Dianfan 150EQ Professional Astronomy Telescope for Adults High Powered

I currently own thirteen telescopes from a cheap box store refactor, to computer guided telescopes, a couple of homemade reflector models, and four smart telescopes. I have used them for my personal enjoyment, and I host a number of star parties each year as I introduce beginning astronomy, and astrophotography. I am always on the lookout for telescopes to add to my collection which guests at these gatherings can use with little, or no, experience but which will whet their appetite for astronomy. This telescope is exactly the type I hoped to find to meet my standards, and do so without breaking the bank. Here are some of the strong points which make it a great choice for my needs: • Storage case: I was very pleased to open the shipping container and find such a well-designed case provided. The construction of the packaging of the various parts was executed in such a manner to make my first impression of it a positive one. • Tripod: Many telescopes at this price point come with flimsy aluminum legs. Not so here! The large diameter stainless steel legs give an immediate solid feel to the entire unit. The lens tray is attached in such a manner to not only be easily accessible for additional lenses and other accessories but provides additional stability while using the telescope. • Instruction Manual: The manual was well laid out and useful for assembly and use of the telescope. It also was a pleasant surprise. • White gloves: The inclusion of white cotton gloves took me by surprise. Honestly, the inclusion of these gloves made such a positive overall impression they, more than any other detail, spoke of the intention of the manufacturer to provide a quality product. Well done. Not only was I pleased to find them included, but I also actually used them. • Mirrors: Both mirrors appear to be distortion free and provide nice sharp light gathering properties. I was pleased at the surprise uttered by both my son, and grandson, about how bright and clear the moon was when they took their first look. • Equatorial mount: The quality of the German EQ mount met my expectations for a telescope at this price point. It is certainly not the finest equatorial mount in production, but it is solid, and is proper for a beginning astronomer, especially at this price point. The extended knobs for the RA and DEC adjustment were comfortable, and the worm gears were smooth. • Balance weight: The balance weight was easy to install and adjust. • Focuser: The focuser was smooth and remained where I adjusted it to providing a clear image with each eye piece. I didn’t have to fuss to retain my focus. I have no hesitation in recommending this telescope for ages 14+ for anyone looking for a great personal introduction into optical astronomy. I can give it five stars for the class of instrument it is, and because it doesn’t pretend to be anything else. It feels solid enough to give years of service to a user who provides care, and could be a base for additional modification over the years.

This telescope is my Childhood Dream Scope! I am almost 70. Back in the 1960s the most common way to get into astronomy was to aim for a 6" F8 mirror, starting with grinding your own. Edmunds Scientifiic sold mirror kits and you supplied the elbow grease. Anything smaller than that was considered "meh" unless it was a 7X50 binoculars and a sky free of city lights. That form ended up being the kind I pursued as it was the most portable and required some persistence at collecting what was owed from my paper route clients who always stiffed me (along with the paper boss). I still have my mirror blank which I think I ground to about an f30 curve. I did not have a good setup for grinding and polishing. We paid less than $300 for a prime Day purchase of this thing, as an early birthday present. The scope itself is a fast F5. With the large FL eyepieces the field of view is large and with an older 34mm Plossl the field of view was 5-6 degrees. The moon itself was low in the sky and a little bit attenuated by some high altitude smoke. This actually contributed to a high degree of color contrast. This was without the moon filter. Actually it was without anything else other than the core telescope. One can probably hold this in one's arms using a guitar strap and an lower power eye piece and see some amazing star fields if the sky is dark enough, such as is found in the SE part of Oregon, or the northern California Coast where I am heading later this summer. One could easily adapt the tube as well as the tube holder to a simplified Dobsonian mounting. Basically the core telescope seems about perfect at that price. Throw in the filters, the selections of eyepieces, and then the lens cap with the smaller cap for a solar filter (I am eager to try this!) and its like WOW! The tripod seems roust enough. At full extension it ended up being too high for me and was a little less stable but for this size of scope its massively overbuilt (this is a good thing). The various plastic handled axle locks etc. are a little flimsy feeling but easily upgraded by replacement with a more serious design. I will get around to this later on. Setting the primary axis to the exact truse north at tis latitude will be an easy task with the T-handled screw. However, once set it could be locked. I haven't fojnd a way to do this yet. Its not a big deal. The fine control worm gear drives are great and the flex shafts are another good start and something someone clever could improve upon. Again this is the overkill exception in the 1960s amateur telescope context. The thing is that one is already starting with an amazing piece of equipment. Here's the thing. The base and mount could hold something larger even. They might consider adding an aftermarket 8" or even 10" RFT with a similar quick mounting. I have an 8" mirror and diagonal and will build that out. 12" would even work if the mirror was F4 which is really steep. The main point of going larger would be to see fainter objects. This is a fools errand near Seattle where I live. There are filters that remove street light frequencies and other strategies. The main thing is to be able to see something like the nebula in Orion glow like a neon light. Its amazing with a 10" scope and a 34mm Plossl eyepiece. Magnify light - not resolution - to see these things. The mount would adapt well to a clock drive. However, the iPhone mount makes it possible to collect and stack digital imagery, filter out the street lights and produce some amazing results that could be useful in the scientific community, such as the shearing off of comet tails, and other faintly presented but dynamic processes. One can also figure out exactly when and where the ISS will be passing in front of the sun and moon and capture that on video. The telescope could also be slewed in a sling and your eyes can see this object's shape as it rapidly passes overhead. I actually did this with a 10" RFT that I recently decommissioned. Its so amazing that one can see this. As a starting point at the regular sale price this scope is a great point of origin. I suspect the company making these cannot make them fast enough. Except for the modular larger scope possibility, there is no need for them to accessorize as one can find eyepieces, view finders, etc. elsewhere easily. Until it is tested and vetted I would exercise some caution before using the solar filter. Replacing that with something robust would perhaps be a safe route. One can also get a sharper view of planets at higher resolutions by leaving the dust cover on exceptr for where the solar filter would go. This is an old trick. I have no problem with this being made out of plastic. Testing will determine if the iPhone holder works and perhapssome accessorizing in that department to fit it to a better camera such as my Canons and Nikon point and shoots would be great. The iPhone actually has 4-5 different lenses and I am not sure which one is the one to use! Bottom line - this is a wonderful choice and made well enough. Its also way better than what the average kid into astronomy could muster way back when we were all inspired by the Mercury to Apollo Program. These days we are equally inspired by the JWST and everything else. The TikTok STEM scientists help make it that much more exciting. The price point - especially on the dreaded Prime Day - is simply shocking! What may be needed if it doesn't exist would be an ebook or website community showing how many start with this scope and the ways they personally chosse to improve it, using cleverness, 3D printed parts, off the shelf components etc. I might have to pursue such a thing eventually though I should let someone with many more years to live and a better social media sense else pursue this, while I finally get to do some reasonable astronomy myself. If I write anythingon a blog on Substack, I will post the link in a future review. Thank you to Amazon for your part. The scope arrived very well packed and protected in similar fashion to how Elegoo or Snapmaker ships off their 3D printers ortable top CNC machines.

