I bought this telescope for my daughters and I was literally days away from putting it on eBay….. your explanation of how it functioned made me understand it and we spent hours tonight enjoying this telescope, for that I thank you! You made this telescope the purchase that I was hoping it would be 😁
i am a noob at astronomy. i bought this telescope a week ago and after your review i feel like it will be much easier to find what i am looking for in that great big sky up there!! thanks a ton!!
I just got this as a gift. Having never used a telescope before, it seems like a pretty intimidating process to get it working. I will be watching this video a few times.
Great review! I bought this model a few months ago and here in Northeast haven’t had much opportunity to use the scope. Thanks for taking the time to do the review.
@peter bro ham how has the experience with your telescope been? I was recommended to buy this one and I just ordered it, arriving within a week or so. But I have my doubts too. Are you able to see planets, nebulas and other galaxies well? Have you bought any other eye pieces? Sorry for the questions Haa
@@jesusgarcia-xj2mz it has worked extremely well, everything they said it would do it has done. Easy to set up and use and so far I have just been looking at planets with no issues. I don't think you will be dissapointed.
Hey the planets , can you see them clearly? Or does it look like a blurred circle in the night sky? I’m mainly going to buy this in hopes to view the rings of Saturn
Just purchased the DX 5-inch SCT with Starsense. It's Celestron's latest addition to lineup. I've always been a sky "watcher," but this is my first scope. I wanted simple and portable while giving me some decent capabilities. My first use of Starsense bombed only because I didn't have it properly aligned. This morning and 90-min before sunrise in a reasonably low-light area with a little haze and a 3/4 moon overhead, the app worked well to locate my scope. I checked the alignment with my finder on Capella. The SS app led me to my first view of the Beehive cluster. Awesome!
Great job! I bought one of these used off of Cloudy Nights: It had been removed from the scope and glued and screwed to a ubiquitous dovetail rail that fits on an Orion/Synta finder shoe, so that you can use it on any scope with such a shoe. Wow! How easy and accurate with no wires, and a planetarium display with an observing list to boot! The NGC list for last night had 206 objects listed with rising and setting times, for example. Like you said: "This is a game changer!" I wholeheartedly agree! And I'm no beginner. I'm sure Celestron will make this a stand-alone device (like mine is now), and maybe put a bigger deep-sky database in it for larger scopes (Hickson Compact Galaxy Groups, e.g.). Meanwhile the price with a scope is phenomenal.
I just purchased this scope for my daughter. It came highly recommended and your review really helped give me great insight. I’ll be trying it out tonight!
Thanks bro. You did great. Explain it and other things about it that No, Other person has done in years. It is right on. Going on line to buy one , and getting may family to get one also. Thanks for ALL Your HARD WORK. I am 61 years old and been wanting one for years.
Great Review. I received this as a gift, and this being my first Telescope, this review and your set-up video was extremely Helpful! Thank you very much Clear skies!
Thanks for great review. What is lacking for me in most such reviews some picture examples. Just to have an idea what to expect. It is so hard for beginner to predict what can be expected behind all those numbers and description :) Is it suitable for instance to have nice experience while observing Mars or Jupiter? I don't expect great huge telescopes-like view but maybe something similar but smaller? Just noobie doubts :)
I bought the LT yesterday, my first Telescope and the App is brilliant for a clumsy old boy like me. I’m in the Southern Hemisphere , Aussie and I had no problems and had a great time with it.
Alvaro Piñeiro yo consegui uno inferior a el de el y me ha gustado mucho. El mío es 114 y el de el es 130. Con el mío puedo ver Saturno y sus anillos pero muy pequeñito. Creo que el de el ya puede ver más detalle. Lo que me impresiona es la aplicación que no habia logrado hacerla funcionar bien y viendo este video entendí mejor cómo sincronizarla y funciono. Si tienes el dinero compra el que el tiene! Yo soy principiante y estoy feliz con el mío.
Thank you for the great review! I bought this telescope a few weeks ago and I would like to know what eyepiece do you recommend for a higher view of the planets and galaxies. I bought a barlow lens but I don't know if it should be fine with the 25 mm eyepiece incorporated or if I should buy a better eyepiece. Thank you very much for your support!
Read reviews this is a great telescope to begin with versus buying a motorized one. People recommended saving the money with buying this one and buying more eye pieces. Which kits or eye pieces do you recommend? Would 2 inch eyepiece be better?
Hi. I got this telescope recently and have been observing Mars with the eyepieces that came along with the telescope. I am unable to see the details of Mars. It just appears as tiny red ball. Is that the max that I can get out of this telescope. Should I get filters or any add-ons? I live in a city with a good amount of light pollution. Please help. Followed your video to get the telescope set up and running. Thanks for the wonderful video :)
Thanks for the great review. I am glad they sent to you for review. I watched two reviews and you both made me feel comfortable with purchasing so I did!!!!
Just mount a smartphone that has a magnetometer(compass) onto any telescope (provided there's little or no ferric metal in it's construction) and run a planetarium app like SkEye. It's not quite as precise or accurate for locating night sky objects as a system using plate solving for alignment but it's good enough to locate an object so that you can find it in the wide field of a low powered eyepiece.
