I have owned the telescope for several weeks now. It was well packaged (no damage). The delivery was very fast!ProsThis is my 3rd telescope and it has much better image quality than the smaller ones that I own.I have heard so many bad comments about the tripod but I love it. It’s been very stable so far. If you read the manual and/or watch a video then it makes the use easier. I labeled all the knobs and that really helps until you get familiar with it. I actually have been trying to buy another EQ tripod for my other scopes.The eyepieces are ok. I have ordered higher quality ones to see if I can get even better image quality. The image is not perfect. I would like to see if high quality eyepieces would make the images standout better. The eyepieces are still much better than the ones for my other scopes.The finder scope is satisfactory. It’s not the clearest one that I own but it works good enough to get the job done.Con’sThe scope, tripod, and counter weight are heavy and fairly large. It makes moving the unit from the house to the yard a little unpleasant. However, it’s worth it for the better image quality.Although the scope was not damaged, it was not perfectly aligned which surprised me. It actually was out of alignment a fair amount. Luckily, I had a collimation tool. I had never aligned one before but it was daily simple and everything is aligned now.Overall, I am very satisfied. The image quality is much better than my other scopes and the price for a 134mm scope is incredible!

This is a great scope for it's size. It does have a few drawbacks but at the portability and the price you cannot do much better. Getting a large scope means more weight and less portability and if you move it around a lot you want a light easy to maneuver scope like this one.There are only three drawbacks to this scope that I personally have found.1. Mount is somewhat shaky. I found that snugging up (not over tightening) the tripod legs stops the tripod from shaking but the mount itself is a bit shaky. They did the best they could for the price for the only way to get a more stable mount is to make it heavier and larger which would cost more.2. The focal length is rather short for this diameter scope which limits the maximum magnification of the scope.3. The motor drive is a bit pricey. The drive is used to track objects as the earth rotates. The drive is not required if you do not mind tracking the objects manually.I have viewed two of Jupiter's cloud bands (stripes) with this and cannot wait until August when Saturn will be viewable where I am located. I also wanted to see the great red spot but it is on the other side of the planet currently, and soon I will not be able to see the planet for several months.If something happened to this scope I would purchase it again I like it that much!

