Seben 114/1000 EQ-3 Star Sheriff - reflector telescope for astronomy, including parallactic mount and accessories Big Pack

The telescope is exceedingly well packaged, consisting of an outer box, with an inner box, that in turn contains about ten smaller boxes that interlock with no movement between them. The small boxes contain the components within their own plastic bags. The packaging is excellent and well thought through, fit for purpose, as the product is shipped from Germany. Delivery was well within the quoted time. This is my first astronomical telescope and only wanted to spend about £ 100 to see how I got on with a new hobby. The instructions were average, with adequate wording, and some errors such as referring to diagrams that were obviously incorrectly labelled. However the assembly was straightforward, taking about an hour, and requiring no specialist skills. An allen key is the only required tool and that was provided, so it came complete. The product has a higher build quality than I expected for £118 (a price that includes the delivery). The tripod is especially sturdy, damping vibration almost instantly following positional adjustment. The equitorial mount which is by far the heaviest component moves smoothly. I used UTube videos for guidance on the setup and usage of the mount. The weight of the mount gives stability to the relatively light telescope on the sturdy but again relatively light tripod. Clamping is via winged nuts at the top of each leg. The accessory tray is adequate. Once assembled the telescopy can be convemiently dismantled into these three basis components for transportation. I put the scope in the plastic bag it came in on the back seat of the car with the mount and collapsed tripod without problems. As this is my first telescope I have nothing against which to compare the image quality. Having said that, I was truely surprised by the clarity of bright "nearby" objects, the moon and stars seen with the naked eye, and of course seeing far more than with the naked eye alone. As this is only a 114 mm mirror instrument I am not expecting to see faint deep space objects, and have not yet tried to do so, as there's enough to keep me busy for months as it is. The only downside is the sighting scope. It has tree fine threaded postioning screws for alignment but no clamping mechanism. This means the screws act as the clamps, so if the sighting scope is knocked, even just slightly, realignment is required, which is not quickly accomplished. I found transporation always requires realignment. In all I'm happy with my purchase and have far more quality than I expected for £118 - a suitable "starter" package that is excellent for a newbie.

This was a gift for someone new to astronomy and I have to say it's rather good value for a novice machine.I was a little concerned that it was being shipped from Germany but I needn't have worried, it was well packed and arrived without a scratch, or more importantly, without a break. Assembly was relatively easy and the product feels solid and well built. The manual gives the impression the spotter scope features a right-angle eyepiece, which it doesn't, which led to double checking all the packaging. The manual is the only let down, it could really do with a re-write. For a complete novice it's not always clear. For example, it doesn't explain how to set up the spotter scope with the main telescope which results in mis-alignment.But these are minor issues and once you take the time to familiarise yourself with the telescope you'll discover it is actually very easy to use and offers a good starting point for would be Patrick Moores. The components fit together well but remember it is heavy and the tripod should be properly locked. Once you get the hang of the spotter scope fine tuning is easy to maintain. A good selection of lens are supplied and help ensure a clean, crisp image.All in all a good quality telescope at an economical price that beats many other similar priced but smaller scopes.

I bought this telescope jointly with my daughter as I was interested when I was her age, she is doing an astronomy project at school and is interested, and it was a more educational way to spend the amazon voucher she got for Christmas, before it all went on music and games!It appeared to be great value compared to the competition, so after much reading of reviews, we went for it....Delivery - ordered late last Thursday night, arrived today (the following Tuesday). Impressive!Quality - all components nicely made and finished, with a pleasantly weighty feel. Looks the business when all set up.Assembly instructions - ok, so these could be better worded as per other reviews, but I had no problems after reading carefully, looking at the pictures and using some common sense.Use - I was lucky enough to have a clear-ish sky tonight, so managed some good views of the moon, literally straight out of the box - but it was definitely more by luck than judgement. I don't doubt that practice and using the proper adjustment methods will give much more consistent results. I can't wait for the next opportunity! The fact that my wife had to drag me indoors at 10.30 suggests I will be getting a lot of practice....Happy to give a good review - it's a great product.

A bit disappointed with the mount. Its not the one pictured, mine has only one altitude adjustment screw, plus the finder scope mount to the reflector circumference have a miss match radius and a lower quality finder scope than pictured.

I have recieved this telescope, as a beginner, and have found it very easy to assemble and use. The tripod stand is robust, yet light. The overall unit together is a bit heavy due to the counterbalance, but this makes it all work together nicely. The controls for moving the telescope up and down, and left to right are conveniently placed for easy access. The instructions were easy enough to follow for assembly, and the online manual is very descriptive. It comes with 4 eye pieces + other bits which allows you to see different magnifications. I believe this is suitable for intermediate users, not just beginners like me.Overall a good quality telescope.