Home > Consumer Reviews > Celestron 21061 AstroMaster 70 AZ Refractor Telescope

I bought this scope for my neighbor's kids as a Christmas present. They (along with their dad) had very little experience with telescopes, so I expected it would take some time (along with a little help from me) to get this scope up and running. I was wrong. The very night I gave it to them, they (actually, the dad) set it up and enjoyed looking at the moon with it. They didn't need me at all. In fact, I have yet to look through the scope myself. They tell me it's fantastic. It certainly struck me as a serious, well-made scope when we took it out of the box. The fact that it is so easy to use makes it a really great scope.

I bought this scope as a Christmas gift for 3 children ages 8 to 12. Not only do they love but Mom & Dad enjoy it too. I also bought them each a "star" (Shining Stars by Russ) to name and they really get a kick out of looking at their very own stars!

The celestron 21061 AstroMaster 70 AZ was a great choice for a first refreactor telescope. It has a very sturdy base and easy to use. The magnification lenses are of good quality.

I have been a backyard stargazer for several years. My very nice 8" Dobsonian Reflector became too much to haul to darker skies away from light pollution, so I have been indoors on starry nights for a couple of years now. When a local camera shop was going out of business, they had a fabulous blow-out price on a Celestron AZ70 Refractor. I know two things about refractors 1) beware of flimsey tripods and 2) beware of extravagant claims of HIGH POWER. I first noticed intelligent power claims on the box (60X per aperture inch TOPS). The Celestron AZ70 suits all my needs. It's compact and light enough to transport easily, it has GREAT optics and a VERY macho tripod and Starfinder with a bright reticle which nailed Venus in 1 easy try right out of the box. Absolutely the best 50 bucks I ever spent and I would GLADLY recommend it to anyone for 4 times that price.

I would definitely recommend this telescope for a beginner astronomist. We don't buy a lot of the computer games for our son so we opted for a telescope. It was easy to assemble which is always a plus, especially when comparing it to some other telescopes. It has a nice range and we have set it up and can look at the red rocks and birds as easily as the nght sky. Great for bird watchers as well.

As I said, great for the money.