Hi just wanted to say off the back of this review I got my daughter this for Christmas. As a family we love using it. Keep up the good work on your channel. Wishing you a merry Christmas and a happy new year ftom England.
An excellent review and has convinced me to go ahead with purchasing a Celestron StarSense Explorer DX6. Although a different model to the one in the video the app used on the phone is central to the product and although handwritten reviews of people are helpful it was great to see how it is used "in anger".
Hi, I am checking the Starsense app and it shows in telescope models to choose an Explorer DX 6¨ and a 5¨ SCT. Wonder when those SCT will be available. I prefer this method than the motorized one
I love the review. I was actually looking to buy this for my first telescope. Since I would be saving some money on price are there any eyepieces(individual or kit) that you would recommend for a beginner to buy?
Thanks for doing such a great review. I am very active in astronomy, have 5 scopes, do public presentations, and help new people. So seeing your review has reinforced that I can confidently recommend this telescope package based on ease of use. 130 mm is a very good starting aperture. Small enough to be very portable yet large enough to show a lot in the sky. One of the members of my astronomy club just bought the 102 mm refractor and is very happy with it. The image is good and it is very easy to use, as you demonstrate in the video. It looks like the mount is fairly stable, an issue with many beginner telescope packages. I also like that the mount includes slow-motion controls and can be used manually, without the phone app, so you can use it to learn other methods of finding things in the sky. Overall I think Celestron has made a major breakthrough in the entry-level telescope package. I only wish they would market an add-on package so I could add this to my current telescopes.
Really helpful. Thanks. The downfall of this product is the atrocious documentation. Not only does it present wholly incorrect assembly instructions, but omits critical information such that you can't attach the telescope to the tripod or use the spotting scope. Just incredible. I'm glad I watched this instead of attempting to follow any further "instructions" from Celestron.
Thank you for your review very nice. Is there any Go-to update for this Telescope? And we're you able to focus with a Full frame DSLR or Mirror less camera? What would be needed to get it to work? How was the picture quality? And what would you buy to have a better picture quality for photography?
I want to know this too - in the vid he said he wasn't able to get focus on this 5inch, but was with a 6inch - so is it useless as a telescope for astrophotography or can it be upgraded to make it more effective? It looks like Celestron don't make a 6 inch with the Starsense app. I'd also like to know if his was a mirrorless DSLR and even so, would it make any difference to the ability to get focus? Is the attachment for cameras the problem, or is it just the diameter of the telescope that is the limitation?
Bought one of these as well, the 104mm refractor. Up until this point I was using a 85mm Vortex spotting scope which was extremely difficult to aim. This thing for a beginner works so well for finding objects extremely quickly. Within 10 minutes (and 17% battery) I was already looking at the the Orion nebula and star clusters, messier objects... The accessories are extremely budget however, I'd recommend replacing them ASAP. The telescope and stand by themselves are worth it though.
Great review Slymin! The technology they used in this model seems amazing plus sooo easy! I'm looking for a beginners telescope that gives you loads of opportunities to explore. I'm debating whether to go for this one or Celestron 4 SE (would go for Celestron SE 8 you have reviewed but it's out of my budget currently) please advise!
Wow that is really cool I remember 42 years ago being a kid with Burnham celestial handbook. It was a lot tougher than thank you for the video I’ve recently re-spark my interest in astronomy and still have my 8 inch telescope I built when I was 14 anything to get more is interested is great take care
Thanks! .... Been waiting to see the alignment process and how it was done. Celestron never mentions or explains it in their ads. I knew there had to be some alignment process between the phone and telescope that had to be done. Not sure why they skip over this step in their advertisements. It seems very simple watching your video. Appreciate the detailed review!!
You're welcome, I'm glad you found it helpful! Yeah it is insanely easy - which I think is the whole point - so beginners can be out and observing in no time.
@@AstroBlender Hope they apply this to their SE line ie 4SE Would be awesome to have a powered scope for auto tracking. I like MAKs personally Plate solving is a much better / easier to use and more convenient technology . Have you heard any rumors about this going into their other scopes??
How hard is it to colimate? I picked up a Newtonian telescope a few years ago and got super frustrated trying to colimate it to the point that I gave up on it 🥺 I don’t know if the mirrors were damaged I did buy it second hand so it might have been dropped.
I really get interested on this telescope since im a beginner but i wish you show us the image of the object you observe so we can have idea what they look like on this telescope. I cant find any good video showing what kind of image this telescope can produce
I bought this but in the 10". For whatever reason, I'm unable to get the Stars Sense to work properly. With everything aligned"correctly " all that happens is that I tap on something on the screen, select already aligned and nothing. It just darts back n forth to say either vibration error or that it's trying to align which was the newest code.
what do you think of the new , "POPULAR SCIENCE BY CELESTRON STARSENSE EXPLORER DX 5" SMARTPHONE APP-ENABLED SCHMIDT CASSEGRAIN TELESCOPE"? i think its a beast can you review that but i like your review great explaination.
hello, i bought the celestron dx 102 which has the same tripod. The question is if the fine movement control is just as smooth the horizontal as the vertical?
