Orion 9738 SkyView Pro 8-Inch Equatorial Reflector Telescope

I am new to astronomy. I love this Telescope.Pros very powerful . Impressed with quality of the views and quality of the build. this thing is solid, Cons: Heavy. When I move the telescope, I remove the optical tube and the mount from the tripod. Don’t expect to be able to lift the whole thing. Recommendations: Follow the instructions.

Scope heavy and shaky. Without go to mount for this scope ,which isn’t available anymore viewing becomes very boring fast. Lots of accessories needed after for good viewing

I'm fairly new to the hobby, so my perspective is that of a relative beginner. I had a small refractor as a kid, and have always wanted something more. Now that I have kids of my own, I wanted something that would fulfill my inner child (with a grown-up budget) and provide an exciting experience for my 6 and 10 year old.Summary:This is a great piece of equipment, and it should be for the price. It's missing some of the accessories and capabilities of its smaller siblings such as the Starblast 6i or AstroView 6 (the former isn't motorized, but has computerized tracking of your movements to help you find things; the latter includes a polar alignment scope which it's hard to believe this kit leaves out). The stand-out in this kit is the fantastic mount, while the telescope itself is just fine, with slightly disappointing focuser.Used vs. New:TWICE, I ordered this telescope used (fulfilled by Amazon Warehouse Deals), and both times it arrived with just the optical tube and no accessories or tripod + equatorial mount. Amazon was very helpful about processing the returns, but it was very disappointing their used goods department doesn't seem to have the sophistication to process multi-carton items. DON'T BUY USED!!!When the "new" telescope did arrive it showed signs it may have been previously assembled. Two accessory boxes were empty, and the tube clamps and dovetail were already mounted to the telescope. Still, everything was present and in order, so I can't complain much.The mount:VERY solid. The movement is very smooth, the controls are precise. Unlock for big movements, then lock and use the fine controls. It was very easy to assemble and set up. The manual took a little getting used to as it uses terms I wasn't yet familiar with, but a little patience and it all made plenty of sense. I do have a substantial mechanical aptitude, though. It seems Orion's support is available by phone during business hours if you have any issues.The fine-motion control knobs themselves are awful. Either they don't fit well, or I'm unwilling to apply the force required to really push them into place. The fine-motion functions fantastically, it's just the knobs themselves that are poor. They are not on isolating cables either, but with a mount this sturdy, that doesn't matter.Oh, I'll also complain that the plastic cover (over the hole for the missing polar alignment scope) seems like a great handle, but it falls off at the slightest bump, so it's more of a nuisance and even a liability if you try to grab it when picking up the mount.The telescope:It consists of two mirrors and a focuser. I don't know enough / have the equipment or comparison points to say if the optics are great. Collimation (aligning the mirrors) took a little practice (watch the Youtube video a few times), but the adjustment mechanisms work well once you get the hang of it (see Add-ons below). Orion says it's factory-collimated, but it won't be by the time it reaches you.The focuser leaves something to be desired. There's no separate fine control, so moving the focus precisely is very difficult. And even with the sturdy mount, the telescope jiggles a bit and I found I'd need to adjust focus, wait a few seconds, then evaluate. I'm not impressed with that piece. An isolating cable would be nice. A dual-ratio focuser would be better. You can add an electric focuser.Everything elseThe two included eyepieces are fine, but they don't allow much magnification 1000mm / 10mm = 100x max. See "Add-ons" below The t-ring adapter threads directly to the focuser, replacing the 2" eyepiece holder and the 2" to 1.25" adapter and allows you to mount camera-related accessories. The spotting scope and its mount work REALLY well, and are very easy to dial in precisely so you can get straight to viewing.Other notesIt's big - 38" long, and the tripod + mount weigh a ton - shipping weight is 60 lbs, and probably 50lbs of that is in the scope and accessories. This makes it fairly difficult to transport. Properly padded, it takes up a LOT of trunk space. You do NOT move the tripod with the telescope on it.Add-ons:Before I even bought this scope, I knew I'd want some accessories. In order of preference:MOAR POWAR!!!An accessory kit with 2x barlow and higher magnification (lower mm) eye-pieces lets you zoom in on things, including both planets and DSO's (deep space objects). This: