My Experience (so far) with the 8" Orion Classic Dobsonian Telescope
346858
This Dobsonian reflector telescope is great in many respects.  I delivers a large 8" aperture, which makes for maximal light gathering power at low cost, compared to much more expensive tracking scopes of more traditional optical design.  My 8" is easily. liftable and I can carry it fully assembled, from my house to my patio.  No tripod setup necessary!  It does weigh over 40 pounds and it takes a few tries to master holding onto the carrying handle and the tube at the same time, while maneuvering through doorways and such.  A larger version (10" or more) would be a challenge to move by one person and to load into a vehicle for offsite viewing.

What I love about this scope is that there is no fiddling with a tracking mechanism, which would require mastery of a small, expensive tracking computer and drive motor mechanism.  The optical tube sits in a simple "yoke," and is easily moved with a finger or two, since it is perfectly balanced in any position.  It comes with a simple optical device for pointing the scope at a celestial object visible to the naked eye.  Once the sight is calibrated (a pretty straightforward process involving adjusting two dials) you sight through the device and center the viewing object on a small red LED dot.  When you look through the scope, you viewing object is centered in the field of view.

The scope comes with a "star guide," a kind of circular slide rule that will tell you where to point the scope to view major celestial objects.  There is also a useful book on astronomical viewing.  I had fun viewing the moon (really great images), the sun (kind of disappointing due to lack of detail) and Jupiter (quite exciting to look at another planet almost a billion miles away!).  I recommend buying a good eyepiece or two, although the eyepieces and magnifying accessories that come with the scope are certainly adequate for casual viewing.

Winter weather has kept me from using my scope much, but when better viewing weather comes in the spring, here I come!
2693167
Just got this one and so far I really like it has good images sharp clear.
 I all so have the extra eye pleases to enhance the use of this scope so yes if you are looking,
 for a better than average starter telescope that this one will fit the bill.
2499011
I purchased this telescope for my niece and I assembled this unit for Christmas day.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX

Carry case
Telescope
Finder
Tripod mount
25mm and 9mm lenses

ASSEMBLY

Assembly time took about 15 minutes.  The most time consuming part was removing the base for the battery cover.  It takes 4 AA batteries that are not included.

Once the batteries are installed, the base fits into the tripod.  The lenses are easy to place into the telescope.

Once you set the height of the tripod, utilizing your level, you are ready to use this unit.

CONSTRUCTION

The tripod mount is sturdy with thick legs (thicker than other telescopes in its price range).  Larger rubber eyepieces allow for more comfort.  Control knobs are large and contoured allowing for users of almost any age to operate.  The lens caps are hinged so you NEVER have to worry about losing the caps.

The carrying case is padded and compartmentalized for the tripod, telescope, and for each lens.  There is a velcro fastener for each small compartment.  It is a great carrying case.

USE

The finder has crosshairs which allow you to see your object of interest.  Adjustment of focus is easy with fine tuning.

The main body of the telescope has fine tuning in a 360 degree direction.  An elevation with a large know allows vertical adjustment for areas of interest.

There is a switch that allows visualization of the controls at night.  The tripod is easy to adjust with thick legs and rubber mounted base.

I have utilized this for both land vision and night vision - its ease of use is its biggest asset.

VERDICT

Solid construction in an easy to use package.

I highly recommend this unit for the casual user and young child interested in astronomy (elementary school through junior high).  This is a great introduction to the science of astronomy and birdwatching.
4268757
Hope this helps!

As far as the product goes it is great! It delivers everything that is advertised. The only problem is, I am new to star gazing and didn't know what I needed to satisfy my needs. Here is what I've learned and I hope it helps you make an educated decision. Couple things to consider.

1. Make sure that you know your telescope, and how to calculate your optimal magnification for the objects you wish to view.
The magnification equation looks like this:
Magnification = (Telescopes Focal Length)/(Lens)
Typically, you do not want to exceed 50x per inch of your telescopes diameter or your images will be blurry. For example, I have an 8 inch Dobsonian, so 8x50 = 400x.
Finally, Research what the best magnification is for the objects you wish to view.

