takes a while to get used to them but a good buy.Good value for money. Would potentially recommend a wider strap if around your neck for a long time but that's personal preference.Great for plane spotting too!

This 71017/25×100 is a spectacular piece of kit and very high quality. It ideally needs a tripod due to its weight, unless you have strong, steady handsSo I've now gone for a lighter version,the 25x70. For enthusiasts who want an extremely effective piece of kit, this is the one. This bad boy is smaller than it's big sister and dosent require a stand. It provides a clear view of the surface of the moon and clearly highlights the stars. You can see a variety of planets on a clear night.

wow excellent price and amazing quality images for binoculars. You can see Jupiter clearly and its moons as well as the rings of Saturn