Great for getting your feet wet in the hobby - Carson RP-400 Red Planet Refractor Telescope w/ Equatorial Mount

Received it as a Christmas gift. Great telescope to start the hobby if you can by-pass the technicality of using an EQ mount and low-quality diagonal. The eye pieces are not bad either. Refractors offer really nice clarity and I was hooked in this optical tube. The tripod could be better though, it’s a bit flimsy and the whole thing shakes a bit if you’re not extra gentle when stargazing. I wish Carson would offer the assembly components to be sold separately. The bracket of the optical tube broke off during a move and now I can’t use my telescope. I’ve looked everywhere for one and even contacted Carson with no luck. I found another bracket online that may do the trick though.

Overall I would recommend it for a first telescope to get you in the game at a price point that won’t break the bank.