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NairB
member
Reged: 11/11/06
Posts: 49
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Hi Folks,
Firstly, this is my first post although I have been around a while reading all your wonderful reviews etc.....many thanks to you all. Your a wealth of knowledge. 
Anyway, I have bought Celestron Skymaster 15x70 Binos and these are my 3rd pair due to collimation, astigmatism problems etc.
This current set are by far, the best yet with good collimation and a nice crisp, sharp image as tested during the day time although I've still to test them at night.
The problem is, on the right objective lens, on the top left of centre, I can see a little group of scratches....noticeable when looking at the lens tilting it a certain way towards light to see them(if you know what I mean). Some scratches are very fine, some are quite thick as if the lens has been scuffed by something during manufacturing.
So will these scratches effect the performance in anyway whatsoever 
Or am I being VERY fussy. As i say these are the best optically besides the little scratches and i really dont want to change them AGAIN 
Anyway, many thanks in advance.
-brian
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Strathspey 15x70's FMC - Amazing cheap bino for the price. Bright, natural color/contrast, sharp, and well collimated. Best for Daytime viewing 
Celestron Skymaster 15x70's MC - Field of view has a Smoky/Brown tint making them less bright during daytime viewing BUT this doesn't seem to affect night time viewing...Testing against the Strath's continues!!!
Oberwerk Lightweight 20x80mm FMC - Arrived - Had to collimate them. Undergoing tests.
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Bill
super member
Reged: 11/27/04
Posts: 140
Loc: Oklahoma
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sounds like Quality control issues even after 3 different pair.
Most retailers do not have the time nor the manpower to check every bin they sell. I recently purchased a very nice pair of Garrett Opticals 15x70 Signature Series. They were checked and collimate before they arrived at my door. They are very nice bins and provide excellent views and are IMHO a great value.
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8" f6 Celestron Starhopper Dob
80mm WO Zenithstar
10x42 Leupold Windriver Cascades
Swift 8.5x44
2 Celestron 8x32 Bins (Japan)
Garrett Optical 15x70 Signature Series Bins
LXD55 Goto
TeleVue Telepod
CG4 on Vixen Tripod
Paragon Plus Bino mount
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Joad
Wordsmith
Reged: 03/22/05
Posts: 12028
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Welcome to Cloudy Nights, NairB. Since you've been reading the Binoculars forum here, you probably already know that the Skymaster 15X70 binocular has received a great deal of attention here. Let's just say that there are at least two schools of thought on them. Some are very satisfied with their Skymasters, especially with regard to the price-to-performance ratio. Others would note that a binocular line that still comes to you damaged on the third try would seem to leave something to be desired. Scuff marks on the objective lenses are not things you want to see on them. You'll know best how they affect your view by looking through them. You may get light scattering effects, a fuzzy appearance outside the central portion of the field of view, who knows? At any rate, there shouldn't be scuff marks.
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NairB
member
Reged: 11/11/06
Posts: 49
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Wow, those are quick replies, thanks Bill, Joad.
Hmmm, the very fact that those little scratches are there and knowing they are there really is going to annoy me terribly. I am some what a perfectionist when it comes to things like this and Im now considering replacing them.
Unfortunately, its very cloudy here in Glasgow, Scotland so I cant check them against a star. 
*EDIT* - Bill, I would like to buy Garrett but I am in the UK and cannot find a Garrett dealer here....would it be worth while shipping all the way from US to UK 
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Strathspey 15x70's FMC - Amazing cheap bino for the price. Bright, natural color/contrast, sharp, and well collimated. Best for Daytime viewing
Celestron Skymaster 15x70's MC - Field of view has a Smoky/Brown tint making them less bright during daytime viewing BUT this doesn't seem to affect night time viewing...Testing against the Strath's continues!!!
Oberwerk Lightweight 20x80mm FMC - Arrived - Had to collimate them. Undergoing tests.
Edited by NairB (11/11/06 12:37 PM)
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KennyJ
Reged: 04/27/03
Posts: 10446
Loc: Lancashire UK
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Nair ,
Welcome to the forum !
Although I can understand how you must feel reluctant to do so , I'm afraid my advice would be to send them back again .
