Celestron 71213 UpClose G2 10 x 25 Monocular, Black

Very prompt super quick delivery;arrived next day;instead of quoted timeframe of around a week.Binoculars in very good condition with all items as mentioned as well as extension to warranty from standard 6 mths to 12 mths;this was handwritten on order form from store manager.Considering the binoculars cost me around half their normal rrp ie.around £30 instead of £60;I am very impressed with both the excellent exceptional service received from Fraser and also the quality of binoculars themselves.Excellent optics and feature packed binoculars including multi coated optics and being water resistant but obviously not waterproof or fogproof.Regarding the optics at 10 times magnification excellent but obviously as you increase to 20 and then 30 times magnification can see purple colour fringing thus slight degradation but this is to be expected as they are Zoom binoculars;however I would say the optics are still very good even up to 30 times magnification and the image is very lifelike almost 3D;regarding keeping the binoculars steady;I got upto around maybe 15 to 20 times magnification at a stretch relatively smooth image;I'd personally say to use a tripod from around 15 times magnification upwards dependent on how steady you can hold these binoculars.These are the first binoculars I've bought up to this high specification from a quality brand such as Celestron,thus cant compare to previous binoculars of this standard;thus I have assessed the optics by comparing to the optical zoom on my point and shoot Canon and Panasonic camera's and on this basis I would say the Celestron binoculars are on par with my camera's optics;thus I am very impressed with these binoculars.I would rate these as the best binoculars you can buy for under £100 all things considered especially the 10-30 times zoom capability as well as the excellent brand Celestron;as mentioned I bought these for around £30 thus much more impressed with these binoculars.The only binoculars that would be in competition with these would be Olympus 8-16 zoom binoculars around £75 and Nikon 10-22 zoom binoculars around £130 or so but considering these Celestron rrp is around £60 and they have better zoom magnification;excellent brand name for value for money and water resistant build;I would say they are the clear winners based on everything.Update:After using these excellent binoculars over the last couple of month's.I still rate these binoculars very highly for high quality at good value for money.Be aware that these binoculars use BAK-7 Optics same as Olympus binoculars mentioned in review but the Nikon Aculon Zoom binoculars use BAK-4 Optics which are the best grade optics for binoculars;however the Nikon are priced around £130 or so;thus if you were looking to spend this much on Zoom binoculars then I would say Nikon would be better binoculars for sure but obviously at around twice the cost and with less zoom.Both the Olympus and Nikon are multi coated lenses same as the Celestron.In regards to Celestron UpClose G2 10-30 × 50 Zoom Binoculars;I would say the more you zoom the less bright the image is;thus 10 times zoom is with best results however upto 20 times zoom brings very good results in normal bright daylight conditions;upto 30 times zoom can be used but I would say this is best for bright sunny conditions due to lower image quality and loss of brightness of image.In low light conditions I would recommend upto 18 times zoom generally.I would say 18 times zoom is the sweet spot for most conditions to get the best out of these binoculars.Do bear in mind I am comparing the results to Celestron LandScout 8 x 40 Binoculars that are far superior and their list price is around £130 or so;these LandScout Binoculars are not Zoom Binoculars but 8 times Magnification.I did get these binoculars from another supplier at £65 incredibly with only one in stock with this supplier.Thus I am being very picky and critical in regards to what these Celestron Upclose G2 10-30 × Zoom Binoculars can do;as I'm comparing them to very high grade Celestron LandScout 8 × 40 Binoculars;technology wise;as this isn't a fair comparison due to much better features and technology with Celestron LandScout Binoculars;it's just to put the Celestron Upclose G2 Zoom Binoculars in perspective.Thus to summarise I still rate these as the Best Zoom Binoculars you can buy for under £100.I just wanted to give you an update and in particular limitations of the Celestron Zoom Binoculars after using them for approx 2 month's.Now the price has reduced to £50 on Amazon thus they represent even better value for money for excellent relatively light weight binoculars all things considered;especially with the 10 to 30 times Zoom capability.

For the price these are not too bad. The weight is'nt too bad and they are nice to the grip. The zoom function is only really useable up to around the X22 as it looses sharpness and you can't quite get a good focus. I can live with this but if you want to use the full range then these are not for you. The bag they come with is good and compact as it's a canvas type. At the price point I think they are good, I have seen these £20 dearer at a certain high street retailer and if I'd paid that price I'd have returned them as they are not worth anymore than Amazons price.

I'm happy enough with it after having used it for a couple of months now. What I like most about it is its portability. I can slip it into my pocket and pull it out wherever. When I'm using it I feel discreet, unlike a pair of binoculars which are bulky, fiddly and generally look creepy if it happens to be people that I'm watching from afar. I went bird watching for the first time and found it very enjoyable and mesmerising. It is the first monocular/binoculars that I've bought, so two things come to mind - 10x is not a huge amount. Like you can definitely make out events a bit further away clearly and to a level that you might not have otherwise. But it's not like a telescope zooming in massively to see something super close up or the expressions on people's faces (depends how far you're standing away but you get the gist). But that's also more or less what was expected. The quality appears excellent to me. The other thought is that it can be a bit shaky. So when you're really concentrating on something far away, you notice the movement of your hand. I understand now what people were saying when they say 8x is more steady. But that hasn't put me off it at all. It's a cool and fun contraption, a toy at this incredible price really, which allows you to see a little further away without much fuss. What's not to like.

I have to admit - I bought this with some hesitation as I'd read many reviews here and elsewhere before embarking on my first binocular purchase and there were warning signs regarding cheaper Celestron (and other brands) who tend to source prisms and lenses from lower quality manufacturers, where glass composition or processing may result in optical defects, reduced refractive index and/or clarity.The good: from my (limited) use these would perform great as non-professional day-time use, e.g. birdwatchers, etc.The bad: my intended purpose was for night time use stargazing. As per other reviews I've struggled with image ghosting, clarity and getting both lenses to correctly focus.For the price I think this is a fair product, but if - like me - you're looking to do some stargazing and get some decent views of planets I'd suggest you may wish to increase your budget - after all, you get what you pay for... and decent optics are not cheap!