Celestron StarSense LT 80AZ Review: Beginner-Friendly Verdict
The Celestron StarSense Explorer LT 80AZ earns a conditional 7.8/10, praised for its easy-to-use smartphone-guided navigation and sound optical performance for bright celestial targets, but held back by its small aperture and a tripod/mount that frustrates at high magnifications.
Reddit user Zane Landers summed it up bluntly: "The StarSense technology isn’t needed at this aperture… a larger aperture scope would be a much more rewarding purchase for the price." Yet for absolute beginners and casual observers, it delivers a guided, low-barrier entry into astronomy that many find liberating.
Quick Verdict: Conditional buy – great for novices seeking guided sky tours, less ideal for deep-sky enthusiasts
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Accurate and beginner-friendly StarSense app navigation | Small 80mm aperture limits faint object viewing |
| Fully coated optics offer sharp lunar & planetary views | Tripod and mount prone to wobble at high magnifications |
| Lightweight and highly portable | Included barlow lens is low quality and difficult to focus |
| Easy smartphone alignment with detailed tutorials | Red dot finder difficult to align for some users |
| All-in-one package with eyepieces and diagonal | Narrow field of view makes star hopping without app harder |
Claims vs Reality
Marketing promotes this telescope as “perfect for the city or dark sky sites” and capable of locating planets, bright nebulae, and galaxies effortlessly via its patented StarSense technology. While this guidance tech lives up to its promise for location accuracy, actual viewing is bounded by physics.
On Stargazers Lounge, one reviewer noted they could “easily find… some fairly dim objects. Clearly no issues with the optics”, yet admitted that galaxies beyond M81 and M82 were “identifiable” but unimpressive due to light pollution and aperture limits.
Celestron advertises a “robust altazimuth mount” with smooth tracking. Digging deeper into user reports, the mount is serviceable for low-power scans, but multiple users highlight “wobbliness” and difficulty fine-tuning focus at high magnifications. As one owner tested, “The Tak settled within around a second… the Celestron took around five seconds. Unfair test? Yes… but it demonstrates the difference between entry level and high end kit.”
A further claim is that it's equally adept for terrestrial viewing, thanks to its erect image diagonal. While technically true, optical purists like Zane Landers caution that the included diagonal is “mostly plastic… a bottleneck on performance,” recommending an upgrade to unlock the telescope’s full potential.
Cross-Platform Consensus
Universally Praised
The standout feature – the StarSense app integration – is universally viewed as revolutionary for beginners. On Stargazers Lounge, one user was impressed that after moving the rig mid-session, “it still picked up straight away where the scope was pointed, no realignment necessary.” This ease of use means newcomers can avoid the frustration of manually hunting for targets.
Portability also garners near-unanimous praise. Weighing just over 4 kg, Reddit reviewers and community posts highlight how it’s a “grab n’ go” option for camping trips or spontaneous backyard sessions. Its long focal length refractor design minimizes chromatic aberration, leading to cleaner views of the Moon and planets than many short-tube alternatives.
Several owners report success on classic bright targets: Saturn’s Cassini Division, Jupiter’s moons and belts, and notable doubles like the “Double Double” in Lyra. For newer stargazers, one Trustpilot review celebrated that the “StarSense makes finding things far easier than just a finder.”
Common Complaints
The most persistent criticism revolves around the mount and tripod stability. Even those who praise the optics concede that “focusing was tricky… because of the wobble.” This impacts precision when viewing close double stars or making small tracking adjustments. Many retrofit sturdier mounts or wooden tripod legs to improve stability.
Accessories also draw mixed reactions. The barlow lens is often labeled as “poor quality” and, in some early guides, installed incorrectly, leading to inability to focus. The amici prism diagonal introduces diffraction spikes and glare on bright objects, prompting frequent advice to upgrade.
While StarSense simplifies object location, some experienced observers argue it’s overkill for such a small aperture. Reddit’s Zane Landers wrote: “You simply don’t need its help for finding bright targets, and the scope is too small to pull in dim ones.”
Divisive Features
The red dot finder inclusion splits opinion. For some, it’s a handy backup when the phone battery dies or for daytime use. Others find it nearly impossible to align accurately, limiting its utility.
Another split arises around deep-sky performance: beginners are thrilled seeing Orion Nebula or Lagoon Nebula, while seasoned observers dismiss dim, unresolved views of globular clusters as underwhelming. The app may lead users to targets, but the optics can only present them as “dim, oblique smudges” under anything but pristine skies.
Trust & Reliability
Trust among buyers is generally positive. No widespread scam concerns emerged, but several resale buyers warn that used units may come missing the StarSense dock or with activation codes exhausted – a frequent practice where owners buy the bundle purely for the dock to use on other scopes.
Long-term users stress the importance of careful alignment of the phone mount to maintain pointing accuracy over multiple sessions. Mechanical durability of the optical tube is solid, but the tripod’s lightweight build and plastic focuser may show limitations after extensive use, especially in colder climates.
Alternatives
The Sarblue Mak 70 with tripod ranks just above the LT 80AZ on some comparison lists, offering a more compact form factor with similar beginner-friendly operation but improved planetary contrast. For those willing to spend more, a 130mm tabletop reflector from Sky-Watcher significantly expands aperture for deep-sky objects, though it sacrifices portability.
Price & Value
Current retail ranges from $229 to $279 new, with used deals dipping under $200 and occasional auction wins as low as $65 for good-condition units. Community advice leans toward buying new to ensure you receive the StarSense dock and intact activation code, unless you specifically want the optical tube and will skip app integration.
Resale value holds moderately well, especially if the dock and code are included. Without StarSense gear, the refractor alone sells at a steep discount.
FAQ
Q: Can it locate objects during the day?
A: No, the StarSense system needs a dark sky with visible stars to plate solve. Bright daylight washes out star patterns.
Q: Is the smartphone dock sold separately?
A: No. Celestron does not sell the StarSense dock alone; buying third-party or modifying voids the warranty.
Q: Will it work near the horizon?
A: Performance drops below ~15° altitude due to atmospheric refraction and haze. Objects higher in the sky yield better results.
Q: How many devices can I unlock with one code?
A: Each unlock code works on up to five smartphones, making it usable across multiple family devices.
Q: What’s the biggest improvement for performance?
A: Most owners recommend upgrading to a better star diagonal to increase image brightness and reduce glare.
Final Verdict: Buy if you’re a beginner wanting guided tours and quick success on Moon, planets, and bright nebulae. Avoid if your main interest is faint galaxies or precision high-magnification work without stability upgrades. Pro tip: Follow community advice and swap the diagonal, skip the barlow, and enjoy StarSense’s beginner-friendly navigation on a sturdy mount to get the best out of the LT 80AZ.
