Review on 🔭 Celestron PowerSeeker 70EQ Telescope - Compact and Portable Manual German Equatorial Telescope for Beginners with Bonus Astronomy Software Package - 70mm Aperture by Brian Olson

I've had this telescope for about a year now and it was my first telescope. I am very happy with its price and it was enough for me to learn about astronomy and encourage me to save up for a quality telescope. If you are looking for your first telescope, this could be for you. If you already have the first; Save your money for the best step up. With a separately sold 5mm eyepiece I can see the bands of Jupiter and 4 moons as well as the rings of Saturn. I can see some other planets but not a single detail. If you've never seen the moon zoom in, that's fun too, but a cheap tripod makes it difficult due to ground vibration and the difficulty of aiming with cheap controls. I have to readjust the finder every few months or every time I transport the telescope as it usually moves 1-3 degrees (more than full view even with a 20mm eyepiece). If this is your first telescope, I recommend using it during the day to first look at the trees to learn how to move and point it, and then look at the moon to determine the appropriate infinity zoom. Since you can zoom out to infinity this way, too far in any direction you'll see nothing but black sky, even when aiming perfectly at the brightest star available (incredibly frustrating, especially when you don't know you're really at 3 degrees away from her). sideways because of the viewfinder). Even with a separately purchased 5mm eyepiece, I can't see Jupiter's red spot, but I'm also 40 miles from Chicago and suffer from moderate light pollution.