Barska Starwatcher 400x70mm Refractor Telescope w/Tabletop Tripoc & Carry Case

This telepscope is a very good telescope.very powerful and clear.easy to use even for a beginner.the only complaint may be the tripod is small and you need to have a sturdy base to set it on for it is too small to use by itself.but if you have a sturdy deck or outside patio or just happen to have a full sized tripod of your own this makes an excellent telescope for astronomers of all ages and skill levels.

For what it costs, this is a reasonable quality item. Its objective lens seems to be reasonable quality, Its high mag eyepiece is a little shy on eye relief, and gives a kind of blotchy image, which, nontheless is reasonably sharp. Its low mag eyepiece functions well, and gives a good image. As an astronomical telescope it's not a great item. It lacks a polar mount, and although its mount has some fine-movement capability, it's a little floppy. As a low power terestrial scope up to 60X it's resolution is good and it performs very well. Carrying case is nice. It's no free lunch, but a nice little snack. -30-

I am very satisfied with the condition I received my Barska Starwatcher and it has proven very successful in its usage.
The proper packaging ensured that the telescope arrive safe and intact within reasonable time which is a plus in favour of Amazon.
Many thanks.
Ann

I purchased this telescope with a specific purpose in mind. My office overlooks a golf course where a PGA event is held. I bought this and a USB camera eyepiece, to watch the golf tournament on my laptop. Worked great and I was able to accomplish my goal for under $100.

This is a great inexpensive telescope that would be suitable as a starter or 1st telescope, worked well for the purpose I got it for.

I purchased this scope based on positive reviews on a couple of web sites that cater to amateur astronomers. I wasn't disappointed. A couple of things prevented me from rating it a 5. The 45-degree diagonal and the tabletop tripod are better suited to terrestrial viewing. If you plan on astronomical use you'll want to use a full-sized tripod and add a 90-degree diagonal at some point if you don't already have one. Also, a 2x barlow lens would have made much more sense than the 3x. On the plus side the scope is sturdily constructed and has good optics for the price. I live in the heart of St. Louis and haven't been able to take it to a dark viewing area yet, but from my backyard the moon was excellent as was the Orion nebula, and Mars presented a nice sharp disk. The stock eyepieces are fine, but using a 9.7mm super plossl the results were great!