Sorry you cannot see this table as your browser does not support iframes. Other models in this price range manage to create a more 3D feeling image that draws you in more. S whilst their FOV is sensational, their eye-relief is good, but at 17mm is not what I would call excellent. The soft rubber eye-piece cover or rain-guard is very typical in that it has two cups that fit over the ends of the eye-cups on the bin and which have a bridge that joins them together. These binoculars produce good images, but they lack a bit of clarity and brightness when compared to some of their main competitors. Tripod Adaptable
How can that be if they use a roof prism optical system? Binocular Harness
Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, For this reason, it missed out on an award and wouldn't be our top recommendation for anyone buying a new pair of bins at retail price. On the whole and on longer walks, I really enjoyed using these. Aside from a little purple fringing when looking at particularly bright objects such as a full Moon the Celestron TrailSeeker 8x42 remains optically impressive. The double shoulder strap that comes in the box both holds the binoculars more securely on your body than a standard neck strap and gives you something to lean against when you raise the binoculars to your eyes. We were also impressed with the extras in the box. If you already have a pair of these binoculars or manage to find them heavily discounted, we think the quality is more than good enough to stoke a budding bird-watching hobby. The harness connects to the binoculars in the same place and way as your neck-strap with a couple of cords that loop back on themselves after being threaded through the small rings located on the side of each barrel on the bin. For uses like around the garden etc, the neck strap is a better option, so it is nice to have the choice. This means at times you are convinced you can see it and there is a difference, then later on and in different conditions you can't and there is no difference! While scanning the fall night sky we had sharp and crisp images of the Hyades and Pleiades open clusters while the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) appeared well defined, if a little small at 8x magnification. published 15 November 21. Today's best Celestron 8x42 TrailSeeker Binoculars deals, We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices, Celestron TrailSeeker 8x42 review: Design. Our Editors independently research, test, and rate the best products. All trademarks property of their respective owners The included Celestron harness comes in it's own small zipped storage pouch which is great for storing them away when not in use. Traveling stargazers will love the Celestron TrailSeeker 8x42 roof prism binoculars that work well after dark and strike a balance between quality, affordability and portability. For a slightly pricier choice consider the Nikon Prostaff 5 (opens in new tab), which come in 8x42, 10x42 and 10x50 specifications. Neck Strap
Also if you fold the binoculars, their height increases to 7.5cm with the lens covers included. Showing all of the accessories included with the Trailseeker. Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! There is also a belt loop located on the rear of the bag, meaning that you can attach and carry the bag on your hip after quickly removing the shoulder strap with the quick release clips. This may seem like a small thing, but I can tell you from experience that not only are loose lens covers a pain to find all the time but are also very easily lost. This flap is fastened using a small plastic quick release press down clip, which not only makes it secure, but quicker and easier to open and close as well as make less noise when doing so than some that use Velcro or a Zips. Here I look to see if I can spot any obvious tinting of the image that you sometimes see, especially where cheaper glass is used. Absolutely. On the inside front of the bag is a quite large separate pocket, which is an ideal location for storing your cleaning cloth, keys, money etc. The central field of view is exceptional, though there is a little drift towards the edges. For a soft case, the amount of padding is very good and thus it will protect your bins from impacts as well as the best I have used, with only completely rigid or semi-rigid cases being better. And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com. However, when compared side-by-side with those of some other similarly priced models, it's apparent that these bins miss some of the minor details. Used when calibrating your binoculars to compensate for any variances between the vision in your left an right eyes, the diopter adjustment is made by turning the ring near the right eye-piece. Eye-Piece Cover
