Celestron SkyMaster Pro ED 15x70mm Porro Binoculars (72034)

What a View!

I bought the Celestron Skymaster Pro ED 15x70 binoculars as an upgrade to the Celestron "Cometron" 15x70 binos that I already had. I've had a couple of weeks to compare them side by side. First, the Skymaster Pro ED are much more solidly constructed and weigh significantly more than the "Cometron" model. They will be much more resistant to the bumps and jars of normal use, but a tripod is going to be pretty much essential for using these. (Fortunately, I already had one.) Comparing the two models one after the other on the Pleiades it was clear that the Skymaster Pro ED showed stars almost a magnitude fainter than the Cometron. The XLT coatings and BaK4 glass in the Skymaster Pro ED make a visible difference (pun intended). Comparing the views of Jupiter, the Skymaster Pro ED showed almost no on-axis chromatic aberration and a limited (but acceptable to me) amount of off-axis chromatic aberration - far, far superior to the Cometron. In the Skymaster Pro ED the gibbous moon showed a very slight colour fringing on the limb but it was not intrusive while the subtle colour shadings of the maria were obvious. My only quibble, to date, with the Skymaster Pro ED is that those with a smaller interpupiliary distance may find that the eyepieces are too close together to leave a comfortable space for their nose! Overall, I am very pleased with the Skymaster Pro ED and look forward to many years of stargazing with them.