Description
About this item Quality Optics: 400mm(f/5.7) focal length and 70mm aperture, fully coated optics glass lens with high transmission coatings creates stunning images and protect your eyes. Perfect full positive telescope for astronomers to explore stars and moon. Magnification: Come with two replaceable eyepieces and one 3x Barlow lens.3x Barlow lens trebles the magnifying power of each eyepiece. 5×24 finder scope with mounting bracket and cross-hair lines inside make locating objects easily. Wireless Remote: Free includes one smart phone adapter and one Wireless camera remote to explore the nature of the world easily through the screen and take amazing celestial images. Adjustable Tripod: This telescope allows for many different viewing positions with a adjustable aluminum alloy tripod and a carry bag, the telescope and tripod can fit inside the bag for easy traveling and storage. Satisfaction: TWO-YEAR warranty. And technical support from our team of experts in 24 hours.
Becca K.Becca K. –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Beginner Telescope!
We got this for our kid’s 10th bday. She LOVES it and it is easy to use. Out of the box, we had it together and zoomed in on the moon in less than 10 minutes! We experimented with both the 10mm and 25mm lenses and they look sharp! I was surprised that the phone attachment stretched far enough to hold my iphone 11pro max! The bluetooth camera remote control shutter button paired with my phone and works well. We haven’t attached the DSLR adapter yet, (and didn’t notice the feature when comparing telescopes on amazon), but after I read it is an option and saw the attachment for it is included, we’ll definitely give that a go, too!For reference, when using the 25mm lens, the moon’s diameter takes up over 1/3 of the view. The attached photos were taken with the 25mm lens. On the day I took these, I couldn’t figure out how to attach the phone attachment to the telescope, so I took this while just holding the phone camera over the telescope. You can see the craters and everything! For a beginner telescope, this is great. The only downfall about this scope, is that when you are zoomed in that far, you have to adjust the telescope every 5 seconds or so to keep the moon in view. However, to get a telescope that tracks with the earth’s rotation, you’re going to have to spend a lot more-so for what you are paying for, this is a great scope.
116 people found this helpful
Jorge Herrera –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Beginner Scope
Purchased this as a gift for my wife. Neither of us have ever owned or used a telescope. Learning to aim the scope takes a little bit of time, but once you calibrate the “finder” scope, and learn to move the scope up and down, left and right with ease, it is well worth the effort. The imagery we captured of the moon has all pasersby in shock of how much detail we can see. We have learned so much about our planet’s rotation and the stars since purchasing this. I would not recommend anything less than this option to start.
One person found this helpful
Paul R. –
4.0 out of 5 stars
A lot of scope for the price
We live on a river where there are interesting birds hanging around 900 feet across the open water. We bought this scope to keep an eye on them (especially Archie/Archette, the heron who hangs out on an arched fallen tree) from a bay area in our kitchen. For that purpose it’s working well. It comes with an attachment that allows you to attach your phone camera and take shots. That’s worked well too. The scope collects enough light that we can see the birds clearly even on cloudy days. I’ve knocked a star off for the finderscope. Its mount doesn’t appear to allow for minor adjustment of alignment, and ours if off by just enough to be annoying. You can work with it once you get a feel for how much it’s going to be off. Overall I’m impressed with this scope’s value. You get a lot for ~$100.
Wilma –
3.0 out of 5 stars
finderscope
The finderscope base doesn’t fit correctly so the finderscope won’t lineup with the main lens barrel. we’ve had to put a toothpick under it so that it will line up!
Houston G. –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good stuff
Great beginner telescope.
3 people found this helpful
TylerTyler –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great telescope for beginners and price
Comes in a nice portable case , was pretty easy to assemble. The directions weren’t very specific when it came to setting up the camera attachment for your phone. You have to unscrew the silver part from the 10mm attachment and add the black piece from the cellphone attachment to both sides of the 10mm attachment. It doesn’t tell you how to setup the remote for to snap pictures. I’m going to try and take apart the 25mm attachment and try it on my phone. The cellphone attachment is also slightly difficult to work with the iPhone 12 pro max which has three camera lenses. I would recommend setting it up inside first and looking through your camera to see how it reacts when you zoom and your phone switches to a different lens. Here are some pictures I snapped tonight of the moon with the IPhone 12pro with the 10mm attachment.
2 people found this helpful
M.D.U. –
2.0 out of 5 stars
swing and a miss!