Thank you for doing the review. I’ve been wanting to start with a celestron 130 telescope. I’m impressed by what this unit can do. Definitely on my list to purchase now ! Regards from Toronto Canada!
Well, the Celestron 130 you were looking at has an equatorial mount. This thing doesn't. It's huge selling point seems to be the app (and the easy mount with mirror on this specific telescope).
Great review! We all know that the naked eye can show beautiful colors - how well could you see Jupiter? Were you able to see storms, the big red dot, different colors?
@@AstroBlender Thanks so much for your review! Of all the reviews for the StarSense Explorer, yours was the one that convinced me to make the investment. FYI, the 6" is not available in the US, but it is available in Europe and Australia sold as StarSense Explorer DX 6 SCT. I just ordered mine this evening. Any recommendations (manufacturers and part numbers) for filters and upgraded eyepieces would be especially appreciated. Thanks for your consideration.
Thanks for the review. Which 2" eyepieces would you suggest for planetary observation as well as deep sky observation. Also i'm new to the hobby, what is needed for Sun observation. Thanks!
Natchez For planetary observation 1.25” eyepieces are fine. For deep sky the Bresser 70 degree 2” eyepieces are good. You will see some coma at the edges but it isn’t too noticeable. They are great for the price, 5-element design. I have a review of those as well (back when they were under the Explore Scientific brand).
Hi, you need a sun filter that fits on the telescope where it lets light in, be careful when viewing the sun you can damage both the telescope and your eyes.
Thanks, very useful review. My husband gave me this telescope for Christmas and seeing you trying it out gives me confidence. By the way, I had not idea what that extra round piece was. Know I understand that it is an adaptor for a 2 inch eye piece :)
Maybe I am not understanding how this unit works. I had the impression that I could zoom into the sun to see it clear. From what I saw in this video I am not able to actually zoom into planets, stars ect... Please tell me what I am missing. Thanks!
Great Demo, thinking of getting this telescope, (total beginner) I have a beginners question if I may, can you take photos with your phone of say the moon or other objects using this telescope?
Chris Nurnberg I was wondering the same thing. Maybe it’s possible to remove the mirror assembly from this scope and attach to another scope like a dob. The only issue I see is that the app may be set to the FOV for the focal length of this telescope.
It realistically depends on what you’re doing with it which is probably just visual since this scope is not well suited for astrophotography so you probably just could get some better eyepieces since the default are meh and definitely if you live in the city or have lots of light pollution a light pollution filter and also a moon filter.
great vid Slymin, im loking at getting my 1st scope, your video is swaying me towards one of these, due to the fact i will help teach me about the sky, and where everything is.. what size scope would you suggest? bigger, smaller?? also i was looking at few 6-8 inch Dob's which i seem to always lean towards, but the added addition of the starsense tech is something that really makes me think twice, whateveryones thought on my dilemma ? also on a Dob, would i be able to use a similar star app, like sky map, to get a similar experience ( although not as detailed and it wont track me to the stars precisely , more of a guide to the general direction...
Thanks for the good review. Is the OTA interchangeable? What do you think is the maximum weight payload that the mount can sustain. I am sure it will be very shaky with a larger and heavier OTA.
@@AstroBlender you rock! Thanks for the reply. Will I be able to see nebulas? That's probably the question I should've asked to start. Earned a sub BTW.
You could see the brighter nebulas, like Orion, Dumbell, etc. many of the faint nebulas are very difficult to see unless you’re in really dark skies, and have a bigger mirror. That said most nebulae appear black and white visually as your eyes can’t collect enough light to give them color, so hence why so many people do astrophotography. Hahah thanks, glad to help. I don’t see all comments, so you won the lottery today. ;)
@@AstroBlender I do feel like I won the lottery. Thank you for taking the time. I have been listening to your videos all night at work. I appreciate you.
I purchased this scope partly because of your review so thank you. I was wondering if you could tell me what lens I could get to upgrade the view especially of Saturn. I can see it now but it’s really small even with the 10 mm lense that came with the set
Thank you, finally a good in depth review of this new system. I have been researching for my first scope for about a year and this 130mm with the StarSense app covers most of my current wants/needs. I will be visual only, no AP, and want to learn the sky (planets and DSO's) without having to rely on GoTo mechanics and battery to move the OTA. This will be traveling the country in our RV, so staying compact is a necessity. The only thing I wonder about is the optical quality specs of the OTA. I don't expect top of the line but I don't want "toy level" either. Any comments on this would be appreciated! Thanks again for your excellent overview, Andy Retired network engineer with way too much time on my hands!
The telescope itself is great, same quality as other Newtonian tubes. The 5" Newtonian mirrors are identical to my 6"/8" Newtonian mirrors (except in size) obviously. For visual use the focuser on the 130mm Newtonian works just fine. The only thing you may want to upgrade is the eyepieces. A few 1.25" plossls and maybe one widefield 2" would really make this a phenomenal scope to take with you on your RV trips. I'm glad you found the review helpful. Enjoy retirement! :D
I too the plunge and bought this thing. Upgraded on two EP and a Barlow with it. My question is the T threads are they able to fit a D7000 DSLR or do I have to get a separate T ring for that.
