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Hi Ken ,

Several members here over the years have reported deriving great pleasure from hand - holding 15 x 70 Celestron Skymasters -- apparantly just like the one you have listed in your signature ! :-)

Is there any reason you feel a 16 x 50 would be any easier to hand - hold than your currently owned 15 x 70 ?

Incidentally , but possibly of significance to you , I recall reading once upon a time that the TRUE useable eye - relief of the NAE 16 x 50 is closer to 12mm than 17mm.

That said , it would be interesting if a Cloudy Nights regular would actually review this model , so why not take a chance and buy a sample from a vendor with a no - nonsense / no questions asked / return if not satisfied policy , then post your verdict here ?

Good luck and clear skies !

Kenny

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Hello Kenny..

I do enjoy the 15x70 Celestrons, but they are a bit heavy for handheld use. They also lack the waterproof feature, which is important to me considering the dew problems around here and the issues I have had with internal residue on the objectives.

Thanks for the info on eye relief, I don't wear glasses, so I don't need really large eye relief, but I do need more than the 20x60 Oberwerks provide. It is listed at 10mm, but very well could be less. They are the only binocular I own that I have to jam the binoculars against my eyes to view the whole FOV.. It also creates a problem with residue from eye lashes getting on the eyepieces, which makes cleaning a requirement after almost every use.

Kenny, I couldn't find much info on the Oberwerk 20x60s when I was interesting in buying them, so I decided to just take the chance and purchase them anyway, that didn't work out so well.. Obviously I didn't make an attempt to return them, so I can't blame anybody but myself for that..

I seen the Nikon Action Extreme is pretty popular around here, but not sure if I would like them or not. I really like my Pentax binoculars, shape, internal focuser, focus lock, etc. I wish they still made a 16x60. I have looked at the Pentax 20x60, but man that is a small true FOV at 2.2 Deg and I really don't like AFOV under 50 deg..

As you can see from the sig, I don't really "need" anymore "cheap" binoculars.. I like talking about them/reading about them as much as I like using them..

Ken

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Telescopes:
Celestron C6 SCT on CG4 mount
Skywatcher 8 inch F/5 Newt on a GEM
Celestron 8 inch Starhopper Dob
Celestron Oynx 80ED
Celestron C130 Mak
Celestron C102HD
Binoculars:
Nikon 7x35 Action
Nikon 7x50 Action
Zen Ray Summit 10x42
Celestron 10x42 Noble
Orion 10x50 Scenix
Celestron 10x50 Noble
Pentax 12x50 PCF WP II
Celestron 15x70 Skymaster
Oberwerk 20x60
Zhumell 20x80

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< I like talking about them/reading about them as much as I like using them.. >

-- then we have more in common than just our name ! :-)

If you really enjoy hand - holding binoculars with magnifications I find hopelessly too high to do so with , don't wear glasses and need a degree of waterproofing , I think you ought to at least give this model a try -- but PLEASE give serious consideration to mounting it before passing judgment ! :-)

Kenny

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I actually just got a new tripod for $25 that extends to 75 inches and is quite stable.. That is another reason why I like higher magnification ligher binoculars, so I can mount them on my cheap tripods.. I have nothing against mounting binoculars, I enjoy it both ways. I just enjoy the freedom to do both, which either means I need lighter binoculars, or I need to start working out..

Ken

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Telescopes:
Celestron C6 SCT on CG4 mount
Skywatcher 8 inch F/5 Newt on a GEM
Celestron 8 inch Starhopper Dob
Celestron Oynx 80ED
Celestron C130 Mak
Celestron C102HD
Binoculars:
Nikon 7x35 Action
Nikon 7x50 Action
Zen Ray Summit 10x42
Celestron 10x42 Noble
Orion 10x50 Scenix
Celestron 10x50 Noble
Pentax 12x50 PCF WP II
Celestron 15x70 Skymaster
Oberwerk 20x60
Zhumell 20x80

Edited by 94bamf (10/12/09 06:58 PM)

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