Customer Reviews

Celestron NexStar 130 SLT Computerized Telescope

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I got my Celestron 130 SLT last month and am extremely happy with it. For the price, it's a great scope and the goto software was pretty easy to get the hang of. The sky mapping software that comes with the scope is also a great help and easy to use. A few caveats: Buy the AC power cord....otherwise you'll need new batteries every night. You'll need to reset the date/time on the goto computer every night.....it doesn't remember date/time between uses. It takes a few tries to get proficient with the three star align....it works pretty well, but you need to make sure you've setup your location and the date/time correctly. This scope isn't weighted and is very light. This causes it to shake a LOT when you touch it (i.e. when you're focusing). It takes a few seconds for it to stabilize after any adjustment. Some people weight the tripod tray to add stability. The focuser could have a finer adjustment. It takes a very steady hand to get optimal focus. The scope doesn't come with a Barlow lens, which is a necessity for this scope. You'll want to get one right away. The scope does have a 2" eyepiece adapter, which is unusual and a really nice feature on a starter scope such as this. It's worth buying a 2" eyepiece for wide views. I didn't find the NexStar PC driver software very useful (after buying the $15 cable to use it). Instead, I downloaded a trial version of the pricey NexRemote software, which allowed me to operate the scope from my laptop much more easily. These caveats are all very minor, as this is a solid scope with better optics and software than the alternatives. In short, the scope was way better than cheap toy scopes I'd used and all reviews I read said it had great optics for the price with very few problems/annoyances. I got a great view of Jupiter and its moons the first night I used it. After I got the hang of it, I started checking out Messier Objects, including the brighter galaxies and nebulae, which are easily recognizable with this scope. I'm extremely pleased with it and I'm very glad I got this scope instead of comparable competing scopes, which all seem to have serious issues per the various reviews I've read.

I received this telescope about a month ago. It is easy to use and works well. The 2 lenses that come with the scope allow you to begin checking things out in the sky, but there are a few more things needed. 1- A filter kit (at least one filter for the moon. It's too bright to look at without one). 2- 2X Barlow Lens. This will double the magnification of the lenses you have.
Also, this scope needs maintenance. The mirrors must be perfectly collimated (lined-up) on an F5 scope. (The lower the focal ratio, the more precise the collimation must be, and F5 is low.) My scope needed collimating right out of the box. The scope does not have to be shaken hard to knock the mirrors off of angle or alignment. This requires tools and some mechanical ability. Get info online or visit local stores that sell reflector scopes. I paid $200 for my set of collimating tools (Sight Tube, Cheshire and Autocollimator). For this scope to work properly, this maintenance must be done regularly.
PS- This scope is a Newtonian Reflector type.

I have revisited my review and dropped 1 star after owning this scope for 2 years now. The 1 star drop to 4 stars is due to the azimuth [horizontal] motor acting erratically now. It will slow down as if it is binding somewhere, then speed way up for periods. Contacting service had me running various basic tests, but all failed, so they gave me an RMA number to send back for repairs. I have decided to wait for winter to return the mount so I won't "miss" it for the 3-4 months of coldest weather, but now being out of warranty, I've no idea how much this repair will cost. I will update this review again after the repair. In any case, since I don't use it all that much, I'd have expected this scope to last a lot longer before this sort of thing happened.

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(Original Review starts here)

I have now owned this telescope for 4 months, using it (so far) exclusively on upper Manhattan... yes, NYC! So my experience so far is with the moon and planets. For this, it's a great telescope, bringing out many details quite nicely. Set up was quick and easy to understand. Once set up, I did notice a little tweaking on the alignment [mirror collumation] was needed, and after some indoor alignment, followed by "bright-star" fine tuning, this telescope's fine optics came into full display.
The 2 eyepieces that come with the scope are quite good, but it was with my 7mm Nagler eyepiece that Saturn's rings shone fine, and Jupiter's cloud bands popped right out!
Now, the few caviats: This scope is not good on a windy day as it is prone to vibrations! Vibrations induced from touching the scope to focus quickly disappear so, for normal use, it's quite tolerable. As to the "goto" system: If you're going out just to spot the moon or planets, use the "solar system" alignment. It's quick and only takes one planet or the moon to align. 3-star alignment for multiple object gazing is a bit trickier, but here's the two secrets: The tripod comes with a built-in bubble level. USE IT! If your scope is not level, alignment will fail. Also, make sure your watch is accurate! If you enter the time and it's more than 30-45 seconds off, again, alignment will fail!
Take the time to set up the telescope carefully first [yes, there's a bit of a learning curve, but once you've memorized it, it goes quickly. Yes, you'll have to "fiddle" with their battery compartment cover, but it will pop into place when you've got the 2 battery holders in the right position. Finally, get yourself a really GOOD eyepiece somewhere in the range of 5-8mm for truly spectacular lunar and planetary views. Be prepared to spend $150-$300 for that eyepiece, but then you'll experience this scope's full optical potential!

This may be a wonderful telescope. It is difficult for me to know since I have never been able to use mine. It was purchased, along with the Celestron eyepiece set and NexImage Camera for around $700.00 in September of this year.
The first scope had to be returned to Celestron because the tracking motor would not function on the day that I unpacked it.
After 4 weeks, I received the new scope.
The motor works but it will not track. I am unable to get the scope to align.
That covers the telescope. But the real problem is in the customer service. My first mistake was to send the scope in for repair. Because of the time involved, a refund becomes virtually impossible.
So now I am stuck with a $700.00 white elephant that Celestron wants me to send back to them again for further repairs and a further 4 weeks of waiting.
If you have to have this telescope, then buy it from Amazon so that you have the protection that I DO NOT have. I screwed myself on this deal because I trusted Celestron to be an honest company with quality products.
If you buy Celestron, make sure that you protect yourself.

