AllBinos.com

Cons: - Device has a fatal construction fault: 6 warranty cases in 3 years!

Pros: - NO rolling ball effect (globe effect) at all! - Very good optical specifications - Lightweight and handy - Optical quality surprisingly good for the price (if you get a good set); image crisp in the center, bright, good contrast; only CA is a bit high, but still acceptable; image appeared almost identical to that of Nikon Monarch 7 8x42 in direct comparison. - Feels good and not cheap at all (if you get a good set); only the focus wheel is rather stiff in the cold (though still usable) and may have a little slack - Rainguard and objective caps well made; case appears a bit cheap, but is quite durable - Device is perfectly waterproof, at least with regard to rain (had been rained on for many a long day, never any problem here).

Summary: I had this device for three years, and in spite of the low price I would still prefer it to many binos that cost various times more. BUT THEN, look at my history of warranty cases: - 1. SET: big speck of dust on a prism surface, causing a dark blotch in the field of view; also CA was unusally high in the center -> warranty exchange - 2. SET: clean inside, CA control much better. After two month: focus defect (left and right tube didn´t focus identically anymore; at first, the diopter ring helped, but soon I was at the stop here) -> warranty exchange - 3. SET: slight traces of a finger print inside one of the objective lenses; central hinge got so loose on the first hot day that I had to pinch a finger between the tubes to use the device. I kept the bino, but after a year: focus defect as described above -> warranty exchange - 4. SET: focus defect as described above -> warranty exchange - 5. SET: focus defect as described above -> warranty exchange - 6. SET: out of the box the rubber padding was very loose on the right tube AND I had to turn the diopter ring half it´s way to get the tubes focus identically. Here I lost my patience, the retailer offered me a complete refund - and I accepted. -- Conclusion: If Celestron would bother to solve the quality issues of this device, they could easily sell it for 200 euros more and it would still be an excellent bino for the price and a perfect choice even for demanding users, as long as they are not critical about egde performance. As it is now, this bino isn´t even worth half its price, nor a quarter. - Let me add that I´m an intensive user (birding and nature guard work, at least 700 hours a year), but I never drop a bino or knock it against anything. So, I wonder what a renowned manufacturer of telescopes is trying to achieve with such a device. If they want to ruin their reputation, I´m afraid they will succeed in the end.