I am brand new to Astronomy and did a lot of research. My goal was to invest as little money as possible to begin with to see if I got into the hobby then I'd purchase a more expensive scope later. The challenge with this scope is it is probably Orion's newest model so there is virtually no 3rd party reviews on this scope. The reviews here seem to be pretty spot on though. I wanted to avoid something that was "junk" that would ruin a beginner experience. I also wanted something on a tripod so I could use it for eagle/hawk watching. Note you need a rectifier piece to make images right side up on these Newtonian scopes. I've yet to find one that I can still focus with as I bought the wrong one to begin with. So maybe some more time to get the eyepiece+rectifier combo right to use as a spotting scope.First off, this uses an Equatorial EQ3 mount which is typically not the type of mount recommended for beginners as it is more complex to use than an Alt/Amz tripod mount like you use for a camera or a Dobsonian table top or ground mount which is the easiest. But I wanted to learn to use one and more easily track moving objects in the sky. I will say that this is a cheap EQ3 mount so some might consider it more on-par with an EQ2. However it is pretty beefy and heavy and this scope is relatively small and light so it's very stable except when you are focusing at really high magnification. Plus you can mount a motor for computerized targeting later if you want.This mount is much more substantial than what the EQ1 mount the Starblast 4.5 comes with however the Starblast scope itself is a small upgrade from this scope. The spider may have 4 arms instead of 3 but they are thinner (doesn't make a big difference but worth noting), the finder scope is of marginal better quality, and the focuser may be slightly better. So the trade-off is you get a much better mount with this scope than the Starblast, with some minor downgrades on the scope that in my opinion don't make a big difference in a beginner's experience using it. In fact it's the opposite. A more stable mount is going to be better for the beginner. Some say this is essentially the newer slightly improved version of the Orion Spaceprobe 130ST (which has an EQ2)mount) but with both 114mm and 130mm options.I use the tripod without being extended and it's the perfect height for sitting and viewing. When using large magnification like 75X-125X, there is quite a bit of shake so for the beginner that may not be patient, since the focuser doesn't have a super fine adjustment, this may be frustrating. I had no problem though all the way down to a 5mm eyepiece focusing. Just have to loosen the tensioner screws on the focuser so it moves a little more easily and adjust, wait for shake to stop and then adjust again. I can usually get the focus in 1-3 tries.The worst thing about this and the 130mm version of this scope is the finder scope is almost worthless. This one is super cheap and easily knocked out of alignment but it is workable if you just keep checking the alignment every so often. The 130mm you need to put a little padding under the front of the finder scope mount. Best advice from more experienced people is to get a Telrad finder (they are about $50). I don't think it's necessary on a 500mm focal length scope like this but might be worth it on the 130mm. You can transfer the Telrad to a better scope though in the future by buying another mount with the stick tape on it. So if you have a lot of frustration using the stock finder scope, the Telrad finder will get rid of your frustration. Also, you could invest in vibration pads to go under the Tripod. I am going to do that to see if it makes any difference as they are cheap and worth a try, but again, not really required to enjoy this scope.I would highly recommend putting a little blue Loctite on the tiny screws that attach the fine movement knobs. They eventually come loose but are easy to retighten. A little blue Loctite puts that issue out of mind.What I like about this scope is that the mount is just beefy enough in my opinion to support up to a 150mm wide scope. So if I get a 130-150mm later I don't need a new mount. Still it's a mediocre mount obviously because of the low price but it works! But a high quality EQ3 mount tripod is going to run you like at least 3 times the price of this whole package.The other thing I really like about this scope is the size. I can open my sliding glass door and pick it up with tripod and walk outside without banging the scope. Anything larger than this, you probably want to move the scope and tripod outside separately (the 130mm is probably borderline.) Being only 18.5 inches long you could easily put this in a small duffel bag or medium size backpack.I would at minimum recommend getting a 2X Svbony barlow with this to double magnification of the eyepieces. You will need to use the 2X with the 10mm to get a decent view of the planets like Saturn, otherwise they are really tiny. They are still small with the 2X and 10mm = 5mm but big enough to make the viewing experience quite rewarding and not too high of magnification to make it impossible to focus at 100X magnification. The Svbony 7-21mm zoom piece is also a good value and makes focusing easier without having to change eyepieces. But again, be warned, there is a lot of shake when focusing when go to to higher magnification that the stock 10mm eyepiece which is 65X - great for the moon and other larger field stuff but under-magnified for decent planetary observations.By far the best thing about this scope is the value. You can get enjoyment from it for very little money and use the money saved to invest in a more expensive setup later and keep any extra eyepieces you bought for it.I would say overall this scope is good for an Adult Beginner not wanting to invest a lot of money that will take the time and have the patience to learn how to use the scope properly. If you are impatient and/or don't want to do a little studying about using an EQ mount or are buying for a kid, I'd go with a table-top Dobsonian instead.

I think this is a great quality telescope and mount for the price. I do think the mount could be of higher quality, specifically tighter tolerances so there's no movement between components and it was a little more sturdy to prevent the vibration with any little touch or breeze against the telescope. But I think it's still worth the budget price. The image quality is pretty good. But the mount for the secondary mirror does cast a noticable shadow in the field of view that you can't do anything about. It did require a tiny bit of collimation out of the box (had to buy the collimation cap separately). The eyepieces are good quality, but I still recommend investing in more high quality eyepieces to expand the capabilities of the scope. The finder scope is blurry and inverted (upside down) even when looking at the moon. The mount for the finder scope is really difficult to secure tightly enough that it won't loosen or move on you. And the thumb screws on the slow motion cables regularly come loose on their own. I used thread locker on them to secure them in place. Overall this is a good telescope and worth buying. I would recommend to a friend

Si bien no es el gran telescopio, es bastante lo que ofrece por el precio, si quieres aumentar al maximo su potencia tienes que adquirir aparte un barlow 2x y algún ocular de aproximadamente 5 mm. En resumen creo que es un buen telescopio para iniciarte en la observación.

Surprisingly good quality for the price. Scope is well built with good quality optics. Included eyepieces are great. I really have found the mount and tripod to be rather solid even at high magnification,contrary to what some other reviewers have reported. The equatorial mount tracks it's targets smoothly once it is set up properly. The red dot finder is the one thing I had my doubts about. It's cheaply made but works great once it is aligned with the scope. I added a 2x Barlow and a 6mm planetary eyepiece. Everything I need for stargazing. Great purchase for me.