Fernglas Nightstar 15x70

Very good

( 5 / 5 )

I purchased this as my entry to the world of astronomy and astrophotography. I was expecting a lot more when I first started using it, but I was still mesmerized by the sights I could see with this pair of binoculars and stuck to them. I have them since April 2019 and I am writing this review on 30th September 2019.

Targets you can clearly see with the binoculars:
- Orion Nebula (very good, details visible, large image)
- Andromeda Galaxy (very good; when i had one night great viewing conditions I could see the core very bright and dust lanes; otherwise only the core is visible like a smudge of light on the sky)
- Pleiades (they look like beautiful jewels in the binoculars)
- Whirlpool Galaxy (faint, better visible with slight averted vision, the satellite galaxy can be seen as it is a bit brighter)
- Pinwheel Galaxy (faint, with averted vision)
- Jupiter and its four large satellites
- Saturn and its rings (the rings are a bit hard to make out because of the planet's brightness, but you can make them out flanking the planet)
- Beehive star cluster
- IC4665 star cluster
- globular star cluster in Hercules
- star clusters in Scorpio
- Trifid star cluster
- Bode's Galaxy (M81) and the Cigar Galaxy(M82) (averted vision and good viewing conditions)

DO NOTE THAT I have observed them in level 5-6 light polluted skies.

The 15x70 binoculars used in astrophotography - they are good for it. I have done astrophotography with them. The quality of images is not great, being limited to only 1 to 2 seconds long exposures with my HTC U11+ smartphone. I purchased a tripod and adapter to mount the phone to the binos. It is a very enjoyable experience, and even when you get a poor image ...I felt like I achieved something great! It's what prompted me to upgrade to a telescope this winter. Always used ISO 800 (maximum) on my phone to bring out luminosity. Do not expect amazing results, but expect to enjoy it! I posted the results of my Andromeda imaging to a astronomy and astrophotography group on facebook and the folks there were amazed on the result of such a low budget set.

Targets I could image with the binoculars and my smartphone:
- Andromeda Galaxy (got a very nice result; after stacking M110 and M32 became clear in the images)
- Orion Nebula (a good result, limited to 1s long exposures)
- IC 4665
- M81 and M82 (poor quality, but they are clearly visible after stacking, RGB alignment and stretching a bit)
- Lagoon Nebula / Trifid Nebula (by accident, with 8s long exposure, visible as a pink smudge when I zoomed in)
- Jupiter with Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto
- Saturn and its rings

It is very easy to set up the tripod and get some shots of the night sky. The hardest part is to properly align your phone's camera with the eyepiece and adjust the zoom. The binoculars must be properly adjusted beforehand (the middle rotating part between the eyepieces). I use a bright star to adjust my binoculars (usually Arcturus and Vega during summer; during winter I think Betelgeuse/Sirius/Rigel/Aldebaran/Capella/Pollux can make great targets to adjust your binos) until the image is sharp enough and the stars are clear.

Delivery was quick enough, circa 3-4 days. It took longer to reach me after it entered my country than it took to be shipped in from Germany.

PROs:
- powerful pair of binoculars
- can see many targets very clearly even in light polluted skies
- very good zoom
- can bring out details in bright enough nebulae and galaxies under good viewing conditions
- can adjust the eyepiece rubber to use the binos even with glasses on (i take my glasses off because it is more comfortable this way)
- does not take much storage space
- light enough to carry it while traveling with no issues

CONs:
- the lenses coating comes off after a few months of usage
- tends to collect dust in the hardest to clean places (i don't even try out of fear damaging the lenses)
- when you attach a smartphone to one of the eyepieces the collimation tends to change and troll you when photographing
- pretty heavy to use without a tripod, your arms and neck start hurting after a short while
- the image is not steady unless you have very steady hands or find something to lean your hands on
- a tripod is a must! I purchased the [Omegon aluminium tripod with tilt head, black] tripod two months later and an L shape adapter

Best regards! I am posting this review to astroshop in other languages too.