Review on Explore The Night Skies With The Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian Telescope by Jason Flores

For the price, its a steal! Got it for my 8 y/o and myself. I know its a Dobsonian base, but wouldn't it be great if there be an upgrade to motorize the mount? The fun part in amateur Astronomy is "hunting" down those gems up there (aka star hopping), thats why we didnt opt for the GoTo systems. My son spots the initial star with the reflex sight, saves my back and neck. We're waiting for our Telrad to arrive next week. A lot of times its frustrating but once you find the target its a such a wonderful feeling. But can you keep it in sight while you call everyone to look at your find? So were looking at either a motorized EQ mount (which costs more than twice the amount I paid for the telescope) or a motorized EQ platform DIY kit. It came with just the 25mm eyepiece, at the very least you should get the Orion eyepiece set which opens up the sky some more. Maybe get 1 or 2 top quality eyepieces to complete the set.This thing is massive, its heavier and taller than my 8 y/o. We would have to look into lugging this thing in a dolly. We plan on bringing this when we go camping. We live in the white zone of NYC/Newark area, but this sucker can collect enough light/stars and NOT be massive enough to break my back and bank. Very happy with it ;)