Celestron Nature 8x30 Porro Review (1 Viewer)

I was in the market for an inexpensive small binoc and was trying to decide between the Yosemite or Raptor, and in reading various posts I noticed a comment from Kevin Purcell about the Celestron Nature 8x30 as an alternative, so I bought a pair (Both Adorama & Amazon are $55 shipped). The thing that attracted me to the Celestron was the advertised 8 ft close focus since I have a couple of feeders 10-12 ft from the sliding doors in the den.

I have nowhere near the experience of most and have learned a lot reading the various posts and forums over the past 2 months, so you will have to bear with me on this review. I currently own: 9x25 Legends, 8x32 Legends(sold), 8x32 Leupold GR (non hd), 8x36 Excursion EX, 8x42 legend Ultra HD, 10x42 ZRS, 10.5x45 Bushnell Infinty, and 10x42 Meade Safari Pro (Porro).

The basic specs of the Celestron 8x30 are: You can google for pics or more info.
Weight 17oz
Close focus: 8ft
FOV: 430 ft
Eye Relief: 18mm
Dimensions: 4-3/4 H x 5-3/4 W
Warranty: No Fault Lifetime Warranty

I spent the better part of today at morning thru evening - in bright sun and bright overcast looking thru these;

Focus: The large focus wheel turns a total of less than 1 full revolution, has a very good feel and does not seem too fast or slow. I never could find anything far away enough for the max infinity setting. Some vultures I could just barely see in the sky with my eye required me to back off the max focus range to view them clearly.

Close Focus: Advertised as 8 ft but is much more realistic to me as 9 to 10ft

Eye Cups: Twist up with no intermediate indents. Stayed where you put them, but at maximum extension (which I use) they had a slight looseness/play, but were fine.

Sweet Spot: Had excellent resolution for about 70% with the edges dropping off very gradually - and the edge softness/distortion could be easily focused out. The brightness, clarity and resolution was very good

Diopter Adjustment: It is larger (wider) than most, very visibly marked and stays where you put it. One of the best I've seen.

Ergo's: Probably same size as Yosemite/Raptor. Very comfortable and the last 2 fingers wrap around barrel with pinkie NOT sticking over the edge. I wear large gloves.

CA Chromatic Aberration: I tried and tried all day and could only detect CA once, and that was at 1o with the sun overhead and I was looking down from the shade into sunlight on the very narrow white plastic cords of a portable clotheline against the green grass, and I could see a very slight purple fringing at the edges of the lines. I looked at white houses with black shutters in shade and full sun and could detect nothing. I looked at every car and glint, every house, mailbox, color, black birds in sky, and every angle - and saw nothing!! The house next door is snow white siding with jet black plastic shutters that have a wood grain pattern - with half the house and shutters in shade and half full sun I thought for sure I would see some CA somewhere - but none - not even in the wood grain patterns.

Ghosting/Flare: When it was very bright and overcast I could detect some ghosting (looked a little foggy)around the bottom half outer edges when I was pointing at an angle toward the sun. In bright sunlight when I aimed toward the sun I could see a very bright circle at the very bottom edge that was half the size of a dime. I could aim/raise upward to the very bottom of the sun and it would come and go. As you can tell I am no expert on this.

Resolution/Contrast: They had excellent resolution and contrast. Looking at a neighbors butterfly garden with its variety of purples, yellows, whites, and reds everything just seemd to pop. The 3d effect seemed very good looking thru the other yard with individual shrubs/trees at various distances - some in shade, some in sun. The resolution/contrast was much better than my 9x25 legends and 10x42 Meade porros - about the same as my 8x36 excursion ex - and obviously not as good as my leupold 8x32, legend HD 8x42 or Infinity.

Summary: All in all to me an outstanding little 8x30 porro for the money. Not having used the Yosemites or Raptor, and only based on what I have read, I would have to conclude these are every bit as good, and with regard to the close focus and CA control - much better. The only negatives I could find is on the right top of the binoc there is a 5/8" x 3/8" little plastic logo slightly inset and glued in which came off on my finger in the hot sun - immediately threw it away; and some may not like the eyecup looseness at full extension. Plus the case is nothing to write home about.

One area I left out was Depth of Field:
Focused at 9ft - clear to 12 ft
Focused at 30 ft - clear to 150 ft
Focused at 100 ft - clear to 400 -600 ft
Focused at infinity - never could find anything that far. The vultures I could barely see with my naked eye required me to focus away from infinity and they were probably 1/4 to 1/2 mile away.

tom

Nicely done review. I am surprised that one of the other resident optics nuts hasn't given one of these a go. The rest of you have been slacking in my absence!



I had to go back and add a bit more. The specs actually look quite impressive. A 420 foot field of view out of an 8x30 with modern eyecups and which only weighs 17 ounces?....for $55? This seems like a no-brainer assuming image quality is half decent...which is sounds like it is considering the comments above. Yosemite/Raptor image quality at close to half the price and a larger field of view....

