$800 quality for under $200.
Written: Oct 08 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Makes most other binoculars feel and perform pathetically cheap in comparison.
Cons: The included case could have been better.
The Bottom Line: Any bigger is too big to hold for long, any smaller would lack performance. The perfect middle ground size. Best $180 I ever spent!
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| juzdafax's Full Review: Celestron Ultima 71113 Binocular |
Celestron Ultima 10X50 and 8X40 in reference to astronomical applications:
I've been looking at the skies for nearly a decade through everything from 60mm refractors to an 8" SCT and whenever there were a few bucks to spend toward my astro-addiction I seldom thought "Forget that Nagler, how about a good pair of binoculars?" I already had a few lying around through the years including Nikon's Travelite 10x25's and a Pentax 20x50 so why bother? Well, the Nikon's were just that: for traveling and light use in absolutely bright conditions. Those poor little 25mm "eyeballs", no matter how meticulously made can only gather so much light The Pentax 20X50's with its big 20x magnification will give the handheld user about as much luck holding steady on a celestial target as Oswald would have with a 12 guage: images were too shaky in the FOV and unless you had a tripod they got way too heavy to hold, and they got that way really fast. Hey, if I'm gonna drag out a tripod it'll be for the SCT. They made the whole point of being binoculars useless. And all that trouble for so-so optics to boot. Anyway, it was time to indulge in some good optics that could allow a gaze at the stars in a moments notice. Enter the Ultima's.
Not being sure which would really satisfy me, I picked up both the 8x40 and the 10x50 Celestron Ultima's. I knew the 7x50's were out of the question for 2 reasons: they are the same size and weight of the 10x model and any hint of light polluted skies gets way too amplified in them.
The 10x50 model was excellent, I'd go as far as saying they were of heirloom quality. Now thats good! The focuser had a somewhat heavy feel to it that impressed me as a quality precision instrument rather than as a point of difficulty. The smooth but consistently heavy movement of it was fantastic at bringing images into perfect focus unlike those of other models which have such a light twist it makes under focusing and over focusing a chore in finding the "sweet-spot".
Once focused, I was delighted. Daytime views were sharp and pleasing as expected, but no more so than any other run of the mill binocular. It takes a starry sky assessment to really evaluate what these things are made of.
Finally, night sets in..Ralph Waldo Emerson would have dug these binos! My first impressions were actually "wow, what I've been missing!" Stars resolved to pinpoints in the center FOV. Conditions weren't the absolute greatest so it would be unfair to really pass judgement on how sharp they held up at the edge but it was pretty close to center sharpness. A look at the moon gave me another surprise. It lacked the awful chromatic abberation present in the Pentax although there was an ever so slight hint of it. This wasn't a bad thing though as it actually looked cool rather than the result of imperfect manufacturing. At 10 power I was able to see more craters with razor sharp edges than I could with the 20 power Pentax's. Now that says a lot. The feel in my hand were so comfortable I don't think fatigue ever set in. They're pretty light and the Ultima line has a good weight distribution balance which kind of makes them feel right at home. I was so impressed I almost opted not to give the Ultima 8x40's a try. But just to be sure I opened the box and gave them a go.
Result? I'm so glad I did open that box because all the above, from razor sharp views, and yes, even BETTER contrast resulted from these 8x40's. In addition, I detected NO chromatic abberation at all.. zilch, zero, nada.. ! I guess its a lot easier to perfect the glass in a 40mm objective than a 50mm. I suppose the same principle applies here albeit to a smaller degree, that achromatic refractors are exceptional instruments up to about 4" after which chromatic abberation becomes a serious problem making it increasingly more neccessary to go to APOchromatic format. Good glass gets harder to maintain the bigger it gets. A good point to consider when weighing the pro's and cons between the two sizes.
Weighing almost a half pound lighter than the 10x50 I was surprised to be using something that felt even better in my hand. The 2x difference in power wasn't at all missed, in fact, I noticed a greater reduction in the "shakes" way before I noticed the slightly lower magnification. They're a lot smaller, lighter and deliver the same brightness as the 10's. And unlike the larger 10x50's, their more compact size will find them being sought out on many more occasions.
Basically, the 10x50's went back and for super fast astronomy on the go its the 8x40 Ultima's. I honestly believe I've found that great middle ground tool in binocular astronomy and ironically its in a 40mm objective. No overblown light pollution, excessive size, and NEVER the reluctance to take them anywhere.
For binocular astronomy, my goal in testing wasn't to attempt to split-stars, etc,.. They are after all binoculars and not high powered telescopes. They fill their niche well: as a supplement to the telescope. A good pair will get you under the stars far more often than the average telescope because of their simplicity. Forget high powered binos. They're frustrating and as I've stated previously, will mandate the need for a tripod. Seeking out and purchasing a pair of those monsters will serve only to set you back a lot of money for what amounts to, assuming you have one already, another telescope with relatively low power. Completely redundant!
As far as either of the Ultima's tested go, for any amount of money, I just can't see a Leica or ?? being so much better for 5 times the price. I won't pretend that I know what absolute perfection is but I do know these Ultima's were pretty darn close to it. So don't pass up the 8x40's till you've tried them even for astronomy. You'll be surprised.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
juzdafax
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Reviews written: 2
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