With so many good reviews I’m wondering if I got a dud. The overall unit was missing some hardware, but I figured out how to make it work. I set it up and started with the 25mm lens. It works good! As others note in reviews, its hard to get this unit to shift slightly to see objects (up/down and left/right). At first, it was so hard to move that I really had to push on it hard. Then, it loosened so much it didn’t hold itself up. I removed some covers to access the hex bolt that tightens the unit. It has a design flaw that will loosen itself as you move it up and down. If you don’t move it, its fine.I tried to combine this with the 3x Barlow lens. Impossible to focus clearly. Clearly it is a very cheap lens.I moved to the 10mm lens. I couldn’t get it to focus. I spent a long time working on it, researched the internet, and ultimately noticed there is a small bubble in the edge of the lens. I’m no expert on optics, but I know enough that small imperfection can have big issues. After about an hour of working on it, I decided to move on.Finally, the 5mm lens! This was supposed to be the exciting lens that gets you closest to the stars! Like the 10mm, this one had a bubble in the lens and is impossible to focus. About 30 min of working at it to no avail.While the 25mm works great, 1 of 3 lenses working is ridiculous. The Barlow lens is cheap and pointless. While I don’t expect an amazing telescope at this price point, it should be decent for a beginner. This one missed the mark and will be returned.
28 people found this helpful
Tia –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Unable to use to fully review. *Great customer service*
Super upset with this item. I bought this for my husband because he’s always wanted one so I decided to buy him this one as a beginner. Not one but two of the lenses popped out of the lens holder so he was never actually able to use it. This product isn’t cheap just to buy and it fall apart.**Update**So update, the company was really helpful in reaching out about the lenses. I appreciate buisness reaching out to customers when there is a problem with the merchandise. They compensated the loss on the lenses as well as advised that they where working on switching over to a different manufacturer. So in appreciation for there decent customer service I’m changing my review from one star to 4. Perhaps the one I got was just faulty but if you have the same problem I did this company is really good with helping out.
2 people found this helpful
Michael –
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Telescope
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Gskyer is a super reliable and great brand of telescope to go with. Buy it! You won’t regret it!
10 people found this helpful
Aliyah Wickham –
3.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointed
I bought this telescope last December but didn’t get to enjoy its usage since I live in the city and my local park was not dark enough to allow me to see the stars my first time setting up. I didn’t get to use it on my vacation to the mountains late this summer. Again, I followed directions and set up as I did the 1st time. However, to attach the lens proved impossible because the screw won’t go through and tighten the lens to keep it place and allow usage. I tried with both 10mm & 25mm lens but none stayed in place because the screw won’t go through to tighten but would go through the he when no lens is in place. Disappointed is an understatement 😪. Not only is the telescope now useless but it’s pass the time for me to request a replacement or refund or anything. My kids and I were so eager to finally get a closer look at the stars, moon etc but now nothing.On another note, it was pretty easy and straightforward to set up the telescope.
3 people found this helpful
ChooaChooa –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great!
“Impressive optics and sturdy build! I’ve seen planets and star clusters clearly. Excellent value for the price. Very satisfied!”
Jessica –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Telescope
Love this telescope! Hooks up to our phone and we’ve taken fantastic photos of the moon! Great quality and great price!
Jinshan TuJinshan Tu –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great experience
Not as heavy as imagined, very light, can be easily carried around, and the quality is very good
Amazon Customer –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good
Kids love it
M Santiago –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gift
My nephew loved his telescope! Made the perfect birthday gift.
BlankFrank –
4.0 out of 5 stars
For the money, this is a great place to start exploring the sky around us.
I bought this as a gift for my grandkids and the intent was to allow them to witness the “Christmas Star”, the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn on December 21. The plan was to capture the event nightly from December 19 through December 22.Receiving and unboxing the telescope was pretty straightforward. The instructions were somewhat trying, but given that there were only a few “moving parts” it was easy enough to figure out. The only problem we encountered was that the adapter for allowing the telescope to connect to a smartphone was missing half of the adapter and we could not connect a phone to the telescope. No idea why the part was missing. We unboxed the telescope on our dining room table and when we discovered the part was missing we had no less than 5 adults searching for it, to no avail. We didn’t lose the part, we just never had it. That was disappointing when you consider that being able to attach a phone was one of the primary reasons for selecting Gysker and we lost our opportunity for the grandkids to record their witness of the grand event.Setting that bit aside, the telescope worked wonderfully. It was easy to set up, with all of the [available] parts fitting nicely into the supplied carrying case. We transported the telescope to our observation area and the telescope set up easily. The ‘spotter’ scope allowed us to get on target quickly and the aperture and zoom features allowed for a spectacular view, including many of the moons surrounding the planets. We even used the spotting scope and a smartphone app to align the telescope with other stars for equally breathtaking views and we spent about 2.5 hours searching out various objects in the night sky each time we went out. (From dark until bedtime).The grandkids (10, 9 and 7) really took to the telescope, learning how to use the various parts and functions rather quickly, even to the point that they could select and observe a star on their own. The tripod was solid and held a stable image and everything, sans phone adapter, worked very well.If I was rating just the telescope on cost to function-ability, I would rate the Gysker telescope 10 stars. It is a very good telescope for the money and since we wanted the kids to get excited about the night sky, this was a great purchase. The ONLY disappointment was because I specifically chose this telescope because we could attach a smartphone to record an event that only happens every 800 years and then was unable to do exactly that, well, it was a real letdown.Even at that, I would tell anyone wanting to start amateur exploration of the sky that this is still a great telescope for the money.
