Reviews & Ratings for Celestron SkyMaster DX 8x56mm Porro Prism Binoculars — 2 reviews — Page 1

My wife and I wanted binoculars that could be hand held for late night walks to star gaze and yet have the strength for a closer look when a tripod was available. This Celestron product is truly a fine piece of workmanship that just screams of quality and just the perfect size for what we wanted.

The views of the sky are crystal clear whether on a tripod or handheld. Perfect if you want to look at a few things in the night sky just to enjoy but maybe too tired to deal with a telescope.

This binocular had excellent image quality and great build quality. The full multi-coating and blackened and baffled interior pretty much eliminate stray light. Stars are sharp and show plenty of color, and deep sky objects show reasonable definition. The eyepieces are comfortable to look through.

Unfortunately, the 8x56 format has a couple of hindrances. First, it's heavy. Looking through it while standing can be a chore. You'd be better off sitting, leaning on something, or using a tripod. Second, the 5.8 FOV is narrow for astronomy uses. I've found double stars, but had a difficult time identifying it because there weren't enough stars around it. That made me miss my 7x35 with its 9 FOV.

If you want a light binocular or use them for wide-field scanning, consider other models. If you don't mind the weight and do more targeted viewing, this Skymaster is an excellent choice.
Pros: Excellent image quality, comfortable to look through
Cons: narrow field of view, a bit heavy