Customer Reviews

Orion XT 6" Classic

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It is unbelievable to me that a scope this good can be had for this price. Six inches is a LOT of aperture. Forget those little blue rigs with the computerized pointing--you don't need a computer to find stuff, you need *aperture* so you can actually see it. Download some free planetarium software (like Stellarium), buy a sky atlas, and get a nice fat telescope like this one. You'll enjoy it more because the views will actually be good enough to linger over, and you can take pride in finding observing targets on your own. If you want a computer to do all the work, why even buy a telescope? Stay on the couch and surf for some Hubble images.

The scope is rock solid, it was in nearly perfect collimation right out of the box, and I put it together in about an hour while I watched TV. Then it was out the back door and BAM! The moon looks so good you may get stuck there for a while. Cloud belts on Jupiter are a breeze, as are the rings of Saturn. Star clusters look like diamonds scattered on black velvet. Galaxies and nebulas seduce your eyeballs until you realize that it's well past midnight and you're frozen half to death.

One warning: the best scope for you is the one you will use the most. At 35 lbs assembled this is about as much scope as I want to be moving by myself. So think about the weight. If you decide it would keep you from using this scope very often, get a smaller one. Orion's XT4.5 is this thing's little brother, it weighs half as much, and it has gotten uniformly good reviews just about everywhere.

One last thing: Dobsonians are not useful for most kinds of astrophotography but I have taken some stunning pictures of the moon just by holding my digital camera up to the eyepiece of this telescope. Give it a try--you may end up decorating your entryway with moon photos you took yourself.

I've had my SkyQuest XT6 for almost a month. One of the parts didn't make it with the telescope and it was a week later until it came. So I had a brand new telescope that I couldn't use for a week. I've always heard that Orion has a reputation of great customer service, and I don't doubt that. But it shouldn't have taken a week after the day my telescope arrived to get a very small part to me... small but required, to be able to turn the scope on its mount.

As to its performance, to me the XT6 is pretty amazing. I once had a Newtonian with an 8" mirror that I had custom-made to precise optics and it didn't perform as good as this "off the shelf" XT6. I live in the city so deep sky objects that are observable are few, so I haven't been able to test it on those yet. But my passion is lunar and planetary observing anyway. The craters and mountains on the Moon are absolutely razor sharp. Jupiter is also crisp and well-defined, and is a spectacular sight with its 4 largest moons. Seeing 2 moons on each side of the planet, all 4 lined up in a straight line, is an awesome sight.

The Dobsonian mount is very sturdy and stable. And that's the one thing I would put a note of caution on -- the weight of the telescope if you're a senior citizen (like me) and/or have a bad back or bad neck (like me), or bad knees or whatever. The optical tube weighs about 13 lbs and the Dobsonian mount about 20 lbs. Doesn't sound like much, but the 20 lbs all concentrated in a relatively small area... even using the handle on the mount... may be very heavy for certain people, or for a child to try to handle. But if you're strong and in good physical shape, the telescope should be no problem for you.

And last of all, the most amazing thing about the XT6 is the unbelievable quality of the optics and mount at such an incredibly low price. This has got to be the best deal on the market for a moderate size Newtonian telescope. I can't imagine anyone having a better 6" f/8 Newtonian reflector even at a higher price. The XT6 is a beautiful optical instrument that I'm extremely proud to have.

One other thing that I forgot to mention before: The telescope was almost perfectly collimated upon delivery. I had only to "tweek" it just a hair to get it centered. This is very remarkable when you consider how easy it is to get a Newtonian's optics out of alignment, and that the XT6 arrives by UPS truck. I tip my hat to Orion for that.

This is my first telescope, so I'll refrain from any comparisons or ratings, apart from things I know something about.

I'm having a blast with my XT6. I bought it used, but it's very easy to use. Its going to be fun learning about the heavens with it.

In retrospect, though, I should have bought the 8" one. I was scared of the weight... I'm 56 years old, and will be moving it from my suburban home to my rural getaway fairly often, and I was worried it would be too heavy for me to carry from the car into the field.

I should not have worried. The 6" scope is quite easy to transport, even with a stool and my milk crate with eyepieces, flashlight, atlas, notebook, etc. The 8" one is 7 pounds heavier, which I could easily handle. And since the optical tube easily separates from the base, breaking into 2 20 pound units, I could make multiple trips if I wanted to. But I shouldn't have really worried... 40 pounds is not a problem for me at all.

Every boat owner wants to buy a bigger boat, and I guess every astronomer wants a bigger bucket. I'm not an astronomer yet, but I do want that XT8 some day soon.

Buy the 6" and know it's a great piece of engineering... or save up another month and get more aperture.