The optics are good, but the software and the tech service are terrible. I ordered the Celestron NexStar 130 SLT based on glowing reviews I had read. It arrived promptly and was easy to assemble. I was easily able to align the view finder with the main optics, which seemed to be very good. But I was totally unable the align the computer. I made a dozen attempts after entering and re-entering the necessary information and entering the position of various triplets of widely spaced stars, but the computer kept telling me that alignment had failed. I attempted one call to tech service, but was on hold for half an hour before I gave up. I emailed tech service regarding my problem, and received an automatic acknowledgement, but absolutely no further contact over a two week period. Amazon allowed me to return the scope as defective, and even paid the return shipping. So Celestron was terrible, but Amazon was great.

If you want to view the night skies above with certainty on what object(s) you are viewing, this is a great way to get started. Definitely a first time 'scope, experts will want something bigger. SkyAlign is a good feature, but you need to be careful in centering the star image. Buy an additional power supply, like the Celestron PowerTank or at least a 2000mA 12V regulated power adapter, unless you want the landfill to rapidly accumulate your used AA batteries. The supplied "The Sky" and "NexStar Observer List" software helps plan observations.

Michael Swanson's "NexStar Users Guide" (Amazon currently has the best price) is an invaluable aid. See my review.

My quarrel isn't so much with the telescope as it is with the photos provided to demonstrate the telescope's abilities. The pictures provided were not pictures that have been taken using the telescope, not to mention the fact that the telescope lacks the power to even view these images with such clarity. It would probably be better to have no pictures than to show misleading ones.

It works well enough as soon as you get used to it. The family has been enjoying it.

But there are moderate and avoidable issues that Celestron should address:

o The clock necessary for tracking does not keep the time after powering off forcing one to set it each time. This is an annoyance. These days, that would be a simple function to provide but for some reason Celestron does not.

o The battery compartment is cheaply made and the cover tends to pop off.

o The software TheSky is old and certain functions cause the program to crash. The only way to fix that is to go the the publisher's web site and pay for a new version. Celestron should provide a version that does not crash.

o As others have stated, the included lens selection is insufficient but that is an easy problem to remedy buy purchasing additional ones. Though I've not tried one yet on the scope, I recommend a CCD imager as a nice addition.

I've just started using this scope a couple of months ago after it sitting in my closet for 2 years. But in the past 2 months I've used this practically every clear night available. Here are my thoughts and advice after extensive use:

For the price and the aperture this scope is great. The first thing I did was buy a Ultima barlow and 3 X-Cel eyepieces - 25mm, 10mm, and a 2.3mm. With the 10mm barlowed you get magnification of 130X which will give you great views of the rings of Saturn and the bands of Jupiter. On nights of exceptional seeing you can use the 2.3mm for a magnification of 280X -which is close to the max useful magnification of 300X- and can see the Great Red Spot on Jupiter. The moon is awesome at high magnification, but if it is more than a quarter full you need a filter because it is too bright to view. From my very light polluted yard (limiting magnitude at zenith about 4 - 4.5) I can still see most of the Messier catalog, although I haven't been able to resolve any globulars, and some of the fainter nebula aren't viewable, and the few brighter galaxies are just smudges. However, open clusters are great to look at and some of the brighter nebula are great (Orion, Swan, Lagoon). I'm sure that if you get this scope to a dark site it would be way better.

As far as the GoTo feature - it works great if you align it properly. The most important things you need to do are to enter an accurate time(don't estimate - I was off by 20 minutes one night and couldn't find anything) and date, gps coordinates (I used Google Earth to get the exact coordinates of my house and anywhere else I may take my scope), and have the scope level. As far as the Star align, I found that the One Star align works best. If you don't know any named stars use the Sky software that came with the scope and learn to identify the brightest stars in the sky for that night. Using this method I've consistently been able to slew to dozens of Messier objects each night with no problem. Last night I spent 2 hours slewing between about 14 different objects in the southern part of the sky, and at the end of the session the scope was still bringing objects to near the center of my 25mm eyepiece - it definitely does what it is supposed to.

Also learn how to collimate it. The manual shows how to do this just by looking through the focuser and centering the reflection of you eye - this will give you a rough collimation - but to align more accurately you need to buy a collimation tool.

Overall this is a great beginners scope - it will show you enough of the wonders of the night sky to make you want a bigger scope and see even deeper!

i have been watching the sky for a few months, and purchased this scope
through amazon, im in the middle of a large neighborhood, with trees and fences all around my back yard, that said, i have not had much luck w the go to function,it has taken me to saturn and the moon, but some targets will make it point at the ground. so i was kinda disappointed, then i ordered the 2inch eyepiece kit by celestron also from amazon, it is a huge difference, i was using a Galileo, the two scopes are not that much different, outside the motorized mount,and 2inch viewer.; so for watching the sky, this is a great scope, i must admit, i had thought maybe it would identify the stars im looking at, but now i realize that would be a tall order even for nasa, in new orleans, this scope shows the sky to be full of stars. i say this is a good deal and a good scope, not many scopes have the 2inch option, and celestron seems to get better and more reviews than ioptron, for beginners, telescopes like this will take sum time, but your patience will be rewarded(alton brown)
update, got the vixen 3856 3.5 eyepiece, ring of Saturn was huge, and the moon was awesome, very cool eyepiece, makes my scope seem new again.
9-9-09, finally found jupiter, with the vixen 3.5, it was very impressive, and its four moons were very bright, still enjoying the nexstar 130, looking into getting skyscout connect, which would connect my skyscout to the scope, making it gps, find a star with skyscout, and the scope w slew to the object w a touch of a button, for 99$ seems like the next step in my set up