NexStar 5SE Schmidt-Cassegrain Computerized Telescope

Great telescope for a full year now. I brought the 5'' because it fits my budget and is much more portable than the 6" & 8". The telescope arrived in two boxes and was packaged well. It was quite easy to assemble and was straightforward. But the first night when I tested it the red dot finder failed and would not turn on. I contacted product support and they refunded the price of the red dot finder to let me buy another. I think this is reasonable. The telescope was of good quality and was fairly portable in two pieces. I also brought it with the Nex-yz adapter and eyepiece kit. In my opinion, I would not buy the phone adapter and eyepiece kit because I don't use the adapter and eyepiece often. You will pretty much only use the moon filter, 13, 17, and 32mm eyepieces. I also brought a generic LPR filter which helps somewhat in revealing dim objects and filtering out the light pollution . The goto function was really helpful in finding objects especially DSO's. I will use the auto 2 star alignment procedure and manual location settings. This scope was fine for starting astrophotography but exposures can only be limited to 30 seconds maximum. Even though there was a polar alignment option, it was really hard to do since I am living quite close to the equator in Hong Kong and the mount twists into a really weird position when tracking. In the first few months I viewed only from the city, which was a bortle 9 scale. The planets are easy to see, you can see the belts of Jupiter and its moons, and the rings of Saturn easily. If you want a telescope for ONLY the planets, I would recommend some of the scopes without go to like a dobsonian or maktusov because you will be able to see more detail with increased aperture. You don't need go-to because planets are really bright and sometimes the mount will go off track. The Orion Nebula can be seen though only the bright parts. The andromeda galaxy can NOT be seen at all in light polluted places. Later I was able to go out to a better spot ( bortle 5 ) and it was excellent, and I was able to see the double cluster, Orion Nebula and andromeda galaxy a lot better. I would recommend this scope to beginners and people starting astronomy. You can get good results in the middle of the city, but driving to a deep sky site really makes the view impressive. I will not recommend this for astrophotography but instead will recommend scopes with German equatorial mounts. * images are taken with A6000 camera with remote control.

I've owned a 10" dob (Coulter 10" f/4.5) and an ETX-90 (the original non-computerized model). This scope is my re-entry into amateur astronomy after being away for a few years. I live right smack in the middle of a heavily light polluted metropolitan area (Toronto), and it would take at least two hours to get to a genuinely dark site. So I wound up looking for a small scope that would give me good views of solar system objects. I've been pleasantly surprised. There have been only two nights since I got thing that the sky hasn't been completely socked in by clouds, and the moon has been down for both of them. So I haven't gotten the scope on the moon yet, but Jupiter has been beautifully placed, and it looks fantastic! I get a ton more detail off the planetary disc than I ever got from either previous instrument, and it compares favourably with views I've had through an assortment of friends' scopes. (I used the supplied 25mm Plössl, and a 7mm Nagler.) It's light enough that I can grab it and take it out to the end of the driveway for a quick look at the moon or a planet. I just wish that it either got decent battery life on internal power, or could slew around in altaz mode with the power off. I added a Power Tank after reading reviews of the scope's internal battery life. The tank is awkward enough to compromise the scope's ease of deployment, but I suppose I can throw it in a backpack. I'll definitely want to invest in an adjustable chair; the eyepiece wound up at a very awkward height when Jupiter was up near the zenith. For objects closer to the horizon, the height of the tripod makes the eyepiece position much less bad. Pros: * Really sharp optics * Light weight * Low price, especially compared to what computer-controlled SCTs sold for when I owned my previous scope * Star Pointer instead of a crappy 5x24 finder * Some attempt at including a built-in wedge Cons: * Azimuth locks up when power turned off, which prevents you from using it in altazimuth mode with the drive switched off * Really needs a Power Tank for use, which degrades the value of the scope's light weight * Built-in wedge is very rudimentary * Won't take a 2" diagonal for wide-angle views without vignetting The NexStar 6 gets all the attention, and for 36% more light gathering area for 18% more money, it's a great value. But at 45 pounds vs. the 28 of the NexStar 5, it's 50% heavier for that extra 36% light, more if you add a wedge. The 5 is a big small instrument; I scaled up to it after looking at the computerized ETX-90. The 6 is a small primary instrument; I can imagine scaling down to one after looking at an 8" SCT. For shallow-sky observing in the light-polluted city, and for an instrument that I can carry a long way from my car in one trip with the tripod, single-arm fork, and tube mated up, I think this is a winner.

