FirstScope Telescope

I see right now that it's listed at $25.00. That's a steal. This product is great for people just starting out. Easy to use. Very sturdy base. Just look down the barrel toward your target just a little below it. Then, swivel back and forth, raise a little, swivel again, etc, and you will find it pretty quickly. The lenses that come with it are adequate to see detailed looks at the moon, Jupiter's moons (won't see Jupiter's bands)and can see the easy nebulae and double stars. I haven't tried it yet on Saturn's rings, although I suspect the rings would be difficult to see if you weren't in pristine conditions. You could order this for $25.00 and stop. If you wanted to upgrade to Plossl lenses, (I did), I would recomend a 20-25 mm which makes finding objects a total snap. I would also recommend a 12.5 mm and maybe a 6 mm. I tried a 4 mm plossl to try and see Jupiter's bands and the telescope simply could not focus enough to use it. I had the same experience trying Barlow lenses. Simply couldn't focus except with the 20 mm. I read somewhere that Celestron had a certain Barlow of their own that would work on this telescope, but don't order any other ones just for this telescope, because it probably won't work. A neighbor who was moving gave me his deceased father in law's Celestron 60 EQ Refractor. I tried the 12.5 Plossl and could see Saturn's rings clearly with it. I doubt you could see that with the FirstScope, although, like I said, I haven't tried it on Saturn yet. The plossls sure came in handy on that free scope. Not sure it's worth the money or not to get plossls just for the firstscope, although they do make the viewing experience significantly better with clearer views and much bigger lense holes to look through. The ones that come with it aren't bad, though. They are adequate. For the price, you can't beat this scope. It's very portable and lightweight also. Great for taking on trips to places with no light pollution. Would easily fit in a carry on bag for an airline. I highly recommend it. Update: I determined that the secondary mirror collimation was a little off. The directions online show you to align it with your eyeball (looking through eyepiece holder with no eyepiece. However, that doesn't get it perfect, and if you want to see Saturn's rings or the bands of Jupiter, it needs to be perfect. I used a collimation cap that came with another telescope and I got it aligned perfectly. A huge improvement. It's really hard to find a collimation cap to buy though. I only see laser collimaters for sale, and they are much too expensive if this is the only Reflector Scope you own.

OK. First off. This is not a Takahashi Sky 90. It isn't an Obsession UC22" Dobsonian. I own both of the aforementioned scopes. Plus a Tak FSQ106EDXIII. I am an amateur astronomer. Heck, I even have my own domed observatory in the back yard. So I didn't expect this little scope to afford views like I was accustomed to. I bought the scope for my neighbors 8 year old son. But before I passed it along to him, I decided to try it out on the Heavens. Out of the box I was far from impressed. Sure, it is only a 3" reflector. But the optic problems it was plagued by were enormous. The eyepieces are crap, sad to say. But worst of all, the optic train is even worse, at least my model. Most reflectors have the ability to collimate the optics. That is, align everything with respect to the eyepiece. This scope does not. No way to move the primary mirror, and only "fake" alignment screws on the secondary mirror. On top of all this, the secondary mirror (the mirror that reflects the image from the primary to the eyepiece) was installed crooked. This definitely didn't help any. First thing I did was remove the secondary (small) mirror from the focuser and re-glue it so that it was lined up better. This was done by "eyeballing" but it made a vast difference in the view. Easy to do with some contact cement. This is about all you can do to help the optics in this little scope. This may have just been my scope, but I didn't have time to send it back. Once I made this change, I was impressed. Remember, you're not going to get Hubble views out of this scope. Even after the fix there was a lot of astigmatism and coma in the eyepiece. Stars showed lots of pincushion artifacts just outside of the center field. But when I trained the scope on the Orion Nebula, there it was! With a bit of averted vision (not looking directly at the object, but sort of off to one side) I was treated with the classic nebulosity. The Pleiades were brilliant, and I was easily able to make out the shape of the Andromeda Galaxy. Jupiter's four big moons were obvious, though the cloud bands took some imagination (but there was light thin clouds disturbing my view from Earth). The Moon was very impressive. Even when I changed to the 4mm ocular, the Moon showed lots of detail that should make any kid bubble with joy. The craters were very impressive. Though I did not see myself, I am sure the rings of Saturn would be easily visible. I remember, as a ten year old, looking at Saturn with my brothers 60mm Sears refractor. I was enthralled and it set the stage for a life long desire to explore the Heavens. Since then I've owned an Edmund Astroscan and 6" reflector, two Celestron C8's, a C11, a home made 13.1" Dobsonian reflector, and my current Takahashi refractors, and my new 22" Obsession scope. All of this because of my first back yard views with a Sears piece of junk. This scope is far better in my opinion. Remember, you're not necessarily getting a top notch telescope. The build overall is impressive however. A finderscope would be nice, but I had pretty good luck just sighting down the tube and hunting. But a scope like this might just be the one thing to spark curiosity in a young mind. And there just isn't much of that going around these days. If you have a youngster that you think might like an introduction to the night sky, this is the perfect little gem. Sure, far from perfect, and might even need a bit of tweaking if you are brave enough. But even out of the box it gives descent views of the brighter celestial objects, plus the Moon and bigger planets. And it is easy to carry and a breeze to set up. Go for it!