Im 49 and finally getting started from my interest some 30 years ago. I bought a pair of cheap 10x50mm binos to get started. What 1st telescopes do I get? Or do I get a 15 x 75 mm or 20x80mm pair of binos with tripod first?
cloudynights forum is great. I'm a beginner and worst you might experience at CN is brain overload. But I just take what I need and leave the rest. Really a whole lot of knowledge and they love sharing it with us. My own experience, though short amount of time, is make a list of what you want to see in the skies. How much are you willing and able to spend. Also, there are many less expensive scopes that are a blast. I'm looking at this one for example because I am 67 and just starting. I want to see as much as I can, as easily as I can.
I had DX130. However, the app is way off. It’s not even pointing in the right direction. When my telescope is pointing to east and the app is pointing west. Anyone know how to solve this problem?
Thank you for this amazing video. I have two questions please: 1- when you removed the telescope (17:23), you did not do the alignment process ?! 2-What software do u use to take pictures on your phone of stars, planets...?
I wish there would be a way to talk to you. I bought this telescope. I’ve had nothing but problems with the StarSense. I actually upgraded my phone yesterday and took it out last night. The software looked better, but the scope was not aligned where it said, the moon was, the scope is in the trees, not in the sky. And I did a line the scope the way you told me to. . celestron technical support has been no help.
I would appreciate any advice about the troublesome motion controls. the ones on my scope continue to loosen and have more and more play during my sessions. I am new to this and am leery about cementing the set screws in place. Is there any other way to secure the motion controls?
I know this is a year old video but I’m hoping someone can help. We just bought our son this telescope for Christmas and we have no experience with telescopes. The problem we’re having is when looking through the eyepiece and trying to focus in and out we will see outline of a cross with a circle in the center. Sorry we don’t know what it’s called but when you look inside the telescope you can see it holding a mirror in place. Just wondering what we’re doing wrong, thank you.
I did find out you can hook up with a separate smartphone and snap photos as well. Just hook to eyepiece as you would any other telescope. Well, I mean telescopes vary so I don't know that all are built to fit w/adapter.
I bought this telescope for my daughters and I was literally days away from putting it on eBay….. your explanation of how it functioned made me understand it and we spent hours tonight enjoying this telescope, for that I thank you! You made this telescope the purchase that I was hoping it would be 😁
Are you able to take pictures on your telescope?
What you can do is take a camera or device with a camera, put it on the eyepiece and take a picture
What made u think of selling it
@@Milanomaniyes
I know this video 3 years old I just got the telescope for Christmas of 2023 . This help a lot thank you sir making the video. Merry Christmas.
This scope is a very big step above a beginner scope. Just shows how far electronics have come and made easy to use.
i am a noob at astronomy. i bought this telescope a week ago and after your review i feel like it will be much easier to find what i am looking for in that great big sky up there!! thanks a ton!!
I just got this as a gift. Having never used a telescope before, it seems like a pretty intimidating process to get it working. I will be watching this video a few times.
Great review! I bought this model a few months ago and here in Northeast haven’t had much opportunity to use the scope. Thanks for taking the time to do the review.
Bought one a couple of days ago and it really has made sky watching so much easier. Great bit of kit for newbies and anyone at all.
@@coal_edxts move it by yourself, he shows it in the video.
@peter bro ham how has the experience with your telescope been? I was recommended to buy this one and I just ordered it, arriving within a week or so. But I have my doubts too. Are you able to see planets, nebulas and other galaxies well? Have you bought any other eye pieces? Sorry for the questions Haa
@@jesusgarcia-xj2mz it has worked extremely well, everything they said it would do it has done. Easy to set up and use and so far I have just been looking at planets with no issues. I don't think you will be dissapointed.
Hey the planets , can you see them clearly? Or does it look like a blurred circle in the night sky? I’m mainly going to buy this in hopes to view the rings of Saturn
@@watupkidd1 same and how did it work out did you buy one?!?
Just purchased the DX 5-inch SCT with Starsense. It's Celestron's latest addition to lineup. I've always been a sky "watcher," but this is my first scope. I wanted simple and portable while giving me some decent capabilities. My first use of Starsense bombed only because I didn't have it properly aligned. This morning and 90-min before sunrise in a reasonably low-light area with a little haze and a 3/4 moon overhead, the app worked well to locate my scope. I checked the alignment with my finder on Capella. The SS app led me to my first view of the Beehive cluster. Awesome!
Great job! I bought one of these used off of Cloudy Nights: It had been removed from the scope and glued and screwed to a ubiquitous dovetail rail that fits on an Orion/Synta finder shoe, so that you can use it on any scope with such a shoe. Wow! How easy and accurate with no wires, and a planetarium display with an observing list to boot! The NGC list for last night had 206 objects listed with rising and setting times, for example. Like you said: "This is a game changer!" I wholeheartedly agree! And I'm no beginner. I'm sure Celestron will make this a stand-alone device (like mine is now), and maybe put a bigger deep-sky database in it for larger scopes (Hickson Compact Galaxy Groups, e.g.). Meanwhile the price with a scope is phenomenal.
I just purchased this scope for my daughter. It came highly recommended and your review really helped give me great insight.
I’ll be trying it out tonight!
