Cstar "T-SERIES" 525 x 60mm Refractor Telescope

This is the perfect example of the kind of scope astronomers warn beginners against.

The first red flag is the ridiculously high maximum magnification of over "700x." Do you know what you will see at 700x in this scope? Nothing but a dim blur. Note that the objective (main) lens is 60mm. All telescope optics have inherent limitations; maximum useful magnification per millimeter of aperture is about 2x. Therefore, with any attempt to use this scope at magnification of over 120-140x, increase in image size will be more than offset by breakdown, and that's even assuming the quality of the objective lens is any good.

The finder is useless: a 6x30 is barely adequate, and this one does not even meet that standard. Using it for anything but the moon will be an exercise in frustration. The "H" on the eyepieces indicates a Huygens eyepiece, a cheap and antiquated design with a field of view so narrow it is not unlike looking through a drinking straw. For not much more money the marketers could have chosen a better eyepiece with over twice the viewing area, but they were not trying to make an instrument that was usable, merely trying to make the price as attractive as possible.

Buy this telescope, and I guarantee that as soon as the newness wears off it will be relegated to a forgotten corner of the attic. Selling trash is bad enough. Selling trash at double the price of other trashy scopes is a ripoff.

Using an astronomical telescope is not like playing an MP3 file and but rather like playing a guitar. It is a learned skill. And you must do a lot of homework before you buy a telescope. Buying without prior experience is like buying a car without knowing anything about driving. If you want to see the wonders of the sky, contact your local astronomy club and attend one of their star parties. The members love sharing their hobby and can set you straight as to how to get started. The best way is to learn the sky with the unaided eye and 10x50 binoculars (decent ones are available on Amazon), then graduate to something along the lines of a 150-200mm (6-8") Dobsonian; good ones can be found on Amazon starting under $290.

For more information on buying telescopes, see my encyclopedic guide on Amazon: "So you want to buy a telescope."

This telescope is my first one, so to speak, so I cannot guarrentee its quality over others. Howver, this telescope is a very durable one. For example, in 2004 when Mars was the closet to us (closer than it would be in 2000 years), I accidentally knocked this telescope 50 feet to the bottom. When I reached it, the body was only slightly dented, and the lens didn't even have a scratch on them.

As for the magnification, 525x is very hard to keep, so i personally use 56-200x. My lens is a very good 20mm one.

However, the quality of the images is very poor. I tried reading the license plate number of a car from 1 mile away, and it did not even come close to being legible. From what I hear, most telescopes have a very good quality, where you can see the license plates of cars from 10 miles away.

Over all, the telescope is a good one. Definitely recommended for the kids, as it can't be broken easily.