Have you been thinking of making astronomy a hobby? If that’s so, you might think I need an expensive telescope, or else I won’t make it there. But, no, that’s all feigning. So instead, you better start with an entry-level telescope.
Astronomy can be costly and bluntly frustrating if you get off in stargazing with a deceitful telescope. Now, you might wonder, is it even possible to have an entry-level telescope that won’t break your bank and give you a boost start in the astronomy hobby?
Well, not to argue, I was once in this situation as a beginner astronomer, but not anymore, until I stumbled upon these two telescopes from Celestron, PowerSeeker 70AZ and AstroMaster 70AZ. They gave me goosebumps with their burning features at an affordable price point.
So, before you leap into astronomy, let’s give you an elite comparison between them and see which fits you better.
Table of Contents
Comparison Chart Between PowerSeeker 70AZ and AstroMaster 70AZ
I’d suggest you hold your horses and look at the quick, snappy comparison if you are about to get a telescope from the store.
| Comparison Factors | PowerSeeker 70AZ | AstroMaster 70AZ | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 38 x 13 x 10 inches | 14.96 x 5.12 x 3.94 inches | AstroMaster |
| Weight | 8lbs (3.62kg) | 11.0lbs (5.0kg) | PowerSeeker |
| Aperture | 70mm (2.76”) | 70mm (2.76”) | None |
| Focal length | 700mm (28”) | 900mm (35”) | AstroMaster |
| Viewable Objects | Able to observe planets within the solar system but escapes Neptune and Pluto. Capture decent light but extra zooming capability | Able to observe planets within the solar system but escapes Neptune and Pluto like PowerSeeker. Capture decent light but lower zooming capability | PowerSeeker |
| Eyepieces | 20 mm and 4mm | 20 mm and 10mm | PowerSeeker |
| Optical Tube | Built with Aluminum | Built with Aluminum | None |
| Mount | Manual Altazimuth Mount with a slow-motion altitude rod | Manual Altazimuth Mount with a pan-handle | AstroMaster (Confused) |
| Suitable for Astrophotography | ——- | Yes | AstroMaster |
| Dual Purpose Functionality | Not suitable for terrestrial purposes | Suitable for both terrestrial and celestial purposes | AstroMaster |
| Finderscope | Old-fashioned 5X24 finderscope | Advanced and modern red dot finderscope | AstroMaster |
| Magnification | 35X magnification with the 20mm eyepiece and 175X magnification with the 4mm eyepiece | 20mm eyepiece with 45X magnification and 10mm eyepiece with 90X magnification | PowerSeeker |
| Price | Under $100 | Above $100 | PowerSeeker |
| Design | Refractor | Refractor | None |
| Focal Ratio | F/10 | F/13 | AstroMaster |
| Barlow Lens | 3 times Barlow Lens Included | Not Included | PowerSeeker |
| Price | Check the Latest Price On Amazon | Check the Latest Price On Amazon |
Celestron PowerSeeker 70AZ Telescope
Suppose you are looking for a beginner telescope for your kid to introduce to astronomy at an early age or for your boy or girl to get into stargazing. In that case, the Celestron PowerSeeker 70AZ is a solid choice that won’t break your bank too.
With a larger aperture and fully coated glass optics, the PowerSeeker 70AZ can let you enjoy bright and enhanced space images with complete clarity, which is better than other smaller aperture variations.
The PowerSeeker 70AZ telescope is a refractor-designed scope with a 70mm aperture, 700mm focal length, and f/10 focal ratio, a smooth upgrade to PowerSeeker 50AZ and 60AZ. With the alt-az mount, you can keep your eye on astronomical objects.
Besides, the mount features a slow-motion altitude rod for accurate pointing and smooth controlling to hunt down every asteroid’s movement. You can adjust the rod left-right, up and down, or as you like it to roam in the space, and there’s a cross knob to give it a sturdy feel to withstand wobbling. The images will be oriented precisely as you want while providing 1.25 inches erect diagonal images, so there won’t be any issues with upside-down or horizontal images.
Viewing space objects are limitless as the 70AZ offers many targets to be seen with wealthy details. The glass optics packs crisp and jaw-dropping images – call it Moon, double stars, dwarf asteroids, deep and bright sky objects, Venus, Saturn’s rings, Mars, or Jupiter’s Galilean moons.
