Anthony's Stats
- Review Count6
- Helpfulness Votes27
- First ReviewJuly 21, 2011
- Last ReviewMarch 21, 2012
- Featured Reviews1
- Average Rating4.2
Reviews Comments
- Review Comment Count0
- Helpfulness Votes0
- First Review CommentNone
- Last Review CommentNone
- Featured Review Comments0
Anthony's Reviews
This Orion Solar filter set fits the Orion Resolux 50mm and Orion 8x56 MiniGiant Binoculars and is a must have for safely viewing details on the suns surface. Provides more contrast and natural color than Mylar filters.
Rating
reliable solar filter
PostedMarch 21, 2012
Quality
5
/
5
Value
4
/
5
Getting ready for the upcoming annular solar eclipse and the transit of Venus, I bought Orion white-light solar filters for my 5 inch schmidt cassegrain, 70 mm refractor, and 11x56 binoculars.
One suggestion, if you're buying a filter for a non-Orion device, measure the outside diameter of the front of your instrument, rather than assuming that the filter that fits an Orion 70 mm refractor, for instance, will fit a Stellarvue 70 mm refractor. I made that mistake and had to exchange one filter, wound up spending an extra 30 bucks to get a smaller filter!
With the included stick-on pads I was able to get a firm fit for each instrument. The quality and finish of these glass filters are excellent, much better than mylar-coated plastic film filters, and definitely worth the added cost. I imagine these glass filters are going to last a lot longer than plastic film, so they're probably safer and a better deal in the long run.
I've been enjoying looking at sunspots -- the Sun is always a little bit different from one day to the next. You don't need a big instrument or high magnification to see detail in sunspots. And when there's an eclipse or a transit, with a solar filter on your telescope or binoculars, you'll be a popular person!
Pros: sturdy, good optical quality
Yes, I recommend this product!
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+1point
1of 1voted this as helpful.
This set of Orion Q70 telescope eyepieces will appeal to skywatchers looking for wide field views. Included are the 26mm, 32mm and 38mm eyepieces, all of which have a 70° apparent field and are multi-coated, giving you bright, high contrast images.
Rating
Good for wide field, low power views
PostedFebruary 1, 2012
Optical Quality
4
/
5
Mechanical Quality
5
/
5
Ease of Use
5
/
5
Value
5
/
5
I recently got a 100 mm f/9 apochromatic refractor with a 2-inch focuser, and I upgraded my 8-inch schmidt-cassegrain reflector with a 2-inch visual back and diagonal. So it was time to get some 2-inch eyepieces to take advantage of the wider field of view. In addition to an explore scientific 24-mm 82-degree eyepiece, I bought this set of orion 26, 32, and 38 mm 70-degree eyepieces. I chose the orions rather than longer focal length explore scientific eyepieces because the orions are significantly lighter -- the explore scientifics would have caused balance problems on both scopes.
I'm happy with these eyepieces, especially for the price. They're well-made and have a nice feel. Views are clear and colors seem accurate. Stars at the edge of the visual field are slightly distorted, but this isn't really noticeable unless you're looking at the edges of the field. The best thing about these eyepieces is the wide field of view! On my refractor, the 38-mm eyepiece gives a 3-degree true field of view, big enough to fit Orion's entire belt into one field.
These eyepieces are a good choice for cruising through wide-field views of the sky, seeing diffuse deep-sky objects, and low-power views of the whole moon. I haven't found other eyepieces that provide a better combination of affordable price, relatively low weight, and good optical quality.
Pros: relatively low weight, affordable price, good optical quality, well made, wide field of view
Cons: slight distortion at edge of visual field
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+1point
1of 1voted this as helpful.
The Orion AstroView Equatorial Telescope Mount is heavy-duty and can support up to a 5" refractor tube. The head has enclosed worm gears and slow-motion controls. Includes an adjustable aluminum tripod, polar alignment scope and accessory tray.
Rating
A good equatorial mount at a great price.
PostedSeptember 26, 2011
Mechanical Quality
4
/
5
Tracking Accuracy
4
/
5
Ease of Assembly & Use
4
/
5
Stability
4
/
5
Value
5
/
5
I bought this mount as part of a package with the Astroview 6-inch Newtonian reflector. I have also put a 5-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain on this mount. It works fine with both telescopes.
The tripod and mount are solid and work well. I have not had a problem with the tripod leg-height adjustment screws that other people have reported, but you do need to be careful not to over-tighten them.
