5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant little scope - 100% recommend.

E.G. · 17 April 2010

"The best telescope is the one you use the most" so they say. I have searched the internet, read hundreds of articles, read magazines, toyed with the idea of getting a 'proper' telescope (such as the Celestron Astromaster 114 reflector or the refractor 70AZ) but had a moment of clarity: apart from the first few weeks, when am I REALLY likely to go to the effort of setting up a big scope? I mean they're really big and unless you keep it by the back door it means lugging it down stairs, plonking it in the yard and wrestling with the various knobs and bits to, finally, get a view of the moon or a nebula. Sure, they'll look good but to be honest, like my rice-cooker or the sandwich toaster it'll sit there gathering dust and eventually end up broken or in the loft...Now, I thought of binoculars but, I have some of those and they're 10x mag. They're fine if you like to see streaks of light as the stars zip about your vision like fireworks. Get a tripod? Well, for the money, big (I say big when actually the biggest are only 15x) binos are not all that great and like someone on already said Bolo saide you'll need to be Data from Star Trek if you plan on holding them - forget it. No really, forget it - bins are a big disappointment for the stars. Only German soldiers in my WW2 picture books and bird watchers have them.The Celestron travel scope is like one half of a MASSIVE pair of binos. From 20 to 40x mag they walk all over binos in terms of brightness and magnification.I have packed it in its little bag (very useful believe me) and carry it up the Malvern Hills. Try doing that with a reflector.. In the perfect 360 view up their I've seen the heavens explode into life. I can get it outside, set up and marvelling at the moon or a nebula in 2 mins. Gaze and Go. Every night I have a quick scan at the heavens then get back to putting bath sealant around taps or whatever grown-ups do at night. Great.Build quality is absolutely great. Sure, you have to be delicate with the controls and not heavy-handed but it's a telescope - what did you expect? If you're too rough to handle it then take up judo instead. I am careful with my lovely little scope and it opens up the skys for me and my little daughter every clear night. I can't believe how brilliant it is. My daughter saw a hot air balloon in the sky today - so small it was barely visible. In 45seconds we'd found it on the Travelscope and could count the occupants in the basket and watch the flames light up the red envelope - completely perfect.Maybe you could get a better stargazer... maybe you could get a better bird watcher... but could you get a lovely little instrument that could do both for 70 quid? (2 million US dollars)if I drop it and smash it I'll be sad but get onto Bolo and get another. It should be 160 quid (85 million dollars).. but don't let Celestron know they've mis-priced it!Want a cheap but perfectly useable scope for looking at the moon and birds and ships at sea? Want to use it every day? Are you not a Wall Street banker? Get this little beauty. If you really get hooked with astronomy then in a year get a reflector. You'll still only use the travel scope mind you!Hope my review gets you looking up and going "Wow!"

4.0 out of 5 stars the telescope not that I am an expert in such things but being a photographer I do understand light and lenses appears to be exc

G. · 22 August 2015

Where do I start, this was bought a year ago for my 13yr old son who decided to take Gcse Astronomy, so this is a parents revirw with a little input from him. Its a lovely affordable kit and comes in one box, the telescope not that I am an expert in such things but being a photographer I do understand light and lenses appears to be excellent the eyepieces are good quality and similar to a camera with an added lens can be improved upon by buying set of more expensive ones but then this is for a child and they arefit for his pruposes.The bag is lovely as it means the whole kit is in one place and easily stored a massive plus point for anybody whose the parent of a teenager who sees his or her bed room as a massive skip with a door.Now for the negative in my eyes the tripod if you can afford it replace it, it is a really low end budget model and is not very stable and easily adjusted in my eye's, the good news is if you are the owner of one for photographic purposes they fit on this base perfectly.Overall I would say this was a perfect compromise between cost and quality. Having used it now a few times over the last year I think it is good value for money and a great starter kit if like me you have a young person taking up a new hobby and can't afford to purchase an all singing all dancing model.If you wish to use this for Astrophotography and have a Digital Slr all you need to purchase is a T-Mount ring for your brand of camera. There is a celestron adaptor eyepiece which we do have but you dont necesarilly need to purchase one as it has a t2 thread on the focusing barrel.my advice is if you can find one of these for about £60 buy it you won't be disappointed. I have also used it as a day telescope bird watching it is not ideal or looks the part when amongst "professional" bird watchers but does a reasonable job.Update we have just decided to up grade this product Sept 2015. Its good!! made sure I did not waste £500 pounds but after almost a year we are upgrading and its going to be a big hit. We have used it for astro photography but it needs a motorised mount to get better pictures hence the upgrade. With wildlife things are great and we've managed some decent bird pictures and lovely landscapes can be zoomed in on. I bought a barlow adaptor and t2 adaptor for my Nikon Digital SLR and it give a lovely picture but you do need to take the pictures in manual setting as all the gizmos on my D90, D80 and D50 bodies do not work due to no electrical connections.I have learnt a lot and my son has also last nights blood moon was lovely through the lens just ensure you have a moon filter.

5.0 out of 5 stars Good buy .

A. · 25 October 2025

Decent scope....

original and good quality

s.s. · 27 January 2024

all good

Excelente

e. · 30 October 2024

Un producto de alta calidad a un precio muy accesible, $1,900 MXN ya con todos los gastos (alrededor de $100 USD a la fecha).La compra fue el modelo Celestron Travel Scope de 70mm (no es la version DX que incluye adaptador para tu smartphone).Los materiales son de primera, a veces es difícil ajustar la dirección, pero con paciencia y práctica se puede resolver.Cumple perfectamente su función, pude ver Saturno, Jupiter y Marte con muy buena nitidez, los lentes incluidos hacen ver los planetas un poco chicos, pero con muy buena nitidez,me imagino que consiguiendo un lente extra para que aumente el tamaño de la imagen lo haría perfecto.No esperes poder tomar fotos para tu instagram o cosas por el estilo porque no se apreciarán mucho (por el tamaño de la imagen) a excepción de tal vez imágenes de la luna, pero si lo que buscas es simplemente disfrutar de la astronomía, este telescopio es excelente para iniciar.

Amazing gift for my daughter birthday

A. · 19 August 2024

Very good quality easy assembly in 10 minutes first time and a bit hard to focus on the stars but perfect for the moon. Thank you I’m searching for a mobile holder to take photo

Peforms Whats Its Expected.

P.S.P. · 5 March 2023

A good buy and performs as expected. Users are right, the tripod is flimsy and had to used a regular camera's. The fastening is flimsy too and after directing at the moon, the aiming point is dislodged.Otherwise, economically pricedand worth the buy.

Se ve bien

A. · 17 July 2025

Era un regalo para mí sobrino de 8 años y le ha gustado mucho, no es un súper telescopio pero para empezar está muy bien, la mochila es muy útil porque así lo tiene todo a mano. Tiene buena calidad