Disclosure: I am an extreme amateur. I have always loved looking up at the stars and can name a few constellations. I can not however proclaim to be knowledgeable about telescopes so this review is from the perspective of a complete newbie.

The Good: As a person familiar and dare I say it, comfortable, with building the items I purchase I was pleasantly surprised to notice a tremendous leap in material quality of this scope and its base. After years of building crappy IKEA products the simple things like solid metal bolts and screws go a LONG way. This telescope feels SOLID! I don't plan on moving it around a lot but taking it out and up to the mountains would take its toll if it were your typical low budget build. That said the images I saw that first night sent chills up my spine. As a teenager I had a really cheap Meade telescope we picked up from a local flea market. I know those have a reputation for being utter garbage but at the time that is what we could afford.

Building it only took a few minutes and it came with all the tools you need. The instructions were a little difficult to follow. (I'm spoiled by those IKEA diagrams.) It wasn't anything I couldn't figure out though. I didn't make any mistakes. The eyepiece feels solid and has a nice heft to it that feels like a quality product. The EZ Finder II device is awesome and works great once you calibrate it. I didn't see any instructions on how to do so but I didn't find it difficult at all. You just turn the nobs to see what happens and its pretty self explanatory from there.

The first thing I directed this at was Jupiter. It just so happened that this was the brightest thing in the sky. I had seen images of Jupiter before but there is something so moving about seeing it with your own eyes. With this scope you can actually make out the dark bands. I got goosebumps when I realized what that darkness was. I didn't expect that clarity in a home telescope like this. I quickly referred to an iPhone app called Star Walk (which I wholeheartedly recommend) to locate the Andromeda galaxy. I figured if I could see the bands of Jupiter I should be able to see the galaxy.

This was my face as soon I spotted it. 8*) Luckily it was a moonless night that recently had strong winds AND by the time I finished building the scope M31 was almost directly above us. At azimuth I believe its called. You could clearly see M110 right next to it. It was an amazing experience I will never forget.

The Bad: Its not really that portable. You can't really blame the scope for this though, its never labeled as such. I was just amazed at the size of it. It doesn't look that big in the pictures. The scope in the stand is just about a foot shorter than I am. Moving it and adjusting it is kind of weird. There's no place to adjust it other then moving the entire telescope. It makes you feel a little like you are aiming a canon.

The Ugly: Not a whole lot. When you first look through it some of the really bright objects sparkle with a cross of light spread but I think I may just have to align the mirrors or something. I will give that a shot tonight.

The Summary: My wife bought this for me for Christmas and let me open it early! :) It is the first REAL telescope I've ever had and I plan on using it for a long time to come. I can't wait for the lunar eclipse later this month and recommend it to anyone who feels they would be amazed at the sight of galaxies or moons beyond our own.

I bought this scope after we attended a "star party" at the local high school. My 7-year-old daughter was very excited to see the rings of Saturn, and was heartbroken to discover that some high clouds obscured it. So I bought the scope so we could take a look for ourselves. We assembled the scope in about an hour, and that night we were able to see Saturn, Mars and several stars. Using the included software we were able to discover what objects were visible where, and have had several enjoyable evenings looking at the moon and various bright stars. We are fortunate to live among three golf courses, so the amount of light pollution is relatively low. The scope is light enough, though, that we've discussed loading it into the car and taking it up to the mountains sometime for even better views. The only drawback is we need to keep a box handy for my (4' tall) daughter to stand on.

If I had to do it over again, I think I'd go with the 8" model, as there are a better variety of eyepieces available (the XT6 takes 1.25" eyepieces, while the 8" and 10" models use a 2" eyepiece). I have no complaints with our XT6, though. My daughter love it, and even my wife (who was originally uninterested) looks forward to going out on summer evenings and taking a look at what we find.

This was my Christmas gift to myself. I must have been good this year. Currently I have only two eyepieces, one is the 25mm that came with it, the other is a 20mm I already had. Those give me 48x and 60x magnification respectively. The optics should support much higher magnifications. So far I am blown away. I've seen the Orion nebula, amazing detail in the moon, Venus resolved to a very large disk, and the rings of Saturn. Even from my light polluted south St. Louis backyard I can make out two of Saturn's moons.
It is very portable, weighing about 35lbs, mount and all. If I decide to drive out to a suburban park on a moments notice, I can have it disassembled, packed and in my car in five minutes. Then setup is equally fast. I can pick it up and walk anywhere with it. I can't wait to get some higher power eyepieces and drive out to some darker rural skies. For a guy who so far has only owned a pair of 20x80 binoculars and a cheap refractor when I was a child, this thing is unbeatable for the price. If you are thinking about buying a refractor, this might be the one.

I just picked up one of these scopes and I can't say enough good about it. I love EVERY part of it. It is easy to carry in and out of my garage. The optics are great. It is easy to use. It is not designed for photography, but that's ok with me. I like my new scope.

