A New 'Best' Ultra-Budget Beginner's Telescope? Review of the Orion Observer 134!

Is there a new Ultra-Budget King in town? Yes! The Orion Observer 134 gets most of it right, and it's a pleasant surprise!

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[DetroitMetroSpotter_L]

I love just seeing those massive Meades standing in the corner just like “ONE MORE REVIEW ED AND THEN WE WILL LET YOU LEAVE!!”

[hcic]

Whenever I've done any research on this Scope, I continuously notice one thing: EVERYONE mentions this review by Ed Ting. 😂 Because of this review, i went out and purchased it myself. I absolutely Love the scope and after one small "alteration" to the mount, this thing is rock solid. I've been trying to find a motorized tracking drive for the mount, but unfortunately it's on back order for almost another month and a half. My guess is this video most likely played a pretty big part in why so many people have been ordering it. Orion needs to give Mr Ting a check for the service he's done for them. Excellent review, Thank You!!!

[heyjoe]

My wife got me this model for Christmas after I showed her this video. I wanted a "little more" (like 2" eye piece capable) but so far I am very excited she got it! It looks & feels way more expensive than it is... and it is Ed Ting approved!! I am 62 yrs old and have always wanted a telescope since I was a kid. Wifey got sick of hearing it and pushed me in! The mount is amazing from a beginner standpoint. I have not used it yet as it is still too cold in MI for a newby to venture out but I am even more anxious for warmer weather. The finder scope is cheap plastic & was cross threaded and scewed but I think it's ok now. If not I will replace it with a red dot. I am going straight ahead and replacing the eye pieces now before spring... I have old eyes and wear glasses so I want some mid grade decent ones. Thanks so much Ed for all the videos, inspiration and info... you got me in!!! 😁

[Upnorthof]

This baby just came in the mail! It looks beautiful, and I’m very excited for a clear night. Did have to collimate from the shipping experience, and it took only a minute or two. Love Orion scopes. Thanks Ed for your channel, it’s excellent.

[abdrywallrepairspecialist]

You are a genuinely good soul. Thanks Ed

[siberx]

Absolutely incredible to see a beginner recommendation that isn't a dobsonian. It's definitely nice to not have to deal with the height problems associated with all the smaller "tabletop" dobs, and it's exciting they've somehow made a light-ish weight equatorial mount that isn't god-awful. The fact that the scope uses standard rings and vixen plate is a great touch too at this price point, no idea how they managed to cram that in instead of just bolting a plate of some sort directly to the tube.

[dwarvenmoray]

I bought one of these with the planisphere, moon map, & red light about a year & a half ago for $270. It was my first actual telescope ugrade from department store grade, & I absolutely adore this thing. I later bought a larger right angle finder to reduse strain when switching from finder to eyepiece, butbother than that I haven't had any problems with it. My girlfriend & I will get it out every so often when it's a clear night or we'll take it on a drive to less light polluted areas & still don't get tired of it.

[papapotato]

I got one a year ago and loved it. And one thing you can do to get a more stable tripod is to remove the extended legs and open the top cap to fill it up with gravel that you can get at a gardening department, to get a heavier tripod. Another thing is that the included tripod and mount pairs extremely well with smaller scopes.

[Medicated]

Ed, I wanted to reach out and thank you, I started watching your channel about 8 months ago. I don't own a scope, but your enthusiasm for the hobby helped me to buy my first starter scope. (Skywatcher 102 doublet startravel AZ3) I should have it either tomorrow or Monday. I don't know if you know what your channel means to people, but I have learned so much from you. (I don't call them lenses, I call them eyepieces) Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and your passion for the hobby. We didn't have an astronomy club in my small Northern Ontario town, so I started one, and a facebook channel for our small group. Yours was the first astronomy channel I followed. Once again, thank you so much!!

[bladehuntswell]

Salutations Ed! I discovered your videos last year when I wanted to get into the hobby but unfortunately couldn’t spare the cash at the time. I’ve come back and found this great video on what seems like a perfect telescope for me and of course ORION goes out of business earlier this year. With that in mind do you have any recommendations for alternatives for a scope in this style

[LandoBassMan]

Thanks for the great review ed! Me and my dad have been watching your videos and they have informed my decision to buy this scope very nicely. Thanks for being a great influence on the hobby.

[joeparham]

I bought an Orion 90 mm astroview about 5 years ago and the optics are very good! The tripod is cheap but the view is very sharp. Thanks for the video!!

[ziggyfrnds]

Always a good day when Mr Ed uploads! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

[donaldmiller]

Thank you for your honest review which in turn helped me decide to purchase one. I’m now waiting for a collimator for it. I’m a newbie and look forward to getting into astronomy.

[senterpoint]

What a surprise! Bought mine a year ago. Suggestions, adjust the focuser tension, get a large plastic clip from Hobo Freight and put on the knob for finer adjustments. Dump the 10mm and get a 2x Barlow. After setting up, tighten the Allen bolts in the tripod legs. reduces wiggle. Would love to upgrade the focuser, but could not find anything decent or cost effective. I'll live with it until I upgrade the whole scope.

[dfxvoodoocards]

2:10 - it would have been interesting to see a side by side image comparison between the 90 mm refractor and this Newton telescope.

[ceejay]

Hi Ed. Nice review, and it looks like an excellent first telescope for a beginner. One extra thing you could talk about, especially in reviews of equipment for beginners, is the quality and usefulness of any manual that is supplied with the instrument. Having a good set of clear instructions for assembly and use can save a lot of trouble and worry for someone who isn't familiar with telescopes.

[A.]

Long focuser means 2 things:
- Secondary mirror (obstruction) is bigger, compared to if the focuser was usual
+ It's possible to replace standard long plastic extension with some thread adapter(s) to screw t-ring and (probably) reach focus with a DSLR

[nuibit]

I just bought one and found I was spoiled by my old 70 mm refractor with a goto mount. I've learned so much in one night. I made some mistakes, I have to re-align my finder, and I have to calibrate my spotting circles as well since they're a bit loose.

[jasonpatterson]

This is actually on sale right now for $210. That's just insane. It's cheap enough that I'm honestly concerned about things like worker and environmental conditions in its manufacture. Do we have any idea who Orion has making this thing in China?