SkyMaster 20x80

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.

My Celestron Skymaster 20x80 binoculars were received a few weeks before Christmas, but as they were a Christmas present bought for me I didn't get any chance to test them out before they were all wrapped up ready for the big day! So now I've had chance and these are my findings after using them for about four or five hours solid. Firstly, I can confirm that mine were NOT out of collimation. I'd been reading all about collimation as a number of people on the net had reported this problem with various Celestron binoculars (and others) so I did absolutely loads of research on the net in case mine needed collimating. In a nutshell, collimation means that the prisms are slightly misaligned causing a sort of slight doubling of the image. Apparently, the manufacturers of Celestron binoculars in China don't have the best quality control system in place and it seems that unfortunately some of these models ship already out of collimation. If you don't know what to look out for chances are you'll just put up with it as it can be barely noticeable, but it can cause eye strain and headaches as your eyes try to 'correct' the image. So, I've been lucky with mine as they are certainly not out of collimation. The image through the 20x80s is great, nice and bright and I found they snapped to a good focus. Focusing on a dark vertical post against a bright sky background revealed a little color fringing, certainly not enough to be a problem, but this will be present in just about any binocular optics anyway unless you go very expensive. All movable mechanisms like the focus wheel and the dioptre (right eye piece) adjustment are nice and smooth with no sign of stiffness thoughout it's range. Finally I thought I'd mention the weight issue as a lot of people mention this. They are pretty heavy yes. unfortunately this is a trade off for the large 80mm objective lenses. If your only using them to grab and use for just a minute or two before putting them down again then you really shouldn't have too much of a problem, but then I'd have to wonder why you would go for something of this size and weight if you never plan to use a tripod. Mounting them on a tripod is without doubt where you will appreciate them most, especially as this is what this model is designed for with the built in tripod adapter. Had a good look at the stars during a brief break in the clouds and it was great. Now looking forward to clearer skies and getting away from all this light pollution. I hope this helps a little. I'm really pleased with mine and wouldn't change them.

Firstly, the only negative point to make; there's a tiny bit of debris at the very edge of one the lens, but thankfully you can hardly see it, but it is there. I don't think that this is common as I did a lot of research on this particular model & checked a lot of reviews as everyone should. The lenses are of very high quality with very good multi coating; they are crystal clear at night & allow lots of light in so your view is bright. The aberration is very low or even none existent from what I see, better than the Skymaster 15 x 70 I had previously & they were still good. These weigh quite a bit, so a good sturdy tripod is a must if you plan to use these for awhile; they can be hand held for short periods but your arms will get tired. They are BIG & impressive looking, the build quality is also good, they feel like they will last. I do enjoy using these on a clear night, I also love using them during the day if I'm out at a nature reserve for fleeting viewing; they are a little large for walking around viewing but they are so clear & powerful that I can see close-up detail, again the only thing is arm fatigue. If you enjoy the night sky & want to view star clusters etc (not close up of planets, you will require a very decent telescope for that) then these are perfect. I managed to buy these for a sale price of £109, they are usually about £135 & still worth it at that price. A great purchase.

These are fantastic binoculars, clear and bright with great colouring. Easy to use, no zoom. Very narrow field of view. The full moon half fills your vision! Not sure they’d be good for bird watching. They definitely need a tripod as quite heavy. I got a little Celestron phone adapter so I could take some photographs. I was really happy with them.

This item is very good to expensive worth the money but just a little bit too expensive

excellent night sky views from these bino's. I was a little skeptical when buying but was pleasantly surprised. These are quite bright and with good sharpness from the centre to soft ish at outer edges of focus.contrast is middling to good . For the money these are a great bargain but they aint too strong and some tender loving care is advised and what ever you do dont drop them. you can just make out the shape of saturn, ring is visible the moon looks amazingly big and sharp with some tight colour fringing on the outside edge stars seem a little warmer in colour but resolve to pin points of light As the seeing at this time of the year varies from crap to really crap I cant comment on any deep sky stuff. if you want super contrasty super sharp binos go elsewhere and add another 1000 or 2 or as far as you want to go, to your budget. I would recommend these binoculars to someone to start off with in astronomy as they will see so much more with these compared to the rubbish telescopes that most people start of with. you also need a good tripod as they are quite heavy to hold still. The pair i received seem to have good collimation but from the reports i have read it is a bit of a lucky bag in this respect.I was lucky ...........so far.......... ENJOY Sharpness 7/10 contrast 7/10 focus 7/10