I am an absolute beginner at using a telescope. Previously I could name a few constellations by sight but have never had or used a telescope of any kind. I knew I would like looking at the night sky in more detail, but wasn't sure if I would like it enough to justify spending hundreds of dollars on equipment. This was a great way to get in and try it for very little money! This telescope is very inexpensive, but because there are absolutely no frills here they put all the money into constructing the basics as well as they could at this price point. I actually like the fact that I have to do everything manually, because I am learning how everything works. Something else that I really like here is that the eyepieces are a standard size (1.25"), and any additional eyepieces I buy can move up with me when I am ready to upgrade. On my first time out, with only the included eyepieces, I was able to see the Orion Nebula (M42), Jupiter with three of the four Galilean moons, and The Pleiades (M45)! By my second time out I had acquired a 2x Barlow lens (Celestron), and enjoyed views of the crescent moon and Jupiter with all four of the Galilean Moons! I have also ordered some additional eyepieces and will update when those come in. I have read in other reviews that better quality eyepieces can improve the view quite a bit, and I will post whether or not that is true for me once I have a little more experience with the telescope. I think the FirstScope is a great buy for someone to get started in astronomy, as long as you understand up front what you are getting. You're not going to see images like the Hubble photographs! Jupiter's moons are teeny tiny pindots, but when you realize what they are it will take your breath away! Jupiter is just a larger bright dot, although the first time out I was able to make out some faint color bands. Nebulae are just stars with a little blur of fog around them, but if you've never seen that "fog" before it is a wonder to behold. The FirstScope is so small it's very easy to take it out to the back yard for 10 minutes before bed. This greatly increases the chances of it actually being used on a regular basis, and that is something I will keep in mind as I upgrade in the future. A bigger telescope is great, but one so big that it stays in the closet is worthless. I am thoroughly enjoying this telescope, and I will have fun looking for everything it will possibly let me see while I save up for a bigger one. I'm hooked!

Normally I never write reviews, but I was so impressed with this little bad boy I had to share my experience! This was the one gift I bought for myself during Christmas, and I couldn't be more happy! well beside the fact that it was only $25. I've been a star gazer for a long time, and have always wanted a REAL telescope to look further beyond the human eye, however I couldn't see myself spending thousands of dollars for a real fancy one and sure didn't want those crappy ones at local Walgreen (sorry Walgreen....but I still buy my facial product there :X) The first time using this unit the sky was foggy and could not see the moon but was still very impressed to see the different colors the North Star emit in the night (or maybe it was a mothership :X) a week after... Finally a clear night! pulled the Celestron out and pointed right at the moon, and BAMM I see all the craters and details of the moon!! right away I notice a weird looking bump on the bottom left corner of the moon, which lead me to bring out the other eye piece (2 eye pieces included) AND WOW......I could tell you what I THINK I saw, but I'll let you buy one and look for yourself :P Pros: Works right out the box, easy to set up! very light weight/compact and looks great as a decorative piece around the house good quality build and easy to focus/spin and sturdy, does not need a tripod or anything to hold sturdy nice finishing touch with famous astronomers names imprinted on the telescope 2 eye piece scopes Cons: Would have love a carry case to bring on trips but I think they sell that separate with their accessory package Wishlist: cant wait to save up and buy a better eye piece need to learn how to take pictures of it with my DSLR...any advice? Usage: Honestly you probably wont be staring at it for hours at a time but those few minutes you look into the skies are simply priceless!! GET ONE YOU WONT REGRET IT!

that being said remember this is a low price telescope so it could be worse. with the 4mm lens i was able to make out the rings of Saturn (a small oblong dot slightly brighter at the edge and center) and Jupiter and it's moons. i tried to bump the magnification using other lenses and after that a 2.5 times barlow but the image is out of focus despite using the focus knob. i suspect this is because you can not culminate the objective mirror on this telescope. the screws on the side seem to be special designed to fit the sighting scope that comes with the kit but i was able to fit a decent red laser sight with one of the bases included with the laser, was tricky getting the fit because the screws were a bit too short for the lasers mount but i was able to get it secured. all in all i think this is a nice scope to get your feet wet. help you practice navigating the sky and to familiarize you on using a reflector scope.

