Review on Celestron 51630 Pointer Telescope Finderscope by Karen Nahm ᠌
The best thing for the money, I'm glad I chose this option.
At 6 ', all the objects of the Messier catalog are already visible (although it strongly depends on the level of light pollution). Outside the city in a dark field - the stars are like diamonds: dotted and bright. Galaxies and nebulae are also visible. 6 inches is already an adult version. There is an opinion that mirrors of this size make it possible to achieve clear images for star clusters and planets. At the same time, this is not yet a hefty "barrel" that is too lazy to take out into the open sky and look. Many astronomers have just this size in their arsenal for long trips and travels. Of the obvious shortcomings - the built-in batteries are a frank miscalculation: a maximum of 1-2 hours of operation. It is better to immediately buy a special wire adapter for 12 volts to work from a power bank. And buy a special bag for transportation (2500-3500). Regarding the built-in controller and its complexity: it is quite easy for a beginner, the order is something like this: 1) set up a tripod and check on the complete level that it is level on the ground 2) turn on the power and enter the date / time / gps coordinates on the remote control (if you always look from the same place - the last item does not need to be changed each time) 3) through the built-in finder point the telescope at any bright star and press enter, then point at any second bright star and press enter - the telescope will compare the coordinates in its database and calibrate itself ( you don’t need to know the names of the stars and their location, just randomly select 2 bright stars and that’s it) 4) the telescope itself from the remote control will offer a choice of objects that are available today, and the choice is yours. In principle, the installation and initial calibration - no more than 10-20 minutes. And finally, my opinion on suitable eyepieces for this model (search on the Internet): ES 8.8/82; ES 11/82; ES 16/68; ES 24/68; Plossl 32/52. PS. Yes, the larger the lens diameter (and more expensive) - the more light the telescope will collect and show more deep sky objects. But: 1) in 2-3 years you will not pass even half of the objects visible in this telescope 2) the larger diameter is heavy, it cools down for a long time.
- Good optical performance, compact dimensions and weight, fast stabilization compared to large diameters.
- Built-in batteries - maximum 1-2 hours. A serious price compared to an entry-level telescope. In addition to the standard equipment, you need to buy eyepieces, which are also not expensive. But it's a hobby - and any decent hobby costs money.
