Nice deceptive image of Saturn on the box. I would assume that a first time user would be expecting a similar image through the telescope.

I got this scope when I was 13-14 and remember being amazed when pointing at a star, look through the scope and see 20 more stars. I also caught a satellite once. I used to align the telescope with the object in the sky between those two knobs, kind of like when aiming a gun. Worked well for me lol.

I bought one of this for a friend (at that time I didn't have any knowledge about telescopes). My friend moved and ended returning it to me so I decided to give a try. I didn't have any notion how to used it and I was just looking at the moon, Jupiter, Saturn and some stars. none of the view were astonishing: however, they were decent enough to spark the curiosity for getting another one. I am still saving for a decent telescope and I use this one to get more expertise and knowledge. I see this as a Walmart bike: you are not going to get into a race on it, but it can get you to going. Thanks to I am seeing your videos Ed and also it looks great in a shelve in my living room.

Amazing how Ed can take a $60.00 telescope and give it a sense of prestige. He puts the same great effort into reviewing a $20k scope as he does an inexpensive one like this. Love it.

Good review, thanks for taking the time to do so!

The use of higher quality eyepieces was something I did on my own. Have had my FirstScope 76 since 2009, and I bought two Tele Vue eye pieces to assign to it. A 15mm Tele Vue Plossl and a vintage 10.5mm Tele Vue Plossl (Japan) labled. These two eye pieces really brought out the minor quality of this little scope. And this setup is a splendid way to train parents and their kids, the difference in inexpensive and premium grade eye pieces, and that a fortune in cash does not have to be spent on telescope manufacturers marketing. And thanks to Ed Ting. He does his best to steer us through all of this, keeping our best interest in mind.Cheers from Texas!

It's not exactly a Takahashi with Fluorite but I'm not gonna lie, the design of the tube, with the names of famous astronomers is pretty cool.

Always nice to start a Sunday with a new video, thanks Ed! On your last video, I commented I was enjoying your book. In this video, I can confirm it was just as enjoyable all the way through. I’m sure I will find myself rereading it and learning more every time. Do you think you may ever cover topics such as editing or cameras in your videos? Thanks for all the help you’ve provided me, and so many others!

Great review. I have the Orion Funscope and it's basically the same thing. Awesome little scope and It's being loaned to a coworkers son. Loves it so much I'm getting him a Heritage 130p.

My first views were from a 20 dollar Toys R Us scope. It was a 3" mirror with a cardboard tube with a much longer focal length than the featured scope. It also had a ball and socket mount with sheet metal legs. The first two objects I looked at were Saturn and Jupiter on the same night. I was probably 9 or 10 and I was stunned that the pictures I looked at in the magazines of these worlds, we could see from here, with our own eyes.

Thanks again for a quality review. Cheers!

MAGNIFICENT REVIEW for such a cheap reflector. You speak concisely I hardly try to skip the video..turn out I keep watching until 16:30.... without skipping. Yes, great and honest review

I recently took my old Jason refractor out, took the barrel off of my low cost 9mm Plossl and taped it on top of the prism diagonal. It looked so much better than the Huygens eyepieces that came with the scope! I looked at the moon when it was 3/4 full and I saw zero CA and a nice looking image. How I wish that manufacturers would see that including all of the extra “junk” gets a beginner no where. I personally am a fan of no finder (put a line up the tube and teach the kids to sight up the tube) and including one or two decent eyepieces.

Many thanks for an honest, accurate & professional review. There are so many scams being sent as 100X - 300X (?!!) as YT ads 24/7. Blessings!!. 🤗🙏🙏🙏

hi Ed, just found this review. I have had one of these for years, moved on to bigger and better night vision telescopes. But here is something to consider, I kept it for the sun, with the appropriate solar filter of course (V cheap because of it's diameter). It blows all my others away due it's stability and portability for eclipses and transits. Agreeing absolutely with your platform requirements comments.

I have had 2 of the Celestron First Scopes. The first one was usable but had pretty bad spherical aberration. It was most useful for daytime viewing. The second one had optics that are actually quite good. I still own it and it works quite well with plossl eyepieces in a wide range of focal lengths. The original Huygens and Ramsden eyepieces supplied are quite poor, especially for a short focal ratio reflector. Dan B., FL

Insightful review. Steady quality, as ever. Two videos I’d like to see, after this one: Which binoculars and tripod mount should I get for about $200 total? What’s an affordable, entry-level tracker suitable for use with binos/binocs?

