The best telescope i have had to date. Sturdy, clear and easy to set up and use. Bought a full set of lenses separately and have since seen the rings of Saturn and lots of other cool things. Next thing i will buy is a solar filter. This telescope is awesome
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
This has turned out to be a good standard of 'starter scope' for moon observation, you can get planets but don't expect too much. Size of the tube is good, the mirror was spot on when I received the unit and the lenses provided are ok, move on to something a bit better and more expensive if you decide astronomy is your thing; the mount is a good starter one as well but there is a good deal of shake with larger magnifications when adjusting view. Top tip, although this looks easy to throw together from the box, look at videos of setting up equatorial mounts on youtube (there are loads); 1 this will make setting up for the first use easier, 2 minimize shake and strain on the mount, 3 ensure that both the adjustment extensions are correctly positioned to the rear so leftys or rightys can use (I have seen complaint about left handed people struggling with this scope). All in all a very good place to start, at a reasonable price. Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
Telescopes of this calibre need a bit of training and setting up, for a first time telescope buyer of this magnitude I would say do your research first, a minimum of 1 weeks study on the subject, learn everything for basic operation watch you tube videos, there are plenty of them out there ! if you want one for your kids get a go to mount and just get them to press a button its that easy for kids and fun, but for older kids like myself and a 'real' telescope for advanced users without the 'go to' mount i would give some training on maps finding co ordinates in the sky first its all fun "keep it real " T.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
As a telescope and optics expert, I had to get one of these to see what all the fuss is about! I have never been a fan of spherically figured telescopes, even at f12, and this one is only f8 (near enough). I had a look at Mars and I must say, it completely confirmed my suspicions. The flare from the slightly out of focus bits of the image covered the detail in the focused bit. So much in fact, that I couldn't see any detail on the planet at this close opposition. Shame... I really wanted to be surprised. It's just an average 130 that would be, and was, out-performed by the 70mm f13 refractor I had at the same time. Selling this scope I had no trouble selling to the gullibles on eBay! Even though I expanded on the woes of spherical images it still out-sold in both price and speed, the other two excellent telescopes I was selling - Even though they were BOTH much better that it was. These 1309s have a following it seems and people can't get enough of the mediocre things!!! I won't be getting another. I won't supply my customers with tat! For good views of detail on astronomical subjects - NOT recommended! What you need is a PARABOLIC Newtonian. A SkyWatcher 130P is pin sharp and twice the scope that the 1309 is - Sorry to say. This is average. The first Moon pic is 1309 - THe second is 130P THey are both as good as I could get!Read full review
Verified purchase: No
Love love love it. Set up instructions were easy and straightforward I had her together on my own in less than an hour. You will need to learn how to do this regularly if you want to transport . There is weight to this telescope which is to be expected with a counter weight setup. The equatorial mount was very new to me but along with the instructions there’s plenty of online help out there if you’re not sure about polar alignment. I’ve yet to use outside as yet but so looking forward to it
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
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