Lets see if I can scrounge up $55 or this one. I might be able to afford it....plus you guys know I love what Celestron puts out.

I noticed a comment from Kevin Purcell about the Celestron Nature 8x30 as an alternative

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Thanks for the review. Nicely done.

I think there is another write up here too. The conclusion was similar very good for the money but perhaps not the best build quality (a sort of cheap Yosemite).

I never could find anything far away enough for the max infinity setting.

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That's expected. There should be over-run and under-run at both ends of the focus to accommodate folks that don't have full corrected vision but don't like to wear glasses. The over-run for example helps short sighted people.

FrankD said:

Nicely done review. I am surprised that one of the other resident optics nuts hasn't given one of these a go. The rest of you have been slacking in my absence!

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When these appeared the first thing that crossed my mind was "if FrankD was here he'd have bought a set to try out and review".

They sound like good beginner/kids bins that will spoil people who try to move to cheap roofs too quickly!

FrankD said:

Nicely done review. I am surprised that one of the other resident optics nuts hasn't given one of these a go. The rest of you have been slacking in my absence!



I had to go back and add a bit more. The specs actually look quite impressive. A 420 foot field of view out of an 8x30 with modern eyecups and which only weighs 17 ounces?....for $55? This seems like a no-brainer assuming image quality is half decent...which is sounds like it is considering the comments above. Yosemite/Raptor image quality at close to half the price and a larger field of view....

Lets see if I can scrounge up $55 or this one. I might be able to afford it....plus you guys know I love what Celestron puts out.

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Not all of us were slacking, Frank. There's been one previous reviewer

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=170074&highlight=celestron+nature

The 8.2* field appealed to me in such a small bin. They look like an old style porro but with good eyecups and e/r. I ordered a pair myself about 2 weeks ago but had a call from the supplier saying they were proving hard to find and they couldn't get them til Christmas. I cancelled the order.

This latest review makes me want to try a pair even more.

Best wishes
Martin

FrankD said:

Lets see if I can scrounge up $55 or this one. I might be able to afford it....plus you guys know I love what Celestron puts out.

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Frank, did you get yours yet? Great review on these, and I'm waiting for [your] second opinion.


Howard

Thanks for the links. I went back and read the earlier reviews. Sounds pretty good in general and exceptionally so for the price. Mine should be here Monday. Will comment more then.

FrankD said:

Thanks for the links. I went back and read the earlier reviews. Sounds pretty good in general and exceptionally so for the price. Mine should be here Monday. Will comment more then.

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Looking forward to what you find Frank. If they are as good as Vortex Raptors at half the price, that's amazing.

Haven't received them yet. It appears that Adorama ships different products with different carriers depending on price. I typically receive their products withing two days. The bins are probably going to pop up tomorrow or Wednesday based on tracking.

here is the picture
http://www.celestron.com/c3/product.php?CatID=78&ProdID=600

Received the bins this afternoon. I did not have much time with them today as I had to take the boys to football practice.

What I can say basically mirrors the earlier comments in this thread. They are a superb value for this price. I do have the 6x30 Yosemite on hand and plan on comparing them tomorrow at some point. I can say this much. Optically, they impressed me in the way that the 6x30 Yosemite did with a beautifully bright, sharp, wide field of view. I actually think I prefer them to the 8x30 Yosemite. The 8x30 Yosemite always seemed to not impress me as much optically as the 6x30.

This 8x30 Celestron Nature will certainly surprise alot of people. They can be found for $55 as compared to the $90 plus that I remember the 8x30 Yosemite selling for. The sweet spot seems fairly generous and the field of view appears quite wide. I almost get that 'walk-in" type of view when I put them to my eyes. If they didn't have such a small exit pupil I think they would compare very favorably with some of the more expensive 8x42 models I have owned.

Couple this with their size and ergonomics. Their 18 oz weight is a blessing. You hardly feel they are there especially with their porro prism handling. The barrels seem longer than the Yosemite and comparable to the Raptor. I will compare them directly tomorrow.

I will echo that the badging is poor though. The little Celestron sticky-symbol was starting to come off within minutes of my taking them out of the box. For their performance and handling though I don't care.

Even at this early stage I have no problem saying that I have not handled any binocular at this price point that compares to it optically. The Nikon Action 7x35 is close but this binocular has better eye relief, is lighter and has less edge distortion.

I would certainly recommend it all the way up to $150. I will compare it to the Yosemite and the Zen Ray Vista tomorrow.

Frank,

I am heartened by your quick initial review, as you pretty much supported my observations - even down to the little sticky logo. Being a relative newbee and certainly somewhat technically inexperienced, it is nice to have some of my observations supported by others. That is a real tribute and testament to the many knowledgeable forum members whose insighful and informative posts have allowed me to glean a wealth of useful info. On this forum I have learned much more than I thought I ever wanted to know.

