Celestron Polar Finder for CG-5 and CGEM Mount
Item#: HN-CELE164
Sale Price:
$45.98
26%
Description
Speed alignments!
The polar-axis finderscope is a particularly useful accessory. It speeds accurate polar alignment by providing precise, easy means of visually aligning your Celestron CG-5 or CGEM German equatorial mount with Polaris and true north. As a result, you can spend more time observing and less time setting up. The finderscope has an easy-to-use crosshair reticle for precision.
Dimensions & Specifications
Brand
Celestron
Telescope Accessories Series
Celestron Optical Accessories
Documentation
Download Polar Axis Finderscope Manual
Baader Planetarium Hyperion Telescope Eyepieces Sale Price:
$134.98
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REVIEW SNAPSHOT®
by PowerReviews(based on 16 reviews)
Ratings Distribution
82%
of respondents would recommend this to a friend.
Pros
- Easy to use (7)
- Strong construction (4)
Cons
Best Uses
- Astronomy (9)
- Astrophotography (9)
- Reviewer Profile:
- Casual/ recreational (10)
- Was this a gift?:
- No (11)
Most Liked Positive Review
Good but could be a bit more precise
In theory this is a useful piece of equipment. After using it, my polar alignment was better and I could do 2 or 3 minute astrophotographs without guiding.
Enclosed is...Read complete review
In theory this is a useful piece of equipment. After using it, my polar alignment was better and I could do 2 or 3 minute astrophotographs without guiding.
Enclosed is a pic as seen through the scope (during the day, pointing at clouds) and a pic of the small screws mentioned in other posts.
It's true that my scope has a computer alignment routine you can go through; my goal getting this product was to do a very good initial alignment before the scope is on the mount, because it's pretty heavy to adjust and move when fully assembled, not to mention worrying about damage.
The alignment could be even better if the little map you see looking through the scope contained some of the many fainter stars one sees around polaris with the polar scope. If you can see Polaris with the naked eye, the polar scope will certainly pick a bunch of other stars, including delta, which is often used to help orient scopes like this. If the scope had even just one of those stars it would make it much easier to orient the scope to the rotation of the earth. As it is now, you just get the big dipper and Cassiopeia (and Octans, a Southern constellation you should ignore if you're in the North). Since you can't actually see any of the stars in either of these constellation through the polar scope, basing the rotation of the axis on these constellations is based on imprecise guesses / estimations.
Several people have pointed out that the scope diagram lacks illumination. even some glow in the dark ink for the diagram would work well! I am able to shine a light into the scope to light it up a bit, but it can temporarily blind me.
The directions are not good. It spends a long time, much more time, talking about aligning the polar scope to the main scope's polar axis, but doesn't spend any time talking about why this is necessary. Given that the polar scope threads directly and tightly into the axis of the scope, one wonders why it's not automatically aligned to the polar axis upon installation? I didn't even bother with that part yet, as I figure the inaccuracy of guessing the rotation counteracts any additional precision I would get with fiddling with allen bolts, not to mention the scope shifting each time you reattach it to the dovetail? I know my finder scope needs tom be re-aligned constantly.
VS
Most Liked Negative Review
Could be more precise
In theory this is a useful piece of equipment. After using it, my polar alignment was better and I could do 2 or 3 minute astrophotographs without guiding.
Enclosed is...Read complete review
In theory this is a useful piece of equipment. After using it, my polar alignment was better and I could do 2 or 3 minute astrophotographs without guiding.
Enclosed is a pic as seen through the scope (during the day, pointing at clouds) and a pic of the small screws mentioned in other posts.
It's true that my scope has a computer alignment routine you can go through; my goal getting this scope was to do a very good initial alignment before the scope is on the mount, because it's pretty heavy to adjust and move when fully assembled, not to mention worrying about damage.
The alignment could be even better if the little map you see looking through the scope contained some of the many fainter stars one sees around polaris with the polar scope. If you can see Polaris with the naked eye, the polar scope will certainly pick a bunch of other stars, including delta, which is often used to help orient scopes like this. If the scope had even just one of those stars it would make it much easier to orient the scope to the rotation of the earth. As it is now, you just get the big dipper and Cassiopeia (and Octans, a Southern constellation you should ignore if you're in the North). Since you can't actually see any of the stars in either of these constellation through the scope, basing the rotation of the axis on these constellations is based on imprecise guesses / estimations.