Q. So . . . why wouldn't I endorse it?

A. If I had it to do over I would go for the 8" model. The 8" is about the largest aperature that I could lug in and out of my garage and it gathers substantially more light. I purchased mine because I got a good deal and couldn't afford the 8". Now I've got aperture fever and want bigger and bigger (at least as big as I can handle).

If you just don't have the money for the 8", do not worry. The 6" will allow you to see enough to keep you busy for years, perhaps a lifetime. If I ever succumb to aperture fever and purchase a larger model, I think I'll keep my 6" for its portability. I really like this scope! Yep, that's it, a big gun for home and a grab and go for the road.

I did a lot of research before I bought this telescope - I have no experience with them and very little knowledge of the stars. But I knew I wanted to explore the moon and stars now that we live in the country and the nights are very dark and the heavens seemingly bursting with stars.

I decided to buy the Orion SkyQuest XT6 based on the overall excellent reviews of the Orion brand, and this telescope in particular. It was at the limit of what I could afford, but I didn't want a child's toy or any of the cheaper ones that don't really work well. The free shipping (at the time) was the final deciding factor.

It arrived in two large boxes and I was shocked at the size of it. I truly didn't expect it to stand almost 5 feet tall when assembled, but maybe I'm just showing my ignorance. I unpacked everything and was very happy with the quality of the contents and paperwork. The assembly/instruction manual was very easy to use, and it only took me about 40 minutes to completely put it together. They even sent the screwdriver, allen wrenches and other items you need to assemble it.

The base is very heavy and sturdy, and I like the solid feel of it and the way it rotates 360 degrees. There's a handle mounted on the base for "ease" of transport, although there's no easy way to lug a 35 pound telescope. No matter, I set up a low table on our front deck and took the telescope outside to test it the first night.

Several tips - if you're going to view the stars on a cold night, take the telescope outdoors 20-30 minutes beforehand so it won't be fogged up when you use it. Also, for most average sized people, you'll need a LOW table or stepstool to set it on. A regular sized table will put the eyepiece about 6 feet in the air. Also - and this will make experienced star gazers laugh - take the lens cap off. It's on the end where the eyepiece is, not the other end. And be sure the lens end is pointed at the stars, not the other end. (blush)

Rookie issues aside, I was blown away by the view of the moon! The craters and lines and colors are so close and clear, it's amazing! I haven't had time and clear nights yet to find Orion's belt or Saturn and admire them, but I can't wait! I had the telescope set up last night, in preparation for the lunar eclipse, but it ended up too cloudy to see anything.

I highly recommend this telescope for anyone who wants a "real" telescope. Maybe the XT8 is better but this is a great size and magnification and price for a hobby type wanna-be astronomer. Definitely not a child's toy, this is a toy for adults. Although my kids have loved seeing the moon with me.

Edited 4/15/11: I'm still very pleased with this telescope, but I wanted to add a note about some extras that make it even better. I bought a 3x Barlow lens (about $50) to add to the standard eyepiece - it triples the magnification of the basic lens and allows the user to see our closer planets in greater detail. I also bought a moon filter (about $30) to take some of the brightness out of the moon. That allows me to see the study the surface of the moon without being blinded by the light. It seems that there is an endless list of small extras that add to the viewing experience, but I've been happy with these two extra purchases.

As a complete novice, I went with the XT 6" because it seemed to be a reasonably priced telescope --- not too big, not too small --- and powerful enough to provide good crisp views of the moon (which is all I was really interested in 'exploring').

First, the product is easy to put together -- maybe half an hour of simple assembly. In fact, all you are doing is constructing the swivel stand -- there is no assembly required for the scope itself.

Next, the 6" is a bit large -- not something you're going to cart around much (as an aside, its impressive size makes for a very cool conversation piece when not in use. I keep mine in our media room and it always draws questions from visitors. It may sound trivial, but it's a good-looking, visually alluring item!

Now the really good part: this machine puts you on the moon! I finished putting my baby together by early evening and couldn't wait to try it out, so I carried it into the yard and pointed it at the sky. Mind you, it was still a very bright sky -- the sun had set and the full moon was sitting in a sea of light-blue dusk. With no difficulty I located my target and I'm sure my neighbors heard my startled gasp as I took my first look at the lunar surface. It was so crisp, so full with detail that I pulled my head back from the lens and let fly an expletive. I was knocked out by what I was seeing! My joy increased ten fold when I attached the Orion Shorty 1.25 2x Barrow magnifier lens that I purchased at the same time (highly recommended) -- the detail was stunning. And this is smack in the middle of a city with plenty of sunlight still in the sky.

