I have absolutely zero background with telescopes but was able to get this one together and take a nice look at the moon. Out of the box, it was straightforward to assemble. Because it was already dark, I didn’t take the time to align the little finder scope but I still managed to focus the big guy on the moon and a few stars. The view of the moon was pretty solid, in my opinion.
When viewing planets and stars – even using the highest magnification objectives included – the scope vibrates unless you are very still (and maybe hold your breath) so the image bounces wildly. Also, the stars don’t seem to magnify to a size that is really more interesting to view through the telescope than they are with a naked eye.
On another good note, this scope makes it very easy to track a star across the sky as the Earth turns. It only requires the turn of a single knob.
Basically, I think this scope is fairly solid given the price. I’m sure I could spend 10X the money and get almost everything I could hope for from a telescope but I’m happy with this one.
For less than $150, this telescope is often a wonderful buy, considering you get such a big aperature. The equatorial mount is a lot more challenging to use compared to the altazimuth mount, but is much additional helpful if you wish to track objects as the move via the sky.
I would surely recommend this telescope to someone wanting to dabble in amateur astronomy, without having to commit plenty of funds. But this telescope possibly isn’t the best for a child, simply because with the complexity with the mount. The reflector will also require more maintenance (cleaning and collimation.)
When you commit a lot more time with it, you possibly ought to get the Celestron lense kit, and also get the clock drive.
This is really a beginners telescope it’s great for mostly moon and maybe planetary viewing . As all amature astronomers know eyepieces are a large part of how well a telescope performs optically, regrettably lower priced telescopes like this one have poor top quality eyepieces included. Personally i would not pay much more than 100ᇸ including shipping for this specific model. In the event you want a real telescope check out the celestron nexstar SE models 5 & above.
Pros: very good moon views
Decent tripod
Nice apperture size
All metal parts
Reasonably priced in the event you paid less than 100.00 inc. Shipping
Cons: images can be blurry with the slightest wind or movement
Poor high quality eyepieces
Viewfinder is useless
Slew controlls are plastic and flimsy
Optics are so so but for the price cant complain
Bought in Sept09 from a distinct site. Paid $1ǻ. No prior encounter with astronomy or telescopes but I’ve wanted one my whole life. I am a technical individual (function with and repair mass spectrometers for a living).
I only offer that info so you understand that this isn’t the easiest thing to get in to. You could have to want it. Try to read up on how to use a German EQ mount before you start. It will pay off quickly in the event you do. I’ve had trouble with numerous things but have always been able to make it function to some degree and it gets way greater with much more encounter. In my opinion the EQ127 is an excellent scope for the price. Yes, the finder stinks, the eye pieces you’ve to select from stink (only the 20mm is truly useful), the mount and tripod aren’t fantastic but they perform. What did you expect for $100 or $150? Bottom line is that it performs and isn’t a piece of junk. Jupiter and it’s moons are easy. The moon is insane (much much better with some shadows when it’s not total).
When you attempt to view it when it is complete or mostly full it will practically blind you mainly because the scope gathers so significantly light. You will want/need to spend another $200-$300 on accessories like eye pieces,filters, along with a collimator to really get into the hobby but this is a great starter set in my opinion. The eye pieces you purchase in the future will fit most much more expensive scopes. Concerning customer service and robustness….I thought my original EQ mount was broken after a month and also a half.
I opened a ticket via email with Celestron. They told me it would be $45 to send a replacement. They sent part of of what I required. I emailed them again. They sent me an entire mount without asking for much more funds. It turns out it was all my fault. There were adjustmets that I could have made that would have fixed the trouble with the original mount. Yes, they must have asked the right questions but didn’t, the bottom line is that it is fixed. It took a month. So what.
BTW,ł days ago I tripped and fell on top of the scope and tripod when I was moving it. I weigh 225lbs. It still performs. I guess it’s pretty tough and can withstand a fall to the ground (;) Now I’m sure I need that collimation tool much more than ever.
Before buying this scope I read all the assessments even though this scope a some negative reviews I decided to buy it anyway. I am honestly really happy with this scope I can see how someone impatient can get frustrated with it but if you do not have patience then astronomy is not the hobby for you.