However, they are low profile and fit well under most backpacks. It's then possible to attach the small straps on either side of the TrailSeeker 8x42 to a clip on each side of the harness. Even though this is still less than some that can take 2 or more full turns, it is about a quarter of a turn more than the majority. This is more important than you may at first think because this is also the area on a binocular that gets damaged most often and so not only are these far more robust, but the whole twist-up and down mechanism is far superior and without any free play or undesired movement. It is in bad light where things can sometimes get interesting and bins with more/better quality optics and coatings sometimes come to the fore. Material on GearLab is copyrighted. Celestron TrailSeeker 8x42 review: Performance. Dimensions
I personally like this as you do get more of a feeling of quality and whilst it does a better job of protecting the exterior from marking and scratching, you do get a little less impact cushioning with such a hard rubber. Just about the only part of these 5.5 x 5.1 x 2 inches binoculars that isnt coated in rubber is the diopter ring, which allows the user to calibrate binoculars to suit both their left and right eyes. We took 15 different models How To Choose Binoculars For Your Needs and Budget. Particular to roof prisms and left untreated, the lightwaves that pass through it will come out the other side slightly out of phase with each other, which results in a lower resolution image that also has less contrast. With a diameter of 3cm, it is perhaps a millimeter or two shy of some, but is close enough to the eyepieces and protrudes up above the bin enough to make reaching and turning it simple enough. It doesn't make much difference to neck strain when you stargaze per se, but by getting your shoulders to take the weight of the Celestron TrailSeeker 8x42 at all other times it means your neck will take longer to ache than normal. Binoculars are probably the world's most used optical many binoculars with good optical quality. The harness itself looks well made, with good quality stitching. Great Value For Money? Or to express it as an angle from the binocular, they have a viewing angle of 8.1. Their stated width of 5.1in (13cm) with the central hinge fully open, close this and it drops down to 11.5cm. Best seen as an alternative to a telescope, these large astronomy binoculars 25x magnification and 100x objective lens bring objects closer, though youll need really dark skies to get the best from them. Also remember this sealed body also helps prevent even the smallest dust particles from getting into the system, which if you live in a dry area is just as important as waterproofing. So to be as consistent, impartial and subjective as possible, I set side by side the bin under review and my "benchmark binoculars" and weigh up the view between them in different conditions. Thankfully this is most certainly not the case on these Celestron 8x42 Trailseeker binoculars and to me the image looks nice and natural and apart from the added magnification, no different to my view without them. Celestron include a somewhat basic and generic instruction booklet, that contains the usual information on the parts of the bin, how to adjust and care for them. In such instances, its images turn into silhouettes significantly earlier than some of its main rivals. These have a reflectivity of more than 99%, but because of the difficulty in producing them and the costs involved they are usually reserved for the top tier, "alpha" bins and so it is a very welcomed surprise to see them used on these. However better quality optics, like these Celestron Trailseeker 8x42 binoculars have coatings of a phase correcting material applied to the prisms which eliminate this problem. That means a nice, wide-eyed view of the night sky ideal for looking within constellations and scanning the Milky Way without going too deep. I could not see any signs of this when looking through these Celestron Trailseeker binoculars. GearLab is founded on the principle of honest, objective, reviews. The key reason why the Celestron TrailSeeker 8x42 is good for navigating the night sky while traveling is its balance of a low 8x magnification with the 42mm diameter of its objective lenses. Even in the shade, it offers enough brightness to make out subtle color differences. The reason for this is that what you see through a bin can be very subjective and indeed can change depending on current conditions. Do You Want to Review Binoculars & Write for BBR? Anti-Reflection Coatings
Its also worth noting that Celestrons TrailSeeker range of roof prism binoculars also includes 8x32, 10x32 and 10x42 binoculars. Whilst the fit is good, meaning they are easy to take off and replace, yet wont come away too easily by accident, I do prefer the classier as well as sleeker look of lens covers like that which come with the Celestron Granite that fit into, rather than over the ends of the barrels. Weak points? To take a look at and see how well I think Celestron have done, please take some time to read my Celestron Trailseeker 8x42 binocular review below: Body Shape
In this case it's my 8x42 benchmarks and I conducted the comparisons twice, once in good light at midday and then once again that evening, just at and after sunset: Image Brightness
