This is the first telescope I have ever used (can't compare with other brands/products). So far, I have been able to see the moon in amazing detail. I even managed to see a breathtaking view of Jupiter and four of its moons. Saturn was barely noticeable (barely a plain speck), but this is a sub $200, 4.5" telescope.
Pros:
-Easy to move with a single person. I move it assembled around my house and yard.
-Pretty good red-dot finder. Mine is slightly north-east to desired target, but barely. I like that the red-dot finder lens is clear and does not block out smaller targets.
-I really like the slow motion controls (2 long flexible rods). It makes following your target while looking through the eyepiece easy.
-Thank god it comes with a dust cover. I have seen $1,000+ telescopes that don't and it looks silly (although effective) to cover them with a pillowcase.
Cons:
-The tripod feels cheap. I'm not sure if the telescope can be mounted to any tripod either.
-Included instruction manual is not clear enough. I wish there were more pictures for the setup portion as some of the part names are confusing to beginners. I used a YouTube video instead of the manual.
Misc:
-If you have a blurry image, look up collimation. While looking at other reviews for telescopes rarely any mentioned collimation. Even ones that complained about poor image quality.
-MINE came almost perfectly collimated, so I decided not to collimate.
-As one may expect, if you or your base is shaky, it may be difficult to see objects clearly. I purchased a phone mount in hopes of hands-off viewing.
-You may need a moon filter (blocks a percentage of light) for full moons. The amount of light reflected may hurt your eyes.
-I saw Jupiter and its 4 moons in crisp, clear detail. That being said it appears very small with the provided 10mm lens (and my own 2X Barlow). Make sure your base is stable to minimize shakiness.
-I use Time and Date website to help determine what planet I will be able to see.
-The planets revolve around the sun at different rates and distances. The apparent size is not constant.
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This Item  Orion StarBlast II 4.5 Equatorial Reflector Telescope for Astronomy Beginners - Compact & Portable for Family Stargazing - Ideal First Telescope Gift | Recommendations  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | Currently unavailable. | $69.99 | -27% $109.99 List: $149.99 | $79.99 | -25% $96.99 List: $129.99 | -11% $569.99 List: $639.95 |
| Delivery | — | Get it as soon as Friday, Mar 21 | Get it as soon as Friday, Mar 21 | Get it as soon as Friday, Mar 21 | Get it as soon as Friday, Mar 21 | Get it as soon as Friday, Mar 21 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Sold By | — | SVBONY Direct | Meelong Store | Meelong Store | Gskyer Distribution | Amazon.com |
| focal length | 450 millimeters | 400 millimeters | 600 millimeters | 500 millimeters | 400 millimeters | 650 millimeters |
| focus type | Manual Focus | Manual Focus | Manual Focus | Manual Focus | Manual Focus | Manual Focus |
| zoom ratio | 18 | 1 | 60 multiplier x | [75, 30] | 120 multiplier x | 20 |
| eye piece lens | Plossl | k20mm | Kellner | Kellner | Barlow | 20mm and 9mm eyepiece |
| objective lens diameter | 114 millimeters | 60 millimeters | 80 millimeters | 70 millimeters | 70 millimeters | 130 millimeters |
| aperture diameter | — | 60 millimeters millimeters | — | — | 70 millimeters millimeters | 130 millimeters millimeters |
| telescope mount | Equatorial Mount | Altazimuth Mount | Altazimuth Mount | Altazimuth Mount | Altazimuth Mount | Altazimuth Mount |
| lens coating | Aluminum & Silicon Dioxide | Multi-Coated | Fully Coated | Fully Coated | Fully Coated | Aluminum |
| field of view | 1.9 degrees | 150 degrees | — | 0.38 degrees | — | 6.3 inches |
| weight | 20.7 pounds | 3.99 pounds | 6.2 pounds | 4.99 pounds | 5.7 pounds | 11.4 pounds |
| power source | Battery Powered | telescope | Adapter | Adapter | Adapter | Battery Powered |
Product Description
Great quality, low cost, star gazing.
Unless you buy a computerized telescope for a lot of money there's no getting around the fact you'll need to invest a little time learning about things like Right Ascension and Declination. I won't go into the things you need to know to view the planets and other astronomical objects, just do your homework on that first. To view objects you need to set the ez-finder up correctly, it's very easy to do, but you need to invest the time to understand that task. Once done you can sight any star with it and even the 10mm eyepiece will have it in view.I'll just address a few nuts and bolts impressions of this scope, from an engineer's perspective. It's an excellent price for a well made item. The main tube that houses the primary and secondary mirrors is metal and sturdy. The equatorial mount is metal and solid. The tripod is lightweight with aluminum legs and offers plenty of support. Overall I felt it was built well, the RA and DEC fine adjustments worked perfectly. The parts that matter most are the eyepieces and mirrors, I've looked at the moon, Jupiter ( with moons), Mars, and Sirius so far and they look great. I appreciate that Orion makes this product, they did a good job.Years ago I bought a large 8" Dobsonian for my daughter, that was a mistake in that it was too big to manage, although it delivered great views. This scope is compact, light-weight, and easy to transport. Kids tend to lose interest if you make something a burden, so I would recommend keeping it simple, but still giving them the challenge of learning how it all works. This is a great scope for that. Since my kids are grown now it's still perfect for my wife and I ( and friends) to easily take it out and get some wonderful views of the night sky and all the infinite beauty out there.I've attached 2 pictures I took of the moon using the included cellphone bracket. Nice little addition to snap a few cool images.TL;DRExcellent quality telescope for the money, compact, light-weight, for any level user willing to invest a modicum of time to learn some basics :)PS: Orion, update your manual. It is missing things like how to use the phone adapter and what the screws are for on the main tube bands on top (like that knurled aluminum knob? Users shouldn't have to search the web all over for things like that, it's your product, document it well). Have someone proof-read and verify your docs, they are fine overall, but do have some errors and omissions.