Ed, you are an inspiration. Finally getting into astronomy as a result of your tutoring here. 1st scope: 8 inch dob arriving soon (?). Question: why do you think there is so much emotion about the two new eaa scopes? What do you think about them?

I got this scope at a flee marked for $4. I use it to watch birds in the garden. I also got a Short Tube 80 for $11 at the same flee marked and it's freaking awesome!

Thank you! There is light at the end of the tunnel. But not this one. I will study your other reviews on telescopes. Thanks again!

Love your videos! Haven't found anything on Celestron 8SE. I am new in the hobby and wanted to know more.

Thanks for the great reviews Ed! I appreciate that you review the wide range from budget to semi-professional telescopes! You keep recommending the Orion Starblast (4.5") for beginners. However, this one is difficult to get over here in europe nowadays. I would like to hear your opinion on the Skywatcher Heritage 150p Flextube (6"). I didn't find a review of yours on this one or the previous 5.1" version. What is your opinion on these flex tubes? What if the recommended improvements (here on YT) are applied? Also, are the flex tubes suitable for sun observations (of course with solar filter). Or is the open tube not suitable for that? Thanks again, looking forward for further reviews and beginner tips! Greetings from Germany!

Love your advice and tips, How about reviewing the AWB one sky 130 5.3 (somewhere around there) or the Skywatcher heritage 130

Thanks Edward! I love this and all of your other videos!

Big Thanks!!!

Hi Ed- For about the same pricepoint you can snag a set of Celestron Skymaster 15x70 binos and they are a great value. I'd love to see you review them!

I had a Celestron like this one - it was my first telescope. It was good enough to make me want a Larger and more Expensive telescope! I'd say, if you have a slight interest in Astronomy, start with something like this to find out if you want to spend the money an a larger one !!!

I have the National Parks version, they sell them at Barnes & Noble. It's a good scope to let the kids play with while the adults use the bigger scopes.

A green laser beam finder works great for these for pointing at objects overhead I found

I bought this nifty little scope used for $20 and I use the heck out of it. While I'm imaging I use this one to scan targets instead of just sitting there doing nothing. I've actually used it a few times smartphone imaging the Moon and got some decent images but it had a little chromatic dispersion along the outer rim

These are really cool little scopes for the money, but if you can stretch another maybe $30-40 it will get you something like the Sky-Watcher 100p which has a proper parabolic mirror focusing light from every part of the mirror in the same place giving a good sharp focus. Unfortunately the First Scope has a spherical mirror, which is understandable for the cost of course, but it will show strong spherical aberration (A soft image because spherical mirrors cannot focus the light from all parts of the mirror at the same point). I did a shoot out between the Heritage 100p and the Takahashi FS60cb and the budget 100p gave the Tak a run for it's money.....well, until very high magnifications were used. Amazing scope for around £/$100.

I find it quite pleasant to look through at the milky way just to full my mind full of stars and not trying to magnify any particular object. I also like that I can jump outside really quick with it, then again if I'd heard there were slightly larger alternatives I would have gone for one. I found a small aluminium camping table with a chair or stool works well for a platform. It was very nice to have on a recent night sky trip where the vehicle I carpooled in didn't have enough space for a bigger telescope. The only thing im trying to manage is collimation, I got it for 20 bucks USED but it was all in the box as if it sat in a closet. Getting the two eyepieces was a score too as those usually cost at least 20 dollars give or take. I do share the one comment idea of using it as a hefty finder scope 😂

Great video! I've almost bought the Orion funscope on many occasions mostly because I'm a telescope junky. And it seems like it comes with decent accessories.

Would you recommend that I buy this or the celestron travelscope 70 DX for viewing the moon? I can get either one for $50. Thanks! Nice videos. Very informative.👌

Love Televue!

I actually just purchased a tabletop 6inch dobsonian (starblast 6) i dont know how tabletop friendly it will be but we shall see

I bought at a church rummage sale with broken 20 and 9 mm lenses. I use my Zhumell plossl eyepieces and it has been worth the $3.