The chassis weighs 23.1 oz and comes complete with a rubber-coated magnesium frame that has a high-end feel. For something slightly larger yet less expensive in the roof prism category try the Opticron Adventurer II WP 10x50 (opens in new tab), which have larger objective lenses, 10x magnification and high-quality optics. No ads. To get the individual wavelengths of light to bend and behave in the exact way desired in order to get the best possible image, almost all modern binocular lenses are made from multiple pieces of glass that have different optical properties and that are very precisely shaped and then stuck together. Colors & Contrast
The prisms on these Trailseeker's also have a number of very specialized optical coatings applied to them, indeed as you will read below the quality of these is pretty much as good as it gets and matches that of the very best and much more expensive roof prism binoculars out there and I can happily say this is one area where Celestron have not compromised at all, unlike many others that do within this price range to save costs: Reflectivity
Its easy to grip and is completely waterproof, too, with the optical housing purged of any moisture with inert nitrogen gas under high pressure, thereby avoiding any risk of fogging on the surface of lenses. Rubber Armored
This along with the raised track on the rubber exterior also helps with grip which is not that important most of the time, but does make a difference when wearing your winter gloves. A pair of roof prism binoculars positioned above the low prices in the mass market, the Celestron TrailSeeker 8x42 combines a premium design and build quality with excellent optics designed to get the most from the night sky. It also has an attached wrist strap and so also makes it easy to carry about. The very close weave on the nylon and the waterproof Neoprene panels also mean that whilst not completely impervious to water, this soft carry case will perform as a very effective barrier against all but the heaviest rain. Particularly for the coffee addicts amongst us, this can vastly improve the overall quality of the image. However, it doesn't beat its competitors by a wide enough margin to be especially noticeable in normal use. If you want a stereo view of the heavens and you don't mind mounting them on a tripod, then the heavyweight Celestron's SkyMaster 25x100 (opens in new tab) deep sky-binoculars come highly recommended. Space is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Sometimes referred to as binocular suspenders because of the way two of the straps go over your shoulders, but instead of holding up your pants, these are designed to take the weight off your shoulders and keep your bins close to your chest when not in use, but always close at hand and easy to get at for when you do need them. I can describe the view through the Celestron Trailseeker 8x42 binoculars as being very good on the whole and exceptional within their price bracket. It takes the weight of the Celestron TrailSeeker 8x42 off your neck and onto your shoulders, making it much easier to carry them around and use for long periods. Although the TrailSeeker 8x42 are good all-rounders, 10x50 binoculars remain the sweet spot for stargazing. So considering that this Trailseeker binocular is much more budget focused and thus aimed at the more price conscious user, is already really impressive. What is uncommon to see within this price bracket, but is what Celestron have used on these Trailseeker's are dielectric coated prisms. Considering that binoculars are available at many times their price, the TrailSeeker 8x42 should be considered no more than mid-range binoculars, and yet they boast the kind of build quality that would be hard to criticize on a pair selling for a vastly higher price. However to produce a quality instrument that also has a small price tag is very difficult to achieve because you have to make some sort of compromises along the way and even though many try, many get it wrong. In this case I would suggest looking at the 10x32 or 8x32 Trailseeker models. The Celestron TrailSeeker 8x42s tough rubber-coated magnesium alloy chassis boasts a slim bridge and a lightweight build. Let me explain: The extra-low dispersion properties within ED glass only give the designer of the optical system more options to help them direct the wavelengths of light and they still need to be designed very cleverly to make maximum use of this added flexibility. Overall the TrailSeeker ED 8x42 is quite comfortable to hold, but the lack of features holds it back. Here I thought that these were about equal to my benchmarks and try as I might, I really struggled to observe one as being obviously different to the other. Under the rubber, the wheel itself I think is fashioned from plastic, which is pretty much what I'd expect to find in this price range. However that is not to say they are beginners in terms of being able to produce a quality instrument for looking at objects on this planet: Not that long ago, I had the pleasure of testing and reviewing the Celestron Granite 8x42 bins, that went on to win the award for for the Best