Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope, Mak70 Telescopes for Adults Kids 1000mm Focal Length 70mm Objective Lens, Beginners Astronomy Telescope with Slow Motion Gimbal Tripod

I consider myself a "professional amateur" in the sense that I've had formal training in and am far deeper in the astronomy hobby than most, and for over 40 years. Even though I have loads of equipment, I bought this on a whim out of curiosity. Over the course of 3 weeks, this scope just earned its place as my grab-n-go, goto, and photography scope.First, I'm very attracted to the Maksutov platform as it is both compact, and the design has optical properties that make it inherently "all purpose". Deep sky scopes are often f/4 to f/6. Planetary scopes are usually f/15 - f/20. Maks usually run the range f/10 - f/13, so they are a "middle ground" that lets them swing both ways. My first attraction was that this scope had an unusually long focal length for its size. When I did the numbers for the 70mm, I came to f/14.3 which surprised me. I immediately thought this scope might be better suited for my astrophotography interests. I did some googling around to find that a few others were already playing with the 60mm version doing exactly that and getting better results than I would have expected. So I decided that the 70mm was worth a shot for the price.I was pleased from the point I first received the box. Has a nice box outer box (laminated cardboard) with plastic handle. Every component is individually boxed inside. It's trivial to repack and carry this way if you don't have anything else. The all important main tube is well made with easy access to culmination screws, accessory ports, etc. Mine was grey instead of the white shown in the ad, but still looks great. The metal stand was heavier and sturdier than I would have expected at this price point. It's solid enough to use for terrestrial photography, but still very compact. The alt-az gimble surprisingly has micrometer drive adjustments on both axies. Nice touch!OK, sure we know they have to cut corners somewhere to get this price point if they are giving you a decent main tube and stand. Well, the diagonal prism and eyepieces have all plastic bodies instead of the usual metal. They view finder is primitive, but functional. I tried all the pieces as is and was blown away the first night out. Specifically, on M42 (great nebula) using the 20mm eyepiece I could easily see 4 stars in the trapezium cluster. You have no idea how many low end scopes fail this test. I dropped in the 10mm eyepiece and the trapezium became 5 stars! Now I'm really getting interested. Despite the small size of this scope, I could easily see the nebulosity and dust lanes in and around M42. I slewed over to a bright star and did the diffraction rings test in and out of focus. I was amazed how clean and sharp the diffraction rings and disk were. I replaced the original diagonal and eyepieces with much higher end stuff out of my collection and it only gets better. Again - blown away. Beat every scope in this class I've used over the years, except for a Questar - and that's really saying something.Attached, I have a 1,000 meter image of the antenna on a hospital building across town. This was done using eyepiece projection with my cell phone and the projection kit they include in the package. I found the projection kit to be better than most in how it secures to the scope. You can make out the mortar in the bricks and start to see the words on the warning signs near the electrical stuff. The sunspots photo was taken using a CCD imager and a objective solar filter (a 90mm diamter cap is needed). Sorry, the CCD software does some funky dithering that may create a grid effect when viewed at the wrong zoom level. Just try to expand or shrink the image to see it smoothly. With little effort, this was one of the best sunspot images I've captured over the years and I can take it to twice the resolution shown.I'm not saying this scope is perfect, but it offers a lot for the price. If you're a beginner, everything you need is in the box. Even if you're super experienced, this scope might still fill a niche with your current kit. Did for me. I use mine with an iOptron motorized tracking mount. Imaging stuff like the ring nebula (M57) that requires magnification is no problem for this beastie. Cannot wait to go after some challenge objects as the results I am getting are better than the two other small scopes this unit just displaced.

I've never had a telescope with such crisp quality. It's unbelievable what you can see.

This telescope is very small and easy to carry everywhere, so far I have looked at the moon and Jupiter. The moon looks pretty well, the image is clear. Jupiter looks good too, obviously far away but you can see the planet, you can distinguish the strips of the planet that you see on a picture.The telescope comes with everything you need to star looking at the sky, comes with the telescope, the viewfinder, 2 eyepieces (diferent magnification), cellphone suport to take picturea and it also come with an adjustable tripod (adjustable height so you can use it being sit or stand)Obviusly not the best telescope but great for beginners and very good price.

The telescope is beautiful and as many others noted, the packaging is superb and the box can be used to transport the instrument. Setup is quick. I recommend a "dry run setup" before you try this outside at night. In particular, learn how to use the adjustment screws and knobs. Overall, the scope has a feel of quality to it. I setup the scope and practiced focusing using a 40mm eyepiece I purchased separately and was very pleased with the sharpness of the images. The tripod is sturdy and well made. The phone adapter is good BUT, it did not include the removable 1.5X Barlow lens as advertised. This is a minor issue but not as advertised, hence the 4 stars instead of 5.

I bought this because of the light weight and ease of setup. I have a larger Starsense Newtonian, but with my bad back, I have to have my son move it around and do the setup for me. This I can handle myself. I had it together within 10 minutes of receiving it. I took it outside to line up the finderscope and to my great surprise, it was in perfect alignment already ! Daytime images were bright, sharp and clear. I can't wait until tonight to see Jupiter and a few moons !If you're looking for a beginner or even intermediate small telescope, this is the one to grab. I can't see anyone being disappointed in buying this scope. Just do it !Update ! I was out last night with the Sarblue Mak70 with my son. We were clearly able to see Jupiter and 4 of its moons. The color bands of Jupiter were quite clear. Now, I'm on a mission to get more accessories to make this awesome 'scope even better ! I'll be using the phone adapter to take some pics tonight if I can. LOVE this 'scope.