The mystery of the Trailseeker ED 8x42's weight (2 Viewers)

[rajas]

I recently obtained a Celestron Trailseeker ED 8x42 (directly from Celestron as part of a warranty replacement.)

According to the Celestron website, it should weigh 666 grams. Early reviews seem to confirm this e.g. 680 grams here, 666 grams here, 655 grams here etc.

But the newer Cornell Lab review shows a weight of 733 grams. And my own measurement of my copy shows a weight of around 734 grams.

The box that my copy came in doesn't mention a weight.

Does anyone else have this model and access to a scale? Is this an error on the Celestron website (and older reviews) or did something change over the years (e.g. perhaps they changed the magnesium alloy used.)

(Optically, I don't have any issues with my copy - very good (but not perfect) collimation, no visible CA except near the edges, pretty big sweet spot, great build quality etc.)

 

[rajas]

Ok, I just noticed the same discrepancy for the Nikon Monarch M7. The Cornell review mentions a weight of 735 grams but the Nikon website specs it at 669 grams.

Does anyone know why this would be so?

 

[Binastro]

Maybe with a strap and caps binoculars are heavier.

With IS binoculars, batteries also.

Or maybe they switched to gold for the body material.
Gold is heavy, but soft.

The first thing I do when testing a binocular is to weigh it using calibrated scales, using accurate weights, usually 500g and 1 kg., which I keep in their original containers to prevent weight change.

There is also a difference in weight at different latitudes due to the Earth's rotation.

Other things often wrong are fields of view, magnification, real aperture, exit pupil size and eye relief.

Regards,
B.