I purchased this as a gift a s it is even better looking in person. I really like that you can accessorize it. They got plug, accessory kit, and storage bags. It’s been cloudy here so they have not been able to use yet.

I have had this telescope since June 2019. I am so incredibly happy with it, great quality, amazing views and I'm able to take pictures with my phone up to the eyepiece. I went with the 5se over the 6se not just for price but because it weighs less and I'm able to transport it and carry it around easily. I am absolutely blown away that it's selling on here now in June 2021 for $989 when I only paid $599 in 2019. That's what it should cost from Celestron directly. I am able to view Saturn and Jupiter in my neighborhood that isn't even that dark. I can see the bands on Jupiter and the ring around Saturn very clearly. The pictures I posted don't even do it justice because actual viewing of Saturn and Jupiter through the eyepiece is clearer than my photos. I also recommend buying different eye pieces so you can zoom in closer

I give the Nexstar 5se 4 out of 5 stars. The scope itself is well built I love how easy it is to use. The optics are great value for money. I have no issues what so ever with the actual optical tube. However, the quality of the Finder Scope is abysmal. The Finder Scope which is based on holographic scope technology (I used during my military service) which works well. The craftsmanship of the finder scope is horrendous. The battery is visible even with the cover on, the plastic is cheap, the finder scope works for a minute or two then cuts out right in the middle of trying to sight in on an object. I decided I would order a new more robust 'Aftermarket finder scope' so I disassembled the finder scope to see why it failed. I found the absolute worst electrical connections possible. It must have been put together by someone with no technical abilities what so ever. This really winds me up especially for the price we are paying! So word to the wise great scope go ahead and order the NExstar 5se it really is a great scope but keep in mind you'll need to order a better finder scope it is sure to break. You should also think about ordering an eye peace with zoom capabilities as the standard eye peace does not give you the ability to really zoom in on a planet. The basic eye peace works out to 50x zoom. You'll need better to see some cool details on Jupiter and the other planets. Consider the Celestron eye peace and filter accessory kit.

Got this for my birthday, took it out and was able to get it set up and working with some beautiful shots of the moon and stars. At first I was worried as a lot of the professional reviews for the 5se weren't great. Then I remembered I'm not a professional. For a beginning hobbiest I am overjoyed with the quality ease of use and features this telescope offers for a beginner. Also it's worth noting that I this is small and portable enough I can take it with me to friend's houses or to a starviewing get together. I really like this one, sure I may upgrade in the future but not nearly as soon as the professionals would suggest.

Four years ago, I bought this scope so I thought it's time to review it. The optics are amazing overall. However, I had a huge collimation issue recently. I had to replace the collimation screws with Bob's Knobs and that made that chore much easier. But the scope held collimation for nearly four years so that is admirable in itself. The mount is where the bad part is and why I knocked it down two stars. For a five inch scope, It is heavy enough but not designed well at all. The hand control doesn't fit well into it's recessed holder. I am constantly fighting with that issue and decided to stick Velcro around the mount base and to the back of the controller. I can deal with hanging it on Velcro much better. One of the leg frames cracked (looks like cheap pot metal). Sky Align on my mount is way too finicky. I get alignment failures over and over until it magically accepts it on the third or fourth try. To compare, I have a dirt cheap, Orion Starseeker III (discontinued model) that is barely strong enough to hold my 5SE OTA but it accept alignment every time on the first try. Goto is spot on too. Sadly, that mount is an aluminum piece of light weight junk. But, I use it more because the Celestron mount is so frustrating that it isn't worth the trouble to me. Both Orion and Celestron need to get with the game and build a suitable alt/az mount instead of frustrating junk. Not all of us want or need equatorial mounts. I cannot use one due to the weight and weird viewing positions. I use a wheelchair so that's not an option for me. iOptron seems to be the only one who is putting an effort into building an alt/az goto mount that is worth the money.