I have to admit that I was unsure of what I could get out of such a small scope with an even smaller price but having used this scope for six months I have been really impressed. The build quality is fine, not one complaint, it has an adjustable tension knob for the altitude which is very handy and as long as you loosen it enough it moves quite smoothly. The turntable base is even better and makes this scope incredibly easy to aim even without a finder (It also helps that it has a very large field of view in the eyepiece). Speaking of eyepieces, the ones that come with this scope are not really very good. Sure, you can see plenty with them but compared to reasonably priced sets from places like Orion I would highly recommend you invest in some new eyepieces. Once you do that you can see fine details like the rings of Saturn, the cloud bands of Jupiter, close double stars, and small craters on the Moon. The only limitation I've found for things like this is your maximum zoom is limited to about 120x near as I can figure. The scope simply doesn't focus at higher powers. You'll also be limited to a-focal astro-photography as my DSLR won't focus when using T-Ring adapter. As far as light gathering ability goes for faint objects such as Nebulae and galaxies it won't blow you away but you can still see some of the brightest ones(Smoke Ring, Orion's, Eagle). I have been able to see stars better than I thought too. Stars as dim as Magnitude 10 are visible though not spectacular and that's with heavily light polluted skies. All in all I would recommend this scope for beginners as well as anyone who is looking for a super portable small scope. Its ease of use and solid performance makes this a good buy. Very happy.

This would have been a great little scope for casual observing, and an utterly fantastic value for the $30 that I paid for it. A small dob is a much better choice for a beginner than the usual worthless junk grade 60mm refractor that many stores push, and a kid sized (or backpack sized!) 3" dob is a really neat idea. Such an instrument, with a Telrad and a copy of _Binocular Astronomy_, would make a great introduction to a child or new amateur. Regrettably, however, this scope is constructed in such a way as to prevent the mirrors from being adjusted to proper collimation. Worst of all, the secondary is mounted on a skinny single-arm rod that only connects to the tube at one point. Even borrowing the "real" eyepieces from my Nexstar 5, I was unable to get the instrument to come to proper focus at all. It's a real shame; even a two-point mounting bar for the secondary, a la Coulter Optical in the early 90s, might have gotten the collimation good enough to make the scope usable. As it is, however, nothing will come to point focus, everything looks fuzzy, and the scope is almost as much of a deterrent to an eager beginner as the aforementioned 60mm refractor that I had hoped this could replace. Pros: * Adorably cute * Small and portable * Much more stable than the cheap tripod that comes with low-end 60mm refractors * 1.25" focuser, not 0.965", allowing upgrade path to eyepieces you'd actually want Cons: * No way at all to adjust the primary * Secondary mounted on a wobbly skinny arm * Won't come to focus * Included 20mm Huygenian and 4mm Ramsden eyepieces really aren't great * "Accessory kit" is overpriced and of low value If some other manufacturer, or Celestron, were to make an actually *good* 76mm Dobsonian, it would be wonderful! Sadly, this telescope isn't it. With a crosshair eyepiece, this might have some value as a cheap finder scope for a big Dobsonian, but otherwise, give this one a miss.