This all occurred in April 2011. Time passed, and being not much more than a hobbyist, I spent the summer occasionally pulling out the scope when the urge struck to pass a few hours studying the lunar surface. My kids, their friends, family, and others were treated to their first real look at our heavenly neighbor -- "you wanna see something amazing?" is the line I always use before blowing someone's mind -- and then something even more amazing happened:

The other night, Oct. 20th, I was out in the yard letting the dog do her thing when I noticed a very large, bright "star". More seasoned sky-watchers may roll their eyes but I had no idea what I was looking at, so I thought to pull out the Orion and give it a look. I had to patiently locate the object because the battery had worn down on the laser scope/finder, but once I had zeroed in on the 'star' and turned the focus knob I gave a repeat performance of the first time I had 'found' the moon: it was JUPITER!

And I mean, it really was Jupiter! I could see the familiar streaks of the planet's surface and it took me a few seconds to realize that the four tiny "stars" surrounding the sphere were Jupiters MOONS! I was stunned! I ran into the house yelling "Jupiter...I see Jupiter!"

As luck would have it, my kids both had a few friends over and everyone was treated to their first real look at another planet. Gasps and hushed exclamations were plentiful, "Oh...my..God!" as my wife put it. It was a great and memorable experience.

All of this may sound corny -- especially to anyone who really knows astronomy and has more experience viewing heavenly objects -- but I need to express how mind-blowing all of this is to someone who has only ever "seen" our solar system in pictures and illustrations. To really see something like Jupiter or the canals and craters of the moon is a profound experience.

Get this scope if you're at all interested in such things. This is a great item. Remember to get some magnification via an add-on lens. They really do enhance the experience. I intend to get even more magnification because if there's only one negative it's that I crave more detail. Maybe that's something an 8" or larger would automatically provide, but I'm content with the 6" as a matter of practicality and price.

Anyone with a beginner's interest in astronomy looking for their first scope should seriously consider this 6 inch Dobsonian. As all other reviewers have stated - aperture is king, and 6 inches at this price can not be beaten. (The other reviews on here are excellent and give a very good account of this scope)

It's extremely easy to use. Manually point and go, using the red dot finder included (which is adequate, but you might want to upgrade to a Telrad finder later on). This is the best and most satisfying way to get immersed in the hobby without the need for expensive computerized 'GoTo' and tracking elements.

Portability and setup is key here. The whole thing (tube and base) weighs 35lbs making it pretty easy to carry. When the tube is detached from the base by unclipping the tension springs, it can be transported in virtually any small car. Setup is...well, it's already setup and ready, just remove the tube cap and slot in an eyepiece.

Collimation is pretty straightforward. This is crucial to check quite regularly - especially if stars appear skewed - this means the mirror (primary and secondary) are out of alignment with each other. The scope comes with a simple collimation cap which works fine. (My scope out of the box was perfectly collimated.)

What will you be able to see? Even in a heavily light polluted city (Las Vegas), I am bale to easily find and view star clusters, galaxies, a few nebula and obviously the moon, Saturn and Jupiter in nice detail. Once you take this out to darker skies, it just gets that much better - nebulae will become clearer and general visibility improved.
Just because you might live in a large city with light pollution, this scope can still do an impressive job.

Recommended extras -

Comes with a 25mm eyepiece. My suggestion that the next EPs you'll want would be a wider field - 32mm or 40mm Plossl and a more powerful 10mm or 12.5mm. Adding a Barlow that can be used in conjunction with these will give you an even wider selection of magnifications. (More powerful magnifications get you closer in on objects, but clarity on these smaller scopes will suffer a bit.)

Orion sell a handy 3 eyepiece holder that screws on to the side of the base. Invaluable. No more juggling with EPs and risk dropping them.

Also, not directly related to this scope, but for viewing in general - find either an adjustable chair (pricey) or a couple of light compact folding stools of different heights (Walmart is your friend). Sitting at the correct position in relation to the eyepiece is important for comfort and longer viewing sessions - crouching or standing at an awkward angle will hurt you the next day!

I've had this one for about a year and I've been totally satisfied with it. Simple and easy to use and to learn the night sky. Great for all ages and younger children can get a good hands on feel for scopes here.
Light and portable enough to keep newbies interested. Aperture big enough to get to see a great deal of what's out there - so much more than cheaper, tiny department store scopes that will only lead to frustration and will sap your interest. Not too cumbersome to cause people not to use it as much - as they say, the best scope is the one that's used the most.

That said, if you're looking at a Dob and are prepared to pay a little more, for a few extra lbs, you should also consider the 8 and 10 inch versions. They are the same length but 2 and 4 inches wider. I'll be going to the latter in a year or so for the extra aperture and larger 2inch eyepiece compatibility. But for now, I'm smitten with my XT6! :)