Celestron AstroMaster 130 EQ Telescope
- Optical Diameter: 130 mm
- Max Useful Magnification: x 65
- Mount Type: Equatorial
- Focal Length: 650 mm
- Optical Design: Newtonians
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Decent beginner telescope.
Pros
Beautiful design - looks like a professional scope in many ways.
Cons
Cheap eyepieces, wobbly tripod. Good for beginners.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Good for a second telescope after that horrible refractor you got at some chain store.
Well designed and looks great - a lot of work went into making this look like a top-line telescope. Unfortunately, the underlying hardware isn't really capable of delivering what the design promises.
Two big flaws - the tripod looks heavy duty, but it's just a bit too wobbly to be useful. This scope is only good on solid ground when you don't touch it. And the eyepiece included - as well as the ones in the optional accessory set are marginal at best. They're supposededly Plossl eyepieces, but the quality of the optics is - well, they're little better than junk. The scope itself is OK, and with a decent eyepiece and tripod it'd work as well as any other 130 MM scope.
Celestron built a name on their top-quality telescopes and decided to cash in with a line of Chinese made reflectors like this one. If you buy one of these and expect Celestron quality, you're going to be badly disappointed.
If you want to check out the neighbors across the street then this scope will work well for you. If you want to take a close look at the moon, it'll do that, too. If you want to see Mars or the rings of Saturn - it'll do that, but not quickly or easily - and not well.
If you get the optional set of eyepieces to go with this scope, that'll bump it up a level and expand its capabilities. Not too much, though - this isn't a pro scope no matter how you look at it.
Two big flaws - the tripod looks heavy duty, but it's just a bit too wobbly to be useful. This scope is only good on solid ground when you don't touch it. And the eyepiece included - as well as the ones in the optional accessory set are marginal at best. They're supposededly Plossl eyepieces, but the quality of the optics is - well, they're little better than junk. The scope itself is OK, and with a decent eyepiece and tripod it'd work as well as any other 130 MM scope.
Celestron built a name on their top-quality telescopes and decided to cash in with a line of Chinese made reflectors like this one. If you buy one of these and expect Celestron quality, you're going to be badly disappointed.
If you want to check out the neighbors across the street then this scope will work well for you. If you want to take a close look at the moon, it'll do that, too. If you want to see Mars or the rings of Saturn - it'll do that, but not quickly or easily - and not well.
If you get the optional set of eyepieces to go with this scope, that'll bump it up a level and expand its capabilities. Not too much, though - this isn't a pro scope no matter how you look at it.
