Sky-Watcher Flextube 200 Dobsonian 8-inch Collapsible Large Aperture Telescope – Portable, Easy to Use, Perfect for Beginners (S11700)

I have never owned or operated a telescope before but I began looking for a beginner scope for over a year now. Upon several reviews and forum ratings, I originally went with the Celestron 127EQ (Big Mistake) So I immediately returned it. Not only was the mount hard to maneuver but darn near impossible to collimate.So I started my search over and the term Dobsonian (Type of Mount) kept popping up from amateur astronomers.So naturally I being researching and came across this magnificent scope!!Not only is The dobsonain mount easy to maneuver, lock and keep track/move with the sky.It's easy to assemble!! (All needed tools are in the box)Now to the scope it self.. When you first unbox the unit you can immediately tell it is very well crafted.. (no cheap plastic bits)The 2" focuser is very smooth (it does come with a 1.25" adapter) and the x2 - 1.25" plossl lens it comes with are very decent quality (only wish it came with a Barlow lens)The finder Scope is excellent quailty and accurate as wellI was skeptical about the whole collapsible thing, but it transitions very smoothly making it much easier to store and carry. So very glad I went this way. Plus it keeps the primary mirror and secondary mirror in completely different tubes.. (Just in case you drop a tool or 2 down the tube it doesn't bust up your primary mirror.)After my horror story with the 127EQ I bit the bullet and purchased a hotech 2"/1.25" laser crosshair collimator..seriously collimation is a snap (2 mins Max) ...A must have !!After every is ready to go and it's all collimated.. And you finally sit down..on a clear night.. And look through the lens for the first time at the moon (HDTV has Nothing on this scope) it's beautiful, everything you wished for..(even in the city)My 3.5 year old son and my wife are also always wanting to use the scope.. I am seriously considering buy 2 more.So if you are on the fence of buying a scope.. STOP and get down and press Buy Now!!You won't regret it.. I know my family and I don't..

We receive two boxes with two bases, no telescope on the delivery. Also the two bases were broken and shattered as seen in the picture.

I previously owned an Orion reflector, and had been used to the quality of their devices. When I stumbled across this Dob on Amazon, I figured there must be a catch. Then,I began investigating. There was no catch, just a nice inexpensive scope, but with a quality stamp behind it.I ordered my device, and it arrived safe and sound the next day. It was extremely easy to assemble(i had already downloaded the manual), and it actually sat two weeks, before I could collimate it. I collimate using a laser collimator, and it took a while(as always for me), but went without too much issue. My screws into the primary mirror were easy, with the second being a little more stiff. But nothing too outrageous. I was sort of, but not too completely surprised to find the mirrors off(both), as that is a lot of shipping, and additionally, even my Orion required collumation out of the box.Once the mirrors were done, I then at the finder scope, which was very straightforward. I then, gazed through the eyepiece, and all was clear. Nice quality view, and not too too bad eyepieces.It is funny, because I also thought about purchasing the 10" traditional dob, as it actually is a bit cheaper than this one. However, the collapsible nature of this scope made the decision for me.. Either one is excellent, however, this seemed to for me better.Overall, great scope at an excellent price!

I ordered this scope yesterday, and it was delivered today (go Amazon!, I initially ordered though Celestron, but they lied about having it in stock and also charge more). The packaging was sufficient, no damage to the scope or parts.Assembly was easy and tools are included. Took about 20 minutes to put together. Unlike the picture, the mount was black (which I prefer anyway).The collimation was off a little, but better than I expected - I used a laser collimator to get things aligned to my liking.First light was tonight! M42 and Jupiter looked great. I used low power (30x) and high (250x), and both provided reasonable images. Unfortunately the moon was quite bright and it was windy and cold, so the session was short.So far, I'm impressed with the amount of scope I have for the price. I'll update again as I have the chance to do more observing.- Update on 4/14/2013: Viewing has been good. After a bit more collimation, the scope is performing well and I have no complaints. Except with Celestron - they seem to ignore their customers feedback and have not responded by any of my complaints about their service. I am quite hesitant to purchase any Celestron products in the future based on this.