I've just come across your posts. I won't go into how or why because then I would be like you, apologizing for the length of my message. I still may need to apologize for the length of this msg. LOL. I enjoy your videos and the length of them is no worry for me. You feel like one of the best school teachers, you make things simple. Right away it felt like you were an old friend. I've been having some good chuckles with this post. Much like you, I got my first telescope almost 30 yrs ago. A Meade Starfinder 10" f 4.5 dob with a push to computer. I required it in the mid-90s for something like $500 or $600 new. It was considered an economy tele, but I loved it. The first lite I had with it was the Whirlpool Galaxy and its interacting companion! When viewing star clusters with the 9mm lens..I felt it was soo cool to see a single star with my eyes and BAM thousands of them in the tele. The ring neb also an awesome view with it. Much like you things changed, jobs changed. Instead of working locally, I had a 4hr round trip commute to work every day and just didn't have the time any longer. I decided to store the tele in my barn a few miles away. I was in my 40s then, but still had a senior moment and forgot to put the dob base in my truck and backed over it. Now 23 yrs later I'm retired and getting back into it. Sadly when I retrieved the Mead from the barn, looking down the tube I thought it looked like a lot of dirt on the primary, when I removed the mirror I found it wasn't dirt, but the mirror was degraded. When I decided to buy another tele, remembering how I loved the 10" I was very concerned about aperture size and also wanted a tracking mount. A couple of mths ago I purchased an 8se. As you said, it's a quality scope, but very expensive for my budget. I'm not regretting the purchase, but I didn't consider needing things like a focal reducer and other add-ones...anyway like you I rushed into the purchase and now realize I may have been able to get a tele for astrophotography much cheaper, but I'll be happy with what I have. I just ordered a DSLR camera and the required attachments. I've been browsing your channel and enjoy all of your posts... Clear skies sir. Keep up the good work!
So True, glad that your better and up to giving sound advice as usual, maybe a little laboured, but perhaps another work around would have been to approach the manufacturers and express what they would know and perhaps release how this sort of thing alienates rather than embraces, my philosophy is that, companies don’t go out of their way to make a bad product, but need to be aware of the consequences of such actions!
David, There have been many bad reviews of this telescope by people much more well regarded and knowledgeable than me. I have no doubt they know these reviews and opinions exist. My main goal in this video was to inform newcomers of the importance of doing due diligence before buying astronomy gear rather than trying to incent manufacturers to make better products.
I personally would be willing to configure a clean telescope/ OTA with my accessories of choice, e.g, mount, finder, eyepieces. That would be more fair, I believe. Thanks for the review.
Unfortunately, I was led to your video after receiving my Celestron Astromaster 114eq. It has the same issues you told us in your video. It's also a Bird Jones telescope, and I didn't knew it. At least, I will return my telescope through Amazon Return Policy. Great video Sr
Sadly, it's a top seller on Amazon. It sells because it looks right and priced cheap. Most people will only use it on the moon. A good review that shows how much you care about helping beginning astronomers.
You still have options for the OTA. Even with the spherical mirror I would be inclined to permanently remove the rely lens thus giving brighter low power views as a low power instrument making it better for wide field deep sky work.. With good quality eyepieces down to 12mm and X2 Barlow it may still be a descent OTA if fitted a Skywatcher Altaz or EQ 2 mount for planetary. May be good fun making a bad situation better(but its a matter for you if you think its worth it though a descent mount will always be useful for many future projects and upgrades.
Thanks is so informative for me sir, Just suggestions Specification telescope for visible distance Crater of the moon Planets: Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn Nebula, Galaxies and star clusters.. regards, tqvm
What would you reconmend reflector are refractor. Are maybe the iOptron Skyguider Pro. I am a photographer { retired} and would like to photograph the planets and Galaxie.
Reflector with a long focal length is probably best for the planets; a refractor with a shorter focal length and low f ratio is best for deep sky objects like galaxies. If you only want one scope, an SCT (Schmidt-Cassegrain) is probably a decent compromise, especially when used with a focal reducer for wider field of view and lower f ratio for deep sky objects.
I bought a budget telescope ... a Hexeum 70mm. It arrived today. It's going back tomorrow. I replaced it with a Celestron StarSense Explorer LT 114AZ Smartphone App-Enabled Newtonian Reflector Telescope. BARELY within my budget, even after the store credit from the old one (when they get it and apply it). No more unknown brands for me.
Celestron sells some junk scopes too. That Power Seeker EQ is an example. An equatorial mount is not for a beginner if they don't know how to operate it and especially a cheap one. The 127mm Power Seeker is a piece of junk too with that Bird Jones setup in it.
