Careysub's Stats
- Review Count4
- Helpfulness Votes3
- First ReviewSeptember 30, 2011
- Last ReviewOctober 12, 2011
- Featured Reviews0
- Average Rating3.8
Reviews Comments
- Review Comment Count0
- Helpfulness Votes0
- First Review CommentNone
- Last Review CommentNone
- Featured Review Comments0
Careysub's Reviews
Need for a good way to start identifying constellations? The Orion Star Target Planisphere is the perfect telescope accessory! Designed for 30-50 deg North latitude and includes simple instructions and viewing tips. Just dial in the date and time!
Rating
Useful, Attractive but Not the Best for Observing
PostedOctober 12, 2011
Content Quality
4
/
5
Ease of Use
3
/
5
Value
3
/
5
I have a habit of collecting any new planisphere I run across (they are inexpensive), so I have a fair collection of them.
The Orion planisphere is possibly the most cosmetically attractive, and it is a good one for learning the sky, or planning a viewing session.
It is not well designed for actual nighttime use.
As an observing tool it needs to be highly readable in dim red light, a situation where the cone cells that provide high visual acuity are inactive. The small type, combined with the white-on-dark blue background, makes it all but impossible to read. If you crank the light up enough to read it you lose some of your dark adaptation (I highly recommend the Orion RedBeam LED flashlight with its adjustable brightness thumb wheel for night time viewing).
The is another planisphere available that is not as pretty but is designed for nighttime use and is the standard tool of amateur astronomers (its the one you see people with at star parties). It splits the northern and southern horizons into separate views on opposite sides, has larger black on white print, and includes some useful graphical spotting hints.
The review guidelines forbid mentioning competing products - but if you want one to use as a night time viewing tool, you should look further.
But there is no reason not to get this one for daytime use - it is a good choice if you are looking to acquire familiarity with the sky or get others interested in doing so. In my ease of use rating I am splitting the difference between my daytime and nighttime usability, and I am marking this as "recommend" but that comes with important qualifications.
Pros: attractive, informative, well made
Cons: not readable at night
Yes, I recommend this product!
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Good affordable beginner reflector telescope with 4.5" diameter mirror lens provides clear views of the Moon, planets, and brighter deep-sky objects. Portable design with compact, pre-assembled tabletop base makes setup easy for the whole family.
Rating
Great As a First Scope and For Star Parties
PostedOctober 8, 2011
Optical Quality
5
/
5
Mechanical Quality
4
/
5
Ease of Assembly & Use
5
/
5
Value
5
/
5
This is a handy, easy-to-use modest magnification instrument with a very wide field-of-view.
I have used this for public outreach star parties with great effect.
I had been frustrated using binoculars which, with their wide fields of view and low powers show off many spectacular objects to advantage (Double Cluster, Pleaides, Andromeda, etc.), since they are hard to use at elevations above 45 degrees - it is almost impossible to get under a tripod to view. With the StarBlast you cam view from the horizon to the zenith with ease, and (given a good portable table) it is much more stable mount than light weight tripods.
This was a great step up from my 15x70 and 20x80 binocs - the 115 mm aperture gathers twice the light of an 80mm and I can use higher and lower magnification as I please. This is large enough to collect some significant light.
With a 25mm Orion Plossl it provides a 3.1 deg field of view that gives the most spectacular view of Andromeda and M33 together that I have seen with any instrument. The entire complex is very nicely framed and vivid.
Due to very short focal ratio (3.95) there is the inevitable coma aberration at the edge of field when using low power/wide field of view eyepieces, but this is not objectionable when viewing diffuse extended objects (Andromeda) or if you just want low power for a small central object (splitting doubles). Coma correctors are not available for 1.25 inch EPs.
The scope is very easy to use - just point it at the sky using the red-dot finder and focus! It makes a very nice non-intimidating introduction to the first timer. And with its small size it is highly portable.
With an inexpensive barlow like the Orion shorty you can push the power to 150x (using the 6mm EP supplied) but this is an intrinsically relatively low power instrument. If you want more power you should step up to the StarBlast 6.
This is really an excellent value.
Pros: compact, easy to use, light, nice optics, wide field of view, excellent value
Cons: wide field coma
Yes, I recommend this product!
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Help save your back and neck during viewing sessions with Orion's weekend Observers Chair. It has a padded adjustable-height vinyl seat, sturdy supports, and legs that fold up for easy storage.
Rating
Better Choices Are Available
PostedOctober 4, 2011
Quality
4
/
5
Value
2
/
5
This is a nicely padded drum throne, repurposed as an astronomy observers chair.
To use this chair you will need a separate drum key to reposition the seat, not supplied but available from your local drum supply store.
Although this chair can be used with a telescope to good effect - particularly (and fortunately for me) a mid-size SCT telescope with does not change height dramatically with target altitude.
But a better choice are the sliding seat astronomy chairs - of which there are several on the market (Orion should stock one). These have a back you can lean against, and change height as easily as breathing.
Pros: well padded
Cons: adjustment is a pain
No, I do not recommend this product.
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The Orion DeepMap 600 is one of our best selling accessories! The perfect road-map style atlas, it includes color coded symbols for 500 galaxies, nebulars, star clusters, and 109 Messier objects. Printed on completely dew-proof durable plastic.
Rating
Very Handy Reference
PostedSeptember 30, 2011
This is a very nice viewing aid for deep sky objects - the polymer paper is water/dew proof and tear-resistant and easy to read with a red light.
It is nice to have the "top 600" DSOs and the whole sky laid out in a single map when planning a viewing session.
Favorite viewing location: Joshua Tree in the Mojave Desert
Favorite object to observe: Globular clusters
Pros: convenient readable durable
Yes, I recommend this product!
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+1point
1of 1voted this as helpful.
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