85 people found this helpful
Marty Conquest –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Size, great for travel
The mobility of the telescope, nice travel bag and informative brochure.
Tina L –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Value, Good for Beginners, Some Minor Improvements Recommended
A great starter kit! Finally got to use it for the lunar eclipse and super moon last night so decided to write the review now.Firstly, there was a slight mishap during shipping or maybe it could have been a defect coming in, but can’t tell. There was a dent on one of the tripod legs. Not a biggie for me, but wanted to rate this fairly.The kit came complete, took a few minutes to assemble, actually quite easy esp with the visual instructions. But maybe it would have been better to have some basic instructions on the actual usage and tips to experience your first view of the skies. There’s a lot of info on the internet, but it would have been best to have it specific to this scope. For a beginner, I believe that’s key rather than having to do research and figuring out themselves how to apply those information to this specific scope.I still have to figure out how to use the barlow effectively. For now, I was only able to use the 10mm and 25mm. The quality and resolution were fantastic. Even with the 25mm, I could see the moon’s crater clearly on the clear day. I’m excited to try this out on a more zoomed view and try to find other objects in the sky.Mobile phone holder was a bit hard to align but eventually figured it out especially if the smartphone used has multiple cameras. It also took a while to understand that the distance of the phone and the lens matters, so as to avoid reflections or blurred outcomes. This information could have been useful if included.Material wise, the whole scope setup is quite flimsy and unstable. With its lightweight feature, this makes it difficult to keep the scope in place. A bit of a tap on setup will move the scope away from your view, there needs to be a bit of weight for stability which is compromised by the lightweight feature unfortunately. The knobs and lever for adjusting are also a bit too rough if you’re wanting to make small movements.Lastly, I love that it’s so portable and easy to bring alone, very lightweight and folds up easy without having to disassemble anything much.Overall, it’s a great beginner scope for the price. It does its job.
12 people found this helpful
Nicholas Vanlangendonck –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Customer Service
The base broke on my gskyer and it looks replaceable so I emailed gskyer. I also called but didn’t get an answer. Looks like the way to get a hold of them is through Amazon. Once they learned of my broken mount they sent me an entirely new telescope with all accessories. It even showed up within a few days.
4 people found this helpful
chile82671 –
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not user friendly
Had a tough time with this, to focus was not easy. And the legs for me are way to short.
Feiqi AnFeiqi An –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great
Incredible clarity and detail! Perfect for stargazing. The setup was easy, and the quality exceeded my expectations. Highly recommended!
