Refractor Telescope - LIDL £50 (any good?)

dfarry

b1g1an wrote:

Aldi did a reflector telescope last year...

Search the skies with this fantastic reflector telescope. • 76mm spherical mirror • 700mm focal length • 262x maximum magnification • 6 x 25mm finderscope • 3 x 31.7mm eye pieces, 20mm, 12.5mm and 4mm • Full length aluminium tripod with AG Azimuth mount and accessory tray • Two space maps and CD Rom astronomical guide • Instruction manual • Complete in smart carry case.

...which I got for £30 in their sale, don't really know how good it is but I'm very pleased with it. Think it's come up a few times so may be around again soon.

Thats a great price and I saw the sheet advertising it up in my local store this weekend but all the scopes must have been sold... nevermind I should have my freebie by the end of the week

jobbingmusician

dfarry wrote:

Thats a great price and I saw the sheet advertising it up in my local store this weekend but all the scopes must have been sold... nevermind I should have my freebie by the end of the week

Ummm...the website says these are available from this Thursday onwards! It's quite normal for the forthcoming specials to be advertised the weekend before.. :xmassign:

dfarry

I picked up the telescope from my friend yesterday and was very surprised how good it was...

It's actually this one http://www.celestron.com/support/faq_114gt.htm

And if fully motorised... run through an alignment process and it will then find planets/star automatically.

Of course in reality it is not as easy as that but having the scope motorised does make things much easier I think. I tried it last night, firstly with the moon and the detail was amazing. I did not have a compass and the eye sight is slightly out of adjustment so when I searched for planets they could not be seen. Once I have this all sorted out I think the scope will be brilliant.

Very pleased...and very grateful to my friend!

Does anyone have any good web links that would help a complete novice like me get to know just whats up there?

MalcolmB_3

Hi Guys...
Speaking as an astronomer, the Lidl refractor beats Aldi reflector hands down. For technical reasons, a refractor always out performs a reflector of similar size. As mentioned in another post, the Lidl 'scope is on an equatorial mount (at least it was the last time I looked at one) which makes it a lot easier to follow objects in the sky once you get used to it. The objective lens in the 'scope is pretty good considering the price, the eyepieces less so although they work OK. It's possible to add a webcam to the scope as well, using a suitable adaptor although the results won't be brilliant.

Anyway, taking all things into consideration, the Lidl refractor is excellent value. Don't forget the Bresser 10x50 binos at £9.99. They're unbeatable for the price.

Hope this helps.

MalcolmB F.R.A.S.

Zaith

I am impressed with the posts. There are numerous information that I was able to gather about this kind of telescope. Thanks to those who shared their experiences as I myself likes very much a refracting telescope.

abibee

I wondered why the links weren't working, then I noticed, they're 2005!, bumped in 2009, now bumped 2011.

Oldest bumping I've seen.