Celestron - PowerSeeker 127EQ Telescope - Manual German Equatorial Telescope for Beginners - Compact and Portable - Bonus Astronomy Software Package - 127mm Aperture

This scope catches a lot of flack in the forums and here. Let me demystify some of the bad reviews.1) CollimationThis telescope can be collimated easily by eye, if you want to collimate with a laser, you'll have to remove the corrective lens in the focuser tube. If you love to tinker knock yourself out however, this isn't the most powerful scope you can buy so, eye collimation is more than enough to be happy.2) The finder scope is unusableWhile I agree, it's not the best finder scope out there and lining it up with the telescope can take a long time but, it is possible with time and patients. It's also replaceable so if you don't like it, get another one. (note: it is a scope and not a finder, the image is reversed in the finder)3) I can't see anything out of this thingYou need to collimate the scope and line up the finder scope, the instructions are in the manual for eye collimation (tip: back the focuser tube all the way out when you collimate, doing this will let you see both the secondary mirror and the primary, also note, this went through shipping and if it arrived with all the mirrors aligned and ready to go, get a power ball ticket because you'd be the luckiest person on the planet4) The Barlow is uselessPlease google and youtube what a barlow is and how to use them, it's not a true lens and once you find out its true purpose, it'll make more sense5) The 4mm lens is uselessSee my comment on the barlow, using the barlow with the 4mm will tame things a bit, also, get a lens and filter kit with a 15mm and a 9mm lens.6) The Telescope doesn't stay put on the tripod.The counterweight on this telescope is not for looks, you need to use it to balance the telescope on the eq mount. when the counter weight is properly balanced, you can put the telescope in any position on the right ascension axis and it'll stay put. The Telescope itself also has to be balanced front to back in the mounting hoops (youtube it, there are a billion tutorials on how to do this.) One last comment on this issue is, do not try to push the telescope into position with the clutches locked, use the controls on the tripod to position the scope, if you need to make big adjustments, loosen the clutches (should be OK because your telescope is balanced) position the scope to the general area of viewing, lock the clutches and use the controls to fine tune. If you push the scope around with the clutches locked you're manhandling the gears that the controls are attached to and you can push them out of whack, don't do this.Here's the deal, this is a marvelous telescope for UNDER 200 American green backs!!! When properly set up, balanced and overall ready to view, it's a great scope and it's a lot of fun. Buying upgrades for the scope will add to your viewing pleasure. Yes you can see our planetary neighbors, the moon looks fantastic, in a dark place, you can see some deeper space stuff.Is this a good scope for beginners? Yes I think it is, backyard astronomy is not a plug and play out of the box and looking at Jupiter kind of deal. A telescope is a pretty sensitive thing that takes a little love. If you're just starting out and collimation, calibration and generic tinkering is not your thing, this may not be your hobby, heck aside from sitting on the couch, I don't know what hobby doesn't require a little hands on setup and tinkering.Finding stuff in the sky is hard, small movements at the scope have a huge impact on where you're looking in the sky, youtube is your friend, so is google.

I think this telescope is really great for the price. The stand is kind of flimsy, but that is where they went skimpy. I haven't gotten the chance to view anything at night yet. I did set it up the other day and could see individual raindrops hanging on individual pine needles at the end of my driveway (we have a very long driveway). I was super impressed. I do recommend getting the accessory set ($30 on Amazon right now). We are going to order it since the smallest eyepiece that comes with this one is pretty much useless. That is pretty much the deal with any telescope you get though. You'll always have to upgrade eyepieces. Overall, I am very happy with my telescope. Like I said, be prepared to collimate it. Any reflector telescope is required to be collimated though. There are videos on Youtube on how to do it. I haven't attempted it yet but from the tutorials (and using a laser collimation tool) it looks pretty easy if you are handy. I am an engineer so I am really not afraid to work with stuff like this.UPDATE:I have collimated it and used it multiple times now and I am VERY impressed. I will say, the collimating means everything when using it. I recommend collimating at least every month (or after any bump the telescope takes). This will keep your views clear and your time more enjoyable.We also bought the accessory kit like we were planning. I don’t see how you can use this scope without it. We were BLINDED trying to view the moon (quarter moon at the time I believe) and had to go filters that came with the kit. The eyepieces that came with it are higher quality and much clearer than the included eyepieces.I discovered that viewing at night with lights around you ruins the experience. Just having the kitchen light on in the house ruined our views from out in the yard. Make sure it’s as dark as possible. We also learned that your views aren’t anywhere near as good if your eyes aren’t adjusted to the dark. The first time I viewed Orion’s nebula I had just walked outside and viewed it. A few nights later I set up again and waited about 20 minutes outside before viewing and WOW!!!! The difference was incredible. It went from a slightly white cloud to a BEAUTIFUL image with colors and significant detail.We also got to view the andromeda galaxy and that was pretty amazing as well. Tonight’s target is the moon, Orion’s nebula, and the 7 sisters. If you know how to use it, you will enjoy it greatly. I plan on upgrading telescopes eventually because of my experience with this one.These are the items we have bought for or upgraded on the telescope:Binoculars. Got a really good pair at Sams Club. We can see nebulas with them as well. They’re great for finding sky targets.Accessory kit. Get it. Worth every penny.A new finder scope. We got the laser dot one on amazon for about $20. Totally worth it. The one that came with it is pretty much useless.Sky maps. These help in finding what you want to see.Red flash lights. These are a must have since they will not affect your night vision. I got 6 of them for $9 on amazon.Some star apps for iPhone. Download Celestrons app. It will help a lot. I also recommend SkyView. Not as good as SkyPortal by Celestron but still good.I also feel like I should mention that the free software package you get for your PC is AWESOME. I really recommend using it.EDIT: I uploaded some pictures I took with my DSLR camera. They are a little blurry because I didn’t have a remote shutter. The camera moved some when I pressed the button. Hoping to snap a shot of Orion soon once I get a remote shutter.