Flextube 200 Dobsonian 8-inch Collapsible Large Aperture Telescope – Portable, Easy to Use, Perfect for Beginners (S11700)

I have never owned or operated a telescope before but I began looking for a beginner scope for over a year now. Upon several reviews and forum ratings, I originally went with the Celestron 127EQ (Big Mistake) So I immediately returned it. Not only was the mount hard to maneuver but darn near impossible to collimate. So I started my search over and the term Dobsonian (Type of Mount) kept popping up from amateur astronomers. So naturally I being researching and came across this magnificent scope!! Not only is The dobsonain mount easy to maneuver, lock and keep track/move with the sky. It's easy to assemble!! (All needed tools are in the box) Now to the scope it self.. When you first unbox the unit you can immediately tell it is very well crafted.. (no cheap plastic bits) The 2" focuser is very smooth (it does come with a 1.25" adapter) and the x2 - 1.25" plossl lens it comes with are very decent quality (only wish it came with a Barlow lens) The finder Scope is excellent quailty and accurate as well I was skeptical about the whole collapsible thing, but it transitions very smoothly making it much easier to store and carry. So very glad I went this way. Plus it keeps the primary mirror and secondary mirror in completely different tubes.. (Just in case you drop a tool or 2 down the tube it doesn't bust up your primary mirror.) After my horror story with the 127EQ I bit the bullet and purchased a hotech 2"/1.25" laser crosshair collimator..seriously collimation is a snap (2 mins Max) ...A must have !! After every is ready to go and it's all collimated.. And you finally sit down..on a clear night.. And look through the lens for the first time at the moon (HDTV has Nothing on this scope) it's beautiful, everything you wished for..(even in the city) My 3.5 year old son and my wife are also always wanting to use the scope.. I am seriously considering buy 2 more. So if you are on the fence of buying a scope.. STOP and get down and press Buy Now!! You won't regret it.. I know my family and I don't..

I purchased this after getting a cheap scope with an unstable tripod. Reading the reviews the Dobsonian mounts were easy to use and great for the backyard. The telescope arrived in two boxes like described and I had already watched YouTube videos on assembling. It really was easy and anyone who has assembled furniture can figure it out. The telescope was also updated based on some of the feedback from other customers. Mine came with a 90 degree finder scope. The main OTA can accept both 1.25” and 2” lenses. The altitude movement was very smooth, however the azimuth movement was sticky. There is a modification for the scope where you install a 12” lazy Susan bearing between the two circular base pieces and I highly recommend it. The lazy Susan will make the azimuth adjustments very smooth and easy. I also removed the 3 feet that came with the telescope and replaced them with 4 x 2.5” locking casters making it much easier to move the scope to the backyard. The scope is a star hopper so you need a basic understanding of the night sky. I took an Astronomy class almost three decades ago. That and a sky application for the phone helped me pick out Jupiter and Saturn. Even in the suburbs with a light pollution of 5 I am able to see the two gas giants easily. You don’t have to wait for astronomical twilight to fade before taking in Jupiter. Once I got my bearings I went for my first nebula and found the Lagoon. It was really a matter of practice with this scope and hopping. If you are looking for a scope to find stuff for you then go for the go to version. The lenses are ok for beginning with. They are both 1.25” but the kit lacks a Barlow. I borrowed the 2x Barlow from the cheap kit, but you can really tell the difference in lenses quality. A zoom lens would also be a good addition to someone buying this kit. I got the laser collimator and moon filter offered by Amazon as a package. The collimator is necessary and I recommend watching a video on how to align your mirrors. I have not found use of the moon filter yet. Here I would recommend a good quality Barlow or Zoom lens. I also wished Amazon carried a light shield for the open truss. You can find one from another reseller and for the backyard with lots of stray light, I’d recommend one. The last thing I’d recommend is a good set of star charts and Left turn at Orion to help you search the night sky.

If you’re looking for tons of practice collimating telescopes but none of the reward of a clear image of the night sky, this is the telescope for you. I’ve owned this scope for about a month and a half now and I haven’t gotten one single clear image out of it. I’ve tried everything: collimating it countless times, checking the alignment of my collimating laser, buying a NEW laser in hopes that I hadn’t wasted $700 on a bunk telescope. I’ve heard people online say that length from the primary mirror that the secondary mirror snaps to is too close or too far to get a clear image and that you have to tweak this or that, none of which has made any difference for me. Either I’m using it COMPLETELY wrong, which I don’t find terribly likely, or it’s just extremely user-unfriendly. Either way, it has earned every bit of one star in my experience.

El mejor telescopio para iniciarse, lo colapsable lo hace manejable en el departamento y cabe en la cajuela, los oculares que trae son suficientes para iniciarse, le agregue un inclinometro y le puse un transportador en la base, localizo mas de 8 objetos en una noche y lo he usado 5 dias. En resumen fantastico, el envio es rapido, aunque llego con un golpe muy pequeño que no obstruye ninguna funcion. Se los recomiendo ampliamente, cielos despejados!