Review on Nikon 7247 Action 16x50 EX Extreme All-Terrain Binocular: Unmatched Precision and Durability by Luis Norman

I really like these binoculars. I have used them mainly for astronomical observations since their arrival. The chromatic aberration is pretty low in my opinion. Some of the other reviews seem to complain about this, so given the relatively cheap price of these glasses, there may be a lack of consistency in the quality control process (hard to believe for a Japanese optical company). Binocular eyecups are included, and the depth to the eyepiece surface is adjusted by rotating the eyecup. It was weird for me at first, but now I like it. I thought there was a problem with the collimation since it wasn't possible to combine the images. Then I found that one eyecup was the maximum distance from the eyepiece and the other the minimum. The eyecups can easily get out of step, and it's common practice today to make sure they're properly adjusted before looking into the eyepieces. The light transmission is really good, and if you enjoy looking at the crescent on a clear night, you'll love the magnification and detail it brings out. The Pleiades cluster becomes visible and if you are far enough away from the sodium and mercury lamps and can see well you can even make out some of the fainter aspects. The Orion Nebula is also clearly visible on bright and moonlit nights, and Andromeda can be seen on darker nights. I could see Saturn's rings, but only because I knew I was looking at Saturn. Saturn is clearly Saturn through StarMaster 25x100 binoculars and you can actually turn Saturn into a disk with these 16x50 binoculars, but it is a very small disk with barely visible ridges on each side (those are rings). I have a love/hate relationship with the tripod adapter that came with the binoculars. If you are using a panoramic video head, which I believe is the best way to see the stars with binoculars, the adapter places the binoculars very close to the panoramic head mounting surface and you may not be able to move the optical tubes to suit your students . Using a smaller tripod head solves this problem, but there would be NO problem if the adapter placed the binoculars 1 or 2 cm higher. On the other hand, the adapter holds this binocular and all other tripod mount binoculars I own securely in place and they don't move once attached. For the price, these binoculars are great. Maybe I just got lucky and snagged a great pair, but judging by the number of 5 star reviews I'd say you don't have to be that lucky.