Celestron Noble 10x50 Compact Waterproof Binoculars with carrying case

Rating:
Summary: Great all around binoculars
Review: I bought these mainly on recommendation from my astronomy professor that I should buy 10x50's for astronomy and for general use like bird watching. I shopped around a lot and tried several other brands including Nikon and some department store brands. Overall I think that these binos had much crisper focus than the others I have tried. My first impression out of the box was that they felt solid and well built. The optic coatings look consistent and they are multi-coated and phase coated even though they aren't advertised on Amazon as phase coated. The size is just right and water proof is a major plus for me.

My first test was during the day, I checked the focus on near objects and found that I could focus on things as close as 10 feet away which is really great for bird watching. I did notice some chromatic aberrations around tree branches against a cloudy sky, but it wasn't too bad. The focus on everything was sharp as a tack! I am very impressed with how sharp they are.

Since I bought these for an astronomy course the true test was at night. I live in a fairly dark area but there are a few cities around. The first object I looked at was the Orion nebula, it was very clear and I could make out at least three stars in the center and could see quite a bit of the nebula. Next I looked at Pleiades, normally I can see only 6 faint stars but through the celestrons I could see hundreds and the 7 sister stars were bright and crisp.

Overall I am very happy with these binoculars. The only reason they got a 4 out of 5 was because the case and main lens covers are quite cheap and don't work well. The second reason is it would be nice if the binoculars had a tripod mount for astronomy. It's tough to hold even 10x50's steady and a tripod would be a great help.