I keep one in the car with the stock 20mm eyepiece and a $10 cell phone holder. Perfect for that application. Also perfect for handing to kids who come up to you while you're in the park! It's also light enough to take camping--backpacking, not just car camping. Downside: my focusing mechanism is pretty wobbly. But put an inexpensive Svbony or Celestron zoom eyepiece in it, and it's okay! Just don't spend more than $59 for it: you can spend $75 or $100 used and get _much_ more scope. I just picked up a 7-21mm Svbony eyepiece for $45 through an eBay sale; a good match for this scope, and it'll be with me forever. Also used it as a cheap scope for the eclipse: small enough for inexpensive solar filters and a cell phone cam.

Cool video! I remember reading that this scope uses a spherical and not parabolic mirror. Would you consider doing a review of the Sky-watcher Heritage 150P? I use one as a travel scope for when I go 4WD-ing and have been very impressed by the wide-field views the telescope provides for the money. I use an Explore Scientific 68 deg 24mm and 82 deg 14mm with it primarily, but the included 'wide angle' eyepieces are pretty good. Might be a good 'first telescope'?

Question: How do I collimate it. I stuck a lasermate in the focuser. The laser traveling downward doesn't hit the center of the secondary mirror. Also, I can't adjust the objective mirror in the back. Anyway, it's a cute little telescope. Thanks

I bought the National Park Foundation version of this Telescope. It has also Kellners, a 20 mm and a 10 mm. Mostly I use it with my CIO 25 mm and 12.5 mm Orthos. It's fun to use, and compared with my CIO 78 mm f/9.6 telescope at 30X it doesn't look that bad. Whenever I post about this telescope type I claim that it's fun when you really know what are you meddling with. ** Edition ** I have to add. There's a slight ammount of adjustment for the primary, if someone dares and knows exactly what to do. Loosening a bit the primary mounting screws reveals a bit of play, so it might be possible to improve a bit the collimation of the optics. I post this from personal experience, warning about the limits of loosening and tightening screws on plastic and without any warranty.

short answer: no The mirror is spherical rather than parabolic. If you want a good budget telescope get the skywatcher heritage 76 (the heritage is about 10 pounds more expensive but the mirror is parabolic).

Do you have opinions on the celestron travelscope series? I have the 80mm (with some upgrades) and think it’s ok

I got it for £15 and observed andromeda with it. Great for the little one.

Nice review, I picked one up and swapped the Kelners for a 31mm Naglar and a 24mm Panoptic, much better lol.

I have the Moon version and love it. However, not as much as my Tele Vue TV-85. Lol 😀

@Ed Ok so I went to town on my first scope it is now what I call the Super Mod 76 for full details of everything I done go and listen to the actual astronomy podcast episode 72 needless to say I put a lot of time and effort into this tiny scope and the end results were very good I have seen Saturn and it’s rings Jupiter and colour banding I’ve split Polaris and many many other things besides 😀 for high power I use a TMB planetary 4mm and if it’s collimated properly on the right night of seeing I think you will be extremely impressed as I was I have even had work put in the ALPO lunar observer with it !! It will take time to do everything properly but when done it’s a great affordable windowsill / tabletop scope that EVERYINE can afford the main bulk of the mods I’ve done are reworking the focuser proper collimation blackening the edges of the mirrors both primary and secondary flocking the tube throughout adding a green laser and uprated finder scope and lots of 3D printed parts too there is even a tripod adapter you can print for it !!!! As you said the included eyepieces are at best passable but it punches well above it’s weight great vid I hope lots see this

I'd recommend getting eyepieces from amazon/ebay from brands like "SVBony" or "Gosky" or stuff like that. They are all mostly "Generic" optics but they are really affordable. I thin I got a 23mm plossl for 14 dollars. It works great compared to the junk you get in the box. For my 80mm refractor "Adventure scope" I use the 23mm and the 32mm. I have a 9mm plossl as well. Are they actually plossl eyepieces? Who knows. They work good for me though.