After my earlier determination today on the Legend 8x42 bust, I went ahead and ordered another pair of these before I read your confirmation. Figured I'd have a pair by the back door and another pair in the laundry room for quick looks out at the feeders and butterflies.

Well to be honest I cannot see why someone would not want to own on considering they sell for $55. They are so much better optically than any other bin in this price range. Even the usual bino-aholics that are discriminatory in optical performance will probably buy a pair or two of these. Why not? They cost less than inexpensive eyepieces for spotting scopes....less than the neoprene covers for some optics and, curiously, could be much more than anyone ever expected of them.


More to follow.

I took some time this afternoon to compare the Celestrons with the Leupold Yosemite 6x30, the Nikon E 7x35 and to a lesser extent the Zen Ray Vista (new version). I will break it down in a format similar to that of the original review above to make it easier to record my thoughts. My comments are going to be between the three porro models for now. If you want to know about how the Vista faired then let me know.

Size:

They are longer by about a half inch than the 6x30 Yosemites. From what I remember of the EO Raptors then they probably share the same frame. Ocular diameter looks identical but the eyecups on the Celestron have a little more of an edge to them. The weight seems to be identical.

In terms of focusing speed, etc... the Celestrons and the Yosemites are pretty much identical. If you like the Yosemites then you will enjoy the Celestrons.

Optical quality:

I will start with the best feature first:

Contrast:

The Celestron has better contrast than either the Nikon E or the Leupold Yosemite. It is evident comparing the two side by side. I would chalk this up to Celestrons choice of optical coatings.

Brightness:
The Leupolds appear the brightest of the three but only by a shade over the Celestrons. That should not be surprising considering the 2 mm difference in exit pupil.

Apparent sharpness:

The Nikon wins in this area. It is noticeably better than either of the others. I would rate the Celestron and the Yosemite as equal in this area.

Color representation:

Equal in all three. They all seem very color neutral though the Celestrons seem to have more "pop" because of the increased contrast.

Sweet spot:

The Nikons appear the best in this area but consider we are talking about a 7.3 degree 7x binocular in comparison with a 8.2 degree 8x and a 8 degree 6x. The Yosemite is more than acceptable in this area and the Celestron is equally so. I find the entire image very evenly illuminated and when you consider that we are talking about close to a 65 degree field I find that impressive in a $55 binocular. There is some field curvature in the outer edge of the image but it is only a very small degree and takes nothing away from the rest of the image in my humble opinion.

- Eye relief is good and eyeglass wearers should have no problem using the Celestrons.
- Depth of field seems typical for an 8x binocular and the "porro-3D effect" is evident

Negatives?
Well, the fit and finish is average as mentioned previously. Take the Celestron "sticky" off of the one barrel and you are left with a solid black binocular with the word "Celestron" in white on one of the prism housings.

Second, it seems I can actually work the focusing knob beyond the close focus. The close focusing distance is about 9 feet for my eyes. The oculars stop extending from the binocular body but the focusing knob continues to turn. Interesting as I have never had that happen in another binocular.

All for now. Maybe more comments once I use them a bit more.

Thanks Lilcrazy2 and Frank for the reviews. Having ordered a pair once already and been told they aren't available in the UK right now and probably wont be until Christmas, what you say prompts me to persevere. I will find a pair!
The fact that they're half the price of the Yosemites and Raptors is amazing. And especially good news if you are buying them for kids, given that they are prone to 'playing soldiers' with them and generally abusing them.

The 2nd pair arrived today from Adorama, and are going back. Out of the box the focus wheel was EXTREMELY stiff and turned and turned with no change of focus. After changing the IPD by opening and closing a few times, the focus wheel loosened up, but it seemed to have a mind of its own. One minute it is fine, next minute going haywire and allowing the wheel to be turned much beyond the focus range.

Still the same great optics - but it appears that Celestron is suffering some build and QA problems. I will order another pair as my first pair is perfectly fine.

I think product variation at this price point is going to be the biggest problem. The perils of having humans assemble hardware

Lilcrazy ... that wasn't a loose screw was it (the knob connects to a thread that moves the eyepiece bridge. There's not too much that can go wrong with that mechanism (mostly in the connections).

Kevin

Looked but don't see a screw anywhere - tried to gently pry the bottom plastic cap off which will turn but not pop off with any reasonable finernail pressure. The focusing knob is MUCH stiffer than the 1st pair. Seems to be focusing better now, it still has the same 3/4 turn from close to far, but with slightly more effort than the focusing effort, the knob will keep turning past close or far. ???

Also, another effect seems to have popped up with this pair, when I set the IPD for me and look out, it almost appears that there is a faint ghost barrel in a barrel effect at the outer edges

Crazy:

Your experience tells me all I need to know about this binocular. Look elsewhere, you can
do better.
Good of you to post your experience.

Jerry