Vivitar Tel50600 In-Depth Review

The Vivitar Tel50600 is an entry-level refractor telescope that eases the users into the art of celestial observation. It boasts a powerful magnification for an attractive price tag and is more suitable for children or individuals who haven’t owned a telescope before.

With a 60x/120x magnification factor, the Vivitar Tel50600 is excellent for both terrestrial and celestial observations. You can use it to observe the Moon’s surface or other bright deep sky objects. The Vivitar Tel50600 will offer and effortless and beautiful experience for beginner astronomers.

What is The Vivitar Tel50600 Telescope?

The Vivitar Tel50600, also known as the Vivitar TEL50600 60/120x Telescope Refractor with Tripod Black, has a 50 mm aperture, which is more than enough to ensure a decent field of view.

This telescope comes equipped with two eyepieces: a 6 mm eyepiece, which has a magnification factor of 60x and a 12 mm eyepiece, with a total magnification factor of 120x. The Vivitar telescope 60x/120x has a blue coating, which increases the light-gathering factor of this telescope.

The Vivitar Tel50600 also comes equipped with an adjustable aluminum tripod, which is easy to set up. Furthermore, due to the fact that the telescope weighs a little more over one kilogram, it can be easily carried around by hand. That makes it an excellent portable telescope, perfect for outdoor adventures. Thus, you can find a more open field, set up the Vivitar Tel 50600 telescope, and look in awe at the sky.

Alternatively, you can buy a traveling case for your telescope to bring it along on your trips.

Other Specs and Features:

• 90-degree star diagonal
• Finder scope: EZ Finder I
• Magnification Factor of Finder Scope: 3x
• Optical Tube Length: 415 mm
• Primary Mirror Diameter: 50 mm
• Optical Tube Diameter: 46 mm
• Focal Length: 600 mm
• Mount Type: Altazimuth, with lever
• Weight (fully assembled): 1.4 kilograms

Pros and Cons To Using The Vivitar Tel50600 Telescope

PROS:

• No-tool set-up
• Easy to carry around
• Comprehensible manual
• Excellent for children
• Powerful magnification factor

(Click image to see more pictures on Amazon)

CONS:

• Mount is flimsy
• Telescope can easily get out of alignment
• Low-quality optics
• The mount is hard to operate, making tracking impossible
• The tripod is fragile
• The insert in the attachment is not threaded, meaning that you will have to force the bolts in the threads
• Image quality is poor

Where to Find The Vivitar Tel50600?

The Vivitar Tel50600 costs $16.55 on Amazon and benefits from free shipping for orders that exceed $49. The cost is very low for such a telescope, making it a perfect beginner’s tool to explore the nighttime skies.

Extra Info

Maintenance Advice

The good part about the Vivitar Tel50600 is that it requires a minimal amount of maintenance. However, make sure to clean the lenses with a very soft fabric so that it doesn’t scratch the surface. In addition, keep in the standard circular motion that most telescopes require when cleaning.

Accessories

The scope comes with a full-size expandable tripod. However, a bit tricky to set up and does not offer the perfect stability. Users have complained about how hard it to set up the tripod with the screws included in the box. Some of them even said that the screws found in the box don’t match the grooving on the tripod. Meaning, they actually had to improvise for a stable image.

Here’s what you’ll find in the package after you’ve purchased the Vivitar Tel50600.

• One 6 mm eyepiece
• One 12 mm eyepiece
• Adjustable Tripod
• 90-Degree Star Diagonal
• 3X Finder scope

Warranty and Guarantee Information

The telescope has a 6 months money back guarantee if you do not like it. However, it does not cover negligence, such as failing to maintain or damaging the scope.

Customer Feedback

As far as the expandable tripod is concerned, most of the customers have pointed out that the advertisement does not match the finite product. More specifically, one customer has pointed out that although the product’s package states clearly that the tripod consists of aluminum with an ABS finish, it’s from cheap metal instead, which received a silver coating.

Regarding Vivitar’s manual, the booklet which comes along with the telescope fails to give any precise instructions as to assembling or aligning the telescope. Furthermore, some of the users said that they gain more insight on how to assemble and use the telescope by watching a YouTube training video than from the manual.

(Click image to see more pictures on Amazon)

The images seen through the finder scope are of the same quality as the images seen through the eyepieces, although the eyepieces have a greater magnification factor. Meaning, the Vivitar Tel50600 image quality is as good as it’s ever going to get with such a low-cost scope. That is why it’s best suited for children just getting into astronomy.

While it’s a good introduction into star gazing, it’s by now means a good enough tool to use for experts or even intermediate users. It does make a beautiful gift for children of 8 years old and above. You only have to make sure that the tripod is steady enough.

Our Recommendation

If you’re new to astronomy, then you should consider buying the Vivitar 50600 telescope.

It has a good price its optical capabilities are decent. Keep in mind that this telescope is better suited for children than for adults. This not only influences its price tag but its overall quality as well. The images are subpar, and it’s more similar to a toy than a full on telescope. However, if you are interested in initiating your kid, there are better options. Make sure to check out the best telescopes for kids and purchase the best option that will inspire your child.