2. Something to consider. Changing out the lenses can be a tiring task. I tend to use the 40mm to find the object I am looking for, and then quickly swap it out with the 10mm or 6.3mm lenses. I will definitely buy something like this https://www.amazon.com/Celestron-93230-24mm-1-25-Eyepiece/dp/B0007UQNV8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469147720&sr=8-1&keywords=zoom+telescope+eyepiece with my next paycheck, and a couple of these with different lens ranges will likely replace this entire case. To me this seems like the way to go.
767351
I live in Las Vegas, very close to the Strip, so my light pollution can be pretty awful. Previous to this I had a tiny cheap beginners Dobsonian to see if I really was interested enough in astronomy to be worth investing in something bigger. I am self-teaching how to do astronomy and so at first I was pretty lost. The directions weren't very clear but I got it setup by following the YouTube tutorial and for having zero experience I think I did pretty good. I even had it balanced well enough but did learn the hard way that while balancing the tube itself can swing around unexpectedly and with the counterweight behind it I took a solid hit to the shoulder but I learned from it!

However I had no idea how to use the thing, especially the different axis' (Right Ascension and Declination) to view specific objects/coordinates and did not figure out how to polar align the scope for a couple weeks. I was just out there manhandling the scope and eyeballing it trying to search out objects by luck. After a few weeks with the scope and researching online I feel more comfortable and am really starting to appreciate how cool this thing is.

The tripod is really sturdy so far and the optics seem good. The eyepieces that it came with are cheap but serviceable but the finderscope is even cheaper. I wish the RA knob was a little shorter since I have to put it on the side away from the eyepiece or my boobs bump into it while I'm trying to look at stuff. It is sensitive to vibration especially at higher magnifications but I just bought the vibration suppression pads to see if that helps. I am very happy with this scope and almost took off a star because the instructions were so confusing and I expected an instructions manual to show me basics of how to use it. Overall it is great.
1766532
I have only had this eyepiece a short while, but already I am using it to get closeups of the planets. I don't really use the zoom feature, I leave it all the way backed off to get the "big view", but that is what I really like about this eyepiece at such great magnification. I do not see much difference in the magnification when you zoom in, but again, I like the big view. At 3.2mm I get around 93x with my Orion Funscope, and amazingly, the images have been very sharp and clear once carefully focused. I also use this with a plastic Iphone adapter to take photos. It is a tight fit, but that actually works out perfectly for me, I cannot misalign my camera if I tried. This eyepiece is large and heavy, but seems very well made, quality. I plan on ordering more eyepieces from Astromania. I have included a photo I took of Mars with this eyepiece, I am very pleased with it.
2124781
This is the first telescope I've bought and I'm completely satisfied with it. Set up is simple and quick. It's great for viewing large objects, such as the Moon. Looking at star clusters is relatively easy once you get the hang of using the telescope, but finding and focusing specific stars or planets is a bit tricky. **Update** I've now had this telescope for about 6 months now and my experience has only gotten better. After some reading and videos I learned how to properly utilize the mount which has made using the telescope easier. I've also bought 8mm and 6mm eyepieces. With these I've drastically improved my views of the planets. I can now see the bands of Jupiter and it's moons, Saturn and its ring, and a decent view of Mars (view of Mars may have been affected by weather/atmosphere). My only issue is with the finder scope, which seems to move around easily easily and can throw off alignment. Also, the crosshairs are rather hard to see at night and makes centering objects difficult. However it works well enough to get you in the general vicinity and it's not a deal breaker.
337192
I have been able to use it, and the experience has been pretty good so far.  I use this with my 6in SCT and Orion Starshoot Monochrome CCD
2260648
I am pretty much a beginner to astronomy. I have a starseeker 130mm 650 focal length scope. This eyepiece delivers high definition views of the moon. When used with my 2x barlow I can clearly see the rings of Saturn. It does darken when zoomed all the way, but hey, it's 16 eyepieces in one. I saw my first galaxies with this thing. It blows the stock eyepieces out of the water. I am glad I bought it.
3906900
This is a great little scope.  It's durable and easy to use, and it gives a wide enough field of view to make it good for "browsing" around for interesting objects.  The moon looks fantastic, and the planetary views are sharp enough to see Jupiter's moons and Saturn's rings (although details like Jupiter's cloud bands get obscured).  For an entry level telescope, it's amazing- a real telescope, rather than a piece of junk!