It is not really acceptable to have brand new binoculars sent to you with scratches like this on one of the objective lenses .
I hope SOME good comes from your unfortunate experiences by way of serving a WARNING to potential buyers of Celestron Skymasters .
It may be worth your while to take take advantage of the back order of ISSUE 14 of the Sky at Night Magazine , which containes reviews of five different models of 15 x 70 binoculars currently readily available in the UK .
See the following web page :
http://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/reviewread.asp?id=21501
Regards , Kenny
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If everyone is thinking the same thing , no-one is thinking - General George S.Patton
Zeiss 7 x 42 BGAT
Captain's Helmsman 7 x 50
Nikon 10 x 42 Superior E
Swift Audubon Kestrel 10 x 50
Helios 15 x 70 Observation
Strathspey 20 x 90
Televue 76 APO
Zeiss 85 Diascope
Helios 102 f5 refractor
Various eyepieces barlows tripods mounts etc.
Panasonic Lumix DMC - TZ5 digital camera
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NairB
member
Reged: 11/11/06
Posts: 49
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Thanks Kenny I have already packed them away ready to take back, I can't see the night sky tonight anyway.
I feel like I'm on a quest now to see how many sets of these binoculars I must get before I finally get a problem free set.
I shudder to think what problems the next set present.....will keep you all updated 
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Strathspey 15x70's FMC - Amazing cheap bino for the price. Bright, natural color/contrast, sharp, and well collimated. Best for Daytime viewing
Celestron Skymaster 15x70's MC - Field of view has a Smoky/Brown tint making them less bright during daytime viewing BUT this doesn't seem to affect night time viewing...Testing against the Strath's continues!!!
Oberwerk Lightweight 20x80mm FMC - Arrived - Had to collimate them. Undergoing tests.
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Marko F.
member
Reged: 12/01/05
Posts: 80
Loc: Helsinki, Finland
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Quote:
*EDIT* - Bill, I would like to buy Garrett but I am in the UK and cannot find a Garrett dealer here....would it be worth while shipping all the way from US to UK
Hi.
You can get the same binoculars from Telescope Service in Germany. They are branded Telescope Service Marine binoculars, and they come from the same Chinese manufacturer as do the Garrett Signature Series.
I have a pair of those and they are really excellent. Highly recommended!
Marko
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Robert A.
sage
Reged: 01/21/05
Posts: 228
Loc: Milwaukee, WI Northern USA
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From the cheap seats over here, I would almost feel like I would keep them after testing them. Many of the experienced reviewers say that you can forgive a lot in the objectives. Some even say that you can hold single finger in front of one objective and you wouldn't see it. They say not to clean your objectives until they are very dirty because that the litter does not cause much degradation of the views. If you are interested in good pass-through experience, you can get premium quality binoculars. The chinese version could be from Telescope Service or General Hi-T in Italy, maybe others. Japanese quality from Fujinon, Nikon, and Miyauchi. Then you could go to Euro quality if you can tell the difference.
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Oberwerk 11x56, Nikon 12x50se, Fujinon 16x70, Stellarvue 20x85, Oberwerk 25/40 45degree 100mm
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NairB
member
Reged: 11/11/06
Posts: 49
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Well folks, you are NOT going to believe this. I got my binos replaced....now this is my 4th set remember, got home and on visual inspection, lenses, barrels etc look good, so far so good I thought to my self.
I then looked through them and even before i went any where near the focusing.....my heart SUNK.....yes, once again big, big problems with the collimation, infact the worst encountered. It was that bad I think the images had crossed over and made viewing completely impossible.
So I took them back and got my money back.....NO MORE Celestron bino's for me im afraid.
I am now looking at a set from www.strathspey.co.uk and i believe they stock fully coated 15x70 price £74.99 from the same line as Garretts. I am going to pop them an email to verify whether or not they are fully inspected/tested by an experienced Opticalman or equivalent before shipping.
They have got to be better than Celestron QC.
