Great wide field scope - Vixen Newtonian Telescope Optical Tube R130Sf w/ Porta II Mount

I'm relatively new to astronomy, so don't consider this the gospel. I find this to be a fairly high quality scope and mount and if you watch for sales and discounts, you can get a great price. What I find most impressive about the scope is the wide field views. With a 32mm plossl eyepiece (not included) you can see all of the Pleaides. I think that is the forte of this scope. For a pretty portable outfit, it gathers a lot of light and the widefield views are great. You can use it for planetary viewing, but you might be disappointed. The tripod and mount does not seem sturdy enough for really high power views, but it's certainly good enough to grab a look. If you want to spend a lot of time studying the planets, I'd get a different scope (one with a longer focal length) If you want to explore Messier objects with a pretty portable, affordable scope (with a tripod that could be used for another scope too (maybe c90 or C5?) I think this is a great choice. Weakpoints are focuser and slow motion controls on mount. There are workarounds