It’s no wonder customers heap 5-star ratings on this “gentle giant.” For not only does its jumbo-sized optics and uncomplicated design bring a “new level of joy to simple observing,” raved Astronomy magazine, but it’s also one of the most affordable quality Dobs on the market. This is truly the best beginner telescope for many enthusiasts. The SkyQuest XT8 Classic isn’t just good bang for the buck, it’s a supernova of telescope value! The XT8 Classic gives you the deep-space thrills without the deep-pocket frills. We’ve kept it lean and mean to…
Buy Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian Telescope at Amazon
Ordered this, a 13% moon filter, and 3x barlow. Took longer to unpack and take inventory of the parts than it did to put it together. Easy instructions and certainly well protected for shipping. Mount is easy to swing but not easy enough to get free wheeling.
Main mirror needed slight adjustment which took about 2 minutes to fix. Alignment with spotting scope was equally as easy. Overall, did not have any problems or any issues that weren’t easily addressed by the instructions.
Did my first test tonight. I live a few miles east of Philadelphia and within a 1/4 mile of a ridiculously lit up Super Walmart. And the only place I could do a test was in my drive way between houses on a busy suburb street. We got 10 inches of snow last night and this was the only place that was solid.
Given my crappy location full of light pollution, my only real expectation tonight was to verify that the spotting scope and the main scope were in alignment. So I pointed at Orion’s Nebula (M43) with my spotting scope and then took a look through the factory supplied 25mm eye piece with no barlow.
WOW!!! Even with my crappy location, M43 was amazing!!! I could easily see the nebula and make out the hues and colors. Equally amazing, my spotting scope and main scope were dead on!!
I then wheeled the scope towards Saturn which was only a few degrees over my neighbor’s roof, a real no-no when it comes to stargazing. Well, if this was crappy conditions, all I can say is WOW!!! It was just as amazing. Even though the rings are tough to make out since the rings are right on in terms of their plane, it was still easy to see as well as plenty of moons circling. WOW!!!
Then tried the 13% moon filter on the crescent moon. WOW!!! Wish I could describe it better, but the first peek at this stuff is just amazing!! I cannot wait to get out this weekend to rural area and look at this stuff. I’m giving it 5 stars now simply because the product’s quality right of the box was top shelf and what you can view out of it is simply amazing even with my awful light polluted location.
And even though I was only out testing for a few minutes, my neighbors wondered what I was doing and when I gave them a peek at Saturn, the ooooohs and aaaahs were priceless!!!
If this thing somehow broke by tommorrow, I feel like I already got my money’s worth.
Just bought this as a gift for my high-school sophomore daughter. I spent a lot of time comparison shopping on-line. Ordered it via Amazon, and it arrived in just a few days. Two boxes. Took me a bit longer to set it up than others who have posted here, but screwing together the base pieces was fairly easy, and then mounting the tube to the base was a snap. I like the handle, as it makes it more portable, although it is still bulky and I am still working on the best method for carrying it outdoors each night for our family sky-watching. Anyway, I REALLY like it so far. We bought the 3x Barlow lens too. We started using it during the new moon phase, and Saturn was out. Very cool to see Saturn’s rings so clearly. Then last night we used it to look at the half-moon, and all I can say is…WOW! I felt like I was orbiting the moon and looking down from 60 miles. You can see shadows of individual craters, and the clarity is amazing. Very crisp image. The 3x Barlow really enhances the view, and really magnifies well.
I also like the way you can rotate and pitch the tube. I didn’t want to buy a ‘scope with a tri-pod because of the extra weight and I didn’t want to pay for the tri-pod. The base that comes with the xt8 is basic, but very functional. I think it works well, and I think it will be easy to carry it in our minivan out to the high country where the light pollution is reduced. So far we are very happy with this purchase.
I bought this for my boyfriend for his birthday and he loves it!!! The assembly only took about 45mins and he was able to see several planets/stars very clearly. I would definitely recommend this telescope to anyone that is looking for a ‘starter’ telescope.