Celestron Nature DX warranty (4 Viewers)

[ORKen]

A few years ago I bought two sets of the Nature DX binoculars for my grandsons and they were rarely used until I took one of the boys hunting this fall. I looked through the binoculars and saw that they were completely out of collimation. I thought there was no problem because this was in the Amazon description;

• UNBEATABLE WARRANTY & CUSTOMER SUPPORT: Buy with confidence from Celestron, a leading optics brand in California since 1960. Purchasing from an Authorized Dealer on Amazon gives you a Celestron Limited Lifetime US Warranty & US-based expert tech support.

I sent them an email and they had me send them proof of purchase, and after a couple more emails and a few more weeks they told me that the limited warranty did NOT cover collimation. They were of course sorry about that, but be aware that their "limited" will probably not cover any actual problem you may have.

 

[exup]

I thought it was common to exclude collimation from warranties.

That or the collimation warranty period is only for a short time when you first receive the bin. Most retailers would allow a return if out of collimation when first received.

It is common for porros to get knocked out of collimation, but I believe far less common for roofs.

Perhaps they have had a knock or two since purchase.

 

[beacon hill]

Warranty is 1st 30 days with Celestron with regards collimation. Gets a little more vague with one or 2 other brands. One says you are not covered "after fair use"

 

[ORKen]

My problem is that if collimation is not covered they should say something like "Limited lifetime warranty excluding collimation." In addition to that annoyance, the rep had to know it wasn't covered from the beginning but thought that a denial because lack of proof of purchase wouldn't be as offensive so he had me send screen shots twice.

 

[lizzy]

Hi, I bought a pair of Celestron Nature DX eds and they were £220 and they fell to bits after 2 weeks. Honestly the eye cup fell off. They were absolute garbage, I should have returned them straight away but got too busy with work etc and then left it too long.
I would never consider getting anything made by Celestron ever again. I've gone on to Hawke bins now and the quality is so much better.

 

[rajas]

I had a pair of Nature DX EDs that lasted about 6 months before one of the eyecups failed. Celestron honored the warranty and I got a replacement pair (of Trailseeker EDs since they didn't have the DX EDs in stock)

My original DX ED was perfectly collimated and optically pretty good. The build quality on this model isn't compatible with outdoor birding IMHO but quite ok as a feeder binocular.

 

[lizzy]

Buy cheap buy twice was certainly true in my case. To anyone that's reading this then I would advise getting a binocular with a lifetime guarantee like Hawke or Vortex or otherwise decent like Viking etc.
If you can afford to save up and get one of the really good bins then I would do that, but if not then as above. I wouldn't be messing around again getting absolute rubbish like Celestron. I know better now as I've learned by experience but its hard when you don't have that much knowledge about binoculars and their build quality.

 

[rajas]

I don't think all Celestron bins have poor build quality - their higher end Regal or Trailseeker lines have pretty good build quality. The Cornell Lab recently picked the Trailseeker as their top pick and after using one for a while I can see why.

At the price point that the Nature DX sell at though, I don't think any mainstream manufacturer provides anything resembling build quality - it would just not be possible and you will get a binocular that has many plastic bits. You have to start looking at brands like Svbony which do have the build quality but then you have to play the quality control lottery.