Celestron Firstscope 80 equatorial

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Brand and Model:Celestron Firstscope 80 equatorial
Price ($USD):$349
Type:Achromatic Refractor
Attributes: un-checked Go-To un-checked PEC
Aperture:80mm (3.1")
f Ratio:f/11.4
Focal Length:900mm
Finder:6x30
Electric Power:9v
Mount:cg-3
Tripod:wood w tray
Weight (lbs):30 lbs.
Dimensions (w/h/d):
Description:Telescope comes with slow motion acables in both axis. one 25mm SMA 1.25 inch WA eyepiece. 1.25 inch mirror diagonal. Piggyback camera mount on cradle.

Vote Highlights Vote
Celestron Firstscope 80 equatorial
Ok what is going on with the quality of these inexpensive scopes. I just tested this scope for a relative of mine who justpicked it up. Let me get to the heart of this scope, the optics first. This one in particular is outstanding. I had this scope over 60x per inch on jupiter and Saturn, the views were outstanding/no image degradation/multiple bands on Jupiter/moons were defined disks. I could not believe what I was witnessing. Then I checked out saturn/ shading of the globe was very apparent/The cassini division dark and easy/the rings gave me hints of shading in the outer ring. The CG-3 mount with the clock drive is quite stable-which surprised me. The wooden tripod, even though not of the greatest quality, was more then adequate for this setup. I still have visions of the meade 395 i had briefly with its tuning fork for an aluminum tripod. this scope is an extraordinary value/highly recommended/fun to use. Bob Midiri DVAA

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 6 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=40135

Celestron Firstscope 80 equatorial
OVERALL THIS IS A VERY GOOD TELESCOPE FOR THE MONEY. I BOUGHT IT FROM GEORGE AT SCIENCE AND HOBBY FOR $229(SEE MY REVIEW UNDER PLACES TO BUY). I ALSO PURCHASED THE CELESTRON BAADER FILM SOLAR FILTER AND THE CELESTRON $99 EYEPIECE/FILTER DEAL. THE OPTICS ARE EXCELLENT FOR A TELESCOPE IN THIS PRICE RANGE, ESPECIALLY AFTER CELESTRON REPLACED A BAD DIAGONAL(MIRROR NOT ALIGNED) AND THE 20MM SMA EYEPIECE(DEBRIS INSIDE LENS). THE SOLAR FILTER GIVES VERY GOOD VIEWS OF SUNSPOTS. POINTS DEDUCTED IN THIS REVIEW ARE DUE TO THE SUPPLIED DIAGONAL AND 20MM EYEPIECE AND OF COURSE THE TRIPOD AND MOUNT, AND THE FOCUSER. THE MODIFICATIONS I MADE TO THE TRIPOD WERE-FILL THE CENTER LEGS WITH SAND, USE HOMEMADE ANTI VIBRATION PADS AND TIGHTEN EVERYTHING. FOR THE MOUNT AND FOCUSER I TOOK THEM ALL APART, REMOVED THE LUBE(GLUE) AND APPLIED TEFLON GREASE. THESE CHANGES HAVE REDUCED SETTLING TIME FROM 4-5 SECONDS TO ABOUT 1 SECOND. EVEN WITH HAVING TO DO THE ABOVE MODIFICATIONS I STILL RATED THIS TELESCOPE VERY HIGH BECAUSE OF THE OVERALL OPTICS AND VALUE. READ ENOUGH REVIEWS AND YOU WILL SEE MOST COMPLAINTS ARE SHAKEY MOUNT AND TRIPOD, BAD DIAGONAL AND STIFF FOCUSER. MOST OF THESE PROBLEMS ARE INHERENT IN MOST TELESCOPES. YOU NEED TO FIDDLE WITH THEM TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THEM.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:10 Mount:7 Ease of Use:10 Value:10
Weight: 5 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=167619

Celestron Firstscope 80 equatorial
What could I say about this scope that already hasn't been said, this scope for the price is got to be one of the best scope bargains around!!!!
I've owned this scope roughly 2 years and it still just blows me away everytime I take it outside, the views are crisp and clear, on nights of "decent" seeing this scope will do 180x even with "low budget" Kellners (Celestron sma's) in the diagonal.
About 6 months a go I purchased a Nexstar 114HC as an "upgrade" scope to the 80mm, thinking that the 114mm aperture reflector would easily outperform the FS 80, all I can say is I'm VERY glad I didn't sell the 80 to make the upgrade, due to the fact that compared side by side, the Nexstar is basically a piece of "junk" both optically and mechcanically...
The fit and finish of the FS 80 is very good with far less plastic (other than a few various knobs, its basically ALL metal) than the Nexstar 114 making the "80" look far more expensive and closer to a "real" telescope in comparision, the ONLY complaint I could possibly make about the 80 is its "non-folding" wooden tripod legs making it kind of a pain to get out a doorway once it's setup amd leveled properly, if this scope were on a aluminum CG-4 or CG-5 tripod (if purchased as the "80HD" it DOES come on the CG-4 aluminum), taking it outside and settting it up is far less of a problem, the only upside to the wooden tripod is it's solid stability...
In closing I would have to say that the FS 80EQ is buy far an excellent choice for the "biginner" on a tight budget, as of this writing,the FS 80EQ having been in Celestron's refractor lineup for sometime now as come down dramatically in price from it's original $600.00 RETAIL, this scope can be found on the net NEW through various mail order outlets for as little as $200-$300, also, since this is a 80mm (3.1") scope and will be typically "upgraded" by it's owner eventually, USED examples in good to VERY good condition can be found for far less than that (I paid $169.00 for my "used" one in almost "mint" condition, and this was back when the retail was still quite high)
This scope easily rates a 9+.....

