Celestron – SkyMaster DX 8x56mm Binoculars – Premium Outdoor and Astronomy Binocular – Fully Multi-Coated Optics with XLT Coatings – Waterproof and Rubber Armored – Carrying Case Included

******UPDATE: January 2, 2015Had the opportunity to compare these with the Vanguard Endeavor 8420 (8x42) which are highly rated and commended on Amazon and other websites. As of now, the 8420's run about $240.Briefly, the Celestrons appeared to have a brighter image (56 vs 42 mm) and I could better see objects in dark or shaded areas with them over the Endeavors. On the other hand, the Endeavors had better detailed resolution of small objects (I could better resolve and focus on small lettering on a gas meter about 30 yards away), the SkyMasters were good, but the Endeavors were a little better. Color resolution in the Endeavors is significantly better, bringing out some colors I could not see with naked eye.The Endeavors are slightly better and have a clear advantage in wider Field of View and convenience (due to their smaller size), but the Celestrons have a comparable image, slightly brighter, and are a close 2nd. I find the smaller roof prisms awkward to hold to my face. I still prefer Porro prisms, but most premium binoculars are in the roof prism configuration.*******************************************************ORIGINAL REVIEWThe Celestron DX 8 x 56 (8's) binoculars are a pleasure to use. For those of us who will never be able to afford binoculars in the 2, 3 and $4,000 range, these are an excellent and satisfying alternative. This is my first pair of "fully multi-coated" binoculars, and though they are "low-end" at $160, they are well-suited for my "low-end" income.The image quality of the 8's is outstanding, "HD" quality if you will, even in low light situations. Not just bright, but also clear and crisp.If I damage these or they go bad, I'll gripe a few days, then order another pair; if I had a $3,000 pair that went bad, I'd be a trainwreck.I've used Celestron's popular "SkyMaster" 15x70's for several years, with & w/o a tripod, and though the DX 8x56's (8's) are also in the "SkyMaster" series, the 8's are a far superior product in optics and build. I still highly recommend the 15x70's if you want a high power, affordable set, but the DX 8x56's are a step above.I put them to the test recently while plane spotting and star gazing. I had my Celestron DX 8x56's, my Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 (15's), Nikon Action 12x50, and an old pair of Bushnell 10x50's. The 8's won in a landslide.One good example, as dusk was ending and night was setting in, I followed a jet with the 8's and got a good view of the lights and the actual plane. I quickly grabbed my 15's to take a "closer" look, and although the lights of the plane were closer, I could barely see the actual plane, even without the shaking. The superior optics of the "fully multi-coated" lenses vs "multi-coated" produce a much better image. They also excel in standard terrestrial viewing as well. It's amazing how much more you can "see", even at lower magnification when the image is bright and crisp....and not shaking.Holding the 8's on a moving jet is easier and steadier, while holding the 15's on a plane is a chore, with the object dancing around in your view.After night set in I began stargazing as well, and caught a couple satellites. I could easily follow them with the 8's. Watching them drift across the night sky, in "HD" clarity and brightness, was thrilling. With the 8's, the entire night sky pops out at you. I still love my 15's where higher magnification is essential, but as I said, the 8's are easier to use and far superior in image quality. These will hang around my neck several hours a day.Small gripes - 1. The field of view feels a little restricted. It lists as 5.8 (or apprx. 304 feet), which seems little small for an 8x binocular specifically designed for astronomical purposes.2. I wish the eyecups were a little softer so you could sink your eyes in deep, otherwise you may still get some light interference if you're around light sources.However, kudos to Celestron for giving us a taste of what expensive binoculars offer, but at affordable prices. I paid around $65 for the SkyMaster 15x70's on Amazon several years ago, and have gotten countless hours of satisfaction from them observing the moon, Jupiter, Saturn, planes, ships, etc...and now these 8x56's will keep me fully occupied until I'm willing to splurge for a set of Image Stabilized binoculars.

My other hobby is photography, so I am appreciative of good optics. I originally purchased the Celestron 15x70s which were decent, but had significant chromatic aberration. I returned them in favor of these. For the day or so I had both, I found that the image from the 8x56s was brighter and had less CA. The brightness difference is expected of course, based on comparing the ratio of apertures to that of magnification - the 15x70 does not have a large enough aperture to compensate for the brightness loss from the increased magnification compared to the 8x56 . The color rendition is excellent on terrestrial subjects, noticeably better and cleaner than the cheaper binoculars. The lower magnification allows better handholding while still being enough to pick out the same objects that the 15x70 could. So far, I have been able to easily see Jupiter's Galilean moons even from the light polluted skies of Milwaukee. Saturn's beautiful orange hue is visible, and its oblate shape is noticeable, though the magnification is far insufficient to pick out its rings in either pair. From the darker skies of rural Wisconsin, the Beehive cluster in the western sky near Castor and Pollux, and M13, the great cluster in Hercules are easily visible, as is M31, the great Andromeda galaxy just past midnight in June; they might be from light polluted skies as well, but the difficulty is in finding the constellations with the naked eye to know where to look. The crescent moon is spectacular from any location; from a dark location, the gibbous moon is almost blindingly bright. With a Barska tripod adapter, I am able to use my camera tripod and ball head for more stable views and to show celestial objects to others. With this and fine focusing (the focus ring is well made for this), Jupiter can be seen as a clear circular object with better views of the Galilean moons, and the phase of Venus can be determined. Yes, these binoculars are heavy for their size, but that doesn't bother me; I'm used to walking around with a heavy lens/camera for hours, and these are feather weights in comparison. I consider the aperture and magnification to be near perfect for the purpose - for more, you are likely better off with a telescope. They are well built, come with a strap, lens caps, and a very nice bag. I was also happy to read that the manufacturer offers a lifetime, no questions asked replacement warranty for a small fee. Overall, excellent and highly recommended. I also highly recommend the Stellarium app which is great for planning your star gazing, well worth the small price to have it on your mobile phone.

Los compre hace un par de meses para observar animales por la noche y es sorprendentes la luninosodad q tienen, relación calidad precio muy buenos

I bought these 9x63 binoculars for astronomy / star gazing wide field visual work. The Seven Sisters and Hyades star clusters look amazing and noticeably richer than in my 8x48 pair of binoculars. Slightly heavier than my 8x48 binoculars but I found the 9x63 celestron binoculars comfortable especially when sitting on a garden / fold up chair.

Need some reasonably priced, large-ish aperture but still portable, high quality binocs? Then these might be for you!The optics are sharp to the edge of the field; fully multi-coated, so ghosting and other optical aberrations are minimal.They have enough aperture to yield bright night-time images of the sky, and can be used to track down some of thedeep-sky objects that smaller apertures cannot. I also own the smaller 8x56's, and purchased these for work, hopingthey'd have the same quality but slightly more light-gathering ability. Not disappointed! One thing - Celestron seemsto have stopped including the tripod adapter, making it an extra expense. While the size & weight of these binocs isvery reasonable, you'll probably want some sort of tripod or parallelogram binoc mount for extended or overhead viewing.Solid build & optics - much better than the non-DX SkyMasters, BTW - for the price. Highly recommended.

We have a large telescope which is not very portable. Having these bino's allow us to enjoy scoping out the stars when we are are out on a starry night

The 8x56 never arrived but I was offered the Celestron 9x63 instead which has equal exit pupil capabilities and more magnification for the same price. Overall I'm happy with the deal