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2020Style: SingleVerified Purchase
This is the first telescope I have ever used (can't compare with other brands/products). So far, I have been able to see the moon in amazing detail. I even managed to see a breathtaking view of Jupiter and four of its moons. Saturn was barely noticeable (barely a plain speck), but this is a sub $200, 4.5" telescope.
Pros:
-Easy to move with a single person. I move it assembled around my house and yard.
-Pretty good red-dot finder. Mine is slightly north-east to desired target, but barely. I like that the red-dot finder lens is clear and does not block out smaller targets.
-I really like the slow motion controls (2 long flexible rods). It makes following your target while looking through the eyepiece easy.
-Thank god it comes with a dust cover. I have seen $1,000+ telescopes that don't and it looks silly (although effective) to cover them with a pillowcase.
Cons:
-The tripod feels cheap. I'm not sure if the telescope can be mounted to any tripod either.
-Included instruction manual is not clear enough. I wish there were more pictures for the setup portion as some of the part names are confusing to beginners. I used a YouTube video instead of the manual.
Misc:
-If you have a blurry image, look up collimation. While looking at other reviews for telescopes rarely any mentioned collimation. Even ones that complained about poor image quality.
-MINE came almost perfectly collimated, so I decided not to collimate.
-As one may expect, if you or your base is shaky, it may be difficult to see objects clearly. I purchased a phone mount in hopes of hands-off viewing.
-You may need a moon filter (blocks a percentage of light) for full moons. The amount of light reflected may hurt your eyes.
-I saw Jupiter and its 4 moons in crisp, clear detail. That being said it appears very small with the provided 10mm lens (and my own 2X Barlow). Make sure your base is stable to minimize shakiness.
-I use Time and Date website to help determine what planet I will be able to see.
-The planets revolve around the sun at different rates and distances. The apparent size is not constant.
Images in this review
- Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2020Style: SingleVerified Purchase
This is an excellent, inexpensive telescope paired with two good eyepieces and an almost useless tripod and mount.
Excellent telescope capable of serious astronomy but with a rickety mount and tripod
Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2020
Most cheap (less than $200) scopes are not even good toys, but this one is capable of satsifying visual astronomy. With a better mount and a camera, it can also be used for lunar, planetary, and deep-sky astrophotography--even a smartphone can be used to take pictures of the moon. For terrestrial observing, you'll also need an erecting prism, otherwise what you see will be upside down.
The tripod is inadequate for anything other than casual stargazing and for smartphone snapshots of the moon because it is unstable and imprecise. That said, if you hang a heavy object (such a jug of window cleaner or laundry soap) from it, it will be much more stable. Point the mount at the North Star (Polaris), and you'll be able to track objects by turning just one knob with occasional tweaks using the other knob. A small box with an electric motor is available as an add-on but don't waste your money.
The two included Plössl eyepieces are much better than those usually included with inexpensive scopes. I thought the moon map would be a throw-away, but I've used it several times to quickly find the name of lunar features.
Views of the moon are impressive, you can see Jupiter and its moons, and Saturn's rings (barely). The Great Nebula in Orion (M42) is beautiful, but other deep sky objects and galaxies will be little more than faint fuzzy blobs if you can see them at all. With a camera--smartphone, DSLR, or CMOS astrophotography camera--the excellent mirrors in this scope can produce decent images of brighter nebula, galaxies, and globular clusters.
This mount does not have a GOTO capability, but for first-time astronomers, that's a plus for two reasons: 1) you'll have to learn to identify major celestial landmarks so you can find your way around the sky which will always be useful, and 2) GOTO mounts are not easy to set up because they require accurate (fiddly) alignment and precise (expensive) tracking equipment. Nevertheless, if you're hooked, your next purchase ($600-$800) should be a good GOTO mount.
In short, this is a great "first" scope with excellent optics that you'll enjoy using to look at and photograph the moon. With other equipment such as a camera, and a good mount and tripod, it can be used for astrophotography, too.
Images in this review
Top reviews from other countries
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Andy MacReviewed in Mexico on March 25, 2020
Excelente compra para un principiante
Style: SingleVerified Purchase - Sarah PReviewed in the United Kingdom on September 26, 2020
Great beginners telescope with extra potential
Style: SingleVerified Purchase
I’ve been using this telescope for around 1 month and I love it. Easy to use and setup if you follow the videos made by Orion. I read a few online reviews and also purchased a x2 Barlow and 6mm plossl s as long with a laser collimator as I wanted to get the best from it. I love popping out on a clear night to see what’s new for me to find. I have been able to see andromeda, nebula (Hercules, ring, dumbbell) I have seen mars and some of the great star clusters in Perseus.Sarah PGreat beginners telescope with extra potential
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 26, 2020
Every time I go out there is something new to see!
One downside is the focuser I found it had a lot of slop and play in it so you would get it all collimated nicely then find as you focused the alignment would change. I found purchasing some 0.80mm Teflon sheet and replacing the original thin shims in the focuser tube with my own ones has made a world of difference. And I might find it can hold my dslr for photos.
Photographing the moon with my phone was easy and the detail is spectacular.
Images in this review
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