Carson SkyView Telescope

I would appreciate any info. on this particular telescope that anyone may have. I was given a gift catalog from my employer for my 25 yrs. of service with them,& one of the gifts I have to choose from is this telescope.I've always wanted a telescope that I could view the planets & stars with,& would like to know if I could with this particular model or not.I dont know much about telescopes other than what I've learned so far from the website,which has been very helpful,but,have not been able to find any comments or reviews on this particular telescope.Not even on the manufacturers site.This scope has a 70mm aperature,a focal length of 350mm,45degree diagonal,power range of 14x-116.6x. Is this a good beginners telescope or nothing more than a hunting & birdwatching spotscope?

Hi

It is a beginner level telescope that can be used for some limited astronomy or nature work, but it is severely limited by the table top tripod for either application. Try it on the moon, anytime and Jupiter this August and watch birds in your backyard. It's basically a $100-125 scope

Thank you for your help,I appreciate it! I suppose I'll familiarise myself with this one & later move up to a model that will be much better suited for viewing more of the planets & stars. Again,Thank you for your help!

You are welcome. Some of us, myself included, started with that grade of scope, but our love of astronomy kept us going in spite of the scope. Unfortunately, that is the exception for most beginners, so be patient.