On E-Bay, I put in a bid on a Celestron C6-N, a Newtonian 750mm F5 still in the box OTA, never used they said, uh-huh. I told the guy to email me a picture of the primary mirror and I told him how to take the picture. He actually got it the first time and the primary looked good with a doughnut marker in its center. I checked this scope out up, down, this way and that way and understood it was no longer in production, but it was in very good shape and possibly could have never been used as claimed (it really was in new condition). So someone bid on it too. OK, I had my price set in my mind and wouldn't pay one nickel more, so I bid $5, then was always countered $2.50. I thought hmmm, only one bidder against me? I bet it's the owner bidding against me!!! Bloody beggar!! I've been to auctions before and have had the owner of the goods bid against me B4, same pattern. If the guy bidding against me was for real he'd jump $5 to $10 not nibble $2.50 a pop. Well it reached my cut off and I stopped bidding with 20 hours left to go. So watch out for eBay and the only other bidder backed off so I got the scope really cheap. Great Scope.
Actually, I haven't had that many telescopes considering how long I've been at this. I had a 6 inch Dobsonian (Orion) that I gave to my niece who was going through some tough times while away at college. I also had a Meade 3 inch refractor, a model 300, I believe, with an equatorial mount (from the 1970s, as I recall). I sold that one for a token $25 to a friend in Alabama who was interested in getting into the hobby (I don't think he ever did, at least not seriously). When I let these telescopes go, I wasn't thinking of just completely leaving the hobby; I knew I would be back but decided I would do so with some newer gear. Sadly, I bought that 127EQ on impulse but quickly discovered it wasn't a good scope, and soon thereafter I took some money I had put back and bought my 8 inch GoTo SCT and then my little Orion refractor. I had a few more telescopes over the years, including my original telescope that I bought in the early 1960s with money I earned doing odd jobs when I was twelve (don't remember the brand; it was a small refractor with a wooden tripod). After that I had a Tasco refractor (not exactly top-of-the -line LOL but my stepfather gifted that one to me, so it was special; sadly it somehow got lost when I moved with the family from Georgia to NC in the early 80s). Until recently I had a GoTo Meade ETX70 that my family gave me for my birthday back around 2000, but just in the past week or so I gave that one to my oldest grandson (it only works in manual mode now, and it's banged up a little, but he was excited to get it, and I wanted to keep it in the family). Right now I have three scopes: the infamous 127 EQ, my 8-inch Celestron SCT, and the Orion 80 mm refractor. I'll think I'll stick with these - don't really see any more in my future. Sorry for the rambling reply. Wow, this was like a trip down memory lane! Oh, BTW, I got started taking night-sky pictures in the 70s using just a Vivitar single lens reflex camera with a 200mm lens and a tripod - this was back in the film days, I even had my own home darkroom to process film and prints. I still have that Vivitar camera put away in a closet somewhere. Good memories.
@@oldgazer7200 For me I had a science teacher in junior high back in 1988. He told us about astronomy. He lied to us telling us that once you buy a telescope you don't need to put any more money into the hobby. He meant well anyway. That Christmas I got my first trash scope. It was a 4.5 inch Tasco newtonian with Huygens eyepieces and a horrible EQ mount. It took forever for me to learn how to use the mount and then when I learned how I still could not use it because you could not accurately polar aline it. It was just that bad. I put it in the closet for years. In 2010 I witnessed an anomalous sighting in the sky which rekindled my interest in astronomy but it never got beyond just using binoculars. I gave it up because of light pollution. Then on January 28th 2020 I witnessed the conjunction of Venus and the moon. For some reason it peaked my interest and started thinking of getting that 10inch Zhumell dob I planned to get 10 years ago. Two years later and too much money spent here ,I am.
I bet that 8 inch SCT you have is like the perfect all around scope. You can do the moon and planets and with a focal reducer you can do deep sky as well!
@@lornaz1975 people need to approach this hobby knowing it can be a real money pit - doesn’t have to be but it can be. There are certainly less expensive hobbies out there lol. What was that experience you had that got you interested again?
The man that's never made a mistake, has never made anything!