Thanks bro. You did great. Explain it and other things about it that No, Other person has done in years. It is right on. Going on line to buy one , and getting may family to get one also. Thanks for ALL Your HARD WORK. I am 61 years old and been wanting one for years.
Great Review. I received this as a gift, and this being my first Telescope, this review and your set-up video was extremely Helpful! Thank you very much
Clear skies!
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for great review.
What is lacking for me in most such reviews some picture examples.
Just to have an idea what to expect. It is so hard for beginner to predict what can be expected behind all those numbers and description :)
Is it suitable for instance to have nice experience while observing Mars or Jupiter?
I don't expect great huge telescopes-like view but maybe something similar but smaller?
Just noobie doubts :)
I bought the LT yesterday, my first Telescope and the App is brilliant for a clumsy old boy like me. I’m in the Southern Hemisphere , Aussie and I had no problems and had a great time with it.
Which one did you buy?
Thank you for taking the time to do this and share. Greetings from Colombia 🇨🇴, wish you clear skies!
Que dijo?
Alvaro Piñeiro muchas cosas amigo! Que te gustaría saber?
@@rafaelaparicio2550 Que tal ese telescopio? Que dijo al respecto de ese modelo? Es bueno para comenzar?
Alvaro Piñeiro yo consegui uno inferior a el de el y me ha gustado mucho. El mío es 114 y el de el es 130. Con el mío puedo ver Saturno y sus anillos pero muy pequeñito. Creo que el de el ya puede ver más detalle. Lo que me impresiona es la aplicación que no habia logrado hacerla funcionar bien y viendo este video entendí mejor cómo sincronizarla y funciono. Si tienes el dinero compra el que el tiene! Yo soy principiante y estoy feliz con el mío.
@@rafaelaparicio2550 ah ok muchas gracias
Fantastic review! I haven't looked through a telescope in almost 35 years and this 130 is looking like a great choice.
Great job bro I really enjoyed this review. Probably the best one of this scope available on youtube 👍🏻
Thank you for the great review! I bought this telescope a few weeks ago and I would like to know what eyepiece do you recommend for a higher view of the planets and galaxies. I bought a barlow lens but I don't know if it should be fine with the 25 mm eyepiece incorporated or if I should buy a better eyepiece. Thank you very much for your support!
Read reviews this is a great telescope to begin with versus buying a motorized one. People recommended saving the money with buying this one and buying more eye pieces. Which kits or eye pieces do you recommend? Would 2 inch eyepiece be better?
Hello sir,
Can we attach a RA motor to the slow motion knobs of this telescope???
Hi. I got this telescope recently and have been observing Mars with the eyepieces that came along with the telescope. I am unable to see the details of Mars. It just appears as tiny red ball. Is that the max that I can get out of this telescope. Should I get filters or any add-ons? I live in a city with a good amount of light pollution. Please help.
Followed your video to get the telescope set up and running. Thanks for the wonderful video :)
Thanks for the great review. I am glad they sent to you for review. I watched two reviews and you both made me feel comfortable with purchasing so I did!!!!
How does it work so far?
I hope this becomes a standard for all telescope in some form or another.
It will probably result in a screen with a camera hooked or build-in with the telescope.
Oh for sure, smartphones are ubiquitous these days. The mount works really well, better than I thought it would be.
Just mount a smartphone that has a magnetometer(compass) onto any telescope (provided there's little or no ferric metal in it's construction) and run a planetarium app like SkEye. It's not quite as precise or accurate for locating night sky objects as a system using plate solving for alignment but it's good enough to locate an object so that you can find it in the wide field of a low powered eyepiece.
Hi just wanted to say off the back of this review I got my daughter this for Christmas. As a family we love using it. Keep up the good work on your channel. Wishing you a merry Christmas and a happy new year ftom England.
Thank you so much for the review. I bought this telescope and your detailed review helped me a lot.
An excellent review and has convinced me to go ahead with purchasing a Celestron StarSense Explorer DX6. Although a different model to the one in the video the app used on the phone is central to the product and although handwritten reviews of people are helpful it was great to see how it is used "in anger".
Hi, I am checking the Starsense app and it shows in telescope models to choose an Explorer DX 6¨ and a 5¨ SCT. Wonder when those SCT will be available. I prefer this method than the motorized one
D Esco Good catch! I figured they’d be making more models available soon. It seems like these are selling like hot cakes.
I love the review. I was actually looking to buy this for my first telescope. Since I would be saving some money on price are there any eyepieces(individual or kit) that you would recommend for a beginner to buy?
only one question what if camera on your phone isn't capable of seeing the stars?
Thanks for doing such a great review. I am very active in astronomy, have 5 scopes, do public presentations, and help new people. So seeing your review has reinforced that I can confidently recommend this telescope package based on ease of use. 130 mm is a very good starting aperture. Small enough to be very portable yet large enough to show a lot in the sky.
One of the members of my astronomy club just bought the 102 mm refractor and is very happy with it. The image is good and it is very easy to use, as you demonstrate in the video.
