For beginner stargazing, not sure whether to purchase this celeston 25-125 x 80 or the $25 less celeston 25-100 x 70 ?? Any advise?
1066003
got these for my wife but were way too big for her to handle and def overkill, even on a tripod (which is an absolute necessity with these).
1066004
I think either one would do fine, IF you have a good tripod mount. You need to get one specifically designed for binoculars and for stargazing, not terrestrial viewing. The weight of the binoculars will get tiring fast. :-( Personally, if I were a beginner stargazer I would get a telescope. Better magnification and, due to the size of the optics, more light.
1496890
Absolutely and you will love the difference. My first telescope was the Walmart 70az and this was very worth the money.
938787
I don't know the first thing about the celestron 6e so I can't compare the two. When it comes to light pollution the type of telescope won't make a difference anyway. There are only two solutions: 1) a filter for urban areas (I have one and the results were mixed at best), and 2) get yourself to the country! One thing I can say is that I live in a light polluted area too (downtown El Paso/Juarez) and I'm very happy with the xt10 -- but I'm much happier when I can lug the beast out to the desert.
665575
Laverne, Here are a couple of links to get you going and answer your questions: http://www.telescopes.com/images/pdf/CELE017.pdf http://telescopeobserver.com/review-of-celestron-127-eq-powerseeker-telescope/Take care & good luck.Robert
2138739
When I purchased this telescope, it came with a 1.25" diagonal, and a 1.25" 40mm Plossel eyepiece. I strongly recommend you at least get the Celestron 2" eyepiece kit like I did. It is a great starter kit. I would advise against 1.25" eyepieces. With a telescope of this size and light gathering power, those are to small. You will also need to power it. To do this, you either need to get the AC power adapter from Celestron if you are going to be near an AC outlet, or the Celestron Power Tank like I did, for use in the field. Hope this helps. It is a fantastic telescope! I also got the new Celestron StarSense Auto Align camera, so the telescope is automatically aligned by it. When I purchased this telescope, it came with a 1.25" diagonal, and a 1.25" 40mm Plossel eyepiece. I strongly recommend you at least get the Celestron 2" eyepiece kit like I did. It is a great starter kit. I would advise against 1.25" eyepieces. With a telescope of this size and light gathering power, those are to small. You will also need to power it. To do this, you either need to get the AC power adapter from Celestron if you are going to be near an AC outlet, or the Celestron Power Tank like I did, for use in the field. Hope this helps. It is a fantastic telescope! I... » Read More When I purchased this telescope, it came with a 1.25" diagonal, and a 1.25" 40mm Plossel eyepiece. I strongly recommend you at least get the Celestron 2" eyepiece kit like I did. It is a great starter kit. I would advise against 1.25" eyepieces. With a telescope of this size and light gathering power, those are to small. You will also need to power it. To do this, you either need to get the AC power adapter from Celestron if you are going to be near an AC outlet, or the Celestron Power Tank like I did, for use in the field. Hope this helps. It is a fantastic telescope! I also got the new Celestron StarSense Auto Align camera, so the telescope is automatically aligned by it. « Show Less
562383
The Edge HD scope has a flatter field meaning the stars will stay sharp all the way to the edge of the view. For general observing, I would say the CPC is plenty, if you want to get into astrophotography, I would personally prefer the Edge HD version as your photos will be sharper at the edges. There is a lot of info explaining the differences on Celestron's website, I would read all of it before deciding.
2238328
I have a pair and use them almost every night since to gaze at the stars. The Moon will Fill up your view nicely. If you view say Jupiter with them it will appear quite small but if conditions are good you can actually make out Jupiter's moons even. Very good for starting Astronomy from a starter and will be used once I get a good scope also.
64203
Unfortunately with only a 5 inch mirror the only thing you'll be able to see of the furthest planets is what looks like a star only it will be slowly moving across the sky. You should get a fairly decent view of Jupiter and Saturn, also Mars and Venus will look good. My problem was I just didn't have the money I needed to get the size I wanted. Most astronomers recommend getting something not quite so large and learning how to use it properly before moving larger. It all depends on your own expertise and your financial situation as to what you purchase. Just remember that the larger telescopes are fairly heavy and if you intend to transport it anywhere it will take quite awhile to set up plus you will probably have to collimate it each time you set it up. Hope this helps you and good luck in finding the right scope. It's a great hobby.
