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The most helpful critical review
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Good low-cost telescope for the kids
This is a decent entry level, low cost telescope great for introducing the kids to star gazing. Using the 50x eyepiece, a full moon fills the viewfinder, providing an exciting view for first time astronomers. The 3x viewfinder is helpful but you will still need to tweak the aim for the main scope. The light weight tripod is a bit too flimsy and won't help your aiming...
Published 20 months ago by Jason A. Cox
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43 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
Avoid this at all costs
I purchased one at Walgreen's for $12.75 on close out merely as a demonstration for others of what not to buy. Sure, it is much better than what Galileo made, himself, 400 years ago, but:
1) The product is advertised on the box by the magnification it yields. The manufacturer is betting that you do not know that "quality" is based on light gathering ability (the...
Published 17 months ago by Pen Name
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43 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
Avoid this at all costs, April 6, 2009
This review is from: Vivitar Telescope with Tripod (Apparel)
I purchased one at Walgreen's for $12.75 on close out merely as a demonstration for others of what not to buy. Sure, it is much better than what Galileo made, himself, 400 years ago, but:
1) The product is advertised on the box by the magnification it yields. The manufacturer is betting that you do not know that "quality" is based on light gathering ability (the diameter of the front lens, for a refractor telescope, or the diameter of the rear mirror, in a Newtonian reflector) and NOT by the magnifications printed on the box.
2) The mount is totally flimsy. The constant wobbling prevents clear viewing. A good mount should be able to dampen the vibrations after focusing, for example, in about 2 seconds. This one took about 15 seconds or more. And never stopped even with a light breeze. A solid camera tripod would improve the setup 10-fold.
3) The lowest power eyepiece (12mm/50x) exceeds the performance ability of the telescope for nighttime viewing. A general rule is that the maximum useful magnification = 25 x the diameter (in inches) of the lens (or mirror). The 2" lens x 25 = 50.
4) The eyepieces are poor. Only the very center of them appears to come to focus, with the rest of the image being blurry. And that's with daytime viewing. I can only imaging the collimation flaws in the optics when looking at stars.
5) The eyepieces are inferior, obsolete 0.965" barrel diameter. Today's eyepieces are a universal 1.25" (and 2" diameter for highest quality ones).
6) The box shows color images of the Orion nebula and the Pleiades. Color can only be achieved through time-exposure photography with the telescope on an equatorial mount. With VERY few exceptions (such as a 12" Newtonian reflector), color will NEVER be visible through an eyepiece on any telescope. When color is perceived, it is only when viewing the brightest emission nebula, and then the effect is a slight green color effect.
If you are interested in a telescope, check out your local astronomy club for advice. Avoid any refractor less than 3" or any reflector less than 6 inches.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Chinese engineering marvel- like the Great Wall, May 24, 2009
This review is from: Vivitar Telescope with Tripod (Apparel)
I purchased this knowing I wanted a bottom of the line disposable product and I was not dissappointed. It is OK for the price as long as you immediately pitch the tripod into the nearest handy active valcano. You are much better off using your hands and a nearby tree or other support. Everything else works just fine for watching wildlife, but I would not expect it to do well for stargazing.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Bad telescope, April 28, 2009
This review is from: Vivitar Telescope with Tripod (Apparel)
a pair of binoculars works better than this telescope. It's really hard to find the target and does not bring clearer picture than binoculars.
My 7 old son played with it two hours and has not touched for a few weeks. We'll see it can be used for birds watching.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Ridiculous, February 21, 2009
This review is from: Vivitar Telescope with Tripod (Apparel)
I bought this product for a friend as a beginner telescope because of their interest in Astronomy. We haven't been able to see anything except for light and everything is blurry. Manufacturing of product feels cheap, I suppose you get what you pay for and I would not recommend this telescope for anyone including beginners.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
A total piece of junk, January 31, 2009
This review is from: Vivitar Telescope with Tripod (Apparel)
please, please don't buy this piece of junk. Your naked eye can see better. It got a 1 star rating only because I was forced to give it.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
This is junk!, January 9, 2009
This review is from: Vivitar Telescope with Tripod (Apparel)
This telescope is a piece of junk! Viewing a bright full moon through this thing is barely better than the naked eye. Viewing a star is impossible. I could see the moon in more detail through a $5.00 magnifying glass. I give it one star only because this review site won't let me give it 0 stars.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Not Satisfied, January 25, 2009
This review is from: Vivitar Telescope with Tripod (Apparel)
Knowing that the tripod would not be too heavy for stable support, I decided to buy this for my grandson to view the moon and stars. The unit could not focus with any of the lenses and at it's best only able to see shadows of the moon when, after tedious attempts. Waiting on the time to contact the manufacturer to see if there is anything that can be done. I had to select 1 star complete this review.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Over Charged, December 29, 2008
This review is from: Vivitar Telescope with Tripod (Apparel)
Vivitar Telescope with Tripod
Ordered this item for my great grandson. This product is a toy!!
Not sure where the original price came from, but it is a joke. I found
the very same telescope, in a local store for $20.00, and $20.00 is the
orgianal store price not a sale price. My great grandson loves the telescope, however I paid twice what it was worth and to have it shipped. Also the way it was shipped was pretty bad.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Good low-cost telescope for the kids, January 10, 2009
This review is from: Vivitar Telescope with Tripod (Apparel)
This is a decent entry level, low cost telescope great for introducing the kids to star gazing. Using the 50x eyepiece, a full moon fills the viewfinder, providing an exciting view for first time astronomers. The 3x viewfinder is helpful but you will still need to tweak the aim for the main scope. The light weight tripod is a bit too flimsy and won't help your aiming efforts. Little hands will have difficulty keeping things stable, so steady-hand adult supervision/instruction is required. You will also need to use the mirrored diagonal eye piece to get a good focus. The focal knob will not adjust enough to focus without the diagonal piece in place (a source of a lot of frustration if you didn't know it was needed).
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
"telescope?", July 13, 2009
This review is from: Vivitar Telescope with Tripod (Apparel)
The telescope is very hard to work for children under 13. I was hoping to be able to set it up for my nephew, but it was hard for several grown people to try to focus the thing. My nephew said that the moon looked bigger if he just stared at it instead of looking inside of this thing. You know what they say, children always say the truth.
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