Celestron StarPointer Finderscope

I needed a small, lightweight finder for my Celestron FirstScope. I have Telrads on my two larger scopes, but the Telrad would be rather cumbersome on something as compact as the FirstScope. After doing some online searching, I found the Celestron Star Pointer. Lightweight and reasonably priced, I ordered one, figuring for less than twenty bucks, it was worth a shot. The Star Pointer comes with an assortment of mounting bases, one of which fits the FirstScope well. The base attaches to the scope using the two preinstalled screw posts on the scope tube, and the Star Pointer slides onto a dovetail on the base. Two screws on the side of the Star Pointer tightens the dovetail mount to keep the Star Pointer secure while using. Adjusting the single red dot aiming point is easily accomplished via two small knobs on the Star Pointer, and intensity of the red dot is adjustable by the switch knob. Once adjusted, moving the scope until the object desired is under the red dot put the object in the field of view, even using the higher powered eyepiece This makes for much quicker aiming of the scope as opposed to "gunsighting" along the tube, reducing frustration factor during viewing sessions. Finders of this type are among the simplest to use, even for younger viewers, and a worthwhile investment. Unlike small scope finders, these do not magnify or invert the image, and it's very easy to go from spotting what you want with the naked eye, to centering it in the finder (when such objects are visible to the naked eye). The Star Pointer is just as easily removable from the base after an evening of viewing, allowing for safe storage and transport. All in all, a nice option for a good price.

This finder takes up some real estate on your scope. Love the target reticle as it doesn't obscure what you are looking for like a traditional red dot. Similar, but not the same as, my trusty Telrad. Its large size makes it too big for my SCT but works great on my refractor

This is a great little star finder. Easy to set up, and once aligned it will make finding a specific target 10x easier allowing more time to actually use your telescope instead of spending all your time hunting for your target. I am new to astronomy and quickly finding out that everything is expensive, there's always something else you will want to purchase. You could easily sink 10k in equipment and still have plenty of other items on your wish list. This starpointer was a pleasant surprise, it's affordable and well made for what it is. I recently purchased a used Celestron 114 lcm it was missing the finderscope, this one fit on with only a small philips head screwdriver and took me about 10 to 15 minutes to align by following the instructions included. That night I was able to bring my telescope to bear quickly on whatever object I wanted to look at. If you don't have a finderscope, or aren't happy with the one you have give this one a try. At this price, it's worth the investment. If it works for you it will make up for its price on the first night, if it doesn't you can send it back or keep it as a backup for future use. It comes with 2 or 3 different mounts to allow you to mount it directly onto your telescope. If you don't have a mount or your mount is occupied you can install it anywhere on the telescope and mount it with bolts. I would suggest you try to find a spot that works best for you and temporarily mount it with double sided tape before you commit to drilling holes. There are definitely better, fancier finderscopes but this one will get the job done at an affordable price point.

The standard "red dot" that came with my NexStar 5SE died, so I went looking for a replacement. I first bought the Telrad because of the excellent reviews, but as I reviewed elsewhere, it does not fit on the 5SE; it's just too big. I returned the Telrad and got this instead. This was a little harder to mount than I expected, given that both it and the scope are Celestron products. I ended up cannibalizing the mount from the 'red dot.' I also had to insert a thin piece of plastic under one end as a shim to make this finder line up with the scope. But with all of that behind me, the finder has worked superbly. It has not lost its alignment after a dozen movements in and out of the house. Once I get the desired object inside the red circles, the object is indeed in the center of the scope eyepiece. I deducted one star for the installation troubles, but this is a good product.

I purchased this item to replace the basic star pointer on a Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ. Despite being a Celestron product, it does not seem to align properly on a Celestron telescope. The finder features a very nice bright circle for aligning objects, but I could not come close to centering the object using the included alignment screws. Celestron kindly replaced the new scope when I reported the issue, but the replacement is exactly the same. The build quality also seemed somewhat poor. Even if the alignment screws had worked, they felt pretty flimsy and not very tight. I ended up using a plastic shim and pushing the alignment to one extreme. The scope is still not centered, but at least it is pointing to a spot on the circle that I can use as my finder spot. Good customer service from Celestron, but unfortunately not a good product.

Installé directement sur le boitier APN à l'aide d'un adaptateur de sabot ou sur l'optique du télescope. Pratique, léger, très visible pour pointer en se reculant et en visant la cible les deux yeux ouverts. Facile à régler. Peu-être un peu fragile dans le temps, nous verrons.

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My Telrad gave up the ghost and at nearly £60 to replace I thought I'd give this a go. Very very impressed for the money. Not quite as user friendly as the Telrad as no concentric circles only a red dot, but for the price, it does the job. Very good value for money.

This is one of the better red dot finder scopes. It is specifically for Celestron, but can be used for other brands too

very good