Galileo 800x80 Reflector Telescope

Comments about Galileo 800x80 Reflector Telescope:

I received this telescope a couple years ago as a christmas present and have been using it since. The images of the moon, even through higher maginifications, have kept myself and my children interested in astronomy, and have inspired us to continue to go bigger. The Mars Eye finder is excellent, and finding many objects in the sky has not been a problem. The only complaints I have are with the mount. It is a bit tricky to use due to the fact the slow motion controls are only on the up and down, and not with left and right. You have to manually move the scope, which can get frustrating at times, but certainly not enough to want to put it away. This is not a fancy scope, but in my opinion, a very good starter scope and a lot of fun to use. I have seen several planets through it, with decent detail, and although tracking an object is a little difficult, I find that getting a good focus and placing the object to one side of the eyepiece, you can step back and allow the object to drift through field of view. The tripod is fairly stable, although focusing can be frustrating at times. I have found that using the moon as a guide, focusing until you have the sharpest picture possible, and then moving on the planets and star clusters is a good way to combat the frustration of trying to focus on a smaller object. It is a basic, no frills, starter telescope that has been fun to use and I will continue to use it with my children.

P.S. I have not purchased a case for this telescope as the cases cost almost as the scope itself, but the box it came in has lasted me for several years by simply reinforcing it with packing tape. Also, after repeated use, I have yet to have to collimate the mirrors. Galileo's optics are very good for the price, and the eyepieces are very good quality for the price.

Comments about Galileo 800x80 Reflector Telescope:

I used this telescope in the backyard of my suburbs home. I like this telescope. It had good lenses and it was very convenient to have the 2 eyepieces and the barlow, but I never used the 6mm with the barlow. I couldn't focus it well enough.
The mount makes things very difficult. For example, I found Saturn with the lowest magnification and centered it. I tightened the scope and everything than upped the magnification. I would try to recenter Saturn but it only has a alt. adjuster. So I would try to move the whole scope maybe 2cm to the right and than I'd lose it. You couldn't fine tune that part which ruins the whole thing. If you can find the same scope with a different mount, I would totally recommend it, otherwise, save up a little longer to get a better scope with a better mount

Comments about Galileo 800x80 Reflector Telescope:

I bought this telescope as a beginner for my sons and was disappointed after assy/use. It went together well enough, but the micro-calibrations are difficult to set and are necessary for looking at anything other than the moon. Additionally, the tube is moved manually, instead of using adjustment knobs, again making it difficult for pin-point adjustments.