It looks like the mount is fairly stable, an issue with many beginner telescope packages. I also like that the mount includes slow-motion controls and can be used manually, without the phone app, so you can use it to learn other methods of finding things in the sky. Overall I think Celestron has made a major breakthrough in the entry-level telescope package. I only wish they would market an add-on package so I could add this to my current telescopes.
Agreed on all accounts. Glad you enjoyed the review. Keep up the outreach!
Really helpful. Thanks. The downfall of this product is the atrocious documentation. Not only does it present wholly incorrect assembly instructions, but omits critical information such that you can't attach the telescope to the tripod or use the spotting scope. Just incredible.
I'm glad I watched this instead of attempting to follow any further "instructions" from Celestron.
Thank you for your review very nice. Is there any Go-to update for this Telescope? And we're you able to focus with a Full frame DSLR or Mirror less camera? What would be needed to get it to work? How was the picture quality? And what would you buy to have a better picture quality for photography?
I want to know this too - in the vid he said he wasn't able to get focus on this 5inch, but was with a 6inch - so is it useless as a telescope for astrophotography or can it be upgraded to make it more effective? It looks like Celestron don't make a 6 inch with the Starsense app. I'd also like to know if his was a mirrorless DSLR and even so, would it make any difference to the ability to get focus? Is the attachment for cameras the problem, or is it just the diameter of the telescope that is the limitation?
I just bought one to try. Thanks for the review very informative.
Ah man I wanted to see what you saw thru the hole :(
Me too 😀
Same
Was looking at Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ what do you think of it?
Would you please show us the telescope view too please how it looks like ?
Bought one of these as well, the 104mm refractor. Up until this point I was using a 85mm Vortex spotting scope which was extremely difficult to aim. This thing for a beginner works so well for finding objects extremely quickly. Within 10 minutes (and 17% battery) I was already looking at the the Orion nebula and star clusters, messier objects... The accessories are extremely budget however, I'd recommend replacing them ASAP. The telescope and stand by themselves are worth it though.
What accessories would you replace and any suggestions? thanks
77777ý//
We just purchased the 130DX are there any accessories you would recommend investing in to make it even better?
How do I adjust the tension on the horizontal and vertical axis?
How was the telescope on the tripod? Did you experience Any shakes or wobbles?
Great review Slymin! The technology they used in this model seems amazing plus sooo easy! I'm looking for a beginners telescope that gives you loads of opportunities to explore. I'm debating whether to go for this one or Celestron 4 SE (would go for Celestron SE 8 you have reviewed but it's out of my budget currently) please advise!
Wow that is really cool I remember 42 years ago being a kid with Burnham celestial handbook. It was a lot tougher than thank you for the video I’ve recently re-spark my interest in astronomy and still have my 8 inch telescope I built when I was 14 anything to get more is interested is great take care
That's a great review! Can you also show the pics of the planets/galaxies/cosmos seen through this telescope. Thank you :)
Thanks! .... Been waiting to see the alignment process and how it was done. Celestron never mentions or explains it in their ads. I knew there had to be some alignment process between the phone and telescope that had to be done. Not sure why they skip over this step in their advertisements. It seems very simple watching your video. Appreciate the detailed review!!
You're welcome, I'm glad you found it helpful! Yeah it is insanely easy - which I think is the whole point - so beginners can be out and observing in no time.
@@AstroBlender Hope they apply this to their SE line ie 4SE Would be awesome to have a powered scope for auto tracking. I like MAKs personally Plate solving is a much better / easier to use and more convenient technology . Have you heard any rumors about this going into their other scopes??
could you have attached an extension tube on the t ring and gotten focus with your camera?
I was so impressed with this presentation that I, just now, bought this amazing looking telescope.
Enjoy!
Great video. Can you recommend an eyepiece to one day upgrade to for this. Thanks
Why is the image upside down when I look into the eye piece?
What eyepiece would you recommend as an upgrade for this telescope?
How hard is it to colimate? I picked up a Newtonian telescope a few years ago and got super frustrated trying to colimate it to the point that I gave up on it 🥺 I don’t know if the mirrors were damaged I did buy it second hand so it might have been dropped.
I really get interested on this telescope since im a beginner but i wish you show us the image of the object you observe so we can have idea what they look like on this telescope. I cant find any good video showing what kind of image this telescope can produce
I bought this but in the 10". For whatever reason, I'm unable to get the Stars Sense to work properly. With everything aligned"correctly " all that happens is that I tap on something on the screen, select already aligned and nothing. It just darts back n forth to say either vibration error or that it's trying to align which was the newest code.
what do you think of the new , "POPULAR SCIENCE BY CELESTRON STARSENSE EXPLORER DX 5" SMARTPHONE APP-ENABLED SCHMIDT CASSEGRAIN TELESCOPE"? i think its a beast can you review that but i like your review great explaination.
With this telescope you can see well the rings of Saturn, the red spot of Jupiter, the nebula?
You can see the rings of Saturn and Jupiter.
You can see the brighter nebulae under dark skies.
Which lense you used to see the saturn rings.
@@ManishPatel-ij7cd El inglés no es mi lengua materna, tal vez no supe explicar mi idea inglés. Usted habla español? Así nos podemos entender mejor.
What about the 114az
hello, i bought the celestron dx 102 which has the same tripod. The question is if the fine movement control is just as smooth the horizontal as the vertical?