Plus, you can explore beyond the solar system, like exploring Orion Nebula, Andromeda, and so on. But, of course, all this will cost you around 100 bucks, isn’t that great?
However, to get the views, you have to count on eyepieces, and the 70AZ brings two eyepieces of 20mm and 4mm. The 20mm is a Kellner eyepiece featuring 35X of magnification, whereas the 4mm is a Ramsden eyepiece offering your magnification of around 175X. The little eyepiece is truly a beast to provide a better narrow field of view.
For a greater degree of magnification, this unit comes with a 3X Barlow lens, but it doesn’t come of any use. Instead, it’s a sales tactic of a company.
Also, a 5X24 finderscope is there to aid in accurate pointing so that you can get a closer look at the object’s center. But it doesn’t help much, according to my experience, because it’s old-fashioned to suit this modern era of telescoping.
Anyway, carrying a telescope to places is the crux of the matter, as you’ll love to carry it sometimes. Coming at only 3.62 KG, you can easily lift it and bring it anywhere you desire. It’s truly lightweight and portable.
If you carry it to different places and too frequently, you might think about assembling it. But, no worries, it’ll take around 5 to 10 minutes to set the aluminum tripod and the body. Also, there’s an accessory to aid you in keeping essential things nearby.
Last but not least, the device tags and astronomy software are integrated with 36,000 celestial targets, space information, sky maps, and so on.
Celestron AstroMaster 70AZ Telescope
Celestron has been a name of trust and faith in the telescope industry, and the AstroMaster 70AZ from the AstroMaster LT lineup leaps up the confidence to a greater extent. It is also a true living example of low-priced telescopes with high-end accessories.
Now, if you are a novice astronomer, an amateur, or looking for a telescope, particularly for kids, the options come down to only AstroMaster 70AZ. It’s a powerhouse of features, reliability, and flexibility – that’s what most people speak of.
Though it has some cons and pros, do the pros outweigh the disadvantages? Well, see it yourself.
Starting with the design, the AstroMaster 70AZ features a reliable, lightweight body in a refractor design like the PowerSeeker 70AZ. With fully coated glass optics, this unit upholds a lens 70mm aperture that works alongside a 900mm focal length – the more the focal length, the narrower field of view though you cannot gaze over dimmed objects with this aperture.
But thanks to the slow-focal ratio of f/13, you can explore more space objects than you have ever expected, and the images will be quite enough to recreate your mind.
However, similar to the PowerSeeker, the AstroMaster 70AZ is no exception in the mounting accessory. It features a manual alt-az mount with a pan handle for accurate and pin-point positioning. That being said, you can track the slow-moving object.
The aperture and focal length rely on two eyepieces of 20mm and 10mm. Between these two, the 20mm brings a 45X magnification level. On the other hand, the 10mm eyepiece offers a double layer of magnification, 90X zooming. Depending on that magnification, you can stargaze distant objects with great clarification.
The experience of roaming in space you get from this scope is endless. You get to focus on and watch the Moon, Jupiter’s Moons, Saturn’s ring, Cloud belts, the Red spot, and deep-sky targets like Andromeda, Orion Nebula, and other bright targets in space. But far-reaching objects like Uranus and Neptune will appear like tiny ants moving here and there. Above all, it’s not rocket science to explore space anymore.
With the help of a 1.25-inch diagonal, this device can manipulate images in the correct order, neither horizontal nor upside down. At night, you can observe celestial targets and stargaze terrestrial objects during the daytime, which means Astromaster is a dual-purpose telescope.
For your concern, the AstroMaster 70AZ brings a red-dot finder to be noticeable easily on the telescope. This finderscope isn’t the best scope to compete, but it does the job of finding objects.
If you love traveling or going places frequently, getting your hands on a lightweight telescope is a must. Weighing at 5Kg, for some, it can be a bit heavy, but not mostly. Seamlessly port it to your backyard, higher lands, or rooftop.
In terms of traveling, the tripod works like a vicious cycle. You can’t have a sturdy stand if you don’t have a good tripod. Made of steel, the 1.25 inches leg is amazingly adjustable; say goodbye to height worries.
