Review on Celestron 21048 PowerSeeker 80EQ Telescope by Shawn Hill

So I was looking for an astroscope for my kids. It's been decades since I've carried my Newtonian reflector around and when I dug it up in the garage I just didn't want to do the work of taking it out of the ledge and shaping it. Online reviews of basic Celestron oscilloscopes, including a rather scathing review of this one, but I went with it anyway because it looked like the price couldn't be higher for an 80mm refractor. I was afraid, but I had nothing to fear. The optics are great, very well tuned, focusing very easily and smoothly, with very little chromatic aberration or visual artifacts. I have a variety of Plössl eyepieces from 26mm to 4.xmm and can now use them all. All felt very comfortable. The tripod is excellent at this price point and I wouldn't venture to say that if you only had to buy a tripod from a science store you would pay more at a retail store for a tripod alone. It's well made, fine tuning works well, it's precise and modular, and overall very reliable. This is an amazing entry level scope at a very very affordable price and I really can't find anything to complain about. Reviews of this scope on hobbyist sites specifically mention a lackluster tripod, questionable optics, and a lackluster set of eyepieces. I find all of these complaints to be either very picky or just plain wrong. The children have already spent several evenings exploring the lunar surface in detail and breathless, and we also took a few shots with the camera. Telephone that turned out very well. I think if you're a serious hobbyist who has a $1,000+ scope that you take to meetings or whatever, then it might seem amateurish. But if you're just a family looking to explore the skies and have fun doing it, this fits perfectly and is (IMHO) a significantly better choice than 70mm scopes or scopes with inferior tripods that will only set you back $30 save up. - 50 dollars. I'd say this scope strikes the right balance of "serious" and "accessible" for any family with a bunch of curious, science-loving kids who are ready to find a new hobby. Then if they really get into it, they'll end up spending 4-10x more in a few years if they really outgrow it - which isn't going to happen anytime soon.