I've just come across your posts. I won't go into how or why because then I would be like you, apologizing for the length of my message. I still may need to apologize for the length of this msg. LOL. I enjoy your videos and the length of them is no worry for me. You feel like one of the best school teachers, you make things simple. Right away it felt like you were an old friend. I've been having some good chuckles with this post. Much like you, I got my first telescope almost 30 yrs ago. A Meade Starfinder 10" f 4.5 dob with a push to computer. I required it in the mid-90s for something like $500 or $600 new. It was considered an economy tele, but I loved it. The first lite I had with it was the Whirlpool Galaxy and its interacting companion! When viewing star clusters with the 9mm lens..I felt it was soo cool to see a single star with my eyes and BAM thousands of them in the tele. The ring neb also an awesome view with it. Much like you things changed, jobs changed. Instead of working locally, I had a 4hr round trip commute to work every day and just didn't have the time any longer. I decided to store the tele in my barn a few miles away. I was in my 40s then, but still had a senior moment and forgot to put the dob base in my truck and backed over it. Now 23 yrs later I'm retired and getting back into it. Sadly when I retrieved the Mead from the barn, looking down the tube I thought it looked like a lot of dirt on the primary, when I removed the mirror I found it wasn't dirt, but the mirror was degraded. When I decided to buy another tele, remembering how I loved the 10" I was very concerned about aperture size and also wanted a tracking mount. A couple of mths ago I purchased an 8se. As you said, it's a quality scope, but very expensive for my budget. I'm not regretting the purchase, but I didn't consider needing things like a focal reducer and other add-ones...anyway like you I rushed into the purchase and now realize I may have been able to get a tele for astrophotography much cheaper, but I'll be happy with what I have. I just ordered a DSLR camera and the required attachments. I've been browsing your channel and enjoy all of your posts... Clear skies sir. Keep up the good work!
Marketing at the finest
Selling toy that looks professional
I had one too:)
I can't wait for part 2 lol
Keep up with the good rant's.👍
So True, glad that your better and up to giving sound advice as usual, maybe a little laboured, but perhaps another work around would have been to approach the manufacturers and express what they would know and perhaps release how this sort of thing alienates rather than embraces, my philosophy is that, companies don’t go out of their way to make a bad product, but need to be aware of the consequences of such actions!
David,
There have been many bad reviews of this telescope by people much more well regarded and knowledgeable than me. I have no doubt they know these reviews and opinions exist. My main goal in this video was to inform newcomers of the importance of doing due diligence before buying astronomy gear rather than trying to incent manufacturers to make better products.
I personally would be willing to configure a clean telescope/ OTA with my accessories of choice, e.g, mount, finder, eyepieces. That would be more fair, I believe. Thanks for the review.
Unfortunately, I was led to your video after receiving my Celestron Astromaster 114eq. It has the same issues you told us in your video. It's also a Bird Jones telescope, and I didn't knew it. At least, I will return my telescope through Amazon Return Policy. Great video Sr
Sadly, it's a top seller on Amazon. It sells because it looks right and priced cheap. Most people will only use it on the moon. A good review that shows how much you care about helping beginning astronomers.
You still have options for the OTA. Even with the spherical mirror I would be inclined to permanently remove the rely lens thus giving brighter low power views as a low power instrument making it better for wide field deep sky work..
With good quality eyepieces down to 12mm and X2 Barlow it may still be a descent OTA if fitted a Skywatcher Altaz or EQ 2 mount for planetary.
May be good fun making a bad situation better(but its a matter for you if you think its worth it though a descent mount will always be useful for many future projects and upgrades.
You are too shy: Celestron is misleading young and inexperienced newbie’s into a disappointing experience.
Thanks is so informative for me sir,
Just suggestions Specification telescope for visible distance Crater of the moon Planets: Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn Nebula, Galaxies and star clusters.. regards, tqvm
I originally bought a 70mm Hexeum catadioptric refractor. It arrived today. It's going back tomorrow. To replace it within my budget, I bought a
What would you reconmend reflector are refractor. Are maybe the iOptron Skyguider Pro. I am a photographer { retired} and would like to photograph the planets and Galaxie.
Reflector with a long focal length is probably best for the planets; a refractor with a shorter focal length and low f ratio is best for deep sky objects like galaxies. If you only want one scope, an SCT (Schmidt-Cassegrain) is probably a decent compromise, especially when used with a focal reducer for wider field of view and lower f ratio for deep sky objects.
I bought a budget telescope ... a Hexeum 70mm. It arrived today. It's going back tomorrow. I replaced it with a Celestron StarSense Explorer LT 114AZ Smartphone App-Enabled Newtonian Reflector Telescope. BARELY within my budget, even after the store credit from the old one (when they get it and apply it). No more unknown brands for me.