Polar alignment is straightforward and fairly easy. My only complaint is that you have to remove the optical tube and the counterweights to rotate the whole mount to line up the polar scope with the sky. It would work better if you could just rotate the reticle of the polar scope within the mount.
This is my first equatorial mount, and I already much prefer it to my older manual altazimuth mount. Moving the telescope through declination and right ascension makes it much easier to stay oriented to an atlas and to star hop. And unlike an altazimuth mount, it's easy to point this mount at objects that are directly overhead, where the seeing is best. On the down side, navigating by the small setting circles on this mount only puts you in roughly the area of sky you want to look at, not any better than you can do with an atlas and your eyeballs.
I also bought a single-axis right ascension clock drive, so that the telescope will track objects over time. This is a great enhancement, although the quality and features of the Orion drive leave something to be desired.
The tripod and mount are solid and work well. I have not had a problem with the tripod leg-height adjustment screws that other people have reported, but you do need to be careful not to over-tighten them.
Polar alignment is straightforward and fairly easy. My only complaint is that you have to remove the optical tube and the counterweights to rotate the whole mount to line up the polar scope with the sky. It would work better if you could just rotate the reticle of the polar scope within the mount.
This is my first equatorial mount, and I already much prefer it to my older manual altazimuth mount. Moving the telescope through declination and right ascension makes it much easier to stay oriented to an atlas and to star hop. And unlike an altazimuth mount, it's easy to point this mount at objects that are directly overhead, where the seeing is best. On the down side, navigating by the small setting circles on this mount only puts you in roughly the area of sky you want to look at, not any better than you can do with an atlas and your eyeballs.
I also bought a single-axis right ascension clock drive, so that the telescope will track objects over time. This is a great enhancement, although the quality and features of the Orion drive leave something to be desired.
Pros: good value for money, solid construction
Cons: inelegant polar alignment
Yes, I recommend this product!
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+2points
3of 4voted this as helpful.
The EQ-3M Single-Axis Orion Electronic Telescope Drive provides regulated sidereal-rate tracking in right ascension when attached to your equatorial mount. The hand controller features 2x and 8x sidereal speeds.
Rating
Does what it's supposed to do, but has shortcomings
PostedJuly 21, 2011
Mechanical Quality
2
/
5
Tracking Accuracy
4
/
5
Ease of Use
2
/
5
Value
3
/
5
I bought this drive with the Astroview 6 EQ telescope. Installing the drive on the mount was quick and easy. Operation is straightforward and simple. The drive tracks stars well when the mount is level and accurately polar-aligned. It's incredibly helpful to be able view an object for an extended period without needing to constantly realign the telescope. And this is the only drive available for this mount, so I'm going to keep it and continue to use it.
But there are two significant problems with this drive, and one little annoyance.
The battery pack is very cheaply made. I wouldn't be surprised if it needs to be replaced in a couple of years.
Once the drive is attached to the mount, you can't use the manual right ascension slow-motion control. Disengaging the drive requires finding a tiny black set-screw (in the dark) and loosening it (but not dropping it!) with a 2 mm allen wrench. To reengage the drive you have to line up the drive with the manual control and retighten the set-screw. This process is so complicated (and disastrous if you drop the set-screw and can't find it) that realistically you can only do fine adjustments in right ascension with the drive controller, and the maximum slew rate is frustratingly slow. If the drive had a simple clutch you could engage and disengage it as needed.
The minor annoyance is that the green light that's on the whole time the drive is on is really bright and degrades night vision. This problem was easily solved by a small piece of black tape.
I would recommend this drive because it's the only one available for this mount, but if Orion develops a new version, I hope they use a more robust battery pack and put a clutch on the motor.
By the way, if you're a casual observer trying to decide between a single-axis and dual-axis drive, get the single-axis drive. It's less expensive and easier to use, and it does what you need. The whole point of an equatorial mount is that you only need to track an object in right ascension, it's going to stay at the same declination forever.
But there are two significant problems with this drive, and one little annoyance.
The battery pack is very cheaply made. I wouldn't be surprised if it needs to be replaced in a couple of years.