One person found this helpful
jen86 –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Aperture matters more than magnification
I bought this knowing nothing about telescopes and not knowing what I could expect to see through this thing.Now I know more, I think this is a decent value, but it comes with A LOT of cons.In telescopes, the aperture size matters much more than magnification. The bigger the aperture, the better the image will be. This is a 70mm aperture (2.75 inches), which is about as small as you can get. It’s typical for an “entry-level” telescope, and a decent value for the money if you want to get into stargazing without dropping 500 bucks or more on a bigger scope.However, if I could do it over again, I would’ve spent more and gone with a better one.First, as with all beginner telescopes, it is actually much harder to use than a more intermediate level one. This is something well-known in the amateur astronomy group I’ve joined, and they never, EVER recommend buying a beginner telescope, ESPECIALLY for kids.Because most kids like looking AT stuff more than looking FOR it. And with this telescope, far more time is spent hunting for objects than actually looking at them.My kid doesn’t have the patience or attention span for that, but I rather enjoy the challenge, so I do it. Which brings me to the next problem.This is made for kids. As such, the stand is very short. Which means that all the time you spend hunting for things, you’ll having to be hunched over, crouched down, or kneeling on the ground.And if you live in a place with a lot of light pollution, you won’t be able to see much more than stars, the Moon, or the brightest planets. Even Mars is difficult to see through this telescope, and you can’t make out any detail whatsoever on the surface.You can make out SOME faint detail on Jupiter, especially if you go away from light pollution on a clear, moonless night. And you can just make out Saturn’s rings.Venus, on the other hand, is very easy to see. Especially now, near the end of April 2020, it is the brightest it’ll be all year, so we’ve been looking at it every night. It’s too bright, even at its dimmest, to make out any detail, but you can see what phase it’s in.Galaxies, most nebulas, and many star clusters are beyond the ability of this telescope, but that being said, I was able to see a planetary nebula called The Ghost of Jupiter last night.For perspective, I’ve had a few weeks of use and practice, and feel comfortable with the telescope, and have a number of apps, charts, and star maps to help me find things, and it STILL took over an hour for me to finally find it, put it close enough to the center of my field of view to use with max magnification, and put it in focus.And even then, it looked like a hazy, bluish star. We couldn’t make out any detail or the distinctive eye-shape that can be seen with even slightly larger scopes.Still, it was cool and the kid loved it. I consider it worth the effort, but my back is killing me today.Don’t get me wrong, for an entry-level telescope, this is good. It’ll serve our needs while we save up for an upgrade. But, like all entry-level telescopes, this is harder to use and not powerful enough to see much.All the time required to hunt for things, for what many may consider a disappointing result, could potentially end up killing a kid’s enthusiasm.If you absolutely MUST get an entry-level telescope, this is a good choice. But if at all possible, save up and get a larger aperture.
3,933 people found this helpful
Gordon –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good optics, poor tripod.
The OTA is pretty good and the objective lens is a typical doublet. The finder scope is Ok and fully adjustable for alignment with the OTA. But the tripod, while it looks nifty, is poorly implemented. The control is stiff and the legs are not stable. The included eyepieces are hardly usable, so get some better ones if you wish to get good performance from this telescope. A 15mm eyepiece will yield a pretty fair 40X. The barlow multiplier included is useless. A 5mm eyepiece would yield 120X, but that is really pushing the capability of the objective lens, so don’t bother trying it! A decent 10mm Plossl eyepiece is about the max at 60X for this telescope. You can get a lot of excellent viewing with care and patience using this telescope.
RoutingRouting –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome!!
This telescope is especially novice friendly, easy to operate, and can see the surface of the moon,highly recommend!
telescopetelescope –
5.0 out of 5 stars
good
This telescope delivers stunning views of the night sky! Great for beginners, and the portability is a big plus. Love it!
Atyoukha –
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Entry-Level Refractor for Stargazing
The Gskyer 70mm Telescope is a solid choice for beginners eager to explore the night sky. With a 70mm aperture and 400mm focal length, it provides clear and bright views of celestial objects, ideal for stargazing and lunar observation. The AZ mount ensures stable and straightforward tracking, and the included accessories enhance the viewing experience. While it offers good performance for its price, some users might find the overall build and optics a bit basic. Still, it remains a valuable entry-level tool for amateur astronomy.
3 people found this helpful
jose adrian garcia –
5.0 out of 5 stars
xcellent entry-level telescope
Incredible clarity and detail! Perfect for both beginners and seasoned astronomers. Highly recommend for stargazing and lunar observations!
Rich Morey –
1.0 out of 5 stars
Don’t Bother
I wanted to wait to review this item until I had a chance to use it a few times and now that I have here is my review.This is a very simple telescope and not very well constructed. The assembly for focusing the telescope was “broken” when the item arrived. I say broken in that a piece had come detached and I was able to take apart the whole thing and put it back together. It worked for a while but came apart again tonight as I was trying to look at the full moon so I could not change the focus on the telescope.In addition to the poor construction / assembly of the telescope itself the tripod the ships with the telescope is very poor as well. The tightening mechanism on the tripod is either “LOCKED” or “COMPLETELY LOOSE” and the difference between those two states is barely a twist on the tightening knob. As such, trying to find an object in the sky and then lock the telescope in place is a crap shoot as everything easily moves up and down / left to right including drift when tightening the tripod.I bought this item on sale on Prime Day so the expense was not great but even so its frustrating at how poorly the equipment performed.3/23/2021 UPDATE — Company e-mailed me and tried to basically bribe me to remove this review by offering me $10 because they have “changed to another manufacturer to ensure the better quality and service.” I told them to make better products and they would get better reviews!