Several people have pointed out that the scope diagram lacks illumination. even some glow in the dark ink for the diagram would work well! I am able to shine a light into the scope to light it up a bit, but it can temporarily blind me to polaris if I don't do it just right.
The directions are not good. It spends a long time, much more time, talking about aligning the polar scope to the main scope's polar axis, but doesn't spend any time talking about why this is necessary. Given that the polar scope threads directly and tightly into the axis of the scope, one wonders why it's not automatically aligned to the polar axis upon installation? I didn't even bother with that part yet, as I figure the inaccuracy of guessing the rotation counteracts any additional precision I would get with fiddling with allen bolts. Also, if the main scope is used to align the polar scope, doesn't that rely on the dovetail connection between the mount and scope to be exactly the same each time? It seems to me that the scope could shift very slightly depending on how you tighten the dovetail?
Reviewed by 16 customers
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Displaying reviews 1-5
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Pros
Cons
Best Uses
- Astronomy
- Astrophotography
Comments about Celestron Polar Finder for CG-5 and CGEM Mount:
This is a nice accessory to have but the directions leave plenty to be desired. I'll figure it out I guess.
- Was this a gift?:
- No
Pros
- Easy To Use
Cons
Best Uses
- Astronomy
Comments about Celestron Polar Finder for CG-5 and CGEM Mount:
Fits my CGEM DX to a T. Still got to try it out due to snow and clouds!
- Was this a gift?:
- No
Pros
- Easy To Use
- Strong Construction
Cons
Best Uses
- Astronomy
- Astrophotography
Comments about Celestron Polar Finder for CG-5 and CGEM Mount:
Nice polar scope for the CG-5 mount. Makes polar alignment easy.
- Was this a gift?:
- No
Pros
- Easy To Use
- Strong Construction
Cons
Best Uses
- Astrophotography
Comments about Celestron Polar Finder for CG-5 and CGEM Mount:
This is what you need if you want to do long exposure with the CG-5 mount.
- Was this a gift?:
- No
Pros
- Easy To Use
Cons
- Needs alignment stars
- No illumination
Best Uses
- Astrophotography
Comments about Celestron Polar Finder for CG-5 and CGEM Mount:
In theory this is a useful piece of equipment. After using it, my polar alignment was better and I could do 2 or 3 minute astrophotographs without guiding.
Enclosed is a pic as seen through the scope (during the day, pointing at clouds) and a pic of the small screws mentioned in other posts.
It's true that my scope has a computer alignment routine you can go through; my goal getting this product was to do a very good initial alignment before the scope is on the mount, because it's pretty heavy to adjust and move when fully assembled, not to mention worrying about damage.
The alignment could be even better if the little map you see looking through the scope contained some of the many fainter stars one sees around polaris with the polar scope. If you can see Polaris with the naked eye, the polar scope will certainly pick a bunch of other stars, including delta, which is often used to help orient scopes like this. If the scope had even just one of those stars it would make it much easier to orient the scope to the rotation of the earth. As it is now, you just get the big dipper and Cassiopeia (and Octans, a Southern constellation you should ignore if you're in the North). Since you can't actually see any of the stars in either of these constellation through the polar scope, basing the rotation of the axis on these constellations is based on imprecise guesses / estimations.
Several people have pointed out that the scope diagram lacks illumination. even some glow in the dark ink for the diagram would work well! I am able to shine a light into the scope to light it up a bit, but it can temporarily blind me.
The directions are not good. It spends a long time, much more time, talking about aligning the polar scope to the main scope's polar axis, but doesn't spend any time talking about why this is necessary. Given that the polar scope threads directly and tightly into the axis of the scope, one wonders why it's not automatically aligned to the polar axis upon installation? I didn't even bother with that part yet, as I figure the inaccuracy of guessing the rotation counteracts any additional precision I would get with fiddling with allen bolts, not to mention the scope shifting each time you reattach it to the dovetail? I know my finder scope needs tom be re-aligned constantly.
- Was this a gift?:
- No
Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
Images shared by Phobos
View through Scope
Images shared by Phobos
View of adjustment screws
(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)
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