Once the drive is attached to the mount, you can't use the manual right ascension slow-motion control. Disengaging the drive requires finding a tiny black set-screw (in the dark) and loosening it (but not dropping it!) with a 2 mm allen wrench. To reengage the drive you have to line up the drive with the manual control and retighten the set-screw. This process is so complicated (and disastrous if you drop the set-screw and can't find it) that realistically you can only do fine adjustments in right ascension with the drive controller, and the maximum slew rate is frustratingly slow. If the drive had a simple clutch you could engage and disengage it as needed.
The minor annoyance is that the green light that's on the whole time the drive is on is really bright and degrades night vision. This problem was easily solved by a small piece of black tape.
I would recommend this drive because it's the only one available for this mount, but if Orion develops a new version, I hope they use a more robust battery pack and put a clutch on the motor.
By the way, if you're a casual observer trying to decide between a single-axis and dual-axis drive, get the single-axis drive. It's less expensive and easier to use, and it does what you need. The whole point of an equatorial mount is that you only need to track an object in right ascension, it's going to stay at the same declination forever.
Pros: tracks accurately
Cons: cheap battery pack, no clutch
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+3points
4of 5voted this as helpful.
The 3mm Orion Edge-On Planetary Eyepiece is high powered making it great for detailed viewing of the moon and planets. The flat field design ensures sharp focus all the way to the edge, and fully multi-coated optics give you bright, sharp images.
Optical Quality
5
/
5
Mechanical Quality
5
/
5
Ease of Use
5
/
5
Value
5
/
5
I bought this eyepiece for high-powered viewing through an Orion 6-inch f/5 newtonian telescope. Under a clear sky with good seeing, the view was awesome. Double stars split nicely and showed good color. Jupiter's cloud bands and Gallilean moons were sharp. The image across the entire field of view was sharp, with very little distortion near the edge, and the short focal ratio of the telescope would contribute to off-axis distortion. This eyepiece compares favorably with eyepieces costing twice as much.
Pros: sharp image, good value for money
Yes, I recommend this product!
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+6points
6of 6voted this as helpful.
The AstroView 6 is a great telescope for the intermediate viewer. The manual slow motion knobs track objects or add an optional EQ3 DC drive to the mount to power the scope electronically. A good size telescope for planetary and deep sky viewing.
Rating
A classic telescope at a good price
PostedJuly 21, 2011
Optical Quality
4
/
5
Mechanical Quality
4
/
5
Ease of Assembly & Use
4
/
5
Value
5
/
5
I bought this scope to use mostly in the backyard, but also at star parties and when volunteering at educational events. I have a bigger 8-inch schmidt cassegrain on a go-to fork mount, but it's heavy, complicated, and time-consuming to set up. I also have a smaller 5-inch schmidt cassegrain on a manual altazimuth mount -- easy to take out for a quick look at the sky, but the mount has limitations. So when Orion put this 6-inch newtonian on sale, it was time to get another telescope.
After a few trips out to the back yard, I am very happy with this telescope, and would recommend it. It's big enough to show you what you want to see, but also small and light enough to lug around without hurting your back. It's also beautiful to look at, a classic design that resonates with the history of astronomy.
My only major complaint about this package is the finder scope. There is no way I could crane my neck to look through a straight-through finder on this sort of telescope. I replaced it with a 50 mm right-angle finder that works well. I think Orion should include a right-angle finder standard with this package.
Assembly was easy and only took about half an hour, even though I got confused constantly flipping back and forth between the out-of-date manual and the addenda -- I hope that Orion will simply print a new manual! The dovetail bar makes it very easy to attach the optical tube onto the mount, and to detach it.
The tripod and mount are solid and work well. Polar alignment is straightforward and fairly easy. My only complaint is that you have to remove the optical tube and the counterweights to rotate the whole mount to line up the polar scope with the sky. It would work better if you could just rotate the reticle of the polar scope within the mount.
This is my first equatorial mount, and I already much prefer it to my manual altazimuth mount. Moving the telescope through declination and right ascension makes it much easier to stay oriented to an atlas and to star hop. And unlike an altazimuth mount, it's easy to point this mount at objects that are directly overhead, where the seeing is best. On the down side, navigating by the small setting circles on this mount only puts you in roughly the area of sky you want to look at, not any better than you can do with an atlas and your eyeballs.
I also bought a single-axis right ascension clock drive, so that the telescope will track objects over time. This is a great enhancement, although the quality and features of the Orion drive leave something to be desired.
The optical tube is well put together, sturdy, and light for a tube of this size. The mirrors were well collimated out of the box. The secondary mirror didn't need any adjustment. With the included collimation cap, the little sticker at the center of the primary mirror, and the big collimation knobs on the back of the tube, it was easy to tweak the primary mirror into perfect alignment.
