Zhumell Z12 Deluxe Dobsonian Reflector Telescope

Comments about Zhumell Z12 Deluxe Dobsonian Reflector Telescope:

I am a new to astronomy so I wanted to get some expereince before writing this review. The telecope was easy to assemble. The construction quality is good. It was easy to learn howto collimate the mirrors it now takes me about 5-10 minutes.

I do have issues with both the azimuth and altitude bearings which are way to loose and the scope swings at the slightes breeze or nudge. I solved this problem by fabricating a washer to go into the Altitude bearing housing and I used a clamp on the Dobsonian base to dampen the azumith bearing.

I added a Telrad and 2x Barlow at time of purchase and some Telrad Star Charts. I have been able to locate and view at least a dozen deep sky objects as well as all Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus. The Ring Nebula in Lyra is an easy find.

This Scope has fueled my eagerness to get outside almost every clear night this summer. I even purchased a star gazing license for a bunch of state parks on long island.

Great scope go for it.

Comments about Zhumell Z12 Deluxe Dobsonian Reflector Telescope:

As a veteran of many Dobs I can speak with some experience here. I can not tell you how wonderful it is when a company listens to it's customers and does everything possible to upgrade it's product. This scope is a home run. How many Dobs allow you to balance the tube so you can add heavy eyepieces and other accessories and still have your scope not be front heavy? This one does.

Movements from side to side, as well as up and down, can also be adjusted to your preference.
Very smooth operation.

Optics are the best part, whether you're looking at deep space or solar system objects, this scope is a performer. Contrast is excellent, views are crisp. To top it off, a duel speed focuser, are you kidding me!!
Buy it, don't think twice, you'll be glad you did.

Comments about Zhumell Z12 Deluxe Dobsonian Reflector Telescope:

Updating my previous review now that I have the tools and the chance to properly collimate the scope.
I had a nice clear night three nights ago and was able to get nice views of Venus, Saturn and the moon. Too bad it was a bright half moon because this made deep star viewing impractical. However, I was able to test the lenses on the planets and they performed flawlessly. Of course, under these conditions the best viewing was Saturn and it's moons, used several EPs and a barlow to get different views, they were all stunning.
Well, any doubts that I had about the scopes optics have now been erased. The Z12 is a keeper, a great scope at a great price.

P.S. I would have given the scope 5 stars but by not providing an updated manual and a poor laser collimation tool I had to dock one.