Celestron Star Sense Explorer LT-114AZ

[Billy Bob]

Is this scope good for amateurs who want to view the planets as well as take photos?

[Second Time Around]

Sorry you've not had a reply yet but I expect it's because we need more information.

I'm a great fan of Starsense Explorer scopes.  This is because the main reason for newcomers giving up is that they can't find objects.  The Starsense Explorer technology makes this easy.

However, the LT-114AZ model can't be recommended.  This is because it's a "Bird-Jones" design, that everyone here will steer you away from as they give poor quality images and are difficult to collimate.  

If you tell us more about your observing needs such as how far you've got to carry the scope, whether you have a sturdy table to put it on etc, we can help more.  Is it just the planets you want to look at or are after you after a scope that will also show nebulae and galaxies etc?  Are you in an urban area or out in the country? The more you can tell us the better.

We'd also need your budget, but whatever it is I'm sure we'll be able to come up with something!

Edited February 9 by Second Time Around

[Nikolai De Silva]

Agreed with @Second Time Around👍. @Billy Bob tell us a little more 😊.

[Naughty Neal]

For my penneth worth the lt114az is pants , though the  Starsense unit is where the value lies.

I bought a 114az for £100 / $125 used purely to have the Starsense unit, the rest got recycled as the quality is as mentioned quite pants. 

Being a budget telescope like any telescope the tripod/mounting system is often more important then the telescope itself for stability when viewing. Also eyepieces will be poor ones , upgrades are always a foot when buying so one idealy will likely have to at least double the budget  whne outlaying money on a telescope.

A max budget one is willing to go to and the area of usage, think also of  where the telescope is to be stored and where it will be used. 

The other issue is sourcing any product, prices and availability will vary from  the USA here in  the UK.

 

Edited February 9 by Naughty Neal