Skywatcher Telescopes

Reviews

Ditto last review. Small, cheap, blue legs, gray/green body. No bright green, no orange. My 4yo son picked this one out I'm sure because of the colors in the photo. He will have fun putting stickers on it. Luckily, Daddy is getting a spotting scope to play with together. I'm sure he'll have fun with it, but $10 is over priced for this thing.

My 4-year-old daughter asked Santa for a telescope this year. I have had a lot of trouble finding a telescope that is appropriate for her age. When I found this, I thought I might be in luck. The shipping was fast and the telescope was cheap. However, what isn't evident from the pictures and descriptions on Amazon or the store's website is that this is a tiny, tiny,(maybe 6" tall, with the 'stand'), very cheaply made, all-grey-plastic telescope. I'm suspicious that the photograph of the product is altered to make it look like it is colorful. It is really just a party favor, and when viewed that way, it is not a good deal at all. Don't buy this!

Reviews

I purchased this product to use with the Celestron binoculars. Assembly was straight forward and it does the job. However, with heavy binoculars the stand will vibrate if touched and takes a minute or two to stabilize. I plan to rebuild it with much sturdier legs and bracing. For the price it isn't bad, but it is far from being a stable platform for easy viewing.

This tripod lasted two days after Christmas. This tripod should not be used to support the Celestron Skymaster 15x70 no matter what Amazon or Celestron may think. The Celestron Skymaster Binoculars are very happy to shear plastic quick release clean off. This tripod features mostly plastic construction and comes with sparse instructions in many languages. Just go ahead and buy the next tripod up from Celestron unless you are a fan of all plastic construction. People get what they pay for so go ahead and say, "I'll be careful with it" and bust it clean off some night under the stars. I'm glad I'm out only 33 dollars. This tripod is not covered by the no fault binocular warranty for good reason.

I had purchased the VistaPix IS70 digital spotting scope w/ digital camera thinking I could use it like a regular camera. As it turns out, not a good idea. I now needed the tripod that is recommended for taking pictures. Great, another expense I had not counted on. Amazon to the rescue. I purchased the tripod used at less than half the cost of a new one. WOW, is all I can say. I'll swear it was brand new and an incredible bargain. I purchase used whenever I can and you can't tell me it's not new. Thanks again Amazon.

the design of the connection between the tripod adapter and tripod is poor, the plastic cannot hold the weight of my 15x70 binoculars and caused damage to both binoculars and tripod after using only one week. although it's cheap, it still dont worth the price.

I ordered this tripod, and it arrived broken. The assembly to which a camera is attached is made out of plastic. I asked for an RMA order via E-Mail, and they only gave me an address to mail it back to with a 'copy of the invoice.' Being lazy about mailing things back, and since it was cheap to begin with I tried repair it myself. Where it broke (the three plastic rings on the camera mount), it was impossible to re-glue, because of the torsion placed on those rings with any sort of pressure. Even if your tripod arrives un-broken, it will likely break the first time you drop it on the camera mount from any height at all.

Reviews

These binoculars are great big wonderful things. I don't mind lugging them with me up the mountains to get the great views. I also don't really need to climb up the mountains anymore, since I can see the top from way down here. The moon looks fantastic, awooooo. I have found that they can be steadied without a tripod by gripping them at the farthest end of the lens tubes, or by sitting down and resting my hands on my knees. Works good with glasses and without. Totally changed my perspective of the visible world around me. Thanks Chinese!

These binoculars are wonderful. I have not experienced any quality/collimation problems with mine (Bought January 2010). Was tracking high altitude fighter jets practicing dogfighting over the city last night. These are excellent for looking at the moon, The Pleiades, and other distant objects. They are much more practical than my telescope for away from home use. They get used a lot because they are cheap, mobile, and work well. If they break or get lost I'll just buy a new pair, which I can't say about the telescope. Thought I could use these with just a pair of steady hands. The other reviewers are right in that I did need to order a tripod. You can steady your arms against something, like a tree, and get a stable view for a few minutes. If you are going to be out looking for more than 5-10 minutes you will most definitely want a tripod. It's not just the stability either. Your forearms may go numb after about 10-15 minutes, especially if you are wearing a heavy winter coat. If you don't already have one save yourself some time, and maybe some shipping costs, and just order the tripod at the same time.

I can't say enough positive tings about this fine set of binoculars which came well collimated. Its one instant where there should be no unpleasant surprises. Quality per dollar spent excels in every way.

