The Celestron Inspire 100AZ telescope ($359.95/£249) is value investigating if you wish to get nice views of the moon, planets and extra whereas experimenting with some primary astrophotography.
Celestron Inspire 100AZ: Key specs
Optical design: Refractor
Aperture: 3.94-inch/100 mm
Focal size: 25.98-inch/660 mm
Focal ratio: f/6.5
Eyepiece focal size: 0.8-inch/20 mm (33x) and 0.4-inch/10 mm (66x)
Total equipment weight: 20 lbs./9.07 kg
Mount sort: Alt-azimuth
A primary 4-inch/100 mm refractor, it is received no ‘go-to’ options so you are going to need to be assured sufficient to search out your personal targets within the evening sky.
If you have ever thought of taking photos of the moon then you definately’ll love the revolutionary smartphone digital camera mount hidden in its dust cap. It’s a neat manner of positioning your smartphone over the eyepiece with any slippage, although past this novelty is an efficient worth telescope that provides good views of the moon, planets and the deep sky.
Celestron Inspire 100AZ telescope: Design
- Panhandle motion
- 1.25-inch eyepiece holder
- Achromatic lens
An achromatic refractor with a 4-inch/100mm aperture and a fairly quick focal size of 660mm, the Celestron Inspire 100AZ is designed for use at house by rookies for planets, the moon and deep sky objects. It’s perched on a easy altazimuth mount that strikes facet to facet and up and down, with a panhandle to search out the precise place you need and to lock it in place.
Additional equipment that comes with telescope
10mm and 20mm Kellner eyepieces
Dust cap digital camera mount
StarPointer Pro red-dot finder
Erect picture star diagonal
Red LED mild
Celestron Starry Night Basic Edition software program
The Celestron Inspire 100AZ is pretty light-weight. Weighing 20 lbs./9.07 kg in total, it isn’t a heavy telescope by any means, however the 26-inch/660mm lengthy optical tube and the massive tripod does give it a pretty big footprint. That stated, it may be constructed and deconstructed shortly and simply, so might undoubtedly be put at the back of a car and brought on journeys to darkish sky locations.
It additionally comes with a StarPointer Pro finderscope and in addition a 90º picture erect diagonal, which makes it extra handy and cozy to view objects on the zenith.
Celestron Inspire 100AZ telescope: Performance
- Excels with lunar views
- Slight chromatic aberration
- Deep space objects lack wow issue
Rising within the east simply as we began the evaluate, Saturn was straightforward to find utilizing the bullseye-style finderscope and the 20mm eyepiece. A brilliant picture with a lot of element will be had via the 20mm eyepiece, however not so the 10mm, which was persistently blurry as compared. We discovered the identical at super-bright Jupiter, the place wide-field views revealed a purplish halo across the big planet. However, this chromatic aberration ‘false’ shade’ is pretty minor on the 100AZ and far much less distracting than on some cheaper rival refractors. Ditto for the moon, which we noticed from a crescent via its full moon phase and received some glorious close-ups of its craters, although a purplish line round its limb was seen, although not dominating.
Move deeper within the cosmos and the 100AZ carries on its good work, clearly exhibiting Andromeda (M31) and among the brighter star clusters, although it lacks the aperture to go exploring the true deep sky.
Celestron Inspire 100AZ telescope: Functionality
- Easy set-up and take-down
- Built-in crimson mild/flashlight
- Smartphone adapter built-in
The Celestron Inspire 100AZ is very easy to arrange. The telescope tube itself attaches to the tripod mount utilizing a Vixen-style dovetail plate, so it is easy to arrange and take down. Unfortunately, the altazimuth mount is of common high quality, missing precision. For instance, the left-right swivel is stiff and must be prolonged nicely past the goal as a result of it recoils barely when the panhandle is let go of. However, as soon as in place the altitude motion is extra exact and will be locked into place utilizing the panhandle. Thanks to the relative solidity of the mount it is then potential to easily nudge the eyepiece barely to comply with, say, the moon because it begins to float out the sphere of view.
The tripod has an adjunct tray that additionally acts as a stabilizer, upon which you’ll retailer a few eyepieces in custom-made slots, which is helpful. However, one thing it additionally has here’s a crimson mild. It factors downwards and might mild up the accent tray on-demand, although you may simply as simply take away it because it’s really only a crimson flashlight.
If that is an uncommon and intelligent design then so is the Celestron Inspire 100AZ’s revolutionary dust cap. The thought is {that a} smartphone will be lashed to the entrance and secured in place with its digital camera over a round gap within the dust cap. That works nicely, with elastic straps supplied to lash a smartphone into a hard and fast place. It’s then essential to take away a small cap within the dust cap and insert the highest of the eyepiece, which then must be secured utilizing a few tiny thumbscrews.
With every part snugly in place, the eyepiece can then be inserted into the diagonal with a smartphone completely positioned to start taking a focal pictures. It works nicely, although it pays to be fast about setting it up as a result of as soon as you have lashed your smartphone and secured the eyepiece your goal could have drifted out of view. The solely strategy to get it again will doubtless be to make use of that very same eyepiece. Users are suggested to get a second 20mm eyepiece.
It’s value noting that due to its relatively uncommon hood design the Celestron Inspire 100AZ cannot take solar filters, so ought to by no means be used to watch the Sun.
Should you purchase the Celestron Inspire 100AZ telescope?
It’s not excellent and it excels and like most refractors, it does its finest work with the moon and planets, however the Celestron Inspire 100AZ has extra to get enthusiastic about than lots of its cut-price rivals. The construct high quality — significantly its tripod — is a step up whereas its aperture is simply sufficient to permit rookies to discover objects past the solar system. The icing on the cake is its intelligent lens cap, which turns right into a smartphone holder for astrophotography, which immediately provides it one other dimension. If you need to keep away from the underside of the market however do not need to spend massive, the 100AZ is an interesting answer.
If the Celestron Inspire 100AZ telescope is not for you
If you need some assist discovering your manner across the evening sky then think about the Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 102AZ, which comes with a smartphone holder and an app to create an evening sky sat-nav.
For most aperture that may entry brilliant photos of deep sky objects strive the Celestron StarSense Explorer 8-inch Dobsonian, which is massive on dimension and worth. If you are after one thing as small as potential and also you’re solely within the moon then a mini-Dobsonian just like the Celestron FirstScope 76, ought to attraction.