684 people found this helpful
KeilaKeila –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nice telescope for beginners
Nice telescope for beginners that want to explore but don’t want to invest too much money. Love the bag has space to carry and store everything together and love the phone attachment. Took nice moon shots with it!
One person found this helpful
ZshZsh –
5.0 out of 5 stars
a nice shopping experience!
Wow! This telescope is really worth it, I can see the moon, Jupiter
Gregory M DoppGregory M Dopp –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nice beginner telescope
The telescope is a great beginner scope. Very easy to put together. For a beginner, using it to find objects is not easy at first. I found that the obvious way is to find the moon to get an idea how to focus. My only difficult issue was with the phone camera adapter not really that functional and very hard to get lined up with the eyepiece to get clear photos. I was able to get some moon shots. It is not easy in the dark to line up the phone camera lens and the adapter. Also the plastic adapter threads are easy to cross thread which may lead to the mis-alignment of the eyepiece. Overall a nice product to jump into surveying the stars.
2 people found this helpful
Kelly –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beginner
It’s nice. Great for what I needed. The quality of the microscope is good.
Katie –
1.0 out of 5 stars
Do not buy! Don’t waste your money like me.
I was so excited to purchase this especially for the price. My inner little child has always wanted one and I thought with my impulse buy I would finally have one. I tried it out recently when Saturn was in the sky but spent about 2 hours trying to figure it out. I watched video after video with no lucky and finally deemed that it was too low a quality for planted. I waited for the moon to be up and spent an hour trying to focus with no luck. I am so disappointed with this telescope.
83 people found this helpful
Salina –
5.0 out of 5 stars
So clear
I was highly impressed with our first telescope. The view was so clear. My kids use it nightly to search the skies for stars and planets
Stan G. –
1.0 out of 5 stars
Focus and azimuth adjustments very poor quality.
The optics/lenses on this telescope seem fine. What breaks the deal is the fact that the poor focusing and azimuth (vertical) adjustments are basically non-functional. To locate and view distant objects you need smoothly-functioning adjustments. With this telescope the mechanisms are so stiff that the entire tripod moves when you try to adjust the azimuth. The focusing mechanism is also difficult to adjust, and does not work smoothly or accurately.Both of these mechanisms could easily have been built in acceptable ways. I should also add that the customer service phone and email contacts for the manufacturer are also non-functional! I was never able to reach that company.
85 people found this helpful
L. O. BranchL. O. Branch –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very well priced beginners/kids telescope
I purchased the Gskyer Telescope, 70mm Aperture 400mm AZ Mount Astronomical Refracting Telescope, to replace a Meade Polaris 90 mm that after 12 years I gave away because I was tired of seeing it in my living room. The Gskyer 70mm took care of that problem. It is so easy to put together, enjoy, and then put away in its included bag, that I have been using it almost daily. With my old telescope you could not do that, once it was put together, it was put together for good. The Gskyer is perfect to watch the moon, Jupiter with some of its moons, and even Saturn’s rings. We have been able to watch a couple of star clusters as well. The Gskyer is also good for land objects. You can see the grass blades from the other side of the pond, as well as, birds in the bird feeder through the window with open shades and bug screen in place. For a kid’s very well priced telescope we have been enjoying it a lot.
138 people found this helpful
Trixie –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Terrible tripod, otherwise nice little telescope for the price
I live close to a city and don’t generally get a good view of stars because of the light pollution. So I wanted something inexpensive and easily portable, so I could look at the moon or occasionally take it a little further away from the city for some better views. This fit the bill and works pretty well, but the tripod it comes with is awful. It’s almost impossible to tighten it into position once you’ve got the something in view. The side-to-side swivel tightens okay, but the up and down is terrible. It always sags down a little from whatever position you try to lock it into. It’s rather frustrating. So, if you really want to enjoy this telescope, keep in mind that you might find yourself spending another $30 or $40 on a better tripod after you get it.
