Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Celestron - NexStar 5SE Telescope - Computerized Telescope for Beginners and Advanced Users - Fully-Automated GoTo Mount - SkyAlign Technology - 40,000+ Celestial Objects

Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2019

Size: Nexstar 5SE TelescopeVerified Purchase

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
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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.

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Brian Lessig

Great Telescope for the Money

Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2016

Size: Nexstar 4SE TelescopeVerified Purchase

THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE NEXSTAR 4SE: I don't normally write reviews for most products but since buying a telescope can be trickey I thought I should help others with this process. First of all if you buy this product you will need to buy a 12v power adapter since the only other option is using AA batteries. If you choose to use batteries you will run into several problems. First of all is the fact that the telescope will run through batteries quickly. I really don't even know why they made batteries an option. Second, batteries do not function well during the cold months. Lastly, batteries do not provide sufficient power for this product to function properly. Now that I have discussed power let me tell you about the scope. This telescope comes with a 25mm lens which is fine but you will want more lenses to enhance your experience. I started by getting a Barlow lens (celestron X-cel Barlow). This is a great Barlow for the money and only has slight dimming. My next purchase will be a X-cel 12mm lens. Back to the telescope. The telescope is very easy to set up and provides great views of Jupiter, the moon, Saturn and deep sky objects. It is easy to focus and lived up to all my expectations. I looked at the nexstar 5 but by the time you buy the accessories you need you will be in the $1000 range. I have never viewed through the Nexstar 5 but based on the reviews I would assume that there is not a significant difference unless you are willing to shell out the $$ for something like the nexstar 6 or 8. The tripod that comes with this telescope is heavy duty and stable. The go to features of this telescope are what makes viewing a pleasure and so easy. You will want to make sure and read the Manuel and watch videos on YouTube to learn how the controller works. Once you have learned how to operate the controller you are well on your way to viewing the night sky. For me this telescope has been life changing because I have always wanted a telescope and just never committed to spending the money. I can tell you that it is money well spent because I have spent a lot of quality time viewing with my son and my friends. You can easily transport this scope wherever you go (outdoors) to make any occasion more interesting. I often find that many people have not viewed the planets through a quality scope and they really appreciate the opportunity it provides. So there it is. I highly reccomend this product. I am including some photos of the moon I took through the lens with my iPhone. I am giving 5 stars because of the quality of the telescope. I can overlook the battery issues due to the bottom line fact that I was impressed with the views of the night sky.

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Susan Davis

Pound for pound, a winner

Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2012

Size: Nexstar 5SE TelescopeVerified Purchase

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.

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Darcy Pennell

Expect to spend more money

Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2013

Size: Nexstar 4SE TelescopeVerified Purchase

First, let me say that this telescope is great. It has a lot of really cool features. Once it is aligned (more on that later) you can zip to any spot in the sky to look at a lot of cool stuff. As far as I can tell, as a novice, the optics are great.

All that being said, I want to give a little warning: expect to spend more money, a lot more money. I haven't marked it down for this, but I want to make it clear for anyone considering it. An experienced user may think this is silly to mention, but, as a total novice, I had no idea what I was getting myself in to.

I got this for my dad. He always wanted a telescope. When I saw that I could get this fairly nice one for only $450, I thought it looked like a great deal. I ordered it and it arrived very quickly. When I went to set it up, it was like I hit a wall.

When you first start the telescope, it needs to be aligned. There are several available methods for aligning it. The most accurate, I believe, is the three-star align. It seemed easy enough... You find a star and center in the finderscope using a little red LED pointer. Once it is centered in the finderscope, then you center it in the eyepiece and move on to the next star. Easy, right? Here is the first problem: the included finderscope is junk. You have to crouch down to use it and the position of the star changes depending on your angle. I would think the star was centered, then I would move to the telescope eyepiece and all the stars just looked alike. I tried aligning the finderscope using instructions I found on the internet, but it was no good. There was only really one viable solution, a better finderscope. after looking at reviews, I ordered the Orion 9x50 Illuminated Right-Angle CI Finder Scope ($130). After the new finderscope arrived, it quickly became clear that I needed a special bracket so that it would fit the telescope. So, of course, more money spent ($15).

The new finderscope made it easier to find the stars and was a lot easier to align, but it didn't eliminate all of the alignment problems. The next issue was getting the star (or planet) aligned in the eyepiece. The only eyepiece included with this scope is the 25mm E-Lux plossl eyepiece. For me, at least, it was impossible to get the object right in the center. My alignments would either fail or when they didn't fail, the alignment would be a bit off. I figured it had to do with not being able to center it properly. To solve this issue, I ordered the Celestron Crossaim Reticle Eyepiece ($68). This is a 20mm eyepiece, I believe, with illuminated crosshairs to make it easier to get it in the center.

