Bresser Refractor Telescope AR-102/600 EQ-3 with mount and tripod

I’ve been looking at telescopes for several weeks now, trying to do some research on which would be the best starter scope for myself but also for my kids. I’ve always had an interest in the night sky but never really knew were everything was. About 15years ago I was gifted a catadioptric table top reflector. Without the video and document resources we have today ei. Youtube, Forums, Stellarium Software etc, I was left disheartened by a lack of knowledge of the night sky and for a beginner, a telescope that was awkward to use. This time I wanted a scope that at least could follow the objects equatorially. This left me with two options, Cassegrain or Refractor. Cassegrains are expensive and not wanting to break the bank first time out it was settled, I was going for a refractor scope.I shopped around for a while and out of all the telescopes i looked at this was top of my budget. I say top of 'my' budget, I see the telescope today is up for 325 sterling, I didn't pay anywhere near that for it here on amazon! Word of advice to start, if you like this telescope save it to your basket and watch the price for a few weeks. The price seems to fluctuate depending on stock. I got mine for half this retail price. At that time it was in the bracket and competing with 80 and 90mm scopes. As long as it was good it was a no brainer really being 102mm.Anyway with all that out of the way I have to say that the Optical Tube Assembly is lovely, professionally finished with carbon fiber, sturdy with clean lenses super smooth metal focuser. The tube takes 1.25 and 2" eyepieces, the 20 and 10mm eyepieces supplied and Barlow lens are decent to start, the red dot finder is a little cheap but works perfect and can be replaced later with a proper finder scope.The EQ3 mount to me as a beginner seems good, Dec and RA adjustments are smooth and with the help of a few videos the setup of the tripod takes no more than a few minutes. Everything works great with the mount and practice makes perfect in using it in the dark.The Tripod is a tripod nothing more. Its the only piece of this setup that would kill the deal for me in paying 325 sterling for this telescope. It holds the telescope and mount with ease, it will definitely do for getting started for the next several months but its tube aluminium, plastic and feels really cheap and light. I used the scope for a night in moderate winds and this is were you see the problem, because the scope is top heavy it can be a bit shakey, best used in an enclosed area. If you are seriously considering this telescope at 325 pounds sterling pricetag! Stick an extra 100 pounds on the end and do yourself a favour, buy the Messier AR102/600 with a Exos mount and tripod.PerformanceAs for performance of the Telescope, excellent, I see no discernible chromatic aberration ( something that worried me about refractor scopes ) image is crisp, clear and focusing is smooth. To give you an example, first night I took it out I pointed to Jupiter, put on the 20mm eyepiece and I could see Jupiter as a white disk and the moons, tried the 20mm with the supplied 2x barlow and there you go, could clearly see the bands on Jupiter. perfect! The fine adjustments on the EQ mount worked great. I like this telescope very happy with it!Optical Tube Assemble ( 5 Stars )My first EQ Mount ( 5 Stars )Tripod ( 2 Stars )

I'm very happy with this telescope as a newbie. Once I had it built I took a look at some stars. Not the best time of year as we only get a couple hours of night at the moment.Learn to polar align it, doesn't have to be exact, 52 deg and point it roughly north (in the UK), this will make keeping things in sight easier.The tripod is a little wobbly and the focus wheel is stiff making it quite hard to focus with out moving and loosing the target object.With the 25mm eye piece and Barlow I've been looking at Jupiter (almost see the bands) and it's moons, Saturns rings clearly visible, stars still look like white dots but the moon looks great.Red dot sight is hit and miss, but once I had the moon in view I got it setup and aligned a bit better.The 10mm eye piece is somewhat useless, can't focus it or really look through it. Maybe I just need more practice.The phone holder is a gimmick, can't even get it aligned to see an image. Sun filter works I guess, but couldn't see anything interesting except a big yellow blob.Just remember if you are new to this it will take some practice to move it around, focus and learn how to look through the eye piece.Overall having fun with it and looking forward to the winter months for better viewing.

ADVERTISED AS TELESCOPE, MOUNT, TRIPOD, Arrived on time but no MOUNT IN BOX so having to return,surely its easy to check that what's being sold is actually in the box

A very good buy, and well worth the money paid, bought for my 20 year old daughter.