Considering discounted price and existing choice of similar binoculars, this one seems unquestionable. Good exit pupil, enjoyable field of view, not that heavy as you might be afraid of however tripod is highly recommended not only for its reasonable magnification but also for its extraordinary length (IMHO). There is practically nothing I could complain about. Its tripod mounting maybe could be better however it does work very well, it is strong enough and can't be easier to use. I find these binoculars overall well made and strong, they produce clear, sharp, high quality image. Chromatic aberration is barely noticeable when looking at the Moon, and I didn't see any when using them in daylight conditions. Living in London and looking at night sky opposite to central London I could count 50 stars in Pleiades cluster, see blurry core of M33, see the center of Orion nebula and I can't wait to go away from city to enjoy more better views. Certainly, such binoculars could be made with ED glass lenses and top price materials but if I was looking for a reasons to spend more money then I would rather make bino-telescope instead. They are perfect addition to my f/15 telescope. And hey.. It also feel good just to look at that beast when not in use. I am going to buy one more for my best friend as a present.

Such a large pair of binoculars will not be light. I knew that so i decided to mount them on my Skywatcher alt az mount using an L Bracket. These binoculars do not disappoint. Admittedly my pair doesn’t give me the pin size stars that my far more expensive Zeiss do so easily but the extra aperture and magnification give views that leap out at you, even in light-polluted Walsall, UK. My first object was the Andromeda Galaxy which through small binoculars is just a faint, fuzzy blob, but now not only has the ‘blob’ become bright but has also gained shape! I actually see the beginnings of a spiral. The famous double cluster in the vicinity of Cassiopeia and Perseus is spectacular, managing to almost fill the field of view. I later spent 30 minutes with these binoculars aimed at the Pleiades, from time to time looking at my star charts to identify individual stars. Just as was the case with the double cluster the Seven Sister (a lot more than that though through any pair of binoculars) filled the field of view, adding to the enjoyment. I was able to separate the famous double star, Albireo in Cygnus, and moving west from that the cluster in Hercules, M13, was very clear. In all instances I was pleased with the way the binoculars got the colour of the stars right. I would like to describe more objects but unfortunately we are experiencing a long period of cloudy nights so viewing has been impossible. I should add that everything I have described here can easily be seen with smaller, more portable binoculars but these have now added the Wow factor for me. To conclude, I am so glad I bought these Celestron 20 x 80. You won’t need to take out a mortgage to buy them and they will last for years.

Se ve la luna super bien, claro que no es un telescopio. Eso sí, hace falta un trípode porque con el pulso no se aprecia la nitidez.

I thought that the magnification is really good

First thing first, delivery service, packaging was great. This is my first binoculars ever. So I can't say if this piece is completely out of collimation (will give updates once I check). Pros: 1. Well built. 2. Fully multicoated optics. 3. Value for money. 4. Best for beginners in Astronomy. Cons: 1. Quality of the bag provided is not good. (substitute would be a DSLR camera backpack and it will do the job). 2. Collimation could be a problem. (Almost all heavy binos have this error). You can fix it yourself or could ask for a replacement. In detail:- 1). You cannot get this quality at this price. Compare with ORION 20X80 --- which is around ₹ 25k. 2). If you cannot decide about getting 20X80 or other smaller binos then I would say 20X80 would be better. It has a larger objective of 80mm which increases your limiting magnitude to approx +7(with naked eyes your limiting magnitude is around +1). That's a huge difference. You will be able to see most of the messier objects and other DSOs apart from Moon, planets, and Orion nebula. 3). It is literally a pair of two small telescopes😉. A telescope equivalent to these binoculars will be above ₹ 30k (trust me), So this is a great deal. Some important points: 1). You can adjust the interpupillary distance. (As any other binoculars have) 2). You can adjust the dioptre setting (for individual focus adjustment for eyes) by rotating the right eye piece. (please Google for more information) 3). Centre focus wheel is given. ( For focusing at different distances) (All above three adjustments could be stiff in the starting) Suggestion for Tripod: 1). A fluid head tripod is a must (for smooth and precise maneuvering of binoculars). 2). Tripod must be heavy (to keep binoculars steady/ 20X magnification is too much). 3). A branded tripod is not required. 4). I will suggest getting a tripod from a photo store. (If it's in your budget then Manfrotto fluid head tripod will be the best) An Update: 1). Saturn's ring is visible. It will need a nice focus and patience. 2). The object should be at the center of the field of view to avoid chromatic abrasion. 3). Four of Jupiter's moon are visible. You can not make out the Great Red spot. 4). After watching planets for an hour, I found my binoculars are perfectly collimated. 5). Bright objects (-2 magnitude or higher) will give chromatic abrasion. 6). You will be able to see stars as dim as +8 magnitude in a light-polluted sky. 7). Andromeda galaxy will cover your entire field of view on a very dark night. 8). Many DSOs around the Sagittarius constellation are visible from these binoculars. 9). The field of view is around 2.6° and not 3.7° as mentioned. 10). The moon looks breathtakingly beautiful. It will appear three dimensional with these giant binoculars. You can make out Apollo missions' landing sites to a precision of few kilometers. 11). Orion Nebula will be visible bright and crisp. Your field of view will be contain just the Orion sword. 12). If you are willing to do astrophotography using these binoculars then you will need a smartphone adapter for binoculars (just search for it and you will find it on amazon) and a photo staking software - DeepSkyStacker which will stack together hundreds of shots of a DSO and after few hours of processing, you will get a bright and detailed astrophotograph. 13). Neptune and Uranus are visible just like a dot but you can make out their color. Best at this price!! Clear skies!!

