Reviewers of the other NorthStar telescope models have done a thorough job of savaging these 'scopes, after a week of use I'd say things are not quite so bad as all that. There are disappointments to be sure, but the scope is not unusable.

The charge of bad documentation and a nearly useless website sticks. Totally unimpressive.

One disappointment (confirmed by a call to Bushnell customer service) is that the motor drive does not move the 'scope to keep up with the earth's rotation while viewing. I had thought that to be the most basic purpose of a motor drive.

As to finding and identifying stars and other objects, the 'scope will do that. The trick is that you'll need to be able to identify one, preferably two visible objects in the sky in order to align the scope first. The "Align Earth" mode requires one "guide star" (in addition to time and location information) and the "Align Star" mode requires two "guide stars" but not the time and location information.

Once aligned the 'scope will do a reasonable job of finding or identifying other objects.

I can't speak for the optics as the moon and planets have not been visible during my viewing hours this past week.

All in all, disappointing, but still fun once you get the hang of it. Bushnell would do themselves a service by upgrading the manual and website with better and more complete information.