Birding Binocular that year. The thin nylon straps thread through the loops on the sides of the binocular in the usual way and then connect back on themselves via a couple of plastic sliders that enable you to adjust the length of the neck strap to your liking. Add to this a lifetime warranty and the inclusion of a binocular harness, it is really impressive. Heres why you can trust us. On the down side, a single fastening point does not offer a complete seal as long Zip or piece of Velcro does. Let us know! So the use of a magnesium body and their all metal eye-pieces are definite signs of quality and like the coatings, not something that I often see at this price point. This is a good depth as it offers the lenses some shelter from rain, settling dust and from scratching cause by branches etc. However for a lower cost bino, this could actually be a really smart move as those that do use ED glass are not actually guaranteed to produce an image that is instantly better than those that don't. New York, These Celestron Trailseeker binoculars come with a whole host of included goodies, some you expect to find and some as you will see are a surprise, but very welcomed addition: Carry Bag
By For most people though being able to occasionally get a good close view is enough and for an all round 8x42 binocular like these, I rate anything under 6ft as being excellent. Each eyecup has a rubber cover and with a large 41mm diameter are about as comfortable as the better ones out there. Their stated dimensions are as you can see from the table above, pretty standard, if on the smaller, more compact side for bins with objectives of around 42mm. By twisting out the cups, I measured the length at 14.8cm and then with both the objective and eye-cup covers on it moves out to 15.4cm - which for a bin in this size class is still nice and compact. This design of prism is very popular because unlike the more traditional porro prism, the way they light passes through them in a straight line, means the designers can make a more streamlined binocular with the eyepieces in-line with the objective lenses. You help support OutdoorGearLab's product testing and reviews by purchasing from our retail partners. This did go away after a little use and I suspect this may have been just a once off, but it does show the difference in quality of the focus mechanism that you get between many cheaper bins like these and the very best. While we've mostly been nitpicking the downsides of the TrailSeeker ED 8x42's clarity, it isn't all that bad; it just doesn't stand out in a crowd. This is important because it shows us that the amount of light that they deliver is for the most part, more than what our eyes need and so the image you see will look nice and bright. While the Celestron TrailSeeker ED 8x42 performs relatively well and doesn't cost all that much in the grand scheme of things, other models cost the same and offer noticeably better performance. Anyone using spectacles, and indeed anyone after ultimate comfort and immersive views, will love the twist-up eyecups that offer a maximum of 0.67-inch/17mm of eye relief, though its possible to put them in three separate positions. Indeed I am still amazed that they have managed to include so many high end features, components and coatings into this product. However, we did notice a touch of chromatic aberration when moon-viewing, with a big, bright Hunters Moon appearing fabulously clear yet with a little purple fringing on its limb. So all I can say is that the ocular lenses on the 8x42 Trailseeker are 23mm wide, which puts them on a par with some of the biggest used on full sized bins and the large lenses or objectives have a diameter of 42mm as is expressed in their name. Click here to open it up in a new tab. I have also read that this also acts like a camera hood to prevent lens flair. In simple terms, this is a measure of how wide (or how high) the image you can see through the binocular is at a certain distance away. To illustrate my point on just how good most of the optical glass and coatings are that have been used on these, I have put together the table below that lists a number of 8x42 binoculars in order of price and which shows what optical components and coatings they have used: As this table clearly shows, these Celestron's are up there with the cheapest to have Fully Multi-Coated optics and the addition of Phase Correction and Dielectric coatings on the prisms is very impressive. These Celestron Trailseeker 8x42 binoculars have a FOV that is 426ft wide at a distance of 1,000 yards (142m at 1,000 meters). Whilst there is some blurring of the image right along the edge of the view, it is negligible and no more than the best in their class. Whilst the rubber armour itself is good, I did think that it would be better had it been attached to the body underneath a little more securely. - Most certainly, these Celestron Trailseeker binoculars come with a host of features and components that work together to offer a level of performance that easily surpasses their price tag and thus as a result passes almost