I have been spoiled when it comes to telescopes. With a 6" Dynascope newtonian reflector in my collection, I have been treated to some wonderful views of the night sky and this has put my standards high enough that it is easy to be disappointed by a telescope. One issue that shows up with a short tube reflector is that their alignment tends to be fussy and the image is not symmetrical. This causes it to have a slightly smeared image even when at the sharpest focus. This scope had a little it of that going on. I have learned to accept it as being normal for economy and mid priced scopes of various sizes. This scope was what I expected it to be, which is a step above the standard 60mm refractor for light gathering and field of view. I find it works fine without a finder scope since sighting along the barrel will point it close enough and the 20mm EP has a wide enough field to spot an object easily. When set on a table or surface that is high enough, the mount allows for easy viewing of the sky in any direction. The 4mm EP allows for zooming in close, which is good for daytime use and lunar viewing, and okay for space objects. My kit has some decent plossls, so I put them in use with this scope. I find I like the 15mm for scanning around, and then putting in a 9mm or 6mm for a closer view. I have not tried a barlow, but I imagine that would be very useful to get different ranges of magnification. Higher is not always better. Some star clusters look very nice with 15mm in use. So what have I seen? I saw M42 (Orion nebula) and it looked sweet in this scope. It had much better detail than offered by a 60mm refractor. The 9mm EP magnified it more at the cost of not focusing it as sharply as the 15mm. I have seen the star clusters M36, M37 and M38, as well as the Pleiades (M42). I saw the Andromeda galaxy (M31). I have seen Jupiter and Venus, and had to wait until this week to do some lunar viewing. Even with my high standard of performance I am accustomed to from a scope, I find this to be an acceptable grab and go scope for casual viewing. A beginner will get a lot of enjoyment from it while they are saving up for something big. Astronomy is all about getting out and observing, and it does not take anything fancy to show many of the wonders in the sky. The important thing is to get a good star atlas and be familiar with what you are looking at and where things are. One final thing. If you ever see a used Dynascope in the classified ads, grab it!

Good value as an intro to astronomy for young children. Well packed and not too big for storage.

If you're not too ambitious, its a wonderful little gadget. Its small, its neat, its simple, and it looks good, just the sort of thing you would actually use, unless you want to turn your house into an observatory. Its portable, so you can easily take it out into the garden and stick it on a table. Try carrying a normal telescope with a tripod about. You just wouldn't. It'll finish up in the garage collecting dust. The Dobsonian movement is surprisingly simple, but effective. The telescope has an f4 aperture, so it produces bright images. Thats important. But most of all, the engine room as it were is the eyepiece. I immediately bought a Celestron barlow lens - very nice lens - which means I can get much better magnification from the longer focus eyepiece, and any lens down to about 10mm. The 4mm lens is a very small lens to look through especially if you're wearing glasses. Longer focus lenses have wider apertures, and therefore are more comfortable to use. All in all a very worthwhile telescope system. All thats missing, is a clear night sky!

So, I'm an adult and I bought this for myself. I just can't afford to buy a "regular" telescope but I wanted one so badly that after a long agonizing comparison of the "cheap" telescopes, I decided on this one. It took me a moment to figure out how to see anything but that's because I was testing indoors and I finally realized I was too close to what I was looking at to actually make anything else (or quite possibly I was focusing on the white ceiling)! No matter, straight out of the box this was easy to figure out even without instructions. There is 1 sheet of minimal instructions included however you can download the manual from the Celestron website (and to save you some aggravation, I'm including the link in this review): [...] I haven't tested it outdoors yet and I will likely update this review after I have done so however, this is a great price for a starter telescope, especially if it is intended for a younger person (child) or a complete novice (like me). It comes with 2 lenses for magnification however there is a very affordable add-on pack that can also be purchased. This thing is lightweight and sturdy and made for a table top. I don't have a table to use outside so I'll be improvising but a patio table would work perfectly. From what I can see this is a great choice for a first telescope. This telescope can be used to look at terrestrial (land) objects or wildlife, like birds. If you look into the scope from behind it, the image will appear upside down (this is unimportant when looking at extra-terrestrial objects, ie. stars, moon, planets) however if you stand to the side but in front of the telescope and look into it, you will be able to see things "right side up". Indoor storage: If you have a shelf space, that's great. Since this is a table top model rather than a floor model, you'll need somewhere to store it. The scope can be flipped up to minimize the space it will take up, it's about 7.5"x7.5" in terms of width and depth and I have yet to figure out where to store mine but if you have room on a bookshelf, that would be the perfect space.

This is one awesome telescope! I bought it for 4.5k inr, and I've had great fun! It's really difficult to get photos from it, but it provides amazing clarity when seen with eye. Craters on the moon are very nicely visible. I can see some sort of colour on Jupiter, but you shouldn't expect to see the banding. 4 Galiean moons are visible as well. Saturn and it's rings are visible as well. While you can see planets through it, you should keep your expectations low. Planets are really far after all. Jun-Aug are the best if you want to see Jupiter and Saturn. Moon is best seen 2-3 days after no moon day. The "Hassle free packaging" is not needed. It costs around 1.5k extra, and my telescope arrived just fine with the normal packaging.

Good for kids