http://smile.amazon.com/Orion-1-25-Inch-Telescope-Accessory-silver/dp/B00D3F7F4S/ gets you a barlow and 7.5mm. for 267x magnification. You probably don't care about the 20mm, since there's a 25mm included with the scope.This: http://smile.amazon.com/Orion-1-25-Inch-Premium-Telescope-Accessory/dp/B0069VXRLS/ gets you a 17mm that better splits the difference between 10 and 25, but it also gets you a duplicate 10mm (that you'll never use) and a 6.3mm that isn't that different than 7.5 (159x vs. 133x) as well as a 40mm that I suppose is good for broader field viewing? These both come with filters too. I bought the smaller kit. I would have been very disappointed with the scope without the 2x barlow and 7.5mm eyepiece. I haven't touched the 25mm or most of the filters. I tried the blue "Jupiter" filter, but it didn't do much for me.Polar Alignment ScopeI can't believe this isn't in the kit. The mount is great and has provision for a scope. You want to track things easily with single-knob simplicity (that's why you got an EQ mount, right?) But the best you can do for polar alignment is to peer through the big gaping hole in the mount at polaris, and hope for the best. No, you need a polar alignment scope. http://smile.amazon.com/Orion-7330-Polar-Alignment-SkyView/dp/B0000XMXVG/ I don't have it yet, but it's on the really short list.Tracker driveYou got the EQ mount for easy tracking, now you want to have the scope just stay put. Once you have the polar alignment scope, you can get the dual axis true track. Unfortunately, the Skyview Pro mount doesn't seem to have the option of a cheaper single-axis drive, so you get this. http://smile.amazon.com/Orion-7832-TrueTrack-Telescope-Drive/dp/B0000XMXS4/ I don't have it, also on the short-list. I suppose you could get the goto upgrade (http://smile.amazon.com/Orion-7817-Upgrade-SkyView-Telescope/dp/B000JC4UD2/), but if you're going to put that kind of money into it, you probably ought to spend more on the scope itself.Camera mountWell, you got an equatorial mount so you would have great tracking, and you want to show off your awesome 'scope, right? I have a Canon DSLR so I got this: http://smile.amazon.com/Orion-05224-T-ring-Canon-Camera/dp/B0000XMUKK/ It's ok. There's some play with it mounted, so you have to be careful not to move the camera if you want frame-to-frame accuracy. AND, this still isn't enough to take great pics. It gets you "prime" focusing, so the telescope acts like the lens, but there's no eyepiece, so you don't have much magnification with the camera on there. That's where "eyepiece projection" comes in. Now you need this: http://smile.amazon.com/Orion-5340-1-25-Inch-Universal-Adapter/dp/B005HPHKM4/ The 1.25" to t-ring adapter that it includes is removed, so it mounts directly to your focuser-to-t-ring adapter. I don't own this yet, so I can't say how it performs.Laser CollimatorBecause Lasers are cool! http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B008XEGXMO/ It only helps with half the job, so it's not really necessary. I have a hard time seeing where it will improve things that much, but the reviews are good, so I might give it a try eventually.Solar Filter!http://smile.amazon.com/Orion-9-25-Inch-Aperture-Telescope-Filter/dp/B0069VZG30/If you're like me, and you wear glasses for astigmatism, you can get an appropriate correcting lens for your eyepiece.So, that's just a small sampling of the stuff this DOESN'T come with, and that you should consider when buying a scope. Those are Amazon Smile links, just for convenience (I don't benefit).Bottom line, if you're a casual observer looking for portability, you might be better off with a 6", but I don't think I'd be as happy with those. This DOES (barely) fit in the trunk of my small car, and I appreciate the very solid, smooth mount and the quality of most of the kit. I expect years of enjoyment from it, and there are plenty of options to play the upgrade game.

1st let me say I love this scope. While its a monster and is not easy to move around fully assembled the images it gives are simply incredible. I was going to go with a smaller size when I first started looking for a new scope but am glad I didn't. My daughter and I have spent a great deal of time out in the back yard looking up since we got this and to see the wonder in her eyes tells me it was all worth it. We went from a 60mm refactor and 80mm reflector to this monster, now we both seem to be glued to this light bucket more than we were to the smaller scopes in our collection. The 60mm and the 80mm scopes are still the first ones out but on clear nights we both seem to be glued to the 8 inch. Not many 5 year olds can point out a few dozen stars by name on any given night so I guess this was money well spent...

I had been looking at various telescopes for awhile. Went to a few star parties to look through the different kinds and manufactures. Ended up picking the Skyview Pro. pretty easy to set up, not to bad to transport outside or to a dark site.