BARSKA 40070 Starwatcher Compact Refractor Telescope with Table Top Tripod And Carrying Case Reviews

Average Customer Rating - 14 Reviews

Worst telescope product ever., February 6, 2010
This may look cool from the picture, but don't be fooled. It is expensive for a cheap scope and does not work. We messed with it for an hour or more and could not get an image - nothing. Not even a blurry color green when we pointed it at the grass. The spoting scope image was upside down. This is truly a sad product. It is from China and to think of all of the people that made great scopes that worked for companies that these cheapo Chinese products put out of work is sad. I don't know why anyone would buy this.

great telescope very powerful, October 11, 2008
This telepscope is a very good telescope.very powerful and clear.easy to use even for a beginner.the only complaint may be the tripod is small and you need to have a sturdy base to set it on for it is too small to use by itself.but if you have a sturdy deck or outside patio or just happen to have a full sized tripod of your own this makes an excellent telescope for astronomers of all ages and skill levels.

Great Bargain, February 11, 2010
Very happy with the quality. Great telescope for a real beginner. Price was definitely right!!

Starwatcher, June 27, 2008
I am very satisfied with the condition I received my Barska Starwatcher and it has proven very successful in its usage.
The proper packaging ensured that the telescope arrive safe and intact within reasonable time which is a plus in favour of Amazon.
Many thanks.
Ann

Excellent value, January 24, 2008
I purchased this scope based on positive reviews on a couple of web sites that cater to amateur astronomers. I wasn't disappointed. A couple of things prevented me from rating it a 5. The 45-degree diagonal and the tabletop tripod are better suited to terrestrial viewing. If you plan on astronomical use you'll want to use a full-sized tripod and add a 90-degree diagonal at some point if you don't already have one. Also, a 2x barlow lens would have made much more sense than the 3x. On the plus side the scope is sturdily constructed and has good optics for the price. I live in the heart of St. Louis and haven't been able to take it to a dark viewing area yet, but from my backyard the moon was excellent as was the Orion nebula, and Mars presented a nice sharp disk. The stock eyepieces are fine, but using a 9.7mm super plossl the results were great!

Barske 70x400mm focal length review, November 8, 2010
Overall it's not too bad.
I was looking for 300-400mm focal length range for guide scope.
This one seems to be right on that criteria.
Besides, there were 2x m5 tapped hole on the mounting block for anyone who like to mount this on flat surface. Actually , it served me good as well.
Those of you who have used 3 screws for mounting&adjusting may know that it's not so easy; it may even be pain to use 3 screw adjusting system, because it's extremely sensitive.
Optical quality is not too bad, especially for this price range.
Overall performance is good; I liked focal lenth and mounting block with 2x m5 tapped hole for easy mounting on flat surface.
However, I hoped that the finder scope was replaced by red dot finder.
Tabletop tripod was just ok, but even without it, item was worth buying.
But, I wanted to ask maker of this to replace the 6x25 finderscope with red dot finder, please.
Because , the small aperture 25mm scope is almost next to useless.
Overall, it's good if not quite good.

Nice Little telescope for the price., May 27, 2008
I purchased this telescope with a specific purpose in mind. My office overlooks a golf course where a PGA event is held. I bought this and a USB camera eyepiece, to watch the golf tournament on my laptop. Worked great and I was able to accomplish my goal for under $100.

This is a great inexpensive telescope that would be suitable as a starter or 1st telescope, worked well for the purpose I got it for.

WASTE OF MONEY, August 30, 2007
VERY BASIC TELESCOPE. I BOUGHT THIS ON AMAZON WHEN IT WAS ON SALE. IT WAS OUR FIRST TELESCOPE AND WE REALLY WANTED IT FOR OUR 5 YR OLD. WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT. IT LOOKS GREAT BUT IS VERY VERY BASIC. OTHER THAN THE SEEING THE MOON ON A CLEAR NIGHT, THERE'S REALLY NOTHING ELSE THAT YOU CAN SEE THROUGH THIS TELESCOPE. THE MOON TOO IS SEEN A TAD LARGER THAN WHAT YOU WOULD SEE WITH A NAKED EYE. IT'S TRUE. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!

GREAT VALUE FOR THE MONEY!, January 25, 2010
I think this is perhaps the best value for the money to be had in a small, short tube, inexpensive portable scope. Images are crisp and clear for both terrestrial and celestial viewing. The included 1.25" lenses and 45 degree diagonal work well enough. One can, of course, use higher quality lenses and 90 degree diagonals for a better viewing experience.

A big advantage of this scope is that the included tripod has fine motor controls for horizontal and vertical movement, making it much easier to track celestial objects as they move across the sky. It appears to be identical to the Celestron Tabletop Tripod that sells alone for $20.95 here on Amazon. It's made of light plastic, but the controls work well enough. Most other short tube scopes in this price range that I'm aware of don't have tripods with this capability.

The Barska 40070 is definitely worth your consideration!

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