CelestronCPC 925 StarBright XLT GPS Schmidt-Cassegrain 2350mm Telescope with Tripod and Tube with NexYZ 3-Axis Universal Smartphone Adapter

Second time trying to review this purchasing experience, first time got rejected. Let’s put it this way: buying a $3000 telescope online doesn’t always work out, and issues are VRRY difficult to rectify, sometimes even costing you money in the long run.

Note: my review is for the CPC 800, since the reviews on this page seem to be a combination of 800, 925, and 1100 reviews. Also, I should point out that I'm an amateur with limited experience, and this is my first "real" telescope purchase. So I'll start with a few words of advice up front to help anyone who might be new and unsure of what to buy. First of all, if you are telescope shopping and are considering this scope, DEFINITELY consider the fact that it is big and heavy. The scope is about 40 lbs, and the tripod is about 20. I don't have any trouble carrying it around by myself, and it has well-placed carrying handles that make it easy, so that's no issue. But it is certainly not a telescope that you can just pick up and go stargazing with on a moment's notice. It takes time and effort to set up, and that can be a disadvantage if you get a "spur of the moment" urge to use it! You should also know that it doesn't hide away in a tiny corner of the closet (or your car, for that matter), so you'll need some space to store it and transport it.Now that my disclaimer is out of the way... All I can say is that I absolutely love this telescope. The quality of the scope and tripod are evident in the size and weight alone. I've used it many times already, and have no complaints whatsoever, aside from wishing I had a better yard and less light pollution! I've had no trouble doing alignments, and have even aligned it using the moon, Jupiter, and Sirius when they were all in the same general area in the sky. (The manual recommends that you align using objects that are as far apart as possible). Once aligned, the goto feature works extremely well, although there are times when the object doesn't center perfectly. I'm guessing that this may be because I align using objects that are close together in the sky. Unfortunately, my viewing area (so far) hasn't allowed me to use widely spaced celestial objects for alignment, but I will update my review later, if necessary.The hand control is fairly easy to use, and the layout of the buttons is easy to get used to. The display is a bit dim, but not uncomfortably so. It's nice to be able to choose between deep sky objects, named stars, planets, and even a sky tour with just a touch of a button and some scrolling. That means that you don't have to be an expert on constellations and star names, and can get right to viewing. And the view from this scope is outstanding, even in my light-polluted back yard.When I was researching telescopes, I didn't know much about eyepieces, so I'll offer my own opinions in case you're new to this too. When I bought my telescope, I also bought the Celestron two-inch eyepiece kit. In hindsight, it was a good move, and the 2" size is amazing. The CPC800 includes a 1.25" diagonal and a single 1.25" plossl eyepiece. If I hadn't ordered the EP kit at the time I purchased the scope, I KNOW that I would have been very impatient to try different magnifications. The view from the included EP is fine, but having more options is something you'll want right from the start. I definitely recommend purchasing an eyepiece kit (or separate eyepieces, if your budget allows) along with the scope. To be honest, the Celestron kit doesn't really include any "higher" magnification EPs, so I had to order a 10mm EP after a few weeks of using the lenses in the kit. SO... if you are a first-time buyer like I was, the 2" kit is a good start (it has 26mm, 32mm, and 40mm EPs, which give you 75x, 62x, and 50x magnification), plus a barlow lens that doubles the magnification of each lens. It also includes several color filters. It doesn't come with a moon filter though, so you might want to add one, because the moon is a target you'll go to a lot. I bought a 10mm (200x magnification) EP, and plan to add a 17mm and 13mm EP at some point. I may consider a higher power lens (like an 8 or 5mm), but I don't think there will be much use for such high magnification, so it's not a pressing concern.As other reviewers mentioned, the scope does NOT come with a power cord (which seems a bit odd), so you'll need one of those, or a power tank. I bought the smaller Celestron powertank, and couldn't be happier. It's a must-have if you plan to take the scope to the country for clear, dark skies and don't want to drain your car battery. To be honest, I've never even used the AC power cord, even though I've only used my scope at home so far. If I could do it over, I might not even bother buying it. The powertank is easy to use, and has built-in flashlights, so there's really no point running an extension cord to use the power cord.All in all, I am extremely pleased with this telescope, and highly recommend it if you are prepared for the size, weight, and time it takes to set up. There is definitely something to be said for a scope that you can carry and set up in a few minutes, but that's really the only drawback of owning a larger telescope like this. The quality of the images you'll see more than makes up for the "longer" setup time. I am glad that I made this purchase, and would do it again in a heartbeat!

