Orion FunScope Telescope for Beginners

by Orion

Product Details

Product Manual [2.39mb PDF]

|

Supplementary Guide [41kb PDF]

• ASIN: B0000XMSXY
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: November 20, 2003

Product Description

Watch the excitement as children discover exotic worlds with FunScope---a real reflecting telescope with a durable, kid-friendly spaceship design! Its big 76mm light-grabbing parabolic optics and 30x magnifying power reveal sharp, close-up images both in daylight and at night. With FunScope, kids can spy on that squirrel in the backyard; follow an airplane in flight; or marvel at the Moon's craters, the planet Saturn, and other celestial wonders. The turn-to-focus eyepiece provides right-side-up views just like the eye sees, only magnified 30 times more! FunScope can be used on its navigation base or held by hand. It comes with a snap-on "nose cone" dust cap and a cartoon-illustrated User's Guide. It's ready to use right out of the box, which doubles as a convenient carrying case! Better than flimsy department store telescopes, FunScope makes a fun and educational gift! For kids ages 6 and older. One-year limited warranty.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Really just a toy - recommend the Orion Starblast instead., April 26, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Orion FunScope Telescope for Beginners (Electronics)

Without the ability to aim the telescope and a decent mounting it is hard (and very frustrating for a kid) to find anything in the night sky. Orion makes a much better product called the Starblast, albeit about twice the price in the FunScope. In contrast to the FunScope, the Starblast gathers more light, has a useful robust mount and includes two eyepieces (x26 and x75). These can be expanded using a x2 Barlow if required. The Starblast also includes a red-dot finder to make it easy to aim the scope. My ten-year old is able to find objects such as Orion's Nebula and faint galaxies two-million light years away (Messier objects 81 & 82) without difficulty. The only caveat with the Starblast is that it is a reflecting scope and does not invert the image to the right way up - thus making it not so useful for terrestrial viewing.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Kid's Scope, January 26, 2004

By 

Steve Tennison - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Orion FunScope Telescope for Beginners (Electronics)

I gave this telescope with the optional 50x eyepiece to my 10 year old neice for Christmas. We took it outside that night and were all thrilled when her dad announced, "Hey, that looks like Saturn!" All the kids came running over and knocked the telescope off kilter. Fifteen minutes later, we had Saturn spotted again and everyone got a look. Sure, it wasn't like the cover of National Geographic, but you could distinctly make out a large, fuzzy blob with a ring around it. Not bad for a kid's scope used in a typical, light-polluted neighborhood. The software that comes with the telescope looked good too.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good for children., December 29, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Orion FunScope Telescope for Beginners (Electronics)

I bought this telescope for my 7 year old daughter as a starter. It is small, easy to handle, and seems to be durable. The eyepiece is easy to focus. The only downside is trying to aim it. Overall I am pleased. I would recommend buying the 50x eyepiece (around $10).