Orion Classic 12x30 Brass Hand Telescope

by Orion

Product Details

• ASIN: B0006Q3ZUA
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #81 in Toys & Games > Learning & Education > Science > Telescopes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: November 1, 2003

Product Description

This classy, collapsible scope makes distant vistas come alive with sharp detail. Made of polished brass and smartly trimmed with a leatherette jacket for a sure grip, the Brass Classic features a fully coated 30mm achromatic glass objective lens for bright daytime images. The 12-power eyepiece provides up-close views of subjects too distant to see clearly with the unaided eye! Just twist the eyepiece to focus. Telescope extends to 12-3/4"; collapses to just 5-3/8". Keep it in the handy belt case (included) while touring or sightseeing. Makes a great gift.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't buy a toy when you can buy an heirloom, January 16, 2007

By 

C. McGee "joe's mama" (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Orion Classic 12x30 Brass Hand Telescope (Electronics)

This well made hand telescope is a wonderful gift to give your Pirate loving child. I priced toy scopes and this one and found that for the price, this one will last much longer and may mean more to your child as he or she gets older. It has a nice weight to it, and has a handy little carrying case. Wonderful for trips to grandparents, or for trips to places like the mountains. My son loves it!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Reasonable for the price, July 9, 2009

By 

Race E. (Raleigh, NC) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Orion Classic 12x30 Brass Hand Telescope (Electronics)

This telescope looks good, and functions reasonably well for the price. On the plus side the sections slide smoothly, the brass is coated to prevent tarnishing, it is a nice handy size to put in a pack.

The focusing section with the eyepiece can be a little hard to get just right. The sections, while sliding smoothly, have a bit of slop in the fitting and thus the telescope tends to sag just a little when used. It isn't much, but it bothered me so I disassembled it and changed the felt slide pads to some slightly longer and very slightly thicker pads and that fixed the problem.

The main lens suffers from slight Curvature of Field (objects at the edges of the field of view can't be brought into focus at the same time with objects in the center of the field of view). But since you're looking at the things in the middle anyway, and the error is fairly small and only affects the very edges, this isn't much of a problem for casual use. In fact I'm not sure most casual users would notice it at all.

This 12 power magnification is about the limit for a useful hand-held telescope, any more and the slight jiggling of your hands (and thus the image) when you hold it would begin to become annoying.

It isn't a really high-quality telescope, but the overall quality is appropriate for the price, and I'm glad I got it. I carry it in my daypack whenever fishing or hiking.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a beautiful product...delighted, November 28, 2008

By 

Santo Nappi (The Villages Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Orion Classic 12x30 Brass Hand Telescope (Electronics)

My grandson really loves his telescope...even stole out of his bed one night..to look at the stars.
It is a really nice telescope. Jn