I have a Nexstar 103 SLT computerized refractor telescope and to me the 1,2,or 3 star alignment sucks. You have to be a contortionist to be able to look at anything through it and half the time I had trouble with aligning it. I saved all the money for the CPC 800 XLT and was like a kid on Christmas Day when it arrived. It has been raining here in Oregon for 4 months and seeing the sky is hit or miss.The Moon peaked out of the clouds and I had my Canon T5i mounted to the visual back and got some decent pics of the Moon. I've heard people whining that it is too heavy;BS! It is well made and the reason it is heavy is because it isn't plastic. It is well constructed and the optics are very good. I am 63 years old and have a partially paralyzed right arm and I can set it up in less than 5 minutes. I highly recommend this scope and combined with the wi-fi adapter from Celestron and the free Skyportal app, a 6 year old could get it up and running in less than 10 minutes. My only regret is that I didn't have enough cash to get the 11" scope. Good scope, Good Price. That's all I got to say about that.

I have had this telescope for a few years now and even though i have not had much time to use it im still glad i have it, The product is very well made, easy to use, only downside in my opinion is you have to buy a external power source in order to use the GPS function, which i still have not done yet haha, but using it on manual mode is very simple just gotta figure out how to line up your finder scope with an actual object you are trying to view, which if the moon is out its rather easy to do, I also have purchased a 2x scope for the telescope which is a nice attachment for it, happy with this telescope and i hope i can get out more to use it :D

This is an incredibly well-made device. Anyone who has ever used a simple telescope will be familiar with the two greatest problems: a tripod that vibrates and using two knobs on stalks to keep the object in the centre of the eyepiece. The tripod used with this telescope is heavy and rigid, 14.5kg of die-cast aluminium with stainless steel tubes; I have not noticed any vibration. The telescope is motorised and keeps the object centralised. Setting up the telescope took some time. Once the tripod is levelled, lifting the telescope into place can cause difficulties if you are alone as a central peg on the tripod has to locate in a hole on the underside of the base of the telescope. With some practice, and looking around the base for symmetrical placing of the tops of the tripod legs, this will become easier. One rotated into place, three bolts hold the telescope in position. Engage all three bolts before tightening them. They are captive bolts and they are sprung too, so when dismantling you feel when the bolts have disengaged. The telescope is heavy (22kg) so hold the telescope close to the body when lifting it into place. The sighting scope (9x50) is good for terrestrial use but can be a nightmare for use at night. A 'red spot' sight is much easier to use when aligning the telescope. I had some difficulty at first and found that the GPS system thought that I was in California rather that west Wales. I had to go through the computer menu to switch off the GPS and then switch it back on again to get the correct setting. A session in daylight in order to line up the sighting scope or red-spot finder and also to familiarise yourself with the computer menu is a good idea. The CPC 800 is a joy to use. The motors are very quiet and move the telescope very smoothly to your target. You may have a few people waiting to look, and not having to twiddle any knobs in between is sheer bliss. It is, as I said at the beginning, a very well-made machine that is a delight to use. The telescope is packed in two large boxes because of the weight of the tripod and the heavier optical tube assembly and base. These can become separated in transit. Be patient, it is worth the wait.

Great telescope easy to use and easy to set up.

I decided to upgrade from a Skywatcher 130 (a good beginners scope) and have found it well worthwhile. It arrived very quickly and well packed from Green Witch. The supplier has helped me with a small problem I thought I had (that turned out to be a misunderstanding on my part) and I am grateful for their excellent service. The scope is solid and robustly made - I am reasonably fit though wouldn't like to risk my back with any of the larger models - this one is quite heavy enough thankyou! - and it sits firmly on the tripod. Setting up the guidescope was easy though I may also attach the smaller guide scope from the Skywatcher for rough alignment. The control system (GPS, GOTO, huge object database) is not difficult to set up and is truly stunning, taking all the hard work out of finding and tracking targets of any brightness. Great to be able to pick out nebulae, double stars, planets etc from the list and let the CPC800 do the rest. you get a pretty good 40mm eyepiece with it which gives about 50 mag. I am also using the 24 and 10mm and 2xBarlow that came with the Skywatcher but will probably look for some better quality ones in the future. The only minor issue I've found is that the lead for the 'car battery' power supply (I use a Skywatcher 7Ah power tank) plugs into the scope base and has a screw thread to secure it - but it doesn't quite engage in the socket on the scope. However, all in all this is a brilliant quality, easy to use, telescope and good value for what you get. At some point I would like to do some astroimaging but I believe it may be necessary to purchase a wedge to convert the Altazimuth mount to Equatorial for this purpose.

Le seul défaut que je lui trouve : son encombrement.Novice, il s agit de mon premier télescope. Le rendu me paraît très net et très lumineux.J apprécie la localisation automatique et le suivi automatique des astres.Je reste surpris de l ergonomie des logiciels tout comme de l utilisation de port série rs232. C est une recette réchauffée de plus de dix ans.

First class product made in China, plenty of extras and easy set up, turn it on GPS acquires position then point at a couple of objects... Done. Auto track works well