Telescope arrived unable to get a clear picture of anything (even the moon), likely due to being significantly bumped out of collimation during shipping. This in itself is no big deal, and the process to fix this should be fairly straightforward, if it weren't for the fact that the collimation screws seem to be made of the softest pot metal on Earth, and also happen to be so tight that they won't turn in either direction. I have tried several different screwdrivers with rubber bands and locking vise-grip pliers in order to try to turn -- and eventually replace the existing philips head screws with a stronger screw with an Allen head. If the screws can't turn, the telescope is basically useless since it can't focus. Unfortunately, I was only able to turn, remove, and replace one of the screws -- the other two screw heads basically disintegrated/stripped such that I don't think it is possible to get them out with a screwdriver any more. As soon as I placed a screwdriver in the slot the first time, bits of screw metal shavings started coming off, so I immediately switched screwdrivers and used rubber bands in place, but obviously to no avail. I do not want to drill into the screw head at the end of this brand new telescope [and I shouldn't have to]. I guess now I'll have to either put in a support ticket with Celestron, or more likely - just try to return directly to Amazon. In the pic you can see the top screw I was actually able to replace (which now works great), and the bottom two are just stuck where they are. Screw shavings in the crease as a bonus. EXTREMELY disappointed, as so far my two kiddos haven't been able to see anything other than a big fuzzy moon out of the optics. So much for that early Christmas present.

Hola a todos, recibí el telescopio vendido por Amazon ,en muy buen estado, como el cuidado que han tenido de traerlo de reino Unido sin arañazos y nada que se suele encontrar en un pedido de tantos km en tan perfectas condiciones. E leído las reseñas de muchos compradores como yo, y tenía mis dudas ,pero con la confianza de devolución en caso de venir mal,pues me decidí a comprarlo y muy contento con el producto,calidad celestron!!! Básicamente viene como si lo compraras en la misma tienda celestron ( bien colimado)y si, viene con 1 ocular pero no se acaba el mundo hay muchas variedades de oculares y estos son caretes , pero es como todo en esta vida,se paga la calidad si vas a darle 1 uso frecuente,si no, hay más variedades de fabricantes. El telescopio de calidad ,la montura es perfecta para este tubo y la goto funciona perfectamente y si le sumas el módulo WiFi, mejor que mejor. Todo correcto y quien tenga duda,que no se lo piense.

The Amazon price was amazing and I'm not surprised it went up by almost $900, a day or two after I bought it. Delivery was quick in the US and slowed up a bit in Australia, but that's to be expected. We're still using camel trains to transport goods and most communication is done between two tin cans with a few hundred kilometres of string between them. The telescope was well packaged and took about 15 minutes to put together. One of the retaining screws for the Star Diagonal is missing but I'm pretty sure I can find something that will fit. I have only had a chance to test it terrestrially because of rain at night but I'm sure it will be fine. If Celestron and almost every other corporation on the planet didn't gouge Australians so badly on price I'd buy locally but it looks like Amazon is going to get more of my business.

Nice Telescope, results are better than expected. High quality of mirrors gives us the best images.

ottimo prodotto ma probabilmente ricondizionato, chiesto sconto o sostituzione ad amazon ma non è stato possibile in quanto non disponibile, stranamente questa volta Amazon non è stata all'altezza, ho dovuto tenere il prodotto in quanto promesso come regalo ecc ecc. Peccato, di solito Amazon riesce sempre ad ovvieare a questi problemi.

Es un excelente telescopio para iniciarse en el mundo de la astrofotografía, algunos controladores del software son algo difíciles pero no imposibles de configurar, es un telescopio pesado para poderse transportar pero no imposible de mover, es necesario leer de manera minuciosa los manuales y no desesperarse, una vez configurando todo es un telescopio muy sencillo de utilizar.