One person found this helpful
Cory Miller –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent for the family
Love it so so much! Great telescope
Brian –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Looks like about what I expected
We haven’t had an opportunity to use the telescope yet so I cannot tell you if my 6-year old will be able to see the moon or not. The sole purpose of this gift is to determine if there is an interest in star gazing, in which case a $300-$500 telescope will be next. The unit is about what you should expect for sub-$100 telescope. Everything was in the box and directions were good enough to get parts put together. We gazed at trees in daylight and everything seems to be in order. Could use better instructions and/or a link to some sort of web page with basics for beginners. I can find that elsewhere but would have been nice for it to be included and would have resulted in 5 stars from me.
jlu –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Just assembled haven’t used yet
12/25/2020Wow I can find the moon and stars through the finder scope but not the actual telescope. I am still working on it. As with others had I had the money to drop on an intermediate scope I would have. But I figure we all have to start somewhere. Figure it will make me more appreciative of what the beginning astronomers has to go through. I don’t know how they did it… it I hope to get a better hang of it.12/23/2020Pretty easy to assemble, there is one know where you tighten the main scope to, its a bit tricky to tighten. Everything is very light weight. A lot of plastic pieces. I have to use it, hopefully tonight though.
Vanessa Newcomb –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Telescope
Very cool to use and easy.
jesus ariasjesus arias –
5.0 out of 5 stars
To infinity BeyondOne person found this helpful
Daniel Agraz –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wunderbar
My first telescope ever. Took me a while to get everything set up (to be expected) and by day 2 I had it operating smoothly. Seeing Jupiter and Saturn is a sight to see! However, the focus knobs aren’t the smoothest nor as steady because there is extra movement that you have to adjust for when trying to focus on a specific distant object (the focuser moves up or down which then you have to readjust to the object you are trying to observe once focused). Additionally, the mount isn’t as stable as you’d want but other than that it still fulfilled my childhood dreams!
4 people found this helpful
Cynthia Manning –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great for seeing the moon.
Very detailed look at the moon.9 yr old Granddaughter’s first scope – she loves it.
3 people found this helpful
mohammed –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wrong phone mount.
The most valuable piece for this telescope is a phone attachment, but it’s made for a phone possibly from the 2007 and before. There’s no way I can fit my IPhone 15 in there. Wished it was an adjustable phone attachment. 😒
One person found this helpful
Brandon BBrandon B –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good beginner telescope (here are tips from fellow beginners)
Ordered 3 months ago and used it 3 times so far. Very good beginner telescope, easy to assemble! Right off the bat, very easy to use for the moon! We’ve been using the app “Sky Map” to locate planets.I labeled the cardboard as I unpackaged it for the first time because I knew I would want to pack it up back into the box, not having a case. Grateful I did!A few things we’ve learned (as amateur astronomers) from trial and error and especially YouTube videos:-The moon and planets move surprisingly fast!-Smaller number on the lens means larger magnification.-The adjuster handle, which does the up-down alignment, tends to shift the telescope when you tighten it or let go of it. Takes some getting used to.-It’s crucial to align the finder scope before looking for planets. YouTube astronomers recommend aligning the finder scope in the daytime with a distant object in Earth’s landscape. In our experience, it also worked well to use the moon to align the finder scope! (Find more details through YouTube research)-The moon itself can be a source of light pollution for the planets, so using the moon to align the finder scope has that trade-off. However, we were still able to see Jupiter’s Galilean moons and Saturn’s rings with both planets being near a waxing gibbous moon!-Interference can come not only from light pollution (which we expected) but also from temperature changes, vibrations in the ground, and the “wavy” effect of the atmosphere. Among other things I’m sure.-There isn’t much support from the source company, so astronomy YouTube videos are your best help.Having learned all these things, we were able to see faint Jupiter stripes, the Galilean moons, and Saturn’s rings on our third try and were elated! Here’s a blurry pic of Jupiter with its moons that doesn’t capture the fact that we were able to make out faint stripes! We haven’t tried the smartphone accessory yet, but it appears to be for helping you align your smartphone for better pics. Very happy overall with this telescope!
92 people found this helpful
TheCosmosIsEvilTheCosmosIsEvil –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome for the $100 i spent on this!
Absolutely amazing for the price I paid! Pictures taken with my S23 Ultra and the Telescope together. The only reason im not giving a full five stars is stability with the phone mount. I don’t fully blame this on the manufacturer since my phone is a beast, but I wish the mounting system was more stabile as most photos I took came out overexposed because of shaking. Other than that it’s a treat!
11 people found this helpful
Dianne L.Dianne L. –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great telescope for beginners like me!