230670
I have #71020 [25 - 125X80] only and do not know how it compares to 25X100. At 25X it is super clear even if you are holding it with your hands but of course, it will tires you out quickly bcoz of its weight and size. To fully enjoy this powerful bino spend money on a high-end tripod like SLK brand or other comparable reputable brands especially if you would like to experiment zooming closer than 25X --field of view gets smaller as you increase magnification and you can do it without a tripod. I stay at 25X or maybe few notches up bcoz I get dizzy looking thru it at much higher magnification. Maybe 25X100 is plenty of power for what you need it for, anything pass 100X is practically useless. And you may even save money w/c you can spend on tripod. Just my honest opinion... enjoy it!
1570484
This is A heavy scope with a less than perfect center go gravity. I am using an alpena plastic with a fairly wide footprint. It's barely enough. It's plastic. it wiggles a lot when you focus or zoom. Do you own this scope now? Are thinking stars or on the ground. I would not recommend ultima 80 for astronomy. Blue shift issues. Works fine on the ground.
72107
Rick,I purchased this telescope for my daughter and family in Colorado - so I haven't looked through it yet. However, they are very happy with the ease of use and the abundance of what they can see. I was very confused myself when purchasing - but I feel this is a good choice for a beginner. I did by the accessories as well by the way.
801416
The 70 Travel Scope can handle a "Shorty Barlow" from the top of the diagonal. The Scope is 70 mm, so It's Magnification Max is 140 power. Your 20 delivers 22.5 Magnification, the 10 mm 45. The Scopes power is the ability to not surpass 2 X the MM appeture (front Lens Diameter) so 70 X 2 +140. A Two times barlow would double your current numbers; a triplet would get you 135 Power with your 10 mm. That's 5 mm under the scope capacity so as not to darken the Picture. This Scope is great BTW, we used It to film the Venus Transit across the Sun and other Dark Sky Objects, great for Landscape photography as well (on a budget :) Though make sure It's a "Shorty" Barlow Lens, some are too long to go into the "top" of the diagonal (you need the Diagonal because It's part of the 450 mm Focal lenght ) from the "tube side" you won't be able to focus. Celestrons shortys work well as Meades. Hope this helps.
459592
The Celestron is quite a good beginner scope,and is intuitive and simple to use. If you want to get into astophography,you can easily purchase an adapter for your camera.One caveat,however:begin with the planets and Moon,also read afew basic astronomy books.Good seeing!
2026022
It's really not critical to have a Barlow lens but it's nice. When I first got my telescope, I just used the lens take came with it. Later on, I purchased a Barlow lens and some filters. With these items, I was able to see better details. Now I wish I had a bigger telescope. I guess just like any other hobby it depends on how much can you afford to spend. You might want to try to hook up with a astronomy group some night and see for yourself before you decide.
1844556
Yes this is a great scope for casual viewing I Sold a much more sophisticated scope to get this one because it is much easier to set up and faster to use (using star charts). The scope can use any 1.25" astronomy eye pieces. The scope is also perfect for Bird watching and of course as a spotting scope . The optical quality is as good as scopes costing two and three times as much and there are lots of reviews on birding sights and astronomy sights to back that up. It's just a great all around scope. I have owned one for five years and it is my goto scope for all my hobbies. Astronomy, Birding and Shooting. Yes this is a great scope for casual viewing I Sold a much more sophisticated scope to get this one because it is much easier to set up and faster to use (using star charts). The scope can use any 1.25" astronomy eye pieces. The scope is also perfect for Bird watching and of course as a spotting scope . The optical quality is as good as scopes costing two and three times as much and there are lots of reviews on birding sights and astronomy sights to back that up. It's just a great all around scope. I have owned one for five years and it is my goto scope for all my hobbies. Astronomy,... » Read More Yes this is a great scope for casual viewing I Sold a much more sophisticated scope to get this one because it is much easier to set up and faster to use (using star charts). The scope can use any 1.25" astronomy eye pieces. The scope is also perfect for Bird watching and of course as a spotting scope . The optical quality is as good as scopes costing two and three times as much and there are lots of reviews on birding sights and astronomy sights to back that up. It's just a great all around scope. I have owned one for five years and it is my goto scope for all my hobbies. Astronomy, Birding and Shooting. « Show Less
43019
In my opinion you need a better range of optics. There is very little light gathering ability difference between x40 and x42. I would recommend the 8x40 and 10x50's. I know, the 10x50 are heavier but they also are better in low light. You never know when you are going to see something that is a once-in a lifetime occurence. I think it is worth the weight.
622876
If viewing relatively fixed objects at long distances is all you want to do, a telescope would be better. For general use and very basic star gazing, these would be fine.