Best solar eclipse binoculars: Celestron EclipSmart 10x42mm Porro solar binoculars review

The ideal blend of affordability and magnification when watching solar eclipses and studying sunspots

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If you’re looking for the best solar eclipse binoculars then you must consider the Celestron EclipSmart 10x42mm Porro solar binoculars. 

Perfectly balanced for both watching the eclipse progress and studying the sun’s surface, these solar eclipse binoculars combine manageable weight with effective magnification. The ideal blend of affordability and magnification, they allow impressive close-up views of sunspots while remaining comfortably stable to hold. It ensures a straightforward and precise focus on the sun, providing a bright, sharp blueish-white view of the solar disk. However, a minor drawback is the presence of both blue and yellow lines around the sun’s limb.

Compared to Celestron’s other Porro prism binoculars in the EclipseSmart range (including the 12×50 and 20×50 models), the Celestron EclipSmart 10x42mm Porro stands out as the best, boasting slightly enhanced build quality as well as being the most versatile. It shares several features with its counterparts – such as thumb pads beneath the barrels for secure gripping and basic accessories (the shoulder bag and lens caps are very average quality) – with one notable difference being the lack on this model of a tripod adaptor jack.

Features:
Magnification: 10x
Objective diameter: 42mm
Eye relief: 0.5”/12.7mm
Weight: 24oz/680g
Dimensions: 6.8 x 2.9 x 5.4” / 173 x 74 x 137mm