Celestron sells some junk scopes too. That Power Seeker EQ is an example. An equatorial mount is not for a beginner if they don't know how to operate it and especially a cheap one. The 127mm Power Seeker is a piece of junk too with that Bird Jones setup in it.
On E-Bay, I put in a bid on a Celestron C6-N, a Newtonian 750mm F5 still in the box OTA, never used they said, uh-huh. I told the guy to email me a picture of the primary mirror and I told him how to take the picture. He actually got it the first time and the primary looked good with a doughnut marker in its center. I checked this scope out up, down, this way and that way and understood it was no longer in production, but it was in very good shape and possibly could have never been used as claimed (it really was in new condition).
So someone bid on it too. OK, I had my price set in my mind and wouldn't pay one nickel more, so I bid $5, then was always countered $2.50. I thought hmmm, only one bidder against me? I bet it's the owner bidding against me!!! Bloody beggar!!
I've been to auctions before and have had the owner of the goods bid against me B4, same pattern. If the guy bidding against me was for real he'd jump $5 to $10 not nibble $2.50 a pop. Well it reached my cut off and I stopped bidding with 20 hours left to go. So watch out for eBay and the only other bidder backed off so I got the scope really cheap. Great Scope.
Thanks for sharing. Just shows what you can find if you look around.
Glad you are feeling better. You have peaked my curiosity, what are the telescopes that you let go of? (5:17)
Actually, I haven't had that many telescopes considering how long I've been at this. I had a 6 inch Dobsonian (Orion) that I gave to my niece who was going through some tough times while away at college. I also had a Meade 3 inch refractor, a model 300, I believe, with an equatorial mount (from the 1970s, as I recall). I sold that one for a token $25 to a friend in Alabama who was interested in getting into the hobby (I don't think he ever did, at least not seriously). When I let these telescopes go, I wasn't thinking of just completely leaving the hobby; I knew I would be back but decided I would do so with some newer gear. Sadly, I bought that 127EQ on impulse but quickly discovered it wasn't a good scope, and soon thereafter I took some money I had put back and bought my 8 inch GoTo SCT and then my little Orion refractor. I had a few more telescopes over the years, including my original telescope that I bought in the early 1960s with money I earned doing odd jobs when I was twelve (don't remember the brand; it was a small refractor with a wooden tripod). After that I had a Tasco refractor (not exactly top-of-the -line LOL but my stepfather gifted that one to me, so it was special; sadly it somehow got lost when I moved with the family from Georgia to NC in the early 80s). Until recently I had a GoTo Meade ETX70 that my family gave me for my birthday back around 2000, but just in the past week or so I gave that one to my oldest grandson (it only works in manual mode now, and it's banged up a little, but he was excited to get it, and I wanted to keep it in the family). Right now I have three scopes: the infamous 127 EQ, my 8-inch Celestron SCT, and the Orion 80 mm refractor. I'll think I'll stick with these - don't really see any more in my future. Sorry for the rambling reply. Wow, this was like a trip down memory lane! Oh, BTW, I got started taking night-sky pictures in the 70s using just a Vivitar single lens reflex camera with a 200mm lens and a tripod - this was back in the film days, I even had my own home darkroom to process film and prints. I still have that Vivitar camera put away in a closet somewhere. Good memories.
@@oldgazer7200 For me I had a science teacher in junior high back in 1988. He told us about astronomy. He lied to us telling us that once you buy a telescope you don't need to put any more money into the hobby. He meant well anyway. That Christmas I got my first trash scope. It was a 4.5 inch Tasco newtonian with Huygens eyepieces and a horrible EQ mount. It took forever for me to learn how to use the mount and then when I learned how I still could not use it because you could not accurately polar aline it. It was just that bad. I put it in the closet for years. In 2010 I witnessed an anomalous sighting in the sky which rekindled my interest in astronomy but it never got beyond just using binoculars. I gave it up because of light pollution. Then on January 28th 2020 I witnessed the conjunction of Venus and the moon. For some reason it peaked my interest and started thinking of getting that 10inch Zhumell dob I planned to get 10 years ago. Two years later and too much money spent here ,I am.
I bet that 8 inch SCT you have is like the perfect all around scope. You can do the moon and planets and with a focal reducer you can do deep sky as well!
@@lornaz1975 Yes and for objects needing more field of view I can use my 80 mm refractor.
@@lornaz1975 people need to approach this hobby knowing it can be a real money pit - doesn’t have to be but it can be. There are certainly less expensive hobbies out there lol.
What was that experience you had that got you interested again?
That's not a telescope its a instrument of torture!
You certainly need patience with this video ...
Marketing departments are unethical