The new finderscope and eyepiece helped a lot, but my alignments were still failing, a lot. Like probably 75% of the time. The other issue with alignment is the need for accurate time and location information. The handset didn't have any cities particularly close to me. To solve this problem, I ordered the Celestron SkySync GPS ($170).

The SkySync definitely made setting the time and location a lot easier, though I am not sure it was worth the money.

So, now I am able to get it to align a little easier, though it still fails a lot, which gets frustrating, but at least it is aligning.

Getting it to align was only one issue. The other issue is that you don't really see much with the included 25 mm eyepiece. You can get a nice view of the moon, but that's about it. To really explore the sky, more eyepieces are needed. Yay, more money to spend! I ordered the Celestron Accessory Kit ($125). This is actually a pretty good deal. it includes five eyepieces, a 2x barlow magnifier thing and several filters for looking at different planets. I've been able to get some really cool views of Saturn and Jupiter, so far.

Everything is almost done. I can align it. I can look at some planets. It's working pretty good. Just one more problem. As I mentioned, I bought this for my dad. He's 75 and can't stand for long periods, which means he can't actually look through the eyepieces. So, another purchase had to be made in order to get the image from the telescope onto the computer for him. I bought a Celestron NexImage 5 MP 5 Solar System Imager with Micron Digital Clarity Technology, Black (93711) ($200). The camera works relatively well to get the image on the screen. It's not great, definitely not as good as looking with the naked eye, but my dad is happy with it, when I can actually get something aligned and in focus. So far, we have gotten some great pictures of the moon and Saturn.

So, the telescope was $450. All the stuff I had to buy to actually make it usable was over $700. So, my $450 bargain turned into an $1100 headache. It all works now, but I don't think I would have bought it in the first place if I had realized how much more money I would end up spending.

196 people found this helpful

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G. J. Gunther

Terrific value for such a feature rich telescope

Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2023

Size: Nexstar 5SE TelescopeVerified Purchase

I have owned five Meade telescopes of the lX series. Three 10 inch, and two 8 inch. The Celestron 5 in with the built in equatorial wedge provides the ability to effectively use a typical DSLR camera. Albeit for short exposures with an intervalometer.
Visually this is versatile scope for viewing but eyepieces upgrades are a plus.
This should be your all around light weight portable scope that will last a lifetime.
It will become your best all around scope. Should you get supper serious and willing to invest thousands more and incredible amounts of time stacking images I suggest you reconsider the effort in olives.
This is your best scope for typical enjoyment.

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AmazonAddict

Defective telescope out of the box. 2nd Celestron with missing parts advertised as included

Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2019

Size: Nexstar 4SE TelescopeVerified Purchase

I originally purchased a Celestron LCM80 for a family Christmas gift at a hobby shop about an hour from where we live. We got it out of the box and it was missing the software download and the finderscope. It was disappointing seeing how our kids went from being excited over their new Christmas gift to being sad that it didnt work. I took it back to the hobby shop and got my money back as they didn't have a replacement and we didn't want to wait on getting the parts from Celestron. I went to order a replacement on Amazon and the price we paid at the hobby shop was slightly less than the Nexstar 4Se offered by Amazon. I did some research and the Nexstar 4Se seemed to be a better telescope than the LCM80 and it also included the rs232 cable to connect to our laptop for additional control. This really sweetened the deal since the LCM80 did not include a rs232 computer cable. We just had to purchase a rs232 to USB converter cable for $15.

About a week later we were excited to get our new NexStar 4SE. We got it out of the box and inventoried the parts. We got the finderscope and software download this time but there was no rs232 cable. The getting started manual showed the rs232 cable should be included. I contacted Celestron and they said the new on-board computer doesn't require an rs232 but does require a straight through USB cable so they quit including them. So now we are short of a computer communications cable and we purchased a USB converter cable for the rs232 that is now useless. After looking at some other amazon reviews for this product it is apparent Amazon knows this cable is not included yet they still advertise that it is included. This is deceptive and they should change the description of the included items.

We got the scope mounted on the base and went to align the finderscope with the telescope and couldn't see any light being reflected into the eyepiece. We followed the quick start guide and rotated the flip mirror control and still no light coming into the eye piece. I looked inside the OTA and was unable to see a mirror. I contacted Celestron and was told that this is very rare but the mirror is only held in place by a piece of double sided tape and something might have damaged it during the manufacturing process. It doesn't sound like the mirror is loose in the OTA but instead may have never got installed (there is no visible tape residue on the plastic piece that supports the mirror) at the factory. They suggested I send it back to Amazon as it was clearly defective. After reviewing other Amazon posts for this telescope it looks like this problem might be a frequent occurrence. I am sending this one back and am hoping we get a working telescope that includes all the parts listed on Amazon's site. I will post an update after getting a working unit.

