Review on Discover The Wonders Of The Universe With Orion StarBlast 4.5 Telescope In Teal Color by Tommy Woods

Love this guy! This is my first telescope as an adult, so I figured this was a good "test the water” scope to see if I’d actually get into it or not. Had it for a couple of months now and have used it frequently for backyard viewing.This is great right out of the box. I can see tons of detail on the moon and I’ve been taken aback by star clusters. I haven’t had an opportunity to see Saturn or Jupiter yet, but I expect I’ll have a decent view. That said. I did upgrade a few things.1. The EZ finder that comes with the scope was difficult for me to use. I’m sure it was user error, but even whenever it was almost working, it was uncomfortable to use. I ended up getting an Orion finder scope to replace it ($60-70) and am happy I did, even if it kind of looks ridiculous!2. The eyepieces included are great. I also got the shorty Barlow lens, which made them even better. But after doing some math/research, I decided to get an eye piece with a greater field of vision. The included eyepieces are 50 deg, and I found a 70 deg 15 mm for about $50 on another site. and wow! Big difference.Also got a 3x Celestron X-cel Barlow lens which seems to be better quality than the Shorty (at three times the cost.)3. The collimation cap is very helpful. But I did purchase a laser collimator to make it even easier.Altogether, I couldn’t be happier with this telescope. I don’t know if I should have spent a little more and gotten the 6” Starblast instead, but I’m having a blast with this one and will probably be getting a "slower” scope in the near future.If you decide to get the Starblast 4.5, I highly recommend getting a proper finderscope to go with it. Definitely get the shorty Barlow lens. But hold off on buying more eyepieces until you know exactly what you want. The ones that come with it are great, and you’ll have more appreciation for any others you buy in the future :)