  Optically, the spherical mirror isn't as good as a parabolic, and the eyepieces are only adequate- but you'd spend 2-3x as much to improve on those 2 things.  Even though I have a telescope that cost 10x what this one did, I still use this one when I just want to set up quickly and have a few minutes of stargazing.
4445700
I doubted that this would be a great monocular because I have had bad experiences with buying small telescopes, but this is an exception!  It is soooo easy to use and soooo portable!  It was worth the money and I look forward to it's many uses!
2485418
The rest looks wonderful.  Nice reticle choices, mounts nicely to my orion dovetail.  But why the compromise and why does astronomy quality control lacking so badly in astronomy equipment?  Tough hobby.  I know I'm being picky but its so pervasive.
4975304
Well, first of all, I think most of these "reviews" are fake. I don't like that at all.

This is a fine, small telescope which can show you planets like Jupiter and Saturn. It gives very faint views of messier objects, like open clusters. You need good eyes to see those.

When it arrived in the mail, I was baffled by all the parts, which didn't look like the parts in the pictures. A skilled carpenter assembled it for me, and he had to use several tools, which I wouldn't have known how to use. So, assembly is complicated.

I now use the telescope every night. I have been looking at the Double Cluster in Perseus recently. The weight is good and makes it very moveable. I am considering getting a larger scope in this series, because the 4.5 inch mirror is small.

UPDATE: After a year...
This telescope has been a very good purchase, especially given the price. Under good viewing conditions (new moon, very clear skies), I have had my first view of a bunch of Messier objects, including M81 and M82 (those are galaxies). First view of the planet Mercury when it popped up above the horizon for a view nights. I cataloged them in a notebook to keep track. Under the best viewing conditions I've seen beautiful open clusters in Auriga, and lots of stuff in Sagitarius.

Under less good viewing conditions (big moon, fog), I've only seen planets.
5361
This telescope allowed me to look at Venus that enlarged it to the size of the moon with an 11mm 82 degree Orion eyepiece!  I'm sorry that the other reviewers didn't find this telecope amazing, but I did.  Maybe they are more experienced than me, but I feel I made the right decision buying this telescope.  This is my second telescope I have owned.  My first one was a cheap Konus, that got me started.  I tried to do my homework before buying this telescope.  Here are the features I think I paid this kind of money for:  1) Wide field of view.  Because the scope is short tubed, it sees a wider field of view than a longer tube refractor.  2) Huge 102mm lens.  I would like to someday own the Celestron 150mm longer tube refractor, but it would serve a different purpose.  3) GOTO computer.  It still requires effort on my part, but it sure is a cool feature.  I don't expect it to work like a government or NASA product, it is a home telescope, and it is as good as it gets.  Buy it without regret and unlock the views of the solar system.
1386233
I just received this yesterday. I am really impressed and I like the telescope. None of the cons I have really have anything to do with any faults of the scope itself or the sellers they are just things I should have thought of. I will list them but again these are only things you need to realize ahead of time before purchasing.

1. Transportation - this is a huge scope. Make sure you have an idea of how you want to transport it. I thought I'd be able to fit it in my car but I cannot. Take measurements before you purchase. There is a bag I noticed on Amazon as well but all the reviews seem to be negative. I was hoping to be able to use it in the box which I will at home, but I wanted to transport it in my car that way. The scope will actually fit without the box but I have no way to protect it from damage yet.