We were looking for a beginner friendly telescope for terrestrial viewing and to look at some celestial objects. The zoom quality for terrestrial views are great (see 1st photo.. uses 10mm.. this is the result of first trial with the phone adapter). The celestial objects are fun to view as well (took a pic of the moon -2nd photo & jupiter (blob lol) -3rd). I did get better views on a moonless night (got Saturn with baby rings!) but wasn’t able to take a photo.A few things why I gave it a 4 star… the barlow lens it came with seems to be blurry.. everytime I use it, the image is out of focus and no adjusting makes it clearer. Also, the mount screw handle thing doesn’t tighten cleanly when the scope is angled up. After I focus on an object and tighten the mount so the scope doesn’t move… when I release the handle it slightly shifts up and I lose the image and have to find the object again. Not an issue with terrestrial views but a bit annoying when viewing celestial objects, need to reset every time you change lenses.As a last note, the phone adapter is said to work only with the 10mm lens. It fits the other lenses but not sure if it works well (it didn’t for the 25mm).
28 people found this helpful
Quiqueboy12 –
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not worth the money!
When I first came across this telescope, it seemed like it would be worth getting it for the price it costs. Upon receiving it, unpacking and setting it up, I quickly realized that the magnification of the different lens was not that much at all. Even with the greatest magnification I could combine (3x Barlow lens + 10mm lens) I was not impressed at all!!I have a pair of binoculars that work much better and were much cheaper than this telescope.In my opinion, if you’re really interested in watching things out in space, you are better off spending more money on a good quality telescope.I just don’t think this telescope is worth the price the seller is asking for it.I wasn’t happy so it’s been returned already.
One person found this helpful
seller profile –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Just as they said it was
Showed up on time as they said it would when they said it would. 4 year old loves it and it works great.
One person found this helpful
Shawn P. –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Difficult to figure out
Instructions were kind of confusing and vague, but once figured out, it was fun to use.
Basel Assaad –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good introductory inexpensive telescope
Please note that this is my first telescope:The telescope comes with 10 mm and 30 mm lenses, and 3X lens. It also comes with a bag for carrying/storage.Set up is pretty easy and took about 10 minutes.I used it the last 3 night, all have almost a full moon. It gives you a good image of the moon, but I am sure there are telescopes that will give a much better view. I tried both the 10 mm and 30 mm lenses, with and without the 3X lens.Seeing the stars is much harder, part of it is the learning curve, I was able to see some in the third night, and probably part of it is having a full moon during the nights I looked.The tripod is short so you have to sit on a chair while using it, if you want to be able to stand, you will need to buy a separate tripod.The handles that control the motion are a little lousy and I wish they were better quality/easier to navigate.The telescope is compact and easy to carry around.So in summary, if you don’t have a prior experience with telescopes and your kids want one for fun and some experimentation, this is a good introductory one and worth it’s price.If you are a more experienced person and trying to do more sophisticated stuff, then buy something more advanced.
21 people found this helpful
PamdiracPamdirac –
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great tool for scientific education, need an equatorial mount for professionals
I ordered the telescope well in advance for the event of super blood wolf moon eclipse early this year. Unfortunately, the weather on the day is cloudy. However, this telescope works well and the quality pretty much exceeded my expectation. I’ve operated real astronomical optical telescope worth millions of dollars when I did my intern in college years ago. At its very low magnification level, the image quality is comparable to this telescope when observing the moon. The major difference is in the stability of the support that at the maximum magnification with 5mm objective lens, the image of this telescope is a little bit shaking, but not a big dealer me after I put several rubber washers underneath the foot of the tripod to damping the vibration of the ground caused I assume by the furnace nearby. At low magnification with the 25 mm lens, the vibration is not an issue. It is a great tool to teach the kids as it can easily see the moon surface. It is too cold outside during the winter now that I can not stand in the cold for too long to try other planets. For that purpose, I think I might need to get an equatorial mount which may cost as much as this telescope. Again, this is a good demonstration the value of the telescope is well above its price. I am very happy with the choice and expecting the summer to come soon that I can operate all night. Another feature I appreciate very much the accessories comes together including a cellphone mount for showing-off on the social media and a Bluetooth remote shutter which works well with my android phone. It would be better it the DSLR camera adapter can be also included. I think it is great for scientific education and school teaching. For more professional usage, one would still need an equatorial mount.