Can you link a video for a telescopic lens for a Sony a6000 please

The thing is great i can easily separate the rings from the ball and only get a few bands of jupiter. 8/10 telescope and even posted the the results in my channel. I did modify my telescope with a tripod. I would recommend this telescope if you only have a 50 dollar gift card. If you get the telescope get the sovbony budget lens kit (only 30 bucks) and a 2x barlow and u would be seeing saturns rings with a 10mm and 2x barrow. If you want to spend 100 bucks get the sv105 cam with a 5 and 3x barrow and take some neat pics. Also if you see this do a review on the sv105, witch great budget cam.

These are $42 for Amazon Prime day today. Bought one for my 7yr old.

Nice review. Quick questions: 1. Does the table top mount have a connection to allow it to be attached to a camera tripod? 2. Does the table top mount accept other telescopes with a Vixen style dovetail (e.g. C-90 Mak)? Thanks 👍

I have the Cometron version and cradle it in my arm like the old Edmund Astroscan. A green laser works better than a spotting scope. The included 20mm eyepiece isn't good, they should just give you a Chinese plossl. I use mine for casual viewing of the moon and clusters.

i really like how he got out the obsession in the background this time

I am looking at the Celestron website. They show all 4 versions of this scope (Cometron, Moon, National Parks, and this FirstScope). I noticed that they dont come with the same eyepieces. The National Park version for instance has both a 20mm and 10mm Kellner eyepiece. The Signature Moon version has a 20mm and a 4mm eyepiece like the one in the video. All these scopes are priced the same at $55.

So basically, this beginner's scope is pretty usable, if you're fairly experienced, with your own suite of accessories 👍

I have The Same Telescope, Orion's Model.., Funscope 76 !! 🔭🌠

i am excited to use my bought-second-hand-but-is-new celestron telescope that looks just like the one in the video. mine has the '2009 international year of astronomy' logo on it and it has the 5x24 finder, H4mm, H6mm, H12.5mm, H20mm eyepieces. unfortunately it does not have a moon filter with the kit :( for many years i had thought it would be fun to examine the cosmos. i wonder if my device is an acceptable enough unit to at least get me started.

Hey Ed, what cameras do you like for EAA? So many options, and they get expensive quick. Was leaning toward an ASI385MC... any experience with Zwo?

Interesting.

It might make a decent finder scope. Lol.

So, Ed... This is the video I was looking for when I ran across your Mt. Lindsey climb video. I have a strange question. I'm the pretty new to astronomy guy with an Orion 4.5EQ who saw enough to want more aperture, so partly based on your video recommendations, got an Orion XT8Plus. Both offer amazing views. My question pertaining to this video is, even with obviously better scopes, it's bitter cold and has been mostly cloudy (when not snowing) here in the Rockies for a few weeks. I've been trying to sneak in some viewing some evenings, but with temperature acclimation times for the mirrors/tubes, most attempts are useless. There's no way to predict a break in the cloud cover to view. Do you think a small scope like this would be worth it as a grab and dash tool to get some time in under the sky? I get that it's not going to see what even a 114 does, but I do already have a set of Plossls, so I wouldn't be attempting to look through the junk eyepieces that are supplied... and I'm not expecting Neptune to drop into my lap. Perhaps I should just be patient and wait until March when there will be some better evenings, but many of the winter targets will be more difficult to view, if in sight at all. Anyway, I'm probably overthinking things, but your opinion is appreciated. I'm probably diving in (it's inexpensive, so why not?).

Hey, Ed, I bought the Robert Reeves Moon version a couple of years ago. I added a Baader Planetarium SkySurfer lll red dot finder and I also purchased two Celestron X-Cel eyepieces, a 5mm and a 12mm which give 60x and 25x respectively. To me, the optics don't seem to be that great and the lazy-susan mount leaves a lot to be desired. I may try to get the finder lined up with the main scope but the azimuth keeps shifting on me. Would it be possible to take the tube off this mount and put it on something like the Orion VersaGo mount.

There are good 0.965" eyepieces, but quite none of them is still made. The last manufacturer was Pentax, but I once got a fine 5 mm Ortho made by Vixen.