2. Lens - I am a first time astronomer. This is the first scope I've ever owned. I want to advise you to purchase a lens set and make sure it either comes with a 2x barlow or you get one - read the reviews on the lenses though. I purchased a 2x barlow myself and that was definitely worth the money!!

3. Assembly - I had tools so this was not a problem. They include a phillips screwdriver. I am a fairly big guy and I could not screw in the wood screws with the included screwdriver! Make sure you own a larger phillips or a drill that you can use (but be careful and don't let the drill strip it out).

I don't intend this to be a negative posting at all just a heads up. I DEFINTELY RECOMMEND this telescope, there are already plenty of great reviews about it. I had so much fun last night using it and looking at the moon and can't wait to get it back outside again.

Have fun and enjoy your new x10!
544687
This is a most wonderful scope, although there is a bit of a steep learning curve.

The one major flaw this telescope has is the tripod: it is crappily made, super light, and any minor contact will set everything out of whack.

I still give the scope a five star rating because once you learn to use an equatorial mount to track objects, and you collimate the mirrors (getting whichever collimation eyepiece you can afford is a must) you will never want to use anything else. The light touch required to track objects without losing them through the eyepiece will require a delicate "dance of avoidance" around the crappy tripod anyway.

I initially got a lot of aberration and difficulty focusing on objects with both the Barlow lens, and the 4mm eyesight. After a very insane and obsessive process of progressive collimation, I have been able to get rather sharp images of Jupiter using the 4mm eyepiece, with some very faint banding noticeable (especially if you avert your stare from the center of the eyepiece), and up to 5 moons very clearly visible. At this point, the further from the center of the 4mm eyepiece, the more aberration visible. I can perform my "dance of avoidance" to consistently track Jupiter with close to the center of the 4mm eyepiece with the equatorial mount rather easily.

Also, you must learn to align the main optical tube with the finder scope. The farther the object you use to align with, and the better your alignment, the easier it will be to find objects, and even track them while somebody else is watching (great for those of us with other humans of astronomical inclinations in our lives).

The 20mm eyepiece does provide much better image quality than the 4mm eyepiece, yet if you learn to delicately switch out eyepieces (see "dance of avoidance" above) and have properly aligned the finder scope with the main optical tube, all you will have to do is turn the focusing knob (delicately!) between eyepiece changes.

The tripod problem can be solved by pre-tightening all wingnuts, and providing ground friction. I now carry a phillips screwdriver in my "astronomy bag" (an old laptop bag that fell into my lap courtesy of a friend) to tighten the top screw-wingnut combination on top. The ground friction problem (only existent on concrete surfaces) can be solved cutting square pieces of welcome mat to place the tripod feet on (the lady in my life still does not understand what sort of wild animal would chew through rectangular pieces of welcome mat, but has turned a blind eye to the incident).

Once you see the images possible of the Orion Nebula, realize the advantages of an equatorial mount, and are willing to spend the first few nights playing the "alignment game", you will find yourself in the possession of a wonderful gateway to the stars. And you will never go back to altitude-azimuth mounts ever again. Ever. Pinky promise.

This review was placed right after ordering the Celestron AstroMaster Motor Drive and a universal T adapter (to hook a camera up to the beast). 'tis surely the season!
1651891
This is my first spotting scope, and I have been very happy with it.  In normal use the clarity and focus are great.  I wanted to try it for a little star-gazing knowing that it isn't designed for that--the lack of a very heavy duty tripod made any viewing difficult as you have too much movement of the scope when trying to focus, but it wasn't designed for that anyway.  I could probably get spectacular views of the moon, but the lack of any way to install a filter would mean I would probably blind myself looking at the bright light--maybe need to try when the moon is just a crescent.  For its intended purpose, I think this scope is great.