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Celestron Green Laser Optical Kit
See it at Amazon.com for $199.00Average Customer Rating
(4.0 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First | + Share7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Excellent Beginner's Kit
(5 out of 5) by WolfyHP on Dec 12, 2007 (California)This is an excellent choice for the beginning astronomer. The 10x50 binoculars are on the lower power side of binoculars, but are excellent enough to see awesome features on the moon, Jupiter's moons, and some of the larger, closer nebulae. Binoculars such as these often sell for around $100 themselves so at $99 with the laser pointer and astronomical flashlight it's an excellent deal from Celestron.
The laser pointer is of high quality. While definitely not the highest powered laser pointer I've seen, it's certainly equivalent to many $70 models I've worked with. I am the president of the Central Coast Astronomical Society and I have found this laser pointer incredibly useful in pointing out stellar objects and constellations to the elementary school students for whom we do "star parties."
The flashlight is 5 red LEDs. LEDs have the advantage of never burning out. This thing puts out plenty of red light by which to see a star map, atlas, or the path you're walking on without destroying your night vision.
I highly recommend this as the first purchase for a beginning astronomer, or even as a supplemental purchase if you need the flashlight and laser pointer and just want to use the binoculars as a spotter scope.
The laser pointer is of high quality. While definitely not the highest powered laser pointer I've seen, it's certainly equivalent to many $70 models I've worked with. I am the president of the Central Coast Astronomical Society and I have found this laser pointer incredibly useful in pointing out stellar objects and constellations to the elementary school students for whom we do "star parties."
The flashlight is 5 red LEDs. LEDs have the advantage of never burning out. This thing puts out plenty of red light by which to see a star map, atlas, or the path you're walking on without destroying your night vision.
I highly recommend this as the first purchase for a beginning astronomer, or even as a supplemental purchase if you need the flashlight and laser pointer and just want to use the binoculars as a spotter scope.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Excellent deal
(5 out of 5) by P. Parameswaran on Jun 27, 2008 (flower mound, tx United States)This is a great buy and it complements a telescope very well. In fact you could buy this first and then if you find you are interested you could get a telescope and you will continue to use this package extensively even with your telescope.
Laser pointer works great in dark skies. The beam extends all the way to the star or object you are pointing to. However in light polluted skies don't expect it to work.
10 X 50 Binoculars have 7 degree field of view and are excellent to use with a telescope to locate the object you want to see and familiarize yourself with the immediate vicinity before looking through the finderscope of the telescope.
The flashlight is great to use at a dark site when you are walking around or hunting for something you may have dropped. For looking at maps, it may be on the bright side and I prefer the flash light with the 2 red LED's that has a dimmer switch on it.
All in all a great deal for the $49 I paid for it and it sees a lot of use.
Laser pointer works great in dark skies. The beam extends all the way to the star or object you are pointing to. However in light polluted skies don't expect it to work.
10 X 50 Binoculars have 7 degree field of view and are excellent to use with a telescope to locate the object you want to see and familiarize yourself with the immediate vicinity before looking through the finderscope of the telescope.
The flashlight is great to use at a dark site when you are walking around or hunting for something you may have dropped. For looking at maps, it may be on the bright side and I prefer the flash light with the 2 red LED's that has a dimmer switch on it.
All in all a great deal for the $49 I paid for it and it sees a lot of use.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Really Good Package
(5 out of 5) by Paul Garland on May 14, 2008 (El Paso, Texas USA)The binoculars are perfect for hand held astronomy work, the green laser works fine, and the red LED flashlight is essential on dark nights. Packaged together this is a great deal!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
I only paid $10, so I'm satisfied...but...
(3 out of 5) by J. Eppinette on Nov 29, 2008I only paid $10 dollars (after promotional discounts) for the kit, so I can't complain. But for the people about to pay full price, I write this review.
The binoculars are worth about $25, because they are not multicoated and they have very noticeable blurriness around the edges of the view field. I have a pair of Bushnell $60 binoculars that work very well at night and put the Celestron set to shame.
The metal, 5-LED, red flashlight is worth around $5 dollars and functions very well.
The green pointer works well for about the first 15 minutes of use, then the batteries need to be changed, because the beam gets weak. While the batteries are fairly fresh, the pointer works about as well as a 5mw green laser can. In order to see the laser beam stretch into the sky, you have to be within 2-3 feet of the pointer. That is fine for showing a small group of people what you are looking at, which is exactly what I wanted it for.
Knowing what I know now, I would not have paid the full price of $40 for the kit, but for the $10 I did pay, I feel like I stole it. The pointer alone is worth more than the $10, and the flashlight is just an extra value. The binoculars could have been left out of the kit in my humble opinion.
The binoculars are worth about $25, because they are not multicoated and they have very noticeable blurriness around the edges of the view field. I have a pair of Bushnell $60 binoculars that work very well at night and put the Celestron set to shame.
The metal, 5-LED, red flashlight is worth around $5 dollars and functions very well.
The green pointer works well for about the first 15 minutes of use, then the batteries need to be changed, because the beam gets weak. While the batteries are fairly fresh, the pointer works about as well as a 5mw green laser can. In order to see the laser beam stretch into the sky, you have to be within 2-3 feet of the pointer. That is fine for showing a small group of people what you are looking at, which is exactly what I wanted it for.
Knowing what I know now, I would not have paid the full price of $40 for the kit, but for the $10 I did pay, I feel like I stole it. The pointer alone is worth more than the $10, and the flashlight is just an extra value. The binoculars could have been left out of the kit in my humble opinion.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Very nice kit!
(5 out of 5) by M. Thompson on Aug 29, 2008I was very happy with this purchase. The red LED light is very sturdy and gives off plenty of light (without blinding you). Also, I was surprised at the quality of the binoculars - everything I've observed has been crystal clear and free of any optical defects. The laser is fairly powerful, but it can be tough to spot if there is ambient light (like the moon). I had some trouble at first but it was related to the battery; always make sure you bring a few fresh batteries as this laser can drain them like crazy! Also, if the laser does not power up the first time, let go of the button, wait a bit, then fire it again. If this doesn't work, check your batteries.