levenhuk.com Reviews

Nicki F - 10/08/2014

I am a beginner and I was looking for an instrument with all necessary accessories in the kit... I didn't know what exactly was needed and I didn't really want to spend much time consulting professionals. So I opted for this model and I really like it. The manual is easy to understand... even to me :) thx!

Andria F - 10/06/2014

Following your advice I bought this telescope for my kid. Truth be told I got interested even more than my son. This hobby led to our new little family tradition: we often go to the countryside with tents to barbecue and watch the stars. This is an ideal instrument for the whole family! definitely recommend it!

Austin C - 10/05/2014

I read through the comments and I can see that many people seem to be not very satisfied with the mount. But guys, this model is an entry-level telescope and in my opinion it?s even better that the mount is AZ, because they are much easier to use. Besides if this great scope was equipped with equatorial mount, it would cost a lot more, and not many beginning astronomers would be able to afford it.

Kathryn T - 10/03/2014

We bought this for our son, he is an eighth grader and has been into astronomy since fifth grade, but all this time he had to be content with astronomy binoculars. And finally we decided to buy a telescope for him. He is really happy with it. My husband and I know nothing about how it works, but our son manages to do everything himself (though he always shows us when he finds some new view which we haven?t seen yet.) I honestly don?t know how he remembers all the titles of all the stars, constellations and so on, but the views are really wonderful and breathtaking!

Jerry - 10/03/2014

Bought this telescope two days ago. I really like the accessories that come in the kit, the bag is very convenient, spacious. Planetarium is great software (it has really long list of cities). Wonderful option for home use indeed. It's quite compact and perfectly fits my balcony. I got used to this mount very quickly, tripod is stable. Among all the eyepieces 20mm is the most quality one. Under high magnifications the image won't be so sharp of course. So there's no point in buying expensive powerful eyepieces as I see it. So it is a wonderful choice for people who live in the city. It's very easy to use and assembling process won't take too long. 5 minutes and you are ready to go, no matter if you are in the city or in the countryside. So it won't be a problem anymore and you can use the telescope more often. And the best telescope is the telescope you use the most, so for me Strike 90 PLUS is the best!

Max C - 08/26/2014

This achromat is wonderful, with the right filter you will be able to see unbelievable things in the depths of space!!! The only thing I don't like is AZ mount, which doesn't allow you to equip it with motor drive. But in general it's a great scope!

Chad M - 04/10/2014

I bought this model for quick astro trips to the countryside. It's quite lightweigh so I don't have any problems with transportation. I really like it so far.

Chad O - 02/18/2014

This telescope is a great toy for kids and those who know nothing about astronomy. Very good for entry-level users. Tripod and mount are not all too good, but it can be fixed if you are not lazy. Try tightening the tripod screws! It has no central leg (unlike camera tripods) that's why it's a bit loose. As soon as you fix that you'll see that precise focusing is really not that difficult! Otherwise it's a wonderful telescope! I recommend it to all beginners, the price is totally reasonable. When I played enough, I'll give it away to my grandchildren and buy myself something cooler. A special thanks for the awesome kit and especially Stellarium software. Now I know where, when, what time and in which phase desired objects will be.

Ronald S - 11/26/2013

follow-up?It's time for the cons: 1. I was a bit upset because of the notable coma and chromatic aberrations. Then after I removed diagonal mirror I understood that optics wasn't the problem, the problem was in the slippery installation of mirror, BL and eyepiece. The thing is that if you fix the eyepiece too tight you miss the optical axis and get aberrations. But if you don't fix it tight enough it might just fall out. That's why I had to spend a lot of time trying to find the right positioning of the eyepiece. 2. As I already mentioned tracking the object is kinda hard. Mount knobs move too tight for my liking, I think I will change it. 3. Focus knobs are kinda too small for my fingers so it's hard to focus the view, I would like for them to be a bit bigger. 4. I'm positively sure that attaching the camera to this telescope is a complete waste of time. The weight of the camera and imperfection of the focuser won't allow taking decent pictures. Resume: This telescope deserves to be the first telescope for those who just started observations. It's not a toy, but almost a real telescope. The optics is not to go crazy about, but it's quite good. Let's say that's a good scope with proper specifications. But maybe I'm just too demanding and particular about the image quality, I mean just take a look through the telescope at the observatory in your city - you will be thrilled, that's where the images are 'to die for'!

Ronald S - 11/26/2013

Yesterday got this telescope, bought it mainly as a gift for my child. I'll leave a quick review here in the form of the model's pros and cons. So pros are: 1. The tube, the tripod, objective lens of a good quality (I personally give it a B++) 2. The tube stabilizes quickly 3. The focuser is smooth, works without jerks or backlash. I was surprised by this one because the focuser is made of plastic. 4. The eyepieces are quite good, have rubber eyecups. 5. The magnification satisfied me, different combinations of accessories included in the kit provide different magnifications. It was kinda hard for me to set on Jupiter, but then I managed to get quite quality image (I used BL and 6.3 mm eyepiece). Io, Callisto, Ganymede and Europa appeared exactly like they were supposed to - as beads across the whole field of view. Jupiter's disk is not large, but bands are quite visible. Unfortunately I could not find the Great Red Spot, I guess it's because I could not target the scope properly or because of unfortunate atmospheric state, but mostly because I lack the required filter. 6. The moon is totally awesome! Copernicus is pure beauty!!! Especially near the terminator, this crater is shaped by long shadows. At the highest magnification out of the box (BL + 6 mm eyepiece = 300 x) the Moon barely fits field of view! Despite a little coma and chromatics; 7. Observed the city (was in the suburbs close to the city limit), found some car and almost managed to read the plate! When I looked in this direction with the naked eye, I could not even spot this car. I don't know why, maybe because it was too dark, or maybe because it was too far away, it's 300x after all! 8. Tracking the objects is hard and simple at the same time. You just need to get the hang of it, to cope with deflection. I'm thinking about equatorial wedge. 9. I packed everything in the bag that comes in the kit - amazing mobility! Not heavy at all. You can easily take it with you wherever you go.

Leonora N - 08/07/2013

Hi! I bought this telescope recently! Amazing! No seriously - so cool! But here's a question: 1) Will it be possible to replace its altazimuth mount with an equatorial later on? And what model (if the answer is yes) 2) on this website in the section "related items" you recommend only optical filters but below in the comments you suggest others so what are the best options?

flangehead - 07/17/2013

All in all, this is a pretty good telescope, I caught some pretty good views of saturn the other night. I haven't had one since I was a kid,so a good one is better than not having one at all. The attachment point where the tripod legs connect to the mount seem to be the weakest point, I get alot of residual movement that comes from there after adjusting the scope to bring whatever I'm looking at back into view. This is understandable coming from a tripod mounted scope though. I've had a good time with it so far and look forward to enjoying it's use for a long time to come. Oh yea, the packaging was excellent, no damaged parts and everything was there. Good job Levenhuk!!

Ann H - 03/04/2013

The telescope is great! The package was delivered in time and in good condition! Thank you!