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=40143

Celestron Firstscope 80 equatorial
Got my scope for NZ$ 280!!Heavy ex quality German eq mounting.
I did not crank it up more than 120x on star test.Performed equally well both in and out of focus.
I am to test the scope under the dark sky soon!!But from my backyard I am very pleased to see Saturn and Jupiter as well as many other things(Orion just fabulous). A wee touch of colour on Sirius and planets.That does not matter for the price!!The brightness is really cool when you keep the magnification under 100x.After all this is just simple achromatic telescope.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=40865

Celestron Firstscope 80 equatorial
1>planetary scope:very clear with even a 4mm Plossl. Usually use 10Pl or 20Erfle
2>lunar:not much better than this for clarity and crispness.
3>deep sky: nice open-cluster scope, and obvious objects like M51 show well.
narrow field is limiting, as is the almost useless finder scope.
4>Portability is good. Compared to my Meade 10" EQ (an old DS10) this is a
pocket scope.
5>Mount:The EQ is the most solid and stable I've seen on scopes in this class.
Wooden legs damp vibration and EQ head has positive feel in slo-mo.
6>Overall:Surprising optics with absolute minimum of color. Clear field to edge
of view. Somewhere there's a better 80mm, but not near this price.
This scope gets a 9 because I'll have to buy another finder. Other than that,
I love it and will keep it until I can afford a Tak or an AstroPhysics

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=40139

Celestron Firstscope 80 equatorial
I got this is 1993 when it was made by Vixen and came on a GP mount. Back thn, I paid about $700 shipped. A GP mount separately cost $675 back then. It was like getting the telescope for free. Excellent on planets, moon and doubles. Fair on deep sky. Diffraction rings were very pleasing. False color was more than acceptable for the price. It was one of the best values going. Only disappoinment was the less than impressive 6x30 finder.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=40137

Celestron Firstscope 80 equatorial
This scope became a cupboard queen in my case - it's lain unused for 5 years and it took the purchase of a NexStar 8 to get me back into astronomy. I grew to hate it so much I didn't even try it once on Hale-Bopp (FOV limitations aside). Why ?

Firstly, the optics are excellent as commented above.

But a scope is only as good as its mount and its finder. The mount is a cheap clone which I found shaky and erratic - lots of slop in the gears and/or some resistance to initial movement so getting it tracking planets at high powers became very disheartening - needed a push to get it going and then the vibrations would kill the image. The tripod is unnecessarily slow and fiddly to set up (tiny screws, pointlessly fine threading so just attaching the tray means a painful five minutes without gloves in the cold, and the tripod is uselessly rickety without it) so after a while I found myself just not putting it up. The big chunky hand-screws on the NexStar came as a revelation by comparison and can't be expensive - why don't they use these on every scope ?

The finder is the worst aspect. It attaches with only three screws not six, which means you can't just adjust the angle by turning opposite screws - the adjusting screws are also the only thing holding the weight of the finder, so you have to loosen them all to get it to move and then it pivots around them rather than being pivoted BY them - the screws form the fulcrum rather than fine-tuning the position. Tightening them then loses the position unless you're very careful. Then the position is lost every time you pack or move the scope because the three-point holder system is just not stable.

So basically every viewing session became a 20 minute battle to get the tripod set up, the scope attached and balanced, the finder aligned (which took a good ten minutes sometimes), and then having to cope with slop and backlash in the mount as well as vibrations at high powers.

I think this is a lesson in investing in the mount as much as the scope - my experience basically put me off telescopes for years. I would recommend anyone to buy this scope only as an OTA and to budget at least as much again for a decent mount.

Overall Rating: 6
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=40141

Celestron Firstscope 80 equatorial
excellent image quality for a 80mm. the mount is kinda cheap but so is the price.

Overall Rating: 8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=40136

Celestron Firstscope 80 equatorial
I have found this scope to be a fine performer, especially with optional higher quality eyepieces...good star test and very slight purple fringing around the moon's limb..you have to look hard to see it. Cassinni's division well defined. I took it up to 225x with 4mm ortho Meade eyepiece and was very pleased at what I saw..good split on doubles. best high power eyepiece seems to be about an 8mm or 6 mm plossl for most high power viewing and doubles...that seems to split most doubles I look at and gives very sharp images. Optional single axis drive does a good job keeping object centered. Optics are sharp and very contrasty. Get the one with the heavy duty mount. mine has the lighter one..CG-3..Ok, but CG-4 would be better. Overall, nice scope and under $300.

Overall Rating: No Vote
Weight: <none>
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=40870

Celestron Firstscope 80 equatorial
I have found this scope to be a fine performer, especially with optional higher quality eyepieces...good star test and very slight purple fringing around the moon's limb..you have to look hard to see it. Cassinni's division well defined. I took it up to 225x with 4mm ortho Meade eyepiece and was very pleased at what I saw..good split on doubles. best high power eyepiece seems to be about an 8mm or 6 mm plossl for most high power viewing and doubles...that seems to split most doubles I look at and gives very sharp images. Optional single axis drive does a good job keeping object centered. Optics are sharp and very contrasty. Get the one with the heavy duty mount. mine has the lighter one..CG-3..Ok, but CG-4 would be better. Overall, nice scope and under $300.

Overall Rating: No Vote
Weight: <none>
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=40869

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