How to spot "department-store" telescopes

[Samibotss]

What is a "department-store" type telescope?

These are cheap telescopes usually sold in toy shops and department stores.

They are sold as entry-level telescopes at affordable prices, and seem like a good bargain.

Should I get one? It seems like a good deal!

Absolutely not! These telescopes are to be avoided at all costs. What seems like the beginning of a life-long hobby 

may just discourage you from astronomy. You will probably end up fighting the scope more than enjoying it. At this price point,

you are better off buying good binoculars.

How do I spot them?

We will use this telescope as an example :

(Please note that I do not condemn National Geographic/Bresser as bad brands, just using this as an example)

1 - Advertising magnification(18X-60X)

This is an instant red flag. Any serious astronomy brand NEVER advertises magnification. Although it is important,

this is not how we measure a telescope's power. Every telescope has a limit in magnification, beyond that objects

look fuzzy and very blurry.

2 - Small/Cheap Mounts

This is a bit harder to spot, but usually the mount shown is small and made out of cheap materials.

It will be uncomfortable to use, as they tend to be very wobbly. Mounts are very important in astronomy,

they can make the difference between a good and a bad telescope.

3 - Advertising Views of the telescope(Jupiter/Moon)

Again, any serious astronomy brand NEVER advertises these views. Most of the time,

they do NOT accurately represent what you can really expect to see with this scope.

Here is a picture of the moon as seen by a Celestron Powerseeker 50az:

The picture shown in the box art represents more what you could see from a telescope with a much bigger aperture.

4 - Very small aperture

Aperture is key.To get to that price point, retailers usually cut corners where they can. One thing you could also avoid is small aperture (below 76mm)

in this example, we see 50mm as the main aperture. It is very small and can only be used to see the moon,Jupiter and maybe Saturn.

To fully enjoy astronomy, you are better off with at least something like a Celestron Firstscope or an Orion Funscope.

I don't like binoculars,which brand can I trust for a starter scope?

I would usually recommend looking for telescopes from these brands:

- Orion Telescopes

- SkyWatcher

- Meade

-Explore Scientific

-Bresser(But not the one demonstrated here)

I would have included Celestron in the list, but they have a lot of "Bird Jones"(Cheap telescopes with spherical mirrors/bad optics) type telescopes which are also to be avoided.

There we go! this should be enough for you to get a proper beginner telescope, and hopefully kick start a life-long passion for astronomy!

Clear Skies!

[John]

Useful stuff !

I would include Celestron in there as well as Bresser and Explore Scientific. All the brands have one or two lines that are probably best avoided but most of their scopes are good and some excellent.

A good way to see what is good is to have a look at the lines that First Light Optics stock. They don't stock stuff that is not good in my experience

[Mak the Night]

I didn't think that all Bird Jones type scopes could be described as 'Cheap telescopes with spherical mirrors/bad optics'. Plus, I own a Sky-Watcher 130M with a spherical mirror and I've found it to be pretty good quality. I can get a sharp 300x on the Moon regularly where I live with it.

This Orion 'Space Probe' is exactly the same as my Sky-Watcher 130M. Like my Sky-Watcher Skymax and my Orion Apex, these are all actually manufactured by Synta. Who also own Celestron. 

[Mr Spock]

I think it's a shame beginners are targetted in this way. A poor telescope could destroy a potential life-long interest in astronomy.

[Samibotss]

17 minutes ago, Mak the Night said:

I didn't think that all Bird Jones type scopes could be described as 'Cheap telescopes with spherical mirrors/bad optics'. Plus, I own a Sky-Watcher 130M with a spherical mirror and I've found it to be pretty good quality. I can get a sharp 300x on the Moon regularly where I live with it.

This Orion 'Space Probe' is exactly the same as my Sky-Watcher 130M. Like my Sky-Watcher Skymax and my Orion Apex, these are all actually manufactured by Synta. Who also own Celestron. 

I didn't say all "Bird-Jones" telescopes are bad, but a lot of them are. They include a spherical mirror and a barlow lens to help with focusing.

