WWW.ASTRONOMY.COM^65mount the binoculars on a Celestron
alt-azimuth tripod (that I already owned)
for a first look. As with most high-end
binoculars, the Echelon has a threaded
receptor running along the axis of the
center section.
Once mounted on the tripod, it was
a real pleasure scanning the mountain
ridges some 20 miles (32 kilometers) away.
I could easily make out individual trees
and a prominent hiking trail. The image
was clear and bright from side to side.
As long as you can keep these binoculars
mounted on a tripod, they will be great
for nature study.
Inside the binos
Celestron has gone all out on the optics
of the Echelon series. These binoculars
use two prisms in each barrel. This makes
it possible to keep the length reasonable;
however, it also means that light must
pass through multiple glass surfaces
before it reaches your eyes, diminishing
the brightness.
To address this issue, Celestron used the
superior BaK-4 prisms — a high-quality
type of glass found only in the best instru-
ments — while most manufacturers use
BK-7 type prisms, which are of lower qual-
ity. To determine which prisms are in your
binoculars, hold them a few inches from
your eyes and toward a bright light. If you
see a squared-off field of view, BK-7 prisms
are installed. Alternatively, the BaK-4
prisms in the Echelon produce a nice
round field of view.
Celestron has also fully multicoated the
optics of the Echelon binoculars for
improved light transmission. The company
used its proprietary XLT optical coating,
which should provide superior viewing in
low-light conditions, making them ideal for
astronomical viewing.
Another thing that impressed me was
the extreme eye relief. I wear glasses and
have spent years perching them on my
head every time I looked through binocu-
lars. But while scanning the nearby moun-
tains through this unit, I found that I could
leave my glasses on. These instruments use
individual focusing for each eyepiece. It
requires a bit more effort up front, but
results in crystal clear images.
At night
The Echelon binoculars proved them-
selves under a dark sky. My first target
was a thin crescent Moon. The binoculars
provided an outstanding view of Mare
Crisium in vivid contrast, along with
many other features. The Hercules Cluster
(M13) appeared as a small, bright ball with
a surrounding sprinkling of stars. The
wide field of view also gave a rich velvet
background for M13. I was pleased by the
even darkness of the sky across the field, a
testament to the XLT coating.
Next, I turned my gaze to one of the
true wonders of the heavens: the
Andromeda Galaxy (M31). In the clear, dry
desert air, M31 looked like a wisp of cotton
against the black sky. It was easy to see the
elongated shape of the galaxy through the
Echelons, and the outstanding contrast and
wide field of view of these binoculars gave
me the sense of swimming in a sea of stars.
If you enjoy scanning the sky with bin-
oculars as I do, you can’t do better than the
Celestron Echelon series. Sometimes
there is no more satisfying way to view
the sky than with both eyes and
through high-quality binoculars. The
Echelon 10x70 Binoculars will give
you reason to spend many hours
doing just that.Celestron Echelon 10x70
Binoculars
Aperture: 2.76 inches (70 millimeters)
Magnification: 10x
Field of view: 5.3°
Eye relief: 21. 5 millimeters
Weight: 65 ounces (1.8 kilograms)
Price: $499.98
Contact: Celestron
2835 Columbia St.
Torrance, CA 90503- 328.9560
http://www.celestron.com
PRODUCT INFORMATION
Raymond Shubinski is a
contributing editor of Astronomy
who observes from sites near
his home in Las Vegas.Celestron
includes caps
for all four
lenses, a
2-inch-wide
(5 centimeters)
strap, and a
padded, hard
plastic case.The well-made
case will keep
the binoculars
safe from dust
and impacts.