Celestron C5, 5" (127mm) Schmidt-Cassegrain XLT Spotting Scope

by Celestron

Product Details

• Item Weight: 11.5 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 12 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B00006LSVC
• Item model number: 52291
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,405 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
  • #73 in Camera & Photo > Binoculars, Telescopes & Optics > Spotting Scopes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: March 23, 2006

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Celestron’s C5 Spotting Scope features excellent optics and wonderful versatility in a compact portable size. Although the C5 is best known as a portable telescope for astronomy, Celestron has outfitted the C5 Spotter for daytime use by packaging the C5 with a soft-sided carrying case, an erect image 6x30 finder scope, a correct image 45 degree diagonal prism, and a good quality 25mm plossl eyepiece for a magnification of 50X.

The C5 Spotting Scope is a Schmidt-Cassegrain optical telescope or SCT, and is designed to use many of the hundreds of accessories available in the SCT market including optional eyepieces and camera adapters. A nice option for the C5 spotter is Celestron’s 8 to 24mm Zoom Eyepiece , which allows the user to dial in any magnification from 52X all the way up to 156X. The most important accessory for a high power scope is a sturdy tripod. Celestron’s Heavy Duty Alt-Azimuth Tripod is sturdy enough to handle the C5’s six pound weight and features extended slow motion knobs that make it easier to point the C5 precisely.

The C5 is my favorite dual purpose telescope, useful as both a high power spotting scope and as a portable telescope for astronomy. The same fine optics are available in Celestron’s NexStar 5 SE computerized telescope for astronomy. The big advantage of the C5 over traditional refractor style spotting scopes comes from its higher magnification and greater resolving power, at least 50% better resolving power than the best 80mm spotting scopes. The disadvantage, of course, is that a higher magnification gives a narrower field of view. An optional 32mm Plossl eyepiece for example would magnify the image by 39X with about 1.25 degrees true field of view.

The high power optical performance of Celestron’s C5 Spotting Scope is nothing short of outstanding. Even at 200X magnification there’s no trace of the “chromatic aberration” or blue fringing commonly seen in refractor style spotting scopes. With a close focus distance of only 20 feet, the C5 spotting scope excels at everything from photographing hummingbirds in the back yard to viewing the rings of Saturn nearly a billion miles away. --Jeff Phillips

Hummingbird shot at 30 yards with C5 and Powershot camera	Finches shot at 20 yards with C5 and Powershot camera
Shot at 200X with C5 and Neximage camera
Shot at 50X with C5 and Powershot camera	Shot at 400X with C5 and Neximage camera

Pros:

• Dual uses, spotting and astronomy
• Excellent high power optics
• No trace of “blue fringing”

Cons:

• Narrow field of view
• Less rugged than refractors

Product Description

Celestron's C5 Spotting Scope is a 5" (127mm) aperture, 1250mm f/10 Schmidt-Cassegrain optical system. Its optical excellence is the reason it was chosen by NASA for many space shuttle missions. The C5 spotting scope is an ideal choice for the serious bird watcher, nature lover or anyone who enjoys beautiful views -either from your home or in the field. At just six pounds in weight and 11 inches in length, this spotting scopeis a completely portable visual and photographic instrument that performs well in any viewing location. Further, Celestron offers a wide variety of optional accessories to expand the capabilities of this special instrument. The C5's aperture of 5" allows it to easily outperform smaller aperture spotting scopes. Offering 4½ times more light gathering ability than a 60mm spotting scope and 2½ times more than an 80mm scope, Celestron's C5 is the clear choice when a powerful instrument delivering brilliant, crisp views is what you require. The C5 spotting scope is a wonderfully versatile instrument, and its near focus of approximately 20 feet allows you to observe plantlife, wildlife, birds or insects with ease. At the same time, the C5 can also be used as an astronomical telescope. In addition, theC5 goes easily from working as a powerful spotting scope to being a high performance 1250mm f/10 telephoto lens. Photography couldn't be easier, because the C5 is designed to be fully camera adaptable. To take professional qualit

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Celestron C5 spotting scope, November 8, 2010

By 

T Chan - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Celestron C5, 5" (127mm) Schmidt-Cassegrain XLT Spotting Scope (Electronics)

I recieved this spotting scope one month ago. Even thought it is made in China (the price already implied that), the quality of the 5" optical tube is very good. The XLT coating is perfect and the focus knob is very smooth and precise. The package comes with a 6x30 erect image finder scope and a 25mm eye piece. The 25mm eye piece contributes 48X image good enough for a bright shape image for terrestial observation. The high light gathering power is excellent for me to observe the night view of Victory Harbour of Hong Kong! Simply replace with a 10mm eyepiece and you can use it as a 125X telescope to observe deep sky and the moon in great details. The image of the moon is simply impressive!

This C5 is absolutely portable and easily mounted on a tripod for birds watching and photography. Remember to use a stable tripod. It is also recommended to use high quality eye piece to match with the excellent optics!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Quality Image and Solid Instrument, September 27, 2009

By 

WBS77 "Sailor" (Great Lakes) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Celestron C5, 5" (127mm) Schmidt-Cassegrain XLT Spotting Scope (Electronics)

The light-gathering capability of the C5 is exactly what I hoped for in a spotting scope. Able to see considerable detail even at high magnification. Appears to be very solidly constructed. Does require a VERY stable tripod -- don't skimp there. Separately purchased adapter allows simple connection to my digital SLR with good pictures resulting. Carrying case is designed to provide excellent protection.

Works well for what I wanted: looking over the surrounding scenic and marine landscapes. I have not yet tried it for astronomical observation. May be so obvious that there's no need to say it but it's too powerful and too bulky to be useful for watching wildlife -- unless they are sleeping. Or, maybe, a tired sloth. :-)