Telescopes

Re: Telescope brands

WannaB — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 21:02:01 GMT

The only brand I can offer a first-hand account or testimonial for is Orion. I own an Orion scope. An XT8 Classic Dobsonian to be exact. I like the scope very much. Their customer service? I can honestly say that I haven't dealt with any other company that has been as generous and customer friendly as Orion has been. Orion is a Celestron dealer and they are now offering a few TeleVue accessories also. As for the drawback concerning Orion, Mr. t said it. Their shipping seems to be fairly high.

As for Meade, I'll comment only on what I've heard through a few members at my local astronomy club. A couple of them have Meade scopes and a couple of others have ordered Meade scopes. They all have commented on how poor their Meade "experience" has been. Scratched mirrors, bent trusses, missing pieces, rude customer service reps and slow replacement are some cited problems. I think Meade puts out some decent equipment. But, they've gone through and still are going through some hard times.

As for Celestron, I don't know personally. The elderly local astronomy buff I visited with when I was first researching my scope purchase really pushed Celestron and said they were excellent scopes.

Anyway, hope that helps a little!

Re: Telescope brands

tkerr — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 20:32:20 GMT

Orion, Celestron and a couple others are quite popular. You will find that many members here at astronomy.com own at least one item from those companies.

Companies like Orion which is only a vendor and doesn't manufacture any of their own products provided good quality equipment at a reasonably affordable rate. Celestron is both a vendor and still manufactures their own products as well.
Both these companies have good products and good customer service and support.
You can purchase Orion products directly from them, however, they tend to have shipping charges above an beyond what would be normal, especially for large items. i.e. telescopes and mounts.

Celestron doesn't sell products direct other than repair and replacement items. For their telescopes and accessories you need to go via one of their authorized dealers.

As I said these two companies, And Meade Instruments also, produce or provide good products, But, they are not what you might call premium or superior product of the like. For that you would have to be willing to invest a small fortune.

Additionally, Thought they provide or produce a good quality product, they also produce or provide products that I wouldn't recommend to anyone. Those are usually the entry level type telescopes and mounts that are similar to or that you would find in a department store such as Wal-Mart or even a toy store. Avoid those products even if it might seem to please your budget. They are not only cheap monetarily but cheap in construction too. Unfortunately this time of year is the worst time. This is when we see large displays of these things stacked up at Wal-Mart and toy stores with those nice colorfully attractive boxes with misleading pictures and details.. Avoid..

Telescope brands

Jeti — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 19:40:11 GMT

Could someone ssay a bit about brands, Celestron, Orion, etc, etc, etc.

I don't have a telescope but... I'm thinking...