Celestron Celestron - NexStar 5SE Telescope (Open Box)
$702.99
$899.95
22% off
Reference Price
Condition: New; Open Box
Top positive review
38 people found this helpful
Pound for pound, a winner
By Susan Davis on Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2012
I've owned a 10" dob (Coulter 10" f/4.5) and an ETX-90 (the original non-computerized model). This scope is my re-entry into amateur astronomy after being away for a few years. I live right smack in the middle of a heavily light polluted metropolitan area (Toronto), and it would take at least two hours to get to a genuinely dark site. So I wound up looking for a small scope that would give me good views of solar system objects. I've been pleasantly surprised. There have been only two nights since I got thing that the sky hasn't been completely socked in by clouds, and the moon has been down for both of them. So I haven't gotten the scope on the moon yet, but Jupiter has been beautifully placed, and it looks fantastic! I get a ton more detail off the planetary disc than I ever got from either previous instrument, and it compares favourably with views I've had through an assortment of friends' scopes. (I used the supplied 25mm Plössl, and a 7mm Nagler.) It's light enough that I can grab it and take it out to the end of the driveway for a quick look at the moon or a planet. I just wish that it either got decent battery life on internal power, or could slew around in altaz mode with the power off. I added a Power Tank after reading reviews of the scope's internal battery life. The tank is awkward enough to compromise the scope's ease of deployment, but I suppose I can throw it in a backpack. I'll definitely want to invest in an adjustable chair; the eyepiece wound up at a very awkward height when Jupiter was up near the zenith. For objects closer to the horizon, the height of the tripod makes the eyepiece position much less bad. Pros: * Really sharp optics * Light weight * Low price, especially compared to what computer-controlled SCTs sold for when I owned my previous scope * Star Pointer instead of a crappy 5x24 finder * Some attempt at including a built-in wedge Cons: * Azimuth locks up when power turned off, which prevents you from using it in altazimuth mode with the drive switched off * Really needs a Power Tank for use, which degrades the value of the scope's light weight * Built-in wedge is very rudimentary * Won't take a 2" diagonal for wide-angle views without vignetting The NexStar 6 gets all the attention, and for 36% more light gathering area for 18% more money, it's a great value. But at 45 pounds vs. the 28 of the NexStar 5, it's 50% heavier for that extra 36% light, more if you add a wedge. The 5 is a big small instrument; I scaled up to it after looking at the computerized ETX-90. The 6 is a small primary instrument; I can imagine scaling down to one after looking at an 8" SCT. For shallow-sky observing in the light-polluted city, and for an instrument that I can carry a long way from my car in one trip with the tripod, single-arm fork, and tube mated up, I think this is a winner.
Top critical review
41 people found this helpful
Defective telescope out of the box. 2nd Celestron with missing parts advertised as included
By AmazonAddict on Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2019
I originally purchased a Celestron LCM80 for a family Christmas gift at a hobby shop about an hour from where we live. We got it out of the box and it was missing the software download and the finderscope. It was disappointing seeing how our kids went from being excited over their new Christmas gift to being sad that it didnt work. I took it back to the hobby shop and got my money back as they didn't have a replacement and we didn't want to wait on getting the parts from Celestron. I went to order a replacement on Amazon and the price we paid at the hobby shop was slightly less than the Nexstar 4Se offered by Amazon. I did some research and the Nexstar 4Se seemed to be a better telescope than the LCM80 and it also included the rs232 cable to connect to our laptop for additional control. This really sweetened the deal since the LCM80 did not include a rs232 computer cable. We just had to purchase a rs232 to USB converter cable for $15. About a week later we were excited to get our new NexStar 4SE. We got it out of the box and inventoried the parts. We got the finderscope and software download this time but there was no rs232 cable. The getting started manual showed the rs232 cable should be included. I contacted Celestron and they said the new on-board computer doesn't require an rs232 but does require a straight through USB cable so they quit including them. So now we are short of a computer communications cable and we purchased a USB converter cable for the rs232 that is now useless. After looking at some other amazon reviews for this product it is apparent Amazon knows this cable is not included yet they still advertise that it is included. This is deceptive and they should change the description of the included items. We got the scope mounted on the base and went to align the finderscope with the telescope and couldn't see any light being reflected into the eyepiece. We followed the quick start guide and rotated the flip mirror control and still no light coming into the eye piece. I looked inside the OTA and was unable to see a mirror. I contacted Celestron and was told that this is very rare but the mirror is only held in place by a piece of double sided tape and something might have damaged it during the manufacturing process. It doesn't sound like the mirror is loose in the OTA but instead may have never got installed (there is no visible tape residue on the plastic piece that supports the mirror) at the factory. They suggested I send it back to Amazon as it was clearly defective. After reviewing other Amazon posts for this telescope it looks like this problem might be a frequent occurrence. I am sending this one back and am hoping we get a working telescope that includes all the parts listed on Amazon's site. I will post an update after getting a working unit.
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