Skywatcher 70x700 refractor telescope review | Sky-Watcher Great Start 70 AR-AZ2 70mm Refractor Telescope

Best Value for the money paid! | Sky-Watcher Great Start 70 AR-AZ2 70mm Refractor Telescope

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	• Sky-Watcher Great Start 70 AR-AZ2 70mm Refractor Telescope Sky-Watcher Sky-Watcher average customer review:based on 6 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

beginners scope

This scope has a few short commings, but is nice for the price. The eyepieces are fine plossls, but the barlow is junk. The eyepieces alone would cost you $50 or more. This scope will show you the main planets (Saturn, Jupiter, Venus, and Mars, when close enough) as well as enjoyable lunar observing. It is possible to see every Messier object with this scope, but the scope is not large enough to show much detail in many of them. It will split any of the binocular doubles, and some of the easier telescopic ones too, show the color in many carbon stars, and get you started in a great hobby. If you find you like this hobby, you will get another scope in the near future. But even then, this small scope will be a favorite grab and go.
The mount needs a bit of work. It is an Alt/Az mount, and the Alt is a bit sloppy. The Red Dot finder will get you on target, much better than the cheap little finder scopes ever did. Easy to use, easy to set up, and being a refractor, cool down is quick. Focuser can be modded to work better, and the tripod can be stiffened up a bit. Alt fine adjustment could use a bit longer throw. Better than most 50 & 60mm scopes out there, better than or as good as any of the other 70mm scopes. At least achro, it is not an ED or APO scope, but those cost hundreds more.
Great scope for kids. Not too much money, and quite usable. Beats the heck out of starting with binoculars, and for the same price or less. Works best if you use a chair and do not fully extend the tripod. A 32mm plossl EP is a good next EP for this setup. Then either a good barlow, or splurge and get a 5,6 & 9mm Abbe Ortho for it. The scope is slow enough to use Kellner EPs too. My 15mm K gives good views in this scope. The focuser is a 1.25" so it won't take any 2" EPs, and Hyperion EPs are too heavy for this scope's focuser too. Use plosssls, kellners and Abbe Orthos for the best views. Seeing let me take this scope to 150X on Saturn. A minus V or Baader Semi-APO filter will knock out all the Ca when used on the moon, or Venus.

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Skywatcher 70x700 refractor telescope review

This is excellent beginner telescope for person just starting and/or 2nd telescope for lunar and planetary viewing at home in city.
Good optics for the price(not so great optics for high standard) if not the great one.
I'm using this for lunar/planetary quick viewing in light polluted sky in city; it does its job.
I bought this for guidescope for my 8" reflector, but when I receied it's too good to tear it apart for using guidescope alone, so I'm using it for 2nd telescope ar home usage for quick viewing.
After I bought it I noticed that they raised price a little.
Still, it's great deal for the price.
Isaac

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Best Value for the money paid!

I just received this telescope, very easy to assemble and very good over all finish. Eyepieces are decent and the 2x barlow adds value to the EP set. very good lenses the images are very crisp an clear. For 50+ bucks i dont think it gets any better than this....

Regards,
Umesh

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Great telescope for planetary and moon viewing

The tripod is a little flimsy...The barlow is absolute junk. The 25mm is mediocre. The 12mm is the only eye piece that is decent. Build quality seems good. Focuser is smooth. The optics are good. Dont expect too much though. Only good for viewing the moon and brighter planets. Shipped in two boxes. Came with sky1 software.

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Great Telescope

This telescope works great! We watched a partial lunar elcipse and it showed up very good, even with a low power lense. The targeting scope with the red light pointer is very nice too. I would certainly recommend this telescope.

The Sky watcher Great Start 70AR-AZ2 is a great value in a small telescope, with some real improvements over the typical 60mm beginner scope. Instead of wildly exaggerated claims of ?500 power? magnification, Skywatcher equips the SW 70AR-AZ2 with the basics: excellent optics, two Super Plossl eyepieces, a 2X barlow lens, and a solid Alt-Azimuth mount. The package also includes illustrated instructions and planetarium software for your PC.

Skywatcher?s GreatStart 70AR-AZ2 features unusually good optics for an entry level telescope. The best objects for small telescopes are bright objects like the Moon and planets. When I look at the Moon for example, I?m treated to sharp, high contrast views of the Moon?s mountains, craters and lava flows. The little orange disk of Mars, the rings of Saturn, and even the cloud bands of Jupiter all show up quite nicely with the 12mm eyepiece, about 58x magnification. Planet details show up even better when I add the 2X Barlow for a total magnification of 116x. Daytime views with the Sky-Watcher 70AR are also quite good. The 90 degree diagonal mirror produces images that are right side up but reversed left to right. When I use the 25mm eyepiece for a magnification of 26x I see daylight images that are crisp and colorful and sharp to the edge of the 2 degree field of view.

The Skywatcher 70AR-AZ2 also features an Alt-Azimuth mount with adjustable aluminum tripod. The tripod is easy to assemble, and includes a slow motion screw to adjust the altitude. An Alt-Azimuth mount is light and easy to use; there are no counter-weights to balance or polar axis to align, just point the telescope and look. As soon as you get the Moon or a planet centered in the eyepiece, however, it starts drifting toward the edge; this is caused by rotation of the Earth. Celestial objects will stay in the low power field of view for three or four minutes, but with a high power eyepiece they may disappear in a minute or less.

The Skywatcher GreatStart 70AR-AZ2 is a great choice for someone who wants a telescope that can be used during the daytime as well as at night. The sharp optics produce a right side up image, the mount is light and easy to use, and the included planetarium software helps you find planets in the night sky. Bottom line, this telescope is an all around great value, and much better than the so-called ?500 power? ?professional? telescopes seen in toy stores. --Jeff Phillips

Pros: Very good Achromatic optics Plossl eyepieces and 2X barlow included Light, portable and easy to use Rugged low maintenance design Cons: Does not track stars and planets

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reviews: page 1, 2

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