Besides, assembling is hard-nut-to-crack when you aren’t on the right path. But the disappointing days are gone. You can fluently install this unit without even using any tools. Pretty impressive, right? But you are going to need 8 AA batteries to run the telescope.
Therefore, to enrich your astronomy knowledge, this telescope package packs astronomy software with information on up to 36,000 space objects, sky maps, printable maps, research papers, and so on.
Overall, if you are a stargazer who wants to save his wallet but don’t compromise exploring beyond the earth, I recommend this great choice. Break a leg!
In-depth Comparison Between PowerSeeker 70AZ and AstroMaster 70AZ
If you have missed the above reviews, let’s bring another comparison layer to soothe you with a clear idea. But, I’m not an expert, so you can call your own. So, let’s break it down point by point.
Optics
Not to surprise, the first comparison is a draw. Coming at a similar aperture level of 70mm, both PowerSeeker 70AZ and AstroMaster 70AZ bring the exact amount of lights, shots, and clear images.
But the story is yet to finish. The PowerSeeker and AstroMaster put a margin on focal length. PowerSeeker 70AZ features a 700mm focal length, which is quite subtle for wide shots. On the contrary, the AstroMaster 70AZ limits a 900mm focal length suitable for observing far-reaching objects compared to PowerSeeker.
The focal length works side by side with the focal ratio. Here the AstroMaster 70AZ wins the ratio game with f/13, whereas the PowerSeeker 70AZ has a lesser focal ratio of f/10 though both are manufactured based on slow-mo technology. As a result, the AstroMaster will bring you a better narrow field of views.
Both focal length and focal ratio can’t do their job without the right eyepieces. It’s a bit crucial part. The PowerSeeker one protrudes 20mm and 4mm eyepiece with a 3X Barlow lens. With Barlow lens’s assist, these two eyepieces can zoom accordingly 35X and 175X to give you better zooming capacity.
On the other hand, the AstroMaster brings you two eyepieces of 20mm and 10mm, respectively, but this package doesn’t include any Barlow lens. The eyepieces offer you magnification levels of 45X and 90X, which is comparatively less than PowerSeeker 70AZ.
Though PowerSeeker wins the zooming game, it can observe only celestial objects. That being said, the AstroMaster 70AZ can suitably fit for both celestial and terrestrial observations.
Weight
Weight is a catch if you don’t have the right structure and building materials. But, on the other hand, if the telescope weighs a massive amount, you’ll barely dodge a bullet. So, here is the real deal. The PowerSeeker 70AZ is the lighter one with 8lbs or 3.62Kg, compared to AstroMaster 70AZ. As the AstroMaster lands at 5.0Kg or 11lbs, I believe you know which can suit your hand.
Finderscope
The finderscope emphasizes centering objects and landing the targets in your eyes. So, who’s got the sweet spot for you? The PowerSeeker features an old-fashioned 5X24 finderscope, which can be a bit of trouble to use. Nonetheless, the AstroMaster 70AZ wins the finderscope race with a red-dot finder.
Mount
Mount plays the big game in telescoping. You can think of better stargazing if the mount allows you to control the telescope. The PowerSeeker 70AZ features an alt-az mount with a slow-motion altitude rod that can be adjustable with a tightening knob.
The AstroMaster differs from the PowerSeeker. It packs similar alt-az mount support but with a pan-handle for easy access. With the panhandle, you can easily track the slow-moving objects and adjust the mount.
Final Verdict
Thank you for coming this long way with me. But before you leave, let’s conclude you. You cannot judge one as a complete winner because both compete head-to-head in a win-win situation.
If I start with focal length, the PowerSeeker 70AZ lacks AstroMaster 70AZ. But it wins the race with higher magnification quality.
The PowerSeeker’s eyepieces reach the extent of 35X and 175X zooming capability with a Barlow lens, whereas the AstroMaster doesn’t borrow the Barlow lens and leaves the game at 90X maximum magnification. But a drawback is that PowerSeeker is limited to celestial objects instead of observing celestial and terrestrial objects like AstroMaster 70AZ.
If you consider portability, I can call the PowerSeeker 70AZ a grand winner. Weighing 3.62 Kg, you can easily port the telescope anywhere you desire.
Therefore, if you love both telescopes I reviewed, who will stop you from buying two telescopes at a time? So get on it right away!
Last update on 2024-04-05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using these links.
