Orion SkyQuest XT4.5 Classic Dobsonian Telescope by Orion
|
Our Price: $239.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Digital Camera See more digital camera details and other models |
|---|
Digital camera reviews of Orion SkyQuest XT4.5 Classic Dobsonian Telescope
Digital camera Review: Great telescope for kids and adults
Summary: 5 Stars
We received the SkyQuest XT 4.5 about two weeks ago and we absolutely love it. My six year old daughter and I opened the two boxes, put it together, and within 15 minutes we were out in front of our house looking at the moon, start clusters, the moons and cloud bands of Jupiter, and the Andromeda Galaxy. It is big enough to see all of these things from a big city yet it is small enough to easily fit in a closet.
If you are looking for a light weight scope you can pull out of the closet on a whim, big enough to see the items mentioned above, and easy enough for a kid to use, this is the one.
Digital camera Review: Nice optics
Summary: 5 Stars
The telescope was well packaged but the installation instructions were a bit vague, especially when it came to installing the eyepiece. Other than that, it has performed quite well.Digital camera Review: Perfect Beginner Scope!
Summary: 5 Stars
After trying and becoming frustrated with department store telescopes, I spent a lot of time researching on the internet to find a scope that both fit my needs as a beginner and fit my budget. No matter how I looked at it, this scope kept coming out at the top of the list.
I've been using it for over a month now and have not been disappointed in any way! It is ultra-portable, gives great views, and took a rank amateur (me) less than an hour to assemble and align the optics, thanks to a very good instruction manual.
The small size is a plus for me. I keep it fully assembled sitting in the guest bedroom and pick it up and easily carry it out to the yard in one piece. I just lay out a blanket and sit on the lawn and observe - no need for setup, fancy chairs, or tables. The eyepiece is at the perfect height for my 4yr old daughter to look through (she has already gotten a few glimpses of the moon) so it will be a great tool for us to share. When she is a little bit bigger she will easily be able to handle this scope by herself.
A bigger scope will give better/more powerful views, but if you are on a tight budget, want something simple and rugged, or want a very portable scope, this is your ticket!
After your first view of Jupiter (and its cloud bands and moons) you won't regret this purchase.
---------
Update 1 year later!
I just re-read this review I put up, and can't reiterate it enough - This is a great little beginner scope!
Last fall I bought one of the books I recommended with this scope, "StarWatch" by Phil Harrington. Just last week, I completed the seasonal sky windows in the book - allowing me to see all 110 Messier DSO's all using this little 4.5" scope!
If a goofball like me can figure out how to use this scope and can use "StarWatch" to log all the Messier's in about a year - you can too! Its a great combo!!!
Digital camera Review: Perfect Starter Scope
Summary: 5 Stars
I did a lot of research prior to purchasing this telescope. I wanted to get my daughter something that was easy to use, durable, and of a good quality. One feature that this scope does not include is the ability to locate objects (you have to manually find the objects). For me, this is a positive feature; I want to encourage her to learn the constellations and the general location of objects to give her a strong base if she wants to continue astronomy as a hobby.
The telescope came in two boxes (the telescope in one, and the base in the other). It took a good hour to put together with some creative interpretation of the instructions which are not necessarily clear in some places. I think they tried to save some printing by including multiple steps in a single illustration when it would have been much more effective to have multiple steps showing more detail. However, the look on her face and the clarity of the moon surface was wholly worth any of the aggravation in assembly.
This is a very simple telescope to use, light and portable, well made, and provides hours of viewing pleasure of the night sky. I can't wait for her to take it out for a spin in an area with less light pollution (DC is bad, bad, bad).
Digital camera Review: Very pleased with this equipment
Summary: 5 Stars
I could say that this is a perfect beginners telescope, but being a beginner myself, I think that's unfair. This is a great telescope, because:
1.-It is really simple to assembly (took me 1 hour, but only because I looked twice or thrice to the instructions)
2.-It is sturdy but light at the same time.
3.-It is so easy to point in the right direction. To test it, I watched this year's lunar eclipse, simply amazing.
I believe my son (a five year old) will enjoy it very much, as well as I do. After all, this is a Christmas present for him.