Celestron 31057 Omni XLT 150 Reflector Telescope, Dark Blue

This was my first telescope.The mount and tripod it shipped with are solid quality that strike the right balance between being sturdy enough and not so heavy that you won't want to pull it out for some star gazing. It's a good beginner EQ mount. Some would say this mount is a bit under sized for the weight of the scope. Out of the box, it's fine. However, if you throw some heavier eye pieces on it like a Tele Vue Nagler 22, or a Tele Vue Delos 6mm with a Powermate, then yes... things start to get a bit shaky when you're looking through the eye piece.The actual telescope is a blast! It's great quality; it looks great; it feels great! I upgraded the secondary mirror collimation screws with some thumb screws you can find at some of the big online astronomy stores. Aside from that, I have been using it stock and I've been enjoying looking at the planets and the stars.The 25mm plossl eyepiece it comes with is good to get started with.Note: if you plan to hookup a dedicated astronomy camera to this scope, you may not be able to pull in the focuser far enough to achieve focus. I found this to be the case with the ZWO ASI533MC camera. The scope can be modified with a lower profile focuser or the primary mirror can be brought forward, but out of the box, if you're planning on doing some electronically assisted astronomy, you may want to do some research before jumping in. There's a video reviewer named Ed Ting that gives this scope a great review and he managed to hookup his DSLR to it without issue. So perhaps your milage will vary depending on what you're trying to do.Overall, would I recommend this setup for a beginning Newtonian for visual astronomy? Absolutely! I love it.What would I do differently? If I knew at the time that I was going to end up buying a mount for astrophotography / EAA, I would have purchased the Celestron Omni XLT 150 telescope without the CG4 mount and I would have just started off with the mount I wanted. But that will push you into a much higher price point.These days, I use this scope on my ZWO AM5 Mount. It's much lighter than the CG4, and it handles much more weight -- but we're comparing apples to diamonds. The AM5 will cost you 6x the price of the CG4 mount (if you bought it alone). If you know that you're going to get into Astrophotography later, and you can afford it, I'd recommend you just spend the money up front to get the mount you want and by the Celestron Omni XLT 150 OTA without the bundled mount. If you do end up going this direction and you don't think you'll end up with a heavier telescope in the future, you might also look at the ZWO AM3 mount.

I had to go through about 5 telescopes to find the "perfect" one for me, including a few that I returned after purchase (I kept 3), ultimately finding that this telescope satisfies my observation objectives (viewing deep sky objects). The price was a deterrent at first so I did try a couple less expensive scopes. For comparison also purchased two 10inch Dobsonians (kept one). For me, the usability of this EQ-4 mount is the real winner for searching and tracking (over the Dobsonian), and using a range of higher quality eyepieces purchased separately I am able to view to my heart's content. Just purchased a carry bag, as this will probably be my forever go-to telescope for stargazing.

Seriously though this is a great deal for anyone looking to get into looking at stars, planets, and beyond. I have been using a 3.5" refractor on a rickety old mount that I rebuilt, all the while dreaming of a mount like the CG-4. Then I saw this set up and had to order it immediately, I kept expecting someone to call me and tell me they made a mistake on the price.It showed up in 4 days, took a few minutes to put together, and works great. Of course its snowing like hell here today, April 26th. But I set up the new and the old to look at some trees across the field. No collimation required \o/ horah! The CG-4 moves like silk and the newtonian seems to be bringing in a bit more light than the old refractor. Can't wait for first light.Thankyou Stillwater Equipment, Celestron, and Amazon.Oh and all the folks over on cloudy nights forum, you guys are the best!

This was advertised as a used very good Celestron omni XLT 150 with a cg4 mount however the claimed it was the telescope only which could be bought for 100. 00 less brand new from Celestron. The used very good was only 156.00 off the price of new with the cg4 mount. this item will be returned

So far this scope has performed well. The weather has been my main complaint. It comes with a 25mm ocular which gives you 30X magnification. This is fine for viewing the moon but not the planets. I would recommend purchasing a second ocular or a good Barlow. Although Saturn was very small with the 25mm the resolution was great. It is a good scope for the money and comes with a very solid CG 4 equatorial mount. I have since purchased a 2x and a 3x Barlow with a 32mm Plossl. Now all i need is good weather.

Fortunately, the mount doididn't arrive. Returned, and bought a better Sky Watcher 200p from First Light Optics, for a little more money.

Great for amateurs wanting to get into astronomy for under $1000. Started with the PowerSeeker series but I should have skipped those and started with this one. It Is a manual control mount which is great for learning the celestial sphere and getting used to how an EQ mount works. The the XLT 150 OTA compared to the 127eq PowerSeeker is significantly better; the mirror is parabolic instead of spherical and it doesn’t have the corrective Barlow. Also, this telescope can be used with 2” and 1.25” eyepieces. The 1.25” adaptor is included. The adaptor can be unscrewed and used with a T-ring for beginner astrophotography, but you will need the dual axis motor kit for most objects. Overall I would recommend this for any new casual users who want a good telescope without spending $1000s.

What an amazing tripod and scope! I bought some higher quality eyepieces and a set of Barlows and it’s made so antsy to get out and see the stars every night!!!I have a 2” Barlow and a 2” Diagonal coming in this week, I can’t wait to test a 2” eyepiece for it!These photos were taken holding an iPhone on my first day with a pretty foggy and cloudy sky using only the kit lens and a ((Celestron 93529 X-Cel LX 1.25-Inch 2x Barlow)). Digital photos will never compare to the magic of seeing these celestial objects with your own eyes!