Celestron – EclipSmart Safe Solar Eclipse Binoculars – Full-Size 10x42MM Solar Binoculars – Exclusive Solar Binocular – Crystal Clear Views of The Sun, Solar Eclipses, Transits & Sunspots – Black

We used these during the 10/14 eclipse and they were absolutely the Goldilocks fit for us.They are affordable, light-weight but well constructed, and very much gave a far superior view to any of the glasses or other filters that everyone else had. We had no trouble at all carrying these around for ~3hours.We viewed the October 2023 eclipse from the San Antonio Zoo, and while we were nearly the only folks I saw with something more than cheap glasses… we were the only ones who didn’t regret not having these binocs by the end. At least a good dozen random people asked to take a turn and had nothing but good things to say about them.We did find that you really do need to open/close the distance to get dialed in for your eyes/face, but once you know to expect that shift it’s easy to quickly readjust. Finding the sun can be a challenge, but if you start with your eyes looking right below it, bring them up, THEN look at the sun, it’s quite easy. Alternately, physically point at the sun then bring the binocs up; the brain figures that out fast with HEC.Visual quality was great and we were even able to see sun spots!For the 2024 April eclipse we’re buying another (bigger) pair and will not waste any time with the old paper glasses.

The quality of the Celestron EclipSmart 10×42 Solar Binocular is quite exceptional. The sun focuses into a very sharp sphere and is almost rendered in natural color (just slightly bluish); the optics are excellent, which is what I expect from a Celestron product.Although I purchased the binoculars for the 2017 solar eclipse, these binoculars are also useful before and after the solar eclipse. If you are interested in following sunspots year-round, this is the least expensive way to observe the sun.Pros:- Excellent optics.- The filters render a pleasing color and level of brightness. You could view the sun for a while without eye strain (although, I recommend placing a shroud over you to block out the sunlight around you).- Smooth center focus control with right eye diopter adjustment (for people of eyes that focus differently).- Very high-quality design, fit/finish.- They feel very solid and thanks to the rubberized skin, easy to grip.- Tripod adapter mount! Unscrew the cap with the Celestron logo (in front of the center focus) and purchase an inexpensive Binocular tripod adapter. With the adapter, you will be able to lock its position on the sun to allow casual observers to view the sun without the difficulty of manually looking for the sun.Cons:- I am rather surprised that Celestron didn’t label these binoculars so that they stand out as obvious solar binoculars. I imagine that people will easily assume that you are crazy for looking at the sun with regular-looking binoculars. Or worse, accidentally encourage a less knowledgeable person to mimic you with regular binoculars. :-O- The filters are not removable… or at least, not easily removable. This isn’t necessarily a ‘con’. In fact, it is probably good that the binoculars have this single purpose, in order to avoid one from making a foolish and permanently damaging mistake.- Considering their purpose, it would have been nice for Celestron to include the tripod adapter.Overall, I am very pleased with this purchase and looking forward to using them in Wyoming, for a public viewing.[UPDATE]I have attached a photo that shows the EclipSmart binoculars attached to a tripod, using the Celestron 93524 Binocular Tripod Adapter Celestron 93524 Binocular Tripod Adapter (Black) . This little connector is recommended to make it easier to find and lock in on the sun for extended periods of time. I am also using a Gosky Gosky Universal Cell Phone Adapter Mount – Compatible with Binocular Monocular Spotting Scope Telescope and Microscope – For iPhone Sony Samsung Moto Etc -Record the Nature of the World cell phone adapter to connect my smartphone to one of the eyepieces.*EYE DAMAGE WARNING*Question: Why can’t I use regular binoculars to view the sun if I am wearing protective solar eclipse glasses?More than once, I’ve been asked if one can use regular binoculars to look at the sun if they are wearing solar eclipse glasses. I cannot emphasize this enough… NO, NO, NO! You cannot do that! Attempting to do so will cause irreversible damage to your eyes because regular binoculars will concentrate enough sunlight to instantly burn through ANY solar eclipse glasses. If you wish to have a closer view of the sun, you must purchase specially made binoculars, designed to filter the sunlight BEFORE it enters the optics. I hope this public service warning will save, at least, one person’s vision. :)*EYE DAMAGE WARNING*

Having played with both these Celestron 10x42s and some nicer plastic rimmed eclipse glasses Solar Eclipse Glasses – Plastic – 2 Pack – CE and ISO Certified – Safe & Durable Eye Protection – Viewer & Filter Eclipse Shades (which are well made and fit well over my prescription glasses), my opinion is that for solar viewing, I would much rather have these binoculars than eclipse glasses. Looking around at anything other than the sun with the eclipse glasses is uninteresting (for the obvious reason that they block out anything other than the sun). While watching the sun, I found light from the sides quite distracting, as others have noted, due to the small eye cups.To solve the problem of small eye cups, and stray light distracting from solar / eclipse viewing, add binocular covers, e.g. Alpine Innovations Men’s Bino Bandit Binocular Cover, Stealth Shadow, One Size or Bino Bandit – Water-Resistant Binocular Eyeshields to Block Glare and Reduce Eye-Strain- Alpine Mountain Camo They are much more comfortable than rubber eye cup extenders /eye shields and work much better. I tried a pair of such extenders / eye shields (these ones: AmScope EG-SM Microscope Eyepiece Eyeshields or Eye-guards ) and the problem, as many others have observed, is that the extenders have an asymmetric rim which rotates with the diopter and is difficult or impossible to readjust as one focuses the right eye. The Bino Bandit Binoculars are soft and super comfortable and work really well with prescription glasses.Hand holding these 10x42s in a test run was surprisingly easy, but I also got the tripod mount: Celestron 93524 Binocular Tripod Adapter (Black) which screws easily into the hinge point. We’ll see how that works out during the eclipse.I also agree with many other reviewers of these and the Lunt sunocular binoculars ( Sunoculars-Red with 8x the magnification of Eclipse Glasses ) that sighting the sun takes some practice, and one has to be careful not to bleach one’s retinas when sighting.I think that most people will not look at the sun long enough to actually hurt their eyes while finding the sun, however even if there is no danger it means that the retinal bleach spot needs time to fade before you can get the best view of the sun. It is annoying to try to pay attention to thesun with purple spots dancing around your central vision.So the best thing to do is to spot the sun, get your azimuth right and get the frame of your body perfectly in line with the sun, bring the binoculars to an approximate elevation *without* bringing them to your eyes, and get an idea of where the sun is first. Then look down, bring the binoculars to your eyes, and sweep up through the desired elevation to find the sun.

Safe to view the sun

Loved watching the eclipse in Oct 2023, waiting for the next one in April 8, 2024! Get a pair it’s amazing to see the sun safely!