Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsThe most capable for it's price range.
Reviewed in Canada on October 3, 2014
It does the job.
That about sums it up. I will overview each component as I would individually replace/upgrade.
OTA: The tube is 24" long Newtonian reflector with a 5" aperture. It is simple enough with plastic surrounding both ends. The plastic looks and feels very cheap. I was sad to see the finder was a 3x pattern not the more common 4x pattern. I have a 2" focuser I would have loved to attach. The mirror is of OK quality and is gathers a lot of photons for the cost. It's focal length is 650mm. Making it an F/5. It cools down very quickly and but does dew easily. Factory installed the primary adjustment screws were simply screwed all the way in. Bizarre! I backed them off and with a cheshire tool i colimated it without issue.
Finder: The finder is a permanently fixed red-dot finder. Unfortunately the adjustment process is not well documented and not worth the hassle. I attached a SW 8x63 finder scope and was then easily able to starhop and see DSO's like M57, M31/110, M51, even with the included eps in a light polluted suburb. The OTA really is a good value.
The eps: Awful. It comes with an erecting 20mm for (terrestrial viewing) and a 10mm plossl. They were very difficult to focus on anything. Switching to a better celestron 9mm plossl and a 2x barlow, it was evident the eps are of no real value.
The mount:
This is the celestron cg3 mount. Its not bad for the cost. My dec adjustment spring loaded bolt wasn't installed correctly from factory and was jammed but a quick reassembly fixed it. It is sturdy and can handle the extra weight of my SW8x63 but struggles with my Nikon D90 attached. It's well built but clearly not meant for weight. Also, like with all small EQ mounts, the setting circles are decorative.
The tripod: Easily this is the weakest link. The adjusters and connectors are all cheap plastic that feels like it will break in my hands. Fully extended the tripod legs bow. In the slightest it never settles down. I will need to replace the tripod first.
Summary:
Even though I think overall it works well and even looks cool, this scope leaves me feeling dissatisfied. It just feels it was built and assembled just a bit too cheaply. As a result I will be moving to a new scope very soon after only a couple months of owning it.
If I were to sum it up in a line: An inexpensive but capable 5" Newtonian that needs better EPs and a real finder.