I have strong opinions on this telescope, which I will share before watching the video. I think these are great for kids. But they can't do planets and they really struggle to do the Moon. The dobsonian base of the FirstScope is easy and intuitive to use and for a kid they're probably steadier than trying to hold up binoculars. For an adult? Eh, $35 gets you a cheap but passable pair of 7x50 or 10x50 binoculars which will show you almost as much. If you own one, definitely make a sub-aperture-mask to stop it down and reduce spherical aberration. It helps enormously on things like the Moon and trying to see the rings of Saturn. There's actually several versions of it and the accessories DO matter. The default and "Moon" version come with a 20mm and 4mm Huygens and Ramsden eyepiece which are actually garbage. The Cometron FirstScope and Orion FunScope versions come with Kellner eyepieces which are much better. Both of those come with a finder but the optical finder on the cometron is so much worse than the FunScope's red dot finder. Also be aware that the eyepiece orientation on the default/IYA-spiral-names version of the FirstScope, and Orion's FunScope, have a really bad focuser/eyepiece placement on the top which makes it hard to actually use when sat at a table. The Moon, Cometron, National Parks, and Cosmos variants of the Celestron FirstScope have the better angled-side placement of the focuser and top placement of the finderscope/red dot finder mount. My opinion of this thing started off pretty strong the first time I played with one "seriously" after I won one for one dollar at an astronomy conference. Having looked through better small scopes and binoculars since then my opinion is a *little* harsher (noticing spherical aberration at ANY power is really rough), but for $60 there's nothing better-mounted and nothing with this much aperture. Saving up for the $100 Zhumell Z100 or Orion SkyScanner 100, a 4" parabolized version of the same idea, is maybe a better choice.

You mentioned a review of starblast 4.5 not sure where it is.

I can say. I have seen the rings of jupiter with this scope, and its moons and I have seen Saturn rings with this scope using a celestron 2x barlow and a 10 mm eyepiece. This is a really good /fun scope to use.

What eyepieces should I get for the firstscope I want to view the moon saturn jupiter and mars in some good quality

I just got one of these as a gift. Interested in the planetary image device but I couldn't figure out which link it was from the description. Can anyone tell me how to find it?

What's the Imager he used for the computer?? I need one !!

I am just stuck trying to find eyepieces for the Celestron tabletop 76 model 31034 very well-built in pristine condition seems to be pretty old just can't find eyepieces to fit

I've seen that very Dobonian base -- without scope -- going for $59 new...

I grabbed a 1 of 1000 50th anniversary orange tube edition today on the used market. Definitely overpaid at $40, it's the craziest mix of cute and HORRIBLE, haha.

.965 eyepiece does not necessarily equate to junk. Some of the very best eyepieces ever made are .965. Pentax SMC orthos come to mind.

Hi Ed, I have a question... As with my last question (a lengthy one on "refractor goodness"), the only way I know to contact you is by posting a comment in your latest video. (You're awesome by the way...) I've been using a couple of 127 mm telescopes and can barely make out any of the galaxies and nebula. Actually I've only been able to actually see the Orion nebula, but I've been able to photograph pictures of others. My question is, at what size of telescope will you start to make our more than a little fuzzy ball for a galaxy (so you can actually see the spiral arms...) and actually see a nebula so it looks interesting and it's not just a faint wispy thing? For instance, the M106 galaxy is just a little fuzzy ball. I can't see any structure what-so-ever. And I can't make out the Flame nebula at all. Would a 8", 10", 12",14", or 16" allow me to SEE some details? I bought a used pair of achromatic binoculars with 100mm objectives and they've my favorite things to view the sky. The CA sucks, but they sure are easy and fun to use to scan the sky. They're MUCH better than looking through a telescope... so I'm starting to think that a large SCT with bino-viewrs and a good ergonomic setup are a good option. But if I'm still just going to see fuzzy balls, then I might as well stick with the camera for "seeing" detail. Jason

How is the barlow lenses that came with these cheap Newtonian telescopes? I genuinely want to know.

Is that a 12.5" Teeter behind you?!