I love the telescope but mines didn’t come with the carry bag it was missing

I did a fair amount of research and came to the conclusion that this telescope was the right one for me. I've never had a telescope and even worried this might be too advanced...but it was just right. It's well made, high-quality, sturdy, and didn't take that long to put together. It does take some time and effort to put together (I had read horror stories on the Internet about other telescopes), and some steps did take some thinking (instructions are minimal), but I got it put together correctly the first time. I think anyone can do the same. I did have to watch a few YouTube videos on how to use telescopes in general, which were helpful (there are tons)...just to get the basics down and learn how to use a powerful telescope (things like lighting conditions, placement, focusing, etc.). But by the first night, I was seeing moons around Jupiter and other planets! They weren't huge, but you could see them. My family and friends had a great time. My wife loves it. It's just perfect. We've bought a bunch of books on things to see in the night sky and it's really added a cool new dimension to our lives that we love. We've been actively using it for weeks now, excitedly waiting for the night and clear skys. I did reach out to the company a few times using email to ask a few questions and they always quickly got back with answers and suggestions. You read stories on the Internet about telescope vendors not responding. This is not that type of company. I could not be happier.

I really like this telescope. It is good quality, easy to assemble, and simple to use. The images are clear, and it comes with several useful accessories. It is a great option for observing the moon and enjoying astronomy. I am very satisfied with my purchase and highly recommend it.

Came damaged with a bent calibration ring. I did my best to straighten it, but it looks like crap. Almost the consistency of tin foil. Not impressed. Optics are good. The phone attachment is a joke. Overall, a 7 out of 10.

Really impressed with this telescope so far. I’m not an expert by any means, but I wanted something powerful enough to grow into without being overwhelming, and this hits that sweet spot. The views are clear and bright. The moon looks incredible, and I’ve already been able to see planets and star clusters that I never could before. Setup was easier than I expected. It took a little patience to get everything aligned the first time, but nothing felt confusing or poorly explained. All in all, it took 10-15 minutes. Once it’s set up, the mount feels solid, and tracking objects is pretty smooth. I also appreciated that it comes with useful accessories right out of the box (especially the phone adapter, which was a fun bonus). The tripod feels sturdy, and having a carrying bag makes it much easier to store and transport. Overall, it feels like a well-thought-out product, not something that was thrown together. If you’re looking for a telescope that delivers great views without feeling intimidating, this is a great choice. Very happy with the purchase.

I am writing a review on the 150EQ Astronomical Reflector Telescope I have to give this Telescope a rating of 1, because this is NOT 150MM, it has a 130MM refractor lens. Claiming this to be about a 6” refractor lens is dishonest since it is about 5”. I bought this telescope over others that advertised at 130MM but as I said, this one measures 130MM and not 150MM. I found out exactly how large the reflector mirror is because of my second issue that needed me to removed the reflector lens and add a center dot. ALL Newtonian reflector telescopes HAVE to be collimated. To collimate you need to have a dot in the exact center of the reflector lens. My issue is why did the manufacturer not put a dot in the center for us? Okay, you will need to remove the reflector lens and with great effort add a dot or some other permanent mark on the exact center of your lens. (it was at this point I measured my lens and found it was about 130MM, about 5 1/8 inches in diameter (not 150MM or 6 inches). To avoid needing to Collimate your telescope then buy one where the eye pieces is near the back end of the telescope, this telescope has the viewer/eye piece near the front end and requiring the mirror that needs collimating. We ended up buying a second telescope that had the rear eye piece area and was 90MM. We still have not figured out how to actually seem Jupiter clearly like picture we see and have not found it’s moons either, same for Saturn. We have not been able to find neptune or Uranus and any of the nebulas like we wanted to either. We also expected to be able to find the Andromeda Galaxy even. My hope is that Amazon will verify what I am saying and force the sellers of this telescope to change their descriptions to the truth.

It was OK for the money