Best Celestron Binoculars for Travel & Safaris

I get quite a few questions from readers, where the answer is short enough that it does not warrant me writing a whole article on it, yet it would still be of use to other readers of BBR. Thus I have decided to put a page together containing these questions, with my quick answers to each of them:

Answer

Firstly great question, so thank you. As I almost always recommend when trying to choose between binoculars, the best way to start off is to draw up a table to compare their main features and specifications side by side:

	Celestron Granite 9x33	Celestron Trailseeker 8x42	Celestron Trailseeker 8x32	Celestron Trailseeker 10x32
Chassis	Magnesium	Magnesium	Magnesium	Magnesium
Water& Fog Proof	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Tripod Adaptable	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Weight:	20.1oz (570g)	23.1oz (655g)	16ozs (454g)	16ozs (454g)
Length:	5.4in (13.7cm)	5.5in (14cm)	4.8in (12.2cm)	4.8in (12.2cm)
Width:	4.9in (12.4cm)	5.1in (13cm)	4.8in (12.2cm)	4.8in (12.2cm)
Eye Relief:	14.1mm	17mm	15.6mm	14.4mm
Close Focusing Distance:	8.2ft	6.5ft	6.5ft	8.2ft
Field of View at 1000yds:	378ft	426ft	409ft	425ft
Angular Field Of View	7.2°	8.1°	7.8°	6.2°
Lens Coatings:	Fully Multi-Coated	Fully Multi-Coated	Fully Multi-Coated	Fully Multi-Coated
Phase Correction Coatings:	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Prism	BaK-4 Roof	BaK-4 Roof	BaK-4 Roof	BaK-4 Roof
Prism Coating	Dielectric	Dielectric	Dielectric	Dielectric
Extra Low Dispersion Glass:	Yes	No	No	No
Price	Buy & Compare Current Prices of Celestron Binoculars Here Includes online retailers from the US, UK, Canada & Germany
RRP:	$399.99 / £400	$239.95 / £260	$306.95 / £235	$322.95 / £235
Current Price (approx):	$330 / £344	$230 / £200	$219 / £171	$230 / £182

As you can see all these binoculars are fairly close in many areas, especially regarding most of the components and materials used in their construction. Thus I feel that because they are all of a good standard, you would not be wrong in choosing any of them for your safari, it just boils down to a few small differences and your own personal preferences/needs:

Granite 9x33 vs Trailseeker 8x42

Image Detail & FOV
With the Granite and it’s 9x magnification, you get just a little more reach and thus a little more image detail, although the difference is very small and not that noticeable, unless you are comparing an 8x and 9x binocular next to each other. Their Field’s of View (FOV) however are quite different and whilst the 7.2° that the Granite offers is very good, the 8.1° of the Trailseeker is superb.

This very wide FOV allows you to see more of what is in front of you at once. For birders this is often very important as it makes locating and following what can be small and fast moving objects that much easier.

However on safari it to can be an advantage as you just get to enjoy more of the scene without having move the bin about. I also found that when I was working as a safari guide, a wider FOV was an advantage when searching over wide areas looking for game.

Size & Weight
One of the most important areas to me when choosing a binocular for travel and especially safaris is weight, but especially size. Not only will a smaller and lighter binocular be easier to pack away for the plane journey, but they are easier to keep with you without becoming a pain whilst on safari.

So because the 9x33 Granite’s are on the large size for a mid sized bin, and the 8x42 Trailseeker’s small for a full sized bin, the difference between them is as you can see quite small. However the Granite is somewhat lighter.

HD Glass
The optics and the coatings between the two are quite similar, the main difference which is probably the main reason the Trailseeker is cheaper is that it does not have a ED glass in the lenses, which can improve the quality of the view by reducing or even eliminating color fringing.

However and as you can read in my review, just adding ED glass to an optical system does not automatically guarantee this and the whole system still has to be well designed. The Granite is well designed and they performed very well in this area, however I also felt that the amount of color fringing that I could see when looking through the Trailseeker was also very minimal and in my opinion not something you need to worry about in this case.

33mm vs 42mm
Because most of the glass used in the optical system and their coatings are so similar between the two, they will probably have roughly the same transmittance levels, but I would expect the Trailseeker to offer a slightly brighter image, that you may be able to notice in low light:

The objective lenses on the 8x42 Trailseeker’s are 9mm larger (in diameter) to that of the 9x33 Granite bins. These bigger lenses are able to capture more light. The lower magnification on the 8x Trailseeker also helps a little in regards to image brightness, firstly because thinner glass can be used in the eyepieces when magnifying the image which makes it easier for more light to travel through and because they will produce a larger exit pupil.

For more on this and if you don’t understand the concept and how it helps in low light, please take some time to read my complete guide to the Exit Pupil.

Conclusion
So if weight and size are very important to you, I would opt for the 9x33 Granite’s, but if you like the lower price, slightly brighter image in low light and much wider FOV that the 8x42 Trailseeker’s offer then this would be the right choice for you.

Granite 9x33 vs Trailseeker 8x32

Here once again and even more so than before, the two binoculars are very similar. In my opinion and especially for safaris, the lighter weight, smaller size and lower price of the 8x32 Trailseeker’s more than makes up for the very small loss in image detail because of their lower power. The wider FOV on the 8x32 Trailseeker is also a welcomed bonus.

Low light performance too will probably be very similar and not something I would worry about.

Trailseeker 8x42 vs Trailseeker 8x32

So if it was me and keeping in mind that these binoculars are essentially for travel and safaris, the choice comes down to the two Trailseeker’s:

• Go for the 8x42 Trailseeker if image quality, low light performance and a very wide FOV are really important to you and are prepared to carry about a little extra weight. Also worth mentioning is if you wear glasses, the longer eye-relief may be important.
• Choose the 8x32 Trailseeker if you highly value the qualities of a smaller, lighter device. Remember these still offer a really nice wide FOV, that will be more than enough for most needs, it is just not quite as wide as the 8x42 version.

I hope that this helps you in making your decision. If you need any more information, please take some time to read through the following articles:

• The Different Binocular Configurations & Which to Choose
• Best Safari Binoculars
• About Celestron Binoculars – includes links to all my reviews of them and details of other models they produce

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