--------------------
Strathspey 15x70's FMC - Amazing cheap bino for the price. Bright, natural color/contrast, sharp, and well collimated. Best for Daytime viewing
Celestron Skymaster 15x70's MC - Field of view has a Smoky/Brown tint making them less bright during daytime viewing BUT this doesn't seem to affect night time viewing...Testing against the Strath's continues!!!
Oberwerk Lightweight 20x80mm FMC - Arrived - Had to collimate them. Undergoing tests.
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KennyJ
Reged: 04/27/03
Posts: 10446
Loc: Lancashire UK
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< Well folks, you are NOT going to believe this. >
Nair ,
I believe it !
Wishing you better luck in the SCOTTISH lottery ! :-)
Regards , Kenny
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If everyone is thinking the same thing , no-one is thinking - General George S.Patton
Zeiss 7 x 42 BGAT
Captain's Helmsman 7 x 50
Nikon 10 x 42 Superior E
Swift Audubon Kestrel 10 x 50
Helios 15 x 70 Observation
Strathspey 20 x 90
Televue 76 APO
Zeiss 85 Diascope
Helios 102 f5 refractor
Various eyepieces barlows tripods mounts etc.
Panasonic Lumix DMC - TZ5 digital camera
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NairB
member
Reged: 11/11/06
Posts: 49
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Quote:
< Well folks, you are NOT going to believe this. >
Nair ,
I believe it !
Wishing you better luck in the SCOTTISH lottery ! :-)
Regards , Kenny
Oh No Kenny, are you saying that Strathspey Bino's are of a similar standard AND is very much another LOTTERY.
I have received assurances from Strathspey that ALL glass to air surface lenses have 5 coatings - including the prisms and they are rigorously checked before shipping. I am comparing this company with Garrett as I think its the same bino that they have as Garrett. They were also mentioned in last years Sky at Night reviews as a "what to buy for Christmas"
I live in Scotland too and this company are based in Aviemore, so not much of a journey for them to travel - 3 hours in a van.
--------------------
Strathspey 15x70's FMC - Amazing cheap bino for the price. Bright, natural color/contrast, sharp, and well collimated. Best for Daytime viewing
Celestron Skymaster 15x70's MC - Field of view has a Smoky/Brown tint making them less bright during daytime viewing BUT this doesn't seem to affect night time viewing...Testing against the Strath's continues!!!
Oberwerk Lightweight 20x80mm FMC - Arrived - Had to collimate them. Undergoing tests.
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johnno
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 05/03/04
Posts: 807
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Hi Nair,
Welcome to the forum,
You have certainly had your unfair, share of problems,in a short space of time.
I do feel sorry for you,
You have a lot more patience than me
I suggest,
You drive to the nearest Binocular retailer,and hand pick a Binocular,to suit you.
Buying Binoculars "sight unseen",from a retailer,is not a lot better than buying from Ebay.
You CAN be lucky,BUT,Mostly Disappointed.
Hope you find a Binocular to suit you.
Regards.
John
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KennyJ
Reged: 04/27/03
Posts: 10446
Loc: Lancashire UK
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Nair ,
I WAS only JOKING ! :-) ( I think )
I've heard MOSTLY good things about Strathspey products , with possibly only the ONE " not so good " .
I spend a RIDICULOUS amount of time reading little snippets of information about binoculars , and genuinely cannot remember WHERE or even WHEN I read about the disappointed customer .
If you live in Scotland , then it makes a lot of sense to me that you try one .
Please DO keep us updated !
Regards and the very best of luck !
Kenny
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If everyone is thinking the same thing , no-one is thinking - General George S.Patton
Zeiss 7 x 42 BGAT
Captain's Helmsman 7 x 50
Nikon 10 x 42 Superior E
Swift Audubon Kestrel 10 x 50
Helios 15 x 70 Observation
Strathspey 20 x 90
Televue 76 APO
Zeiss 85 Diascope
Helios 102 f5 refractor
Various eyepieces barlows tripods mounts etc.