O que dizer de um binóculos que traz as maravilhas do céu até seus olhos? Alguns meses atrás comprei um 7x50 da mesma marca e após varrer boa parte do céu, senti a necessidade de um upgrade. Apesar de o 15x70 ser mais barato, resolvi ir de vez atrás de um maior e deparei com esse 20x80. Arrependimento? Apenas com o tempo de espera até chegar, passou pouco mais de 1 mês até ter em mãos. Já o binóculos em si é sensacional, não tem comparação com meu 7x50 quanto à observação do céu. Obviamente não é possível ver detalhes dos planetas, mas Titã é visível, Saturno aparece como uma luz alongada e Júpiter é majestoso com seus maiores satélites, imponente no campo de visão! Notam-se muitas crateras e montanhas na Lua com uma qualidade incrível! Além disso é possível ver também aglomerados estelares, nebulosas e algumas galáxias, porém dependem pelo menos de um céu rural. Falando em nebulosas, a Carina e a de Órion são as mais lindas para se ver, na minha opinião. Para se ter uma ideia do que é possível enxergar, no centro de onde moro cheguei a identificar, com muito custo, estrelas até da magnitude +10.2, sendo mais fácil identificar até mais ou menos +9.5. Já objetos menos densos, como nebulosas e cometas, dependem muito da poluição luminosa e não chegam a tal magnitude. Como nem tudo é perfeito, há alguns pontos negativos: 1° - a aberração cromática é bem forte nos objetos mais brilhantes, mas não chega a comprometer a experiência. 2° - por mais que na embalagem diga que serve para visualização terrestre de longa distância, não gostei da falta de nitidez nos morros ao longe. Nesse quesito ainda prefiro meu 7x50. No geral, é um equipamento indispensável e ótima alternativa aos telescópios baratos. Mas tenha em mente que é praticamente exclusivo para astronomia.

When I received it the collimation was off. Rather than send it back and risk getting another pair that was off, I called Celestron. The "Life Time No Fault Warranty" only applies if you get it from an "authorized" dealer even though my pair was new. Which means you need to pay like $200+ for these to actually have a warranty. However I asked if I could collimate it myself even though the manual says it should only be done by a professional with specialized tools. They could not or would not tell me anything about how to collimate it. Luckily I did find some general instructions on the web and found the prism tilt screws to turn and got it perfect. You need to gently pry back the edge of the rubber hand grips to access the screws. The whole process wasn't even that difficult! I don't know why it has to be such a state secret with Celestron. Since then the binos have been wonderful and well worth the discount of buying from an "unauthorized dealer". Thank you, Gary, for your tip about collimating. These binoculars were terrible when I first looked through them, and nothing I could do would solve the problem. (My eyes could not focus together and I saw double images.) The barrels appeared to be misaligned, and I was going to send them back. Then I read Gary's review (Collimation Easily Done) and thought, "What the heck? I can at least try." I followed Gary's instructions and easily fixed the problem within minutes. They work really well now, but I'm giving them a four-star rating since Celestron really should tell the consumers how to fix this problem by themselves without having to pay someone else to do it. To add to Gary's tip: You'll need a tiny flat-head screwdriver (like what you use to repair eyeglasses) in order to adjust them. The hand grip (that portion on the top of each barrel of the binoculars) only needs to be pulled back a little ways until the screw is exposed, and you only need to adjust the side that's off. (It should be obvious which side is off or if both sides are off. Close your left eye and then your right while looking through the binoculars.) Check the binoculars (by looking through them) each time you make an adjustment until you have it perfect. It can be done, and it's well worth it! Thanks to all who responded for your kind advice. I experimented after all and found it incredibly easy to collimate the Celestron Skymaster 20X80. By carefully peeling away the rubber lining on the handgrips from the top, nearest the focussing wheel, the collimation screws are revealed at about 11 o' clock and 1 o' clock. I then mounted the binos on a tripod and focused on a bright star (it happened to be Achernar) and while looking through the binoculars, made minute adjustments on the screws until the images through the two lenses merged and voila! For the first time I could clearly see the four moons of Jupiter in perfect focus through these binos!