I have to say I do not understand the hate for the SR4 eyepiece. Yes it's got a small eye lens, but so do Kellners at that focal length. I find it has a decent eye relief for its size and that the image is better through it of the Moon than through the H20, which has so many bizarre aberrations that it's difficult to characterize it. Now 75x is waaay too much for the FirstScope, which begins to give up at probably 20x anyway, but of the two included eyepieces the SR4 is so much cleaner and sharper. The H20 shows giant hairy comet-like stars at the edge and has ring-like distortions in the middle... it's just BAD. The SR4 merely reveals the FirstScope's own problems.

I believe the Celestron Firstscope is not meant for much else other than the moon, yes you can see planets with it, but not very well.

Wow! the giant obsession in contrast to this little guy is incredible

Did you try a Paracorr on it? 😬

Hey Ed! I recently bought this scope off someone else for €17! I strapped a Raspberry Pi HQ camera to it and took an untracked shot of Orion. 621x0.7s frames and this is what I got: The bloating at the edges is very clear, but I am very pleased with my first ever deep sky image! Thanks for the tip on reducing the aperature, I will try that by 3D printing an adapter. For visual I got a Celestron 8-24mm zoom eyepiece.

I don't know how you found any deep skky objects wiith that. I even bought a $50 Svbony 15mm fancy thing thinking the eyepiece would help. Nope. Stars, planets and such still resolved into comets with a tail. Then I learned that Dobsonians sometimes need their mirror aligned or collimated. Following a few online vids on how to check collimation from what I could tell collimation was fine. It's just the telescope is junk. Like I said it's put me off Dobsonians. I'm avoiding them like the plague. I bought a 80EQ Powerseeker and that is working really well for me as a beginner.

I wonder if you could comment on, or perhaps eventually even review, the SvBony SV503 80mm f/7 refractor. "Is it any good?" www.svbony.com/SV503/ To quote the website: "1. The appearance of the telescope is baked with high-end fine-grained paint, with exquisite appearance and delicate feel 2. The objective lens features a S-FPL51 extra-low dispersion glass ED element, which eliminates chromatic aberration. This results in the best color correction for an ED doublet lens 3. The lens adopts optical processing and low polishing technology, which is carefully carved 4. The deceleration ratio of the two-speed 2'' toothed focusing seat is 1:10, which makes it easy to achieve accurate focus 5. Metal hoop ring and 2'' to 1.25'' adapter, you can use it with 2'' and 1.25'' focuser"

"If I had a 6", it would no longer be a table top model, it would be floor standing" .....Tell that to my Sky-Watcher Heritage 150p lol Kidding aside it's always nice to watch someone surrounded by telescopes talking about telescopes.

Huygens eyepiece! Why in this day and age are these eyepieces still being made? A simple Kellner eyepiece is soooooo much better.

About $69.00 on Amazon these days.

I have this because it was cheap and you should save your money for a better telescope.

I dislike these ‘scopes with a passion, both for the fast spherical mirror and the poor quality control. People in the know have fun teaming them, but beginners can’t be expected to be able to do that.

Honestly I love this scope (I previously used binos on a shit tripod) so needless to say this is a huge step up for me and honestly rekindled my interest in astronomy I was getting board with the binos but this provides me with stability and better view.

It boggles the mind why a manufacturer would package a 4mm eyepiece with a 3” telescope. And yet it’s so common with the cheap mass-produced models.

OH no I bought this at a museum I worked at. I bought one for me and my nephew. Worked worse than a $20 refractor my sister bought me some years before. Wouldn't resolve any planets, all the stars looks like comets or something. It is complete junk. Only good for daytime terrestrial viewing and moon watching. It did introduce me to the moon filter. These have totally put me off of Dobsonian telescopes as a beginner.

'First Scope'

$69.00 in 2024 on Amazon.

I don’t see Saturn as good through my 10' dob than what’s printed on that box. Total scam.

tl;dw: No.

Breaking news, flat earther with a nikon P1000 has just proven flat earth and the existence of the firmament by taking an out of focus video of sirius. How you ask? METH. LOTS AND LOTS OF METH

I've viewed several of these videos, and always catch the part where you explain your club "tricks out" a telescope you donate to libraries. I work for the city of Santa Fe in NM, and would love for our libraries to be considered for that donation. We have beautiful skies devoid of light pollution, and I know we would spark so much interest with a donation like that. Please let me know what I can do!!! Please feel free to contact me for my personal contact information!