Given that usually do not expect Hubble like images from this scope but I live about twenty miles out side with the city and so far have been able to se the orion nebula, lagoon nebula, M57 (the ring nebula), galaxies M81 and M82, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, Venus , and also the Beehive cluster. I personally am really pleased with the views from this scope but the max magnification for this it’s about 150X. given that you’ll nearly in no way be in a position to use the 4 mm eye piece mainly due to the fact of seeing conditions just aren’t beneficial sufficient.
So I suggest obtaining anywhere from a 7 mm to 10 mm eye piece to add to this scope other than that this can be a great scope and will show you some remarkable point in our universe.
I’ve got several refracting telescopes such as some of the Celestrons, but was never able to share my really like of astronomy with my wife – the refractors were just too fiddly for her to have enjoyment with. But with this straightforward, inexpensive and surprisingly effective reflector we saw the rings of Saturn as well as the false “canals” on Mars the very first night. Delightful!
I use this every single time now for just poking around seeking at planets and clusters or merely wandering aimlessly through the sky to see what I can see. It has brought back the enjoyable. If you’re searching for a solution to share your adore of astronomy with others, I completely recommend you get one of these.
I received this telescope as a Christmas present, and have been mostly satisfied with it.
Around the plus side: the optics are very good, it has a large aperture, a solid mount, and comes with a single helpful eyepiece.
Around the downside, the 4mm eyepiece is totally useless. It yields blurry images and is so little it truly is nearly impossible to look through. Likewise the 3x barlow lens is incredibly cheap and will only work with the 20mm eyepiece, and poorly at that.
A single word of advice: you might require to put a piece of tape inside center with the primary mirror should you need to collimate it correctly, which is needed for sharp images. Nearly all reflecting telescopes come having a mark within the center with the mirror which is utilised for this purpose. You are able to effortlessly find instructions on how to do this online.
That being said I would still recommend this telescope due to the fact it can be the most powerful a single you possibly can get in its price range. You might most likely wish to invest in one more high zoom (~10mm) eyepiece and barlow lens. When utilised utilizing my Ccelestron Powerseeker 127 eq using a high quality eyepiece, I have show my roommates views of great views of Saturn that “look fake”. A number of hundred craters are very easily visible about the moon when conditions are favorable.
This was chosen as a gift for a 10 year old boy’s birthday and he called to say he LOVED IT!!! Most excited response we have had for any gift we have sent him. His parents were pleased as well. I haven’t truly seen the telescope myself, but judging from their response, it’s a winner. We live 500 miles away from the child, and he asked us to go to our front porch so he could see us! Shipping was amazingly quick, packing was secure, so this was a wonderful locate.
Bought this has my initial telescope, not knowing if i would really get into amateur astronomy. Gotta say it served me well for what i paid for. Star pointer might be something of an hassle, but as soon as it is fine tuned it is usually actually helpful. The biggest disapointment could be the tripod. It can be definetely created for kids. I’m 5″9 and i often had to bend over to appear at stars. Rough on my back. Solve the problem by mounting it on my camera tripod without having any complications, trigger it has the screw holes to do it. Overall excellent enough for star watching and definitely good for the wallet.
I have been a backyard stargazer for several years. My quite nice 8″ Dobsonian Reflector became too a lot to haul to darker skies away from light pollution, so I have been indoors on starry nights for a couple of many years now. When a local camera shop was going out of company, they had a fabulous blow-out selling price on a Celestron AZ70 Refractor. I know two points about refractors
1) beware of flimsey tripods and
2) beware of extravagant claims of Higher Energy.
I very first noticed intelligent energy claims on the box (60X per aperture inch TOPS). The Celestron AZ70 suits all my requirements. It’s compact and light sufficient to transport easily, it has Great optics and a Really macho tripod and Starfinder with a bright reticle which nailed Venus in 1 easy try right out with the box. Absolutely the best 50 bucks I ever spent and I would GLADLY advise it to anybody for 4 times that price.