I've set up this telescope three times in the backyard, in a light-polluted city, last night with a very clear sky and good seeing.
I was very impressed, surprised really, by what I saw. The focuser is firm with little drift, although a dual fine-focus would be really welcome. The included 25 mm and 10 mm eyepieces are adequate, but the telescope really showed its stuff with higher quality eyepieces and filters. There was a little bit of coma around bright objects, and stars near the edge of the field of view were slightly distorted, but both of these issues were minimal. Double stars split nicely and showed good color. Globular clusters showed good detail. Jupiter's cloud bands and Gallilean moons were sharp. The Pleiades star cluster was a field of diamonds in a low-power eyepiece. The waning gibbous moon was glorious at 75x. Planetary nebulae and the Andromeda galaxy were just fuzzy patches -- I'm looking forward to seeing what this scope can do with dim objects under a truly dark sky.
If you're on a budget, at minimum invest in a 2x barlow, a moon filter, and a skyglow filter. A longer focal length eyepiece, up to 35 mm, would also give you a wider-field low-power view of extended objects such as star clusters.
After a few trips out to the back yard, I am very happy with this telescope, and would recommend it. It's big enough to show you what you want to see, but also small and light enough to lug around without hurting your back. It's also beautiful to look at, a classic design that resonates with the history of astronomy.
My only major complaint about this package is the finder scope. There is no way I could crane my neck to look through a straight-through finder on this sort of telescope. I replaced it with a 50 mm right-angle finder that works well. I think Orion should include a right-angle finder standard with this package.
Assembly was easy and only took about half an hour, even though I got confused constantly flipping back and forth between the out-of-date manual and the addenda -- I hope that Orion will simply print a new manual! The dovetail bar makes it very easy to attach the optical tube onto the mount, and to detach it.
The tripod and mount are solid and work well. Polar alignment is straightforward and fairly easy. My only complaint is that you have to remove the optical tube and the counterweights to rotate the whole mount to line up the polar scope with the sky. It would work better if you could just rotate the reticle of the polar scope within the mount.
This is my first equatorial mount, and I already much prefer it to my manual altazimuth mount. Moving the telescope through declination and right ascension makes it much easier to stay oriented to an atlas and to star hop. And unlike an altazimuth mount, it's easy to point this mount at objects that are directly overhead, where the seeing is best. On the down side, navigating by the small setting circles on this mount only puts you in roughly the area of sky you want to look at, not any better than you can do with an atlas and your eyeballs.
I also bought a single-axis right ascension clock drive, so that the telescope will track objects over time. This is a great enhancement, although the quality and features of the Orion drive leave something to be desired.
The optical tube is well put together, sturdy, and light for a tube of this size. The mirrors were well collimated out of the box. The secondary mirror didn't need any adjustment. With the included collimation cap, the little sticker at the center of the primary mirror, and the big collimation knobs on the back of the tube, it was easy to tweak the primary mirror into perfect alignment.
I've set up this telescope three times in the backyard, in a light-polluted city, last night with a very clear sky and good seeing.
I was very impressed, surprised really, by what I saw. The focuser is firm with little drift, although a dual fine-focus would be really welcome. The included 25 mm and 10 mm eyepieces are adequate, but the telescope really showed its stuff with higher quality eyepieces and filters. There was a little bit of coma around bright objects, and stars near the edge of the field of view were slightly distorted, but both of these issues were minimal. Double stars split nicely and showed good color. Globular clusters showed good detail. Jupiter's cloud bands and Gallilean moons were sharp. The Pleiades star cluster was a field of diamonds in a low-power eyepiece. The waning gibbous moon was glorious at 75x. Planetary nebulae and the Andromeda galaxy were just fuzzy patches -- I'm looking forward to seeing what this scope can do with dim objects under a truly dark sky.
If you're on a budget, at minimum invest in a 2x barlow, a moon filter, and a skyglow filter. A longer focal length eyepiece, up to 35 mm, would also give you a wider-field low-power view of extended objects such as star clusters.
Pros: manageable size and weight, good optical quality, solid equatorial mount with a polar scope, excellent value for money
Cons: unusable finder scope, out of date manual
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+11points
12of 13voted this as helpful.
Anthony's Review Comments
Anthony has not submitted comments on any reviews.