107 people found this helpful
Garrett Kelly –
5.0 out of 5 stars
A good choice for the novice stargazer
Overall, this is a good choice for the novice stargazer. I used to stargaze when I was younger and I’m getting back into it. Assembly was a breeze, and I was able to get an excellent view of Jupiter and Saturn using the eyepieces included in the set (10mm with 3X Barlow). I think this scope will be able to see some of the brighter DSO’s under good viewing conditions. It’s focal length and size makes it able to pull double duty as a birdwatching scope as well. I found the finder scope to be decent and the mount was stable and allowed for (mostly) fine control over the tube. The legs were too short as many others have said, but I think you can manage with a cushion to kneel on or sitting in a chair.It’s important to manage your expectations. This scope isn’t going to give you views like you’ve seen from NASA, but I was thoroughly impressed by my viewing of Saturn, which I was clearly able to differentiate the planet from the rings, and Jupiter, where I was able to see 4 of its moons and the planet itself in enough detail that I could tell the storm was facing away from earth. That being said, there are some drawbacks:1. The legs are a bit too short.2. There are no instructions on how to align your finder scope, which is a key step.3. No instructions on what the different lenses, including the Barlow, do.Your mileage may vary. I think this is an excellent choice for someone who will have help stargazing for the first time, or is very interested in it and is willing to do some research.
4 people found this helpful
Pumpkin king –
2.0 out of 5 stars
Seems ok
Seems ok for the price. Only complaint so far Is that the little spotting scope that came with it, when looking through it everything is upside down … no way to adjust or fix it and I don’t feel like sending everything back just for it.
Adam k. –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Unsure at first but not disappointed.
I’m new to astronomy, I have only used very small, very cheap telescopes. After reading a little decided on this one. I have found it to be a great beginner scope even with the higher price tag. There are a lot of options among other name brand scopes but this one consistently impresses. It is not perfect. The finder scope felt like it was machined backwards and it was not focused. Those were the only issues, and they were easily resolved. I have found that this scope, 90×600 gives wide sharp views of even moderately faint objects. It will resolve the double star at the foot of cygnus with the widest eyepiece. Even with the 10mm eyepiece on a Barlow in the middle of town you can see both stars clearly, one red and the other smaller one blue. The short focal length gives a wide view and the 90mm objective gathers quite a bit light. I took the scope out to an astronomy club viewing night and both people that looked thru it were impressed with the view. The mount leaves a little to be desired but it is stable. Would be a 5 star review if the finder scope was made correctly, but I will add both the scope and finder are right side up image corrected. Highly satisfied.
2 people found this helpful
Willis –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Adjust your expectations
I went into this expecting professional quality for around $100. If that is your expectation, everything will disappoint you. I hated this thing at first. The knobs don’t flow all that smoothly. There were dust particles behind the lens. I returned one and got a replacement. It wasn’t much better. BUT! The fact is, that this is about as good as you can expect without dropping serious money. For my 9 year old, I removed the 3x main piece and dropped the 10x piece directly in to see the moon. It made spotting, locking in and focusing that much easier. Seeing craters in greater definition was perfect. If you go in expecting Hubble image quality, you are going to spend a LOT more (and still be disappointed) than this handy, portable, basic, intermediate telescope. I replaced an elementary age, all plastic component microscope with this. It was a significant upgrade by comparison. It is not a collegiate/professional level telescope…as should be expected with the reasonable price tag.
Daren reichle –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good for beginners, NOT FOR IPHONE 11 PRO MAX
Over all, I like this telescope for being a beginner. Great looks at the moon and you can see the moons of Jupiter on a good dark night. Only reason I gave 4 stars is it’s obviously cheaply made, but really, you get what you pay for. Just hold your breath and don’t touch it when you go to take a look after you dial it in and you’ll be fine.****iPhone 11 Pro Max user notice**** I was only able to get my phone to correctly line up while taking a time lapse of the moon one time with the provided phone mount. But with there being three cameras on my phone, I would get one of them lined up perfectly with the phone mount, then mount it to the telescope and it would auto adjust to a different camera. Then you try to adjust the mount and the phone switches to another camera. It was pretty frustrating honestly and I quit trying to use the phone mount. I was pretty bummed about that because taking pictures was what I was most excited about, but overall this is a good telescope for a beginner and for the money.
One person found this helpful
Jaanus Mugu –
4.0 out of 5 stars
On time delivery, good quality
On time delivery as promised. Good quality of the product
Amazon Customer –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Could use quality improvement
This has caused so much frustration trying to figure out how to get it to work. There’s a spot on it that takes over the actual picture and there is not much you can do to get the lens to focus. The finder view is upside down. The camera does not work with my iPhone 11. We are past our return window, but we do not recommend purchasing.Update:The company has contacted me and let me know that they have changed manufacturers and improved the quality of their product. Hopefully future users will have a better experience with the product than I did.
2 people found this helpful