Thank you for doing the review. I’ve been wanting to start with a celestron 130 telescope. I’m impressed by what this unit can do. Definitely on my list to purchase now ! Regards from Toronto Canada!
Well, the Celestron 130 you were looking at has an equatorial mount. This thing doesn't. It's huge selling point seems to be the app (and the easy mount with mirror on this specific telescope).
Alex Haan - Thank you for your time in replying to me.
Awesome, review, thank you! Just got mine today but am waiting for better weather to give it my first go. Thank you!
Enjoy, have fun and clear skies!
Great review! We all know that the naked eye can show beautiful colors - how well could you see Jupiter? Were you able to see storms, the big red dot, different colors?
Thank you for this review. Can you tell me which model is the 6" ?
That is also my question! I can’t find the 6” model online and i really want it for astrophotography
They haven’t released a 6”. I think it shows in the app though, so perhaps a future release?
@@AstroBlender Thanks so much for your review! Of all the reviews for the StarSense Explorer, yours was the one that convinced me to make the investment.
FYI, the 6" is not available in the US, but it is available in Europe and Australia sold as StarSense Explorer DX 6 SCT. I just ordered mine this evening.
Any recommendations (manufacturers and part numbers) for filters and upgraded eyepieces would be especially appreciated. Thanks for your consideration.
Excellent in-depth review. Love the scope! Great video Slymin!
Thanks 👍Appreciate it!
Thanks for the review. Which 2" eyepieces would you suggest for planetary observation as well as deep sky observation. Also i'm new to the hobby, what is needed for Sun observation. Thanks!
Natchez For planetary observation 1.25” eyepieces are fine. For deep sky the Bresser 70 degree 2” eyepieces are good. You will see some coma at the edges but it isn’t too noticeable. They are great for the price, 5-element design. I have a review of those as well (back when they were under the Explore Scientific brand).
@@AstroBlender Thanks you very much for the rapid feedback.
Hi, you need a sun filter that fits on the telescope where it lets light in, be careful when viewing the sun you can damage both the telescope and your eyes.
Thanks, very useful review. My husband gave me this telescope for Christmas and seeing you trying it out gives me confidence. By the way, I had not idea what that extra round piece was. Know I understand that it is an adaptor for a 2 inch eye piece :)
Glad I could help! I hope you enjoy it!
Maybe I am not understanding how this unit works.
I had the impression that I could zoom into the sun to see it clear. From what I saw in this video I am not able to actually zoom into planets, stars ect...
Please tell me what I am missing.
Thanks!
Great Demo, thinking of getting this telescope, (total beginner) I have a beginners question if I may, can you take photos with your phone of say the moon or other objects using this telescope?
Do they have this as an add on to existing telescopes? This could be a good solution for my Dobsonian.
Chris Nurnberg I was wondering the same thing. Maybe it’s possible to remove the mirror assembly from this scope and attach to another scope like a dob. The only issue I see is that the app may be set to the FOV for the focal length of this telescope.
Hello!! Amazing video! Could you please inform me about the camera that you use?
could you attach a phone to the eye piece and snap photos
which accessories would you recommend purchasing with this? Thanks!!
It realistically depends on what you’re doing with it which is probably just visual since this scope is not well suited for astrophotography so you probably just could get some better eyepieces since the default are meh and definitely if you live in the city or have lots of light pollution a light pollution filter and also a moon filter.
great vid Slymin, im loking at getting my 1st scope, your video is swaying me towards one of these, due to the fact i will help teach me about the sky, and where everything is.. what size scope would you suggest? bigger, smaller?? also i was looking at few 6-8 inch Dob's which i seem to always lean towards, but the added addition of the starsense tech is something that really makes me think twice, whateveryones thought on my dilemma ? also on a Dob, would i be able to use a similar star app, like sky map, to get a similar experience ( although not as detailed and it wont track me to the stars precisely , more of a guide to the general direction...
How can the thos StarSense Smartphone-App be used with the telescope Celestron SC11 (on Celestron CGEM GoTo)?
Thanks for the review. Would a beginner using the starsence explorer 114 or 130 be able to see the rings of Saturn decently?
Doug w you can see Saturns rings in both those scopes. My first scope was a Meade 114 and seeing Saturn for the first time was mind blowing.
Thanks for the good review.
Is the OTA interchangeable? What do you think is the maximum weight payload that the mount can sustain.
I am sure it will be very shaky with a larger and heavier OTA.
Looks like it can't point to zenith because of the mount?
That is correct, yes. Unfortunate for sure.
what kind of clarity does it have you didn't take any pictures
Wow your explanation on this scope is awesome. I know what my choice is for my first telescope now since i'm getting into it.
I know this is a year ago, but how much can you really see through the eye piece?
It’s a 5” mirror so a good amount. Performance will improve with better eyepieces though.
@@AstroBlender you rock! Thanks for the reply. Will I be able to see nebulas? That's probably the question I should've asked to start.
Earned a sub BTW.