I could never expect to see what I did the first clear night I took these out. Having little to no experience viewing the night sky the result is inspiring. My first object was the Pleiades cluster. After some other views of stars and the moon (which is amazing) I turned to find the Orion Nebula. A faint glow of pale green can be seen emitting from the center but make sure to try and stay steady. Being that the magnification is so high steadiness becomes a problem. Its ok for clusters, stars, etc. but if you want to focus on any faint objects or even catch a good look at the moon and planets a tripod is essential. Trying to view Jupiter using only my hands produced a small dot of light shaking around violently in my view. As soon as I put them on a tripod not only could I see a steady ball of light (no bands or anything like that) but to my surprise I was able to make out at least 3 of the moons. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to anyone looking for a good way to enter the hobby.

Wow, the clarity is very impressive. I live in the sunny side of US, so I can see things clear and bright. The product itself is bit heavy so can't hold still or for long time. Bought a Dolica ST-500 68-Inch Lightweight Tripod tripod stand but still you got to be uttermost careful in not shaking it for obvious magnification reasons, otherwise objects are shaky. I absolutely love it. Yet to explore the star gazing side of it.

Reviews

I bought this for my avchd camera in places where a large tripod just would not go (cruise ship) and it worked perfectly. The attention to design detail here is great: 1 - feet are beveled to keep it level on a flat surface 2 - all 3 legs extend (amazing in a tripod so small) 3 - sturdy - enough to hold much more weight 4 - lens allignment stud compresses when used with non-camera gear like audio systems 5 - Best for last - small enough to get onboard a flight with a TSA agent soing through your bag of gear. I had another small tripod like this that folded 3 different sized legs together - that one looked like a gun in x-ray and got my bag open every time - with this, all legs are equal and it looks like a tripod - goes through xray without a hitch. Would I change anything? no. It's fine the way it is. I even used it to secure my marantz PMD-661 recorder on a helicopter flight with the seatbelt of the next seat over. The PMD-661 has a tripod mount underneath and with this I made a secure position that allowed me to see the vu meters during flight.

If you don't give this product a 5 star rating, you have under-rated it. It is everything it claims to be, and priced right to boot.

This mini-tripod is compact and lightweight, yet it can hold a lot of camera (and lens) with no danger of tipping. When not in use, this stays in my backpack at all times (and fits so nicely!). Well worth the money. The quality is even MORE than they advertise it to be.

I bought this small tripod to hold a Bushnell spotting scope. It is well made and does a great job for this purpose. Very stable and light weight.

really nice and sturdy triopd and you can trust it with your camcoder. It is really helpful when filming with tele setting where even the small shakes are amplified. strongly recommend it.

Reviews

Great product for the price. Hardcase is excellent and the tripod is just ok. As a spotting scope this one is perfect for the price, clear optics and an all around good value.

Works great at 100 yards. Nice to have my own scope and not have to try and find one at the range that works.

I bought this scope for sighting in my hunting rifles. I normally sight in at 100 yards, so this scope has all the range and resolution I need. If you need the clarity of Nikon or Leupold, this scope might dissapoint you. Also, the construction is good, but it feels light, and I would hate to drop it. Still, I was able to see very clear detail of my shots on papere at 100 yards, so this scope does everything I need it to. Also, it shipped with a nylon soft case, a small tripod, and a hard aluminum case. Overall, I am very happy with this scope. If you're looking for a nice servicable scope at an attractive price point, give the Larsak Blackhawk a look.

This scope is pretty good for the price. The one thing that's a bit hard is the eye relief - you have to get pretty close to the eye piece. If you wear glasses, this makes it a bit harder to use. I did find that if you remove your glasses, the eye relief is not a problem and the clarity is still excellent. I have used this scope for multiple purposes. Hiking as well as at the range and it has worked very well in both cases. The tripod is a bit light, but I have another sturdier unit that I use with it. I like the hard case as the quality is very good and can hold other items as well. Overall, I like the scope and would recommend it.

I bought this scope to zero in my AR-15 at about 100-yards. It worked well, and I can see my bullet holes up to about 150-yards. Beyond that, I can focus on my target, but struggled to count the number of bullet holes. This scope is great for the $109 price, especially with the extras you don't get with the more expensive brands. And it held up well against my friend's expensive $450 Leupold (that he got without a tripod or hard case). Unfortunately I needed something strong (good up to 300-yards), and returned this scope for the Barska Benchmark 25-125X88 for $15 more. My advice, pick the magnification power that fits your needs and expectations. Then compare prices before comparing brands.