If you're enjoying your telescope, great! More power to you, and by all means don't take my word as labeling all these scopes as bad. It is a fact however,

that they are known for providing bad views,hard to collimate and are generally to be avoided.

[lukebl]

I always appalled that a reasonably well-respected name like National Geographic should put its name on such an awful piece of junk.

[Peter Drew]

9 minutes ago, lukebl said:

I always appalled that a reasonably well-respected name like National Geographic should put its name on such an awful piece of junk.

Their target audience rarely knows any better and relies on the name. It's almost impossible to create a sub £50 entry level telescope that doesn't have significant compromises, most have quite satisfactory primary optics which are let down by unsuitable accessories and frustrating to use mounts. Several of the mini Dobsonians that I have had the chance to test probably offer the best value at this price point.  

[LukeSkywatcher]

My 1st scope was a Celestron 90EQ. It came in a box with all the lovely big glossy images and promises of 800x. It wasnt cheap (400 euros). Great scope. So, sometimes you just cant tell.

I didnt buy mine in a department store. It was from the main Celestron dealer, in Dublin.

[bruno]

They should put an actual image of what you expect to see, i was disappointed when i first looked at orion's belt and found it to be a grey cloud & not in glorious colours as seen in magazines or the sizes of the planets as seen through your prospective telescope. 

Happy New Year BTW

[popeye85]

1 hour ago, lukebl said:

I always appalled that a reasonably well-respected name like National Geographic should put its name on such an awful piece of junk.

Couldn't agree more. Before I took up astronomy I was on holiday in France and saw a Nat Geo scope set up in a shop window. It looked soo good that I nearly went in and bought it there and then, and with 'national geographic' stamped all over it I didn't think I could lose. Luckily for me I knew I could transport it home so didn't get ii and had a luck escape.

[Putaendo Patrick]

At least the Bresser/National Geographic example is realistic about magnifications. Some manufacturers supply a cheap 4mm EP and a plastic x3 Barlow "technically" allowing them to advertise the telescope as achieving magnifications of x600 to x800. Celestron, for one, used to do this on their cheapos

[Jamie16v]

This topic so reminds me of a recent conversation I had with my cousin (long lost) I did a hobble for just before Christmas. I was just getting interested in astronomy and only recently bought my explorer 130m.

I was just packing my tools away and looked up to see a bright star and pointed it out. He said, "ah, you know that's the international space station, by the end of the night it'll be over there". Instantly I knew he didn't know what he was talking about but didn't want to point it out. 

I then went on to mention I would like to take a good look at it with my new telescope where he chirpped up and said  "yes, I've just bought the kids a good one for Christmas, it's a national geographic one, so it must be good". Again, I didn't have the heart which I kind of  feel ashamed of.  Anyhow the star (planet) I was looking at was Venus, I know how quick the ISS moves across the sky lol. 

I might donate my sw explorer 130m to them if I upgrade soon.

[REG78]

I have one of these scopes myself th skywatcher 130m reflector and am getting great views with it have it a year ni have it well collimated with a chesire wat difference would I see with a parabolic mirror......just reading few threads on here and seen they were different primary mirrors any advice 

[glowjet]

Beware of the live chat for advise, you will more than likely get some numpty who hasn`t the foggiest on the subject of Astronomy or telescopes, but will tell you it is a good buy to increase his sales ratings. On the other hand you may get a knowledgeable person, who, if truthful; may advise you against purchasing and to seek out a reputable Astronomy retailer to avoid disappointment

[BritAngler]

A few years ago a pal offered me a 'scope he'd bought from Argos, and asked £90 for it. He wasn't at all pleased when I started explaining all its faults, and even less pleased when I kept listing them

I think he binned it in the end.

[Waldemar]

it allways comes down to: 'quality has a price..."  You just cannot sit first rank for  a quarter.

The price of the same aperture scope ranges from a few tens to a few thousands of dollars... why would that be? well, you can't see much.. with the first and been blown away and hooked for life by the second.