I picked up this observation/astronomy binoculars at Argos for 123 Euro,today I was using it to look at a hen harrier that is always quatering the young forest plantation across from my house,the extra magnification is addictive,it was great to be so up close to the harrier,far more detail was seen than with my 8x and 10x binoculars,the view is quite sharp but not as sharp as my lower powered models,also the contrast is poor,there is no wonderfull vivid colours but excellent brightness.The view is actually quite wide and the is no tunnel effect whatsoever,the best thing is that it is easy to hold these big bins steady and you can follow a bird in flight with ease,I followed that harrier for several minutes which I guess would not be possible with a scope,so I am quite impressed with it and certainly worth the very cheap cost.
Windlord,
These 15x70 models are very suitable for astronomy, nature studies and short time freehand use of moving objects. I have as well the 11 and 15 x models of the Oberwerk brand, who are equal as the Celestrons but have better coating.
I think these binoculars come from the same chinese Kunming factory. They provide great value for the money and enable normal people to get big binoculars of a decent quality without paying a fortune.
http://www.binocularschina.com/
Regards, Patric