21 people found this helpful

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Jacqueline

Amazing telescope, endless features!

Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2023

Size: Nexstar 4SE TelescopeVerified Purchase

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This telescope is truly versatile. It’s suitable to everyone from amateurs to professionals. If you’re interested in using the advanced features you can set up the programming in a matter of minutes and have the telescope simply point to the planet/star you want to view next. And if you’re not interested in going through the set up steps, the hand held remote and laser pointer allows you to simply explore the night sky. You can even use this unit as a table top device and bypass the tripod altogether. But what I love most about this telescope is the ability to connect my Canon camera for some amazing shots of everything from the moon to nature photos (see attached photos and video)! I purchased some additional accessories that included planetary filters and a variety of lenses which allow me to get the most out of this telescope and I love it!!

9 people found this helpful

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C B

5se - Great beginner scope

Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2023

Size: Nexstar 5SE TelescopeVerified Purchase

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.

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JBoss

For the Entry Level Observers 4SE

Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2020

Size: Nexstar 4SE TelescopeVerified Purchase

To provide context, I live in Houston city limits and purchased this for my mom last Christmas.

It's quite heavy, so I carry it out each time. She wouldn't be able to lift it in one piece. We keep it in a corner of the house so as to not break it down and set it up each time. We, for the most part, use it to take a peak at Venus and the moon. You can get some fantastic views of the moon as it goes through its phases.

A few weeks back we woke up at around 4 am to see Jupiter and her four moons with it. That was cool!

In the city, the telescope, with its stock eyepiece, is mainly useful for viewing the moon in good detail. You can also peer into the sky to view stars you hadn't noticed with the naked eye. You'll be able to observe shimmering stars both faint and bright. The wane and wax of bright Venus can also be observed over time, similar to the way the moon comes and goes, but at first it'll look like a very bright star until you pay attention to its change over time.

There isn't much detail in the observation of Venus, but the shadows and craters of our moon are fascinating. There will be plenty of oohs and ahhs from family and friends as they peer through the eyepiece.

You'll need to align the telescope each time you use it. If you don't know any stars in the sky, that's fine; you can use the moon as an alignment point.

You'll power on the scope and hit Enter. You can scroll through alignment options. I prefer to use Solar System Align in the options. You put in your time, date and location. You then choose what in the solar system you want to align to. If you recognize Venus, align the scope to Venus with the remote. If you recognize the moon, align to the center of the moon. Follow the prompts on the remote to align. Once you're aligned, the scope will know to follow the object in the sky without you having to do so manually -- objects in the sky aren't static!

Before you do all that, make sure you align the red dot pointer on top with what you see in the eyepiece. The calibrated red dot will be your friend as it provides a wider view. You can do this in the daytime with a point somewhere down the road or even in the sky at night. Turn it off when not in use, as it runs on a separate battery. You only have to align the red dot pointer once. Adjust in the future as needed.

There is a software package that comes with the scope. It's really just to help you learn about the sky. It's a nice tool to have when you look up and ask, "I wonder what that star is!?" You can open up the Starry Night software and pinpoint it. You'll learn its etymology and plenty of fun facts. You'll become a more educated observer. And they have good customer service if you run into issues obtaining the software. It's worth the download.

You'll need to purchase one more item: a powerbank. It's not an endorsement, but I purchased TalentCell's Rechargeable 12V Lithium ion battery. It's Chinese-made. I charged it once and have used it for months. There are other brands.

If you want to take images with your DSLR, you can do that. You'll need to hook that up to the camera jack that's available on the telescope. There's a camera icon on the side. You won't miss it. I haven't hooked up a camera, but it's on my to-do list. I don't have the appropriate cord.

The images I am uploading were shot through the eyepiece on an iPhone. Some are hard to capture as slight movement takes it out of focus. You will be better served viewing through the eyepiece yourself.

Lastly, once you become familiar with this telescope and all its offerings, you'll want to upgrade the eyepiece to increase magnification. You'll be able to see our solar system's planets in greater detail and color. Spend some time exploring the scope's functions and the night sky then do some research on the appropriate eyepiece upgrade.

Images: This is approximately what you'll see through the eyepiece.

Image 1-- first night using the scope to view the moon (no editing)
Image 2 -- first week using the scope to vie the moon (no editing)
Image 3 -- first full moon (no editing)
Image 4 -- first image of Venus and surrounding stars (no editing)
Image 5 -- Venus and surrounding stars (slight color adjustment)

It's worth the buy. If it had come with another quality eyepiece and power bank at this price point, I'd have given it five stars.