Panasonic Lumix DMC - TZ5 digital camera
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s1moran
member
Reged: 06/26/04
Posts: 16
Loc: uk
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Hi Nairb Garret optical will export binoculars to the uk ,have bought things from them myself and i live in the uk ,but you will have to pay vat plus carriage charge plus postoffice handling charge,the other way is to buy them from Markus Ludes in Germany amp telescopes he is ok to trade with ,and you only pay German vat a little bit cheaper than uk vat,he has a good choice of binns
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NairB
member
Reged: 11/11/06
Posts: 49
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KennyJ wrote
Quote:
*EDITED*
Nair ,
I've heard MOSTLY good things about Strathspey products ,with possibly only the ONE " not so good " .
Kenny
KennyJ - Well get this for SUPERB customer service from Strathspey....my binoculars have been shipped already and my cheque to Strathspey hasn't even arrived there yet WOW. 
John, the contact at Strathspey, has been a delight to deal with and said to me my Bino's will be here tomorrow or Wednesday.....absolutely fantastic. 
If my bino's are as good as Strathspey's customer service then I am going to be one happy chappy and John has assured me not to worry about the quality 
So far so good....will keep you update for sure.
s1moran wrote
Quote:
Hi Nairb Garret optical will export binoculars to the uk ,have bought things from them myself and i live in the uk ,but you will have to pay vat plus carriage charge plus postoffice handling charge,the other way is to buy them from Markus Ludes in Germany amp telescopes he is ok to trade with ,and you only pay German vat a little bit cheaper than uk vat,he has a good choice of binns
s1moran - Thanks for that, I was going to order a set from Garretts until I found out that Strathspey stocks the same or very similar with full coatings on all air to glass optics & are checked here in Scotland before they are shipped, unlike the lottery game you play buying Celestron Skynasters from Argos. They also come with a 3 year guarantee.
The very fact I can correspond with a human being regarding the bino's and especially someone here at home, makes me far more comfortable with the purchase.
With all that said....my bino's have still to arrive and endure my extremely critical "20/20 vision eyesight" 
--------------------
Strathspey 15x70's FMC - Amazing cheap bino for the price. Bright, natural color/contrast, sharp, and well collimated. Best for Daytime viewing
Celestron Skymaster 15x70's MC - Field of view has a Smoky/Brown tint making them less bright during daytime viewing BUT this doesn't seem to affect night time viewing...Testing against the Strath's continues!!!
Oberwerk Lightweight 20x80mm FMC - Arrived - Had to collimate them. Undergoing tests.
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JimB
member
Reged: 01/17/06
Posts: 26
Loc: Northy part of Ireland !
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Hey Nair, John at Strathspey's a great guy ... I have 2 excellent sets of binos from him as you can see in my signature and the 15x70's are terrific.
I hope you'll be as pleased as I am
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Strathspey 15x70
Kronos 20x60 (russian)
Opticron 10x50SR.GA & 10x42 Countryman
Meade 10x50
Minolta 7x35
90mm Evostar
70mm Skylux
ETX70-AT
Edited by JimB (11/14/06 01:55 PM)
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NairB
member
Reged: 11/11/06
Posts: 49
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Quote:
Hey Nair, John at Strathspey's a great guy ... I have 2 excellent sets of binos from him as you can see in my signature and the 15x70's are terrific.
I hope you'll be as pleased as I am
Hi JimB,
Brilliant, that is very reassuring to know. My set should be here tomorrow with a bit of luck.
I am looking foward to comparing these bino's with the Celestron. As you can imagine, I have aquired quite a bit of experience testing those Celestron Skymasters so I should be able to identify all the differences between them and the Strathspey's. I am VERY FUSSY too.
I cant wait to see how much the fully multicoated lens/prism of the Strathspey compare with the multicoated only skymasters....I've got a few targets lined up that will help me give a very good comparison and also the flat focus across the entire field. I wont even discuss collimation 
--------------------
Strathspey 15x70's FMC - Amazing cheap bino for the price. Bright, natural color/contrast, sharp, and well collimated. Best for Daytime viewing
Celestron Skymaster 15x70's MC - Field of view has a Smoky/Brown tint making them less bright during daytime viewing BUT this doesn't seem to affect night time viewing...Testing against the Strath's continues!!!
Oberwerk Lightweight 20x80mm FMC - Arrived - Had to collimate them. Undergoing tests.
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