all of their direct competition making them one of the Best Value For Money Binoculars in their class. The first thing to note is that these Celestron binoculars are "Fully Multi-Coated" which is excellent. Celestron indicate that the prisms are fashioned from BaK-4 glass, which I reckon, like the vast majority of bins out there, will be the BAK4 glass made from a Phosphate crown and not the more expensive Barium crown ones made by Schott that are only really found on some very high end optics. The glass in these binoculars is good, but not best of class. The Celestron Trailseeker's use roof prisms inside the binocular to invert the image, so we see it the right way up after it has passed through the lenses. Magnification: 8x I love the way as you twist them up and down that they confidently click into the two intermediate stops (four stops in total if you include fully extended and retracted), with a light but reassuringly metallic sound. The Celestron TrailSeeker ED 8x42 is one of many binoculars with good optical quality and decent construction but falls short of other similarly priced models. As I spoke about earlier in the optics section above, many bins these days have an element within their lenses that is made from a glass that has special extra low dispersion properties, which if used correctly in a well designed optical system can help to lessen or even remove the chromatic aberrations that cause color fringing that you sometimes see around highly contrasting objects in the view. Almost all bins within this price level will have a polycarbonate plastic frame, which besides from being cheaper to manufacture do have the advantage of being lightweight, reasonably strong and will not corrode. Whilst these are well positioned in that they coax you to hold the bin in the correct way and place so as to get a nice balance, they are not as deep or well moulded as some. The difference is minor, but this makes the image feel a bit flatter and less immersive. Angular field of view: 8.1 What are the best binoculars? Its best attached to the neck strap to avoid getting lost. What is more and as we already covered when talking about the eye-cups, the two fixed intermediate click stops will also help those eyeglass wearers get the right setting for their particular needs. There was a problem. Is this Trailseeker as good as more expensive ones like their excellent Celestron Granite binoculars? Congress approves International Space Station extension to 2030, Ukraine invasion's impacts on space exploration: Live updates, Earth's crust is dripping 'like honey' into its interior under the Andes, Strange, never-before-seen diamond crystal structure found inside 'Diablo canyon' meteorite, Asteroids' colors, shapes and brightness levels revealed in new Gaia satellite data, Your monthly guide to stargazing & space science, Try a single issue or save on a subscription, Issues delivered straight to your door or device. In general the quality of all the accessories is better than that which you find supplied by their direct competitors, indeed they match many that are far more expensive. Jamie Carter I can say this because in all but the very poorest light conditions, the pupils in your eyes will be smaller than the shaft of light coming from the binocular and so they will be supplying your eyes with more than enough light. However not everybody's face is the same and there are of course people who wear glasses and thus may need to change the setting on the eyecups to suit their needs. This one is plastic and whilst you can't lock it, there is just enough resistance to counteract most accidental movement. This is close enough that you'll likely be able to get even close-by insects in focus. The bag comes with it's own shoulder strap, which is un-padded and connects to the bag via a couple of quick-release clips on each side. I just wish that Celestron design the neck strap with quick release clips, which would make swapping between the two much quicker than having to re-thread the straps onto the bin every time. Get breaking space news and the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more! Some other models allow you to get even your own toes in focus, but these binoculars fall short of that mark. The amount and quality of these coatings makes a big difference to the way the light behaves as it comes into contact with each lens surface, with untreated lenses either reflecting away a large proportion of it, which vastly reduces the transmittance levels and thus producing a lower quality and dimmer view. The padded section is well padded (4mm deep) and has what looks like a Neoprene underside that offers a smooth comfortable surface that wont easily crease or fold which can make for an uncomfortable point on your shoulders or neck. Astro-travel is best done as lightly as possible, with the TrailSeeker 8x42s minimalist design making them a hugely more attractive option than large and heavy deep-sky astronomy-centric binoculars (such as the tempting, but very heavy Celestron SkyMaster 25x100 Binoculars (opens in new tab)) or a telescope.