Earlier today (Eastern Standard Time) I got the opportunity, graciously facilitated by Eric Briggs of Khan Scope Centre in Toronto to review in-store the new Celestron C70 and C50 Maksutov spotting scopes.
These are spotting scopes with one very useful feature; the supplied 3x zoom eyepieces are removable by unscrewing, revealing a male thread (may be T2) that allows the attachment of a supplied 1.25" eyepiece holder (visual back). This allowed for testing with a 25mm plossl as well as de-facto eyepieces.
Celestron C70. The image holds up well with the zoom eyepiece (25-75x with this scope) but the view with the plossl was clearly superior. Focusing on a cable box on an outside cable against a bright sky gave a very clear, sharp image with no false color.
Celestron C50. This scope is so light it feels like a kids toy, but the view proved othewise. The de-facto eyepiece performed well enough at 25x, but there was some image softness at full zoom. This scope was transformed with the 25mm plossl; I had reservations about the contrast given the small diameter of the objective that appears to be less than the advertised 50mm, but the view was crystal clear and again, no false color.
These two scopes present a unique opportunity for birding and digiscoping. The ability to use astro eyepieces means the user can determine the optimal magnification for viewing and otherwise and also the quality of the eyepiece; imagine using one of these with a Televue or other high quality eyepiece.
Lastly, the cost is the best part of this review. Both scopes are priced less than $150 Can but can give Apo-like performance.
Rmel66.
These are spotting scopes with one very useful feature; the supplied 3x zoom eyepieces are removable by unscrewing, revealing a male thread (may be T2) that allows the attachment of a supplied 1.25" eyepiece holder (visual back). This allowed for testing with a 25mm plossl as well as de-facto eyepieces.
Celestron C70. The image holds up well with the zoom eyepiece (25-75x with this scope) but the view with the plossl was clearly superior. Focusing on a cable box on an outside cable against a bright sky gave a very clear, sharp image with no false color.
Celestron C50. This scope is so light it feels like a kids toy, but the view proved othewise. The de-facto eyepiece performed well enough at 25x, but there was some image softness at full zoom. This scope was transformed with the 25mm plossl; I had reservations about the contrast given the small diameter of the objective that appears to be less than the advertised 50mm, but the view was crystal clear and again, no false color.
These two scopes present a unique opportunity for birding and digiscoping. The ability to use astro eyepieces means the user can determine the optimal magnification for viewing and otherwise and also the quality of the eyepiece; imagine using one of these with a Televue or other high quality eyepiece.
Lastly, the cost is the best part of this review. Both scopes are priced less than $150 Can but can give Apo-like performance.
Rmel66.