A great looking and working telescope. Smooth focusing and super optics-you will not be disappointed. I use it for my SBIG STV and finder on my 40 year old Celestron C-14 in my observatory here in Truckee, Ca.

Been shooting with this scope for about 6 years. I recommend switching out the focuser at some point if you're running a heavier camera. The stars look good full frame but it has bad internal reflections on full-frame, so stick up to APS-C size and you'll be golden. Its a great starter scope!

Still wondering why I purchased the Orion as I own a TMB 3.1" 80mm ss APO.... But what can I say ...had to have it.... The fit and finish are first class... Have it mounted on a ***** Porta II .. Light enough to carry the whole set up in one hand.....The carbon fibre tube allows for almost instant cool down... First light was yesterday ..... What else observed, but Saturn....the seeing was the best I have experienced in some time....using Tele Vue Nagler / Radian eyepieces ...stunned by the contrast, clarity ... Saturn sparkled with detail... Cassini Division was jet black... So distinct you could drive a bus through it ...could observe it almost circle the ring... N/S polar region subtle but there....S temperate belt / S temperate region was beautiful with undulating shades of grey.... Shocked how clear and distinct they were...the equatorial zone was crisp , bright showing some contrast.... Pushed to 192x without a hint of detail loss or contrast drop off.... Titian was actually seen as a very small disc showing hints of orange ... Also observed Tethys / Dione / Rhea / Enceladus (averted vision)..... I'm overjoyed with the incredible performance of this little Orion.....felt pangs of guilt after the purchase , since I already owned an 80mm...But after last night .... " Guilt Gone"......

Fell in love with the feel and looks of this incredible little scope.. First light was just days ago...my target was the lunar surface...the image was razor sharp..the contrast of craters,rills. scarpes,mountains,were breathtaking...they seemed to jump out at you..the shadows were stunning as they highlighted the surface...Then moved on to jupiter, a favorite, as I'm a planatary observer by heart keeping a log book as I attempt to record in word and diagram etc..so every detail very improtant...the Orion passed with flying colours...using Tele Vue Nagler's and Radian eyepieces {5mm to 2.5mm} the contrast of N/S polar region showed small minute detail.... festoons, barges, white spot's GRS... and a transit of Io were majestic in their clariety... it kept me glued to the scope for hours....I was able to push the scope to 192X with only a small loss of light and sharpness...Highly...highly recomended....so protable..lite...the consumate grab and go....

It was not a good night here (high haze and moon did not set until about 2 a.m., but I was able to put the little scope through some stringent paces. 1 Star resolution: beyond belief. I was able to completely differentiate dozens of stars in Messier 13 when directly overhead and skies dark averted vision helped but even direct vision to this globular provided an unexpected treat of a swarm of tiny stars. It took a quality Televue 8mm Radian to make out the stars but it was nothing short of impressive. 2 Field of view: the fast f/6 focal ratio scared me, particularly from this price point APO. But nothing is lost at all. With a 35mm Panoptic and dark sky later in the night the fields of view were like a porthole to space the Milky Way region through Scutum and Scorpius was like a spacewalk. 3 Star test: Both Arcturus and stars to 3rd mag. demonstrated textbook Airy diffraction patterns....a joy to see at 33x, by the way! Star color visually was well maintained when comparing bluish white Vega to red Arcturus and later the yellow color of Deneb. No false color with any of them, even at the lowest power (14x with the 35mm Panoptic 4 Field aberrations: this is what blew me away. At 14x and a very rich star field with brighter stars to the edge of the field of view, I am seeing nearly NO field curvature, aberration or coma on perimeter stars. Nothing....not in any direction from center. 5 One minor negative note: It is very difficult to use this fast little refractor with Nagler eyepieces. Frankly, almost impossible..... the position of your eye must be literally perfectly aligned to the exit pupil of the eyepiece and it is quite narrow, frustrating in fact. However with the Panoptics and other eyepieces tried, the eye relief and ease of eye positioning is a cinch. 6 Focuser: Feathertouch? Don't bother this 1:10 two speed focuser is a joy to use it is silky smooth all the way through its travel and there is absolutely NO image shift nor flexure of the drawtube even when fully extended. The graduated focusing scale was a pleasant surprise. 6 Quality: A perfect-looking and robustly built telescope. The carbon fiber tube is beautiful and the sliding dew shield is smooth to the touch with a very easy lockdown knob. Overall workmanship is simply beautiful and functional.....I am very impressed. Even with the quite substantial hard case.

This scope is solidly built, materials are very good quality, focuser is smooth as butter , you will love the dew screw lock, 3 way adapter lock, and all this in a 2inch format, well balanced, great 2 diagonal..(dialectric nice Case and foam. i like the way the 1/4-20 tripod screw mount fits. Finally, we need clear skies for first light and Astrophotos..Mitch