Orion 10019 SkyQuest XT10i IntelliScope Dobsonian Telescope

At my first glance I was little reactant to use this telescope as it is somewhat big and heavy.But my first few movements showed me that it is very delicate in all directions and very versatile. The construction is excellent and I didn't find any cheap plastics anywhere.The base is astonishingly stable than I thought.The instruction Manuals are well written and very understandable. If you are having any problem in assembling you can use two demo videos on Youtube also.The finderscope is well made and the optics are excellent and it is very easy to align with main tube. The collimation was superb and dead centre,It was well preserved during this long journey to Sri lanka.I like the Object locater also and found it is dead accurate in finding object. But I tried my best to do finding objects my own and if I failed only I use it, because I like to feel the joy of finding objects by my self.The views are excellent and one should observe himself to see the difference of the views,which it delivers. You will find how easy to locate object in the sky with minimum effort with the help of large finderscope.I only added red dot finder which help you to get the general direction of the sky.I have observed many objects with this telescope and I'm extremely satisfied with the purchase.Thank you very much Orion...!

This works great, and it's amazing the things you can see. It's no Hubble, but pair with the Mobile Observatory on my phone, I've seen planets, comets, nebula, star clusters, the moon, etc.But, I have not gotten the electronics with it to work. Only one have I been able to calibrate it well enough to use them. The are not worth the money. With some practice and a smart phone, you're better off with just the telescope.

Really pleased with the telescope thus far. Arrived yesterday, I assembled it last night and was able to start viewing right away. Assembly took a little longer than the 45 minutes it mentioned in the instructions, but I didn't have any trouble following the steps and getting it together. Alignment setup was simple and so far it seems that it doesn't need any initial collimation. Things were a bit cloudy last night so viewing was limited, but I've already had some amazing looks at Jupiter and its moons (including being able to clearly see the bands of Jupiter) as well as looking around at random objects in the sky. Very enjoyable, and I'm excited to see more.

Its a toss up between this and an SCT - the SCT is much easier to man handle, transport and store.But the electronics on this unit work nicely.And since its not motor operated - there are no motors to fail (and the motorized units do)

It is obvious that this scope does not GOTO but the implication might not be that obvious.Take moderately high powered EP such as 10mm (120x) and Jupiter, for example. Jupiter would joyfully race across half of the field of view (I put it in center and it races towards the edge) in seconds after the tube stabilizes from the previous tracking movement, leaving you that amount of a window to appreciate all the details that such a large aperture scope is supposed to give you. This combined with the not that great movements (the moving handle is inconveniently located under the tube, the 'friction adjustment' system needs re-calibration once the OTA is separated from the mount (which is pretty much every time you use the scope unless it is permanently housed in your private observatory)) and the reversed view (have to nudge it the 'wrong' way) would pretty much ensure a frustrating experience.Some highly regarded amateur astronomers have claimed in their beginner oriented books that these 8 to 10 inch 'intelligent' dobs are the 'perfect' beginner's scope. However, it seems to me that their vast experiences and advanced logistics capabilities might have clouded their insightful eyes just enough that they can no longer understand what a beginner does not have. Just like the sad fact that once you know you would have a hard time understanding 'how could someone don't know'.All in all, I think there is a reason that certain GOTO SCTs have almost 3000% more positive reviews on Amazon than this scope and I'm going that direction as well. If you are a beginner like me, think about what non-GOTO really means, what you really want to do with a scope (such as, looking through it 90% of the time or moving it 90% of the time?). Or at least buy from a dealer/shop that will gladly take it back for a refund (unfortunately Amazon is no longer that good at this and when you find this little secret out yourself it might be too late).

Ten inches of aperture, portability, ease of use, high quality construction, and a great price are what attracted me to this beginner-friendly Dobsonian.After using the XT10i a few times at a dark sky site, I quickly learned how to handle the instrument and am quite pleased with its performance.First light with this 'scope gave me a stunning view of Orion Nebula complete with a lavender hue (however, keep in mind that the ability to see coloration depends largely on dark sky conditions, age/sensitivity of the viewer's eye, and telescope aperture). I've also spied a purple Ring Nebula, the Whirlpool Galaxy, two cloud bands on Jupiter and four of its moons, a ringed Saturn flanked by four satellites, and Earth's moon using a 15% moon filter.Overall, the XT10i is an excellent choice for anyone, like myself, looking to graduate from the flimsy Sears catalog reflector of their youth.