Initial impressions - Celestron SkyMaster 25x100mm Porro Prism Binoculars

I bought this set-up to supplement hand held 10x50 binoculars for nighttime sky gazing without the hassle of setting up and aligning a telescope. Use of the tripod to stabilize the viewing image is a must because these binoculars are HEAVY. With a little planning (sit between two legs with third leg of tripod away from you) and a low lawn chair (adjust leg lengthens to get angle and height right) extended viewing time is possible. Of course a parallelogram mount would be best, but...$$$. So this set-up fits the niche somewhere between portability and ease of use of handheld binoculars and a full telescope set-up involving alignment, etc...

First use was a detailed viewing of the Moon, Mars, Saturn (faint rings?) and Jupiter (and moons). All were well within the abilities of these binoculars even in light polluted inner city Houston. No issues with quality of the optics (at least with my eyes) or clarity of the image (sharp and clear images of the moons smaller craters / features) .

The acid test will be next week when I get a chance to get out into the countryside / dark night. Hoping to view the Moon, Saturn, Mars, and Jupiter, in greater detail and whatever deep space objects I can find. I’ll provide update.