You could see the brighter nebulas, like Orion, Dumbell, etc. many of the faint nebulas are very difficult to see unless you’re in really dark skies, and have a bigger mirror. That said most nebulae appear black and white visually as your eyes can’t collect enough light to give them color, so hence why so many people do astrophotography. Hahah thanks, glad to help. I don’t see all comments, so you won the lottery today. ;)
@@AstroBlender I do feel like I won the lottery. Thank you for taking the time. I have been listening to your videos all night at work. I appreciate you.
I really appreciate your review. I was just gifted one.
I purchased this scope partly because of your review so thank you. I was wondering if you could tell me what lens I could get to upgrade the view especially of Saturn. I can see it now but it’s really small even with the 10 mm lense that came with the set
How is the viewing? Does it magnify good?
Thank you, finally a good in depth review of this new system. I have been researching for my first scope for about a year and this 130mm with the StarSense app covers most of my current wants/needs. I will be visual only, no AP, and want to learn the sky (planets and DSO's) without having to rely on GoTo mechanics and battery to move the OTA. This will be traveling the country in our RV, so staying compact is a necessity.
The only thing I wonder about is the optical quality specs of the OTA. I don't expect top of the line but I don't want "toy level" either. Any comments on this would be appreciated!
Thanks again for your excellent overview,
Andy
Retired network engineer with way too much time on my hands!
The telescope itself is great, same quality as other Newtonian tubes. The 5" Newtonian mirrors are identical to my 6"/8" Newtonian mirrors (except in size) obviously. For visual use the focuser on the 130mm Newtonian works just fine. The only thing you may want to upgrade is the eyepieces. A few 1.25" plossls and maybe one widefield 2" would really make this a phenomenal scope to take with you on your RV trips. I'm glad you found the review helpful. Enjoy retirement! :D
@@AstroBlender any opinion on getting a nicer lens set such as Orion Expanse vs just getting an all-in-one Zoom lens?
What is the name of the camera product used for the telescope in the video? May I know it??
I too the plunge and bought this thing. Upgraded on two EP and a Barlow with it. My question is the T threads are they able to fit a D7000 DSLR or do I have to get a separate T ring for that.
Does the cellphone’s white light damages the night vision?
Are the mirrors center fix and needs no collimation adjustment when you first use this scope?
It would have been nice for you to show the pictures of the planets as seen through the telescope. Without any pictures it leaves us wondering.
Im 49 and finally getting started from my interest some 30 years ago. I bought a pair of cheap 10x50mm binos to get started. What 1st telescopes do I get? Or do I get a 15 x 75 mm or 20x80mm pair of binos with tripod first?
cloudynights forum is great. I'm a beginner and worst you might experience at CN is brain overload. But I just take what I need and leave the rest. Really a whole lot of knowledge and they love sharing it with us. My own experience, though short amount of time, is make a list of what you want to see in the skies. How much are you willing and able to spend. Also, there are many less expensive scopes that are a blast. I'm looking at this one for example because I am 67 and just starting. I want to see as much as I can, as easily as I can.
Which eye piece you recommend for watching saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Neptune, Pluto, the eyepiece came with this scope only good for watching moon.
I had DX130. However, the app is way off. It’s not even pointing in the right direction. When my telescope is pointing to east and the app is pointing west. Anyone know how to solve this problem?
Thank you for this amazing video.
I have two questions please:
1- when you removed the telescope (17:23), you did not do the alignment process ?!
2-What software do u use to take pictures on your phone of stars, planets...?
I wish there would be a way to talk to you. I bought this telescope. I’ve had nothing but problems with the StarSense. I actually upgraded my phone yesterday and took it out last night. The software looked better, but the scope was not aligned where it said, the moon was, the scope is in the trees, not in the sky. And I did a line the scope the way you told me to. . celestron technical support has been no help.
Very helpful. Would you suggest this telescope attached to DSLR to take photo of deep sky Objects? Thanks.
Good demo, mate. You may just have sold a telescope for Celestron. You certainly sold the Starsense system. Greetings from Australia. ✌
can i use fujifilm instead of canon for taking photo on this telecopes ???
Really appreciate the video. I bought this telescope and it helped me a lot!
I would appreciate any advice about the troublesome motion controls. the ones on my scope continue to loosen and have more and more play during my sessions. I am new to this and am leery about cementing the set screws in place. Is there any other way to secure the motion controls?
Without really understanding how this system works I dismissed it as gimmicky crap. But I now realize this may be the perfect grab-n-go scope.
I know this is a year old video but I’m hoping someone can help. We just bought our son this telescope for Christmas and we have no experience with telescopes. The problem we’re having is when looking through the eyepiece and trying to focus in and out we will see outline of a cross with a circle in the center. Sorry we don’t know what it’s called but when you look inside the telescope you can see it holding a mirror in place. Just wondering what we’re doing wrong, thank you.
I did find out you can hook up with a separate smartphone and snap photos as well. Just hook to eyepiece as you would any other telescope. Well, I mean telescopes vary so I don't know that all are built to fit w/adapter.
Yes, you could attach a smart phone adapter and image!
Thanks for the review Slymin :) I ordered to 102 refractor. Would you know if it's possible to convert it to a 2" focuser? Thanks.
what is a better locator system? Plate-Solving or SkyAlign Technology?
can I use this to take photos , omg I just saw this option