Explore Scientific FirstLight 102mm F/9.8 Alt-Az Refractor Telescope(Explore Scientific Firstlight 102mm F 9 8 Alt Az Refractor Telescope)

Great for a beginner

I’m still a rank amateur at astronomy, having started with binoculars and long dslr lenses, and this is only my second telescope. However, I feel that for the price the included parts, the optics, construction, and ease of use is more than sufficient. My previous $300 refractor/mount kit is fine optically, but the mount was wobbly and frustrating to use. The Twilight I mount in this kit is fantastic for the price – it is stable, has good feeling motion, fine control knobs, and a standard dovetail attachment point. These things remove the immediate frustration of a cheaper mount in moving to and staying aligned with an object, changing out scopes if desired, and is still light enough for one person to carry with the OTA attached. The OTA is also of a reassuring quality, with a plastic but sturdy and smooth focuser and solid diagonal. I had no problem getting everything together and observing Saturn on my first night with it. It’s also great that you can upgrade to 2 eyepieces later if you want. My main complaints are in the setup manual, which uses generic pictograms and images, but isn’t specific to this model. There were a few parts like small washers that weren’t included (intentionally or not) that don’t seem required but still leads to some confusion. Also the OTA comes with a clamp-ring assembly screwed to a dovetail plate. This is great (and much better than the mount screwed into the OTA like cheaper scopes) because the scope can be rotated and slid to adjust position and balance. However, the assembly was attached backwards out of the box (there is a protective metal plate on one side of the dovetail that is what the securing screws on the mount should press into). Also one of the tapped holes on the assembly was made at an angle, and the dovetail plate then not screwed on flush. After taking it all apart and a little work I got everything attached well enough, but that might be a problem for some people. Overall I highly recommend the kit (or the parts separately) to someone getting started in astronomy. It feels like versatile combination that can be used for a long time.