My family has really enjoyed this telescope. It has been a great entry-level telescope that comes with two different lenses, a red dot viewfinder, cell phone holder and tripod. I haven’t successfully used the phone holder, since I use a bulky phone case and the multi-camera lens iPhones seem to have a hard time focusing through the telescope lens. I also ran into an issue setting up the telescope, since the instructions are not super detailed, and the dust cover did not pull off as easily as I thought it would. Word of warning- don’t touch any of the screws, they aren’t part of the dust cover, and will mess with the mirror alignment. A quick search online found a video that walked me through it though. The other issue I had was with the tripod not being particularly high quality. One of the inserts for the tightening knob was not secure, so that when I tried to turn the knob to lock the leg, the threaded insert came out instead. A little glue to keep that in place would have been appreciated, but it was a quick and easy fix. Other than that, I advise not taking any dogs with you when using this telescope in the dark- mine ran full speed straight into the tripod, bent a leg and broke one of the supports. I still really like the telescope and my whole family has been excited to use it!

This is a nice telescope for a beginner or someone with a moderate interest in astronomy. While there aren’t many pieces, the instructions were less than easy to read as the pictures are printed in a very light gray. Quality control is also a bit off as one of the screws had come out in shipping and was bouncing around on the inside with the potential to scratch things up. Otherwise, the quality seems reasonable for the cost. I was going to post a picture with the review but it has been raining or cloudy since I received it so I can’t quite tell what things are going to look like. If things clear I will update the review.

We just got this telescope this week. It was very easy to assemble. Very little to do yourself which was very helpful. I wish the assembly instructiins were better but it really wasn't hard to figure out. My kids really loved looking at the moon and the stars. We had an amazing, detailed view of the moon. Can't wait for Saturn to come into view so we can see it's rings! I am confident this telescope will give us a clear view of that, and much more once we figure out how to really use it. I wish the legs had those tabs you pull to adjust instead of a tension screw. Would make that part easier, especially in the dark. I accidentally unscrewed one too much and dropped it. Definitely be careful as every part that can be adjusted, works with tension screws and some are small! I did not find the cell phone holder to be particularly helpful. It took me forever to figure out how to get a photo. Placing my phone onto the holder did not really help all that much. It could just be user error, I'm sure with more practice we will figure this out. I did eventually get a picture but it's not crisp like what I was seeing when looking through the telescope. My trual and error pictures are posted. The one shot I got does not show as much detail as what I was actually seeing in the telescope so do not judge based on my photos. Over all, I believe this will serve us well once we get a better handle on how to use a telescope and take pictires.

This telescope would be good for elementary school children. It definitely needs an adult to assemble. The directions and pictorials were no 100% clear. After finally getting a clear night we were able to view the moon and a few stars. Most objects in the sky were not clearly visible. I'm not sure if it was user error or the fact that this is more of a toy rather than serious telescope for viewing.

This product is good for beginners or young children. The telescope and stand were easy to put together, and the telescope is easy to use. It's easy to install and remove the telescope from the stand. Both the stand and telescope are lightweight. This makes for easy handling but also means the stand is a little flimsy. The telescope gives you a clear image. Overall a nice product for the cost.

My order arrived USED, with a loose part in the tube of the telescope which I am sure wasnt supposed to be. Compass was 'unglued' from telescope body, cannot focus on anything unless I am touching inner piece of telescope to hold it. Pretty sure THAT'S not supposed to be how it works, either! Heartbroken and angered.

The National Geographic NT 114cf telescope is a great for kids and adult. It comes with a smart phone adapter so you can take and share photos. It was alittle hard at first for me to figure out but once we did it was a great thing to be able to use. It comes with eye pieces and a power magnification for brighter and clearer images. The tripod has a tray to hold the accessories. This is a very nice and easy telescope to use once figured it out.

The directions/instructions were compiled by a cadre of toddlers. The instruction diagrams are "Shaded!" The pictures don't explain what Regular English would have Made Plain. The pictures used to illustrate the process Don't match the actual look of the finished product.

I knew this was an “entry-level” telescope, but was hoping for a little better quality. Assembly was very straight-forward despite a complete lack to coherent direction. The issue began when trying to attach the “pivot” arm that adjusts the angle of the telescope. It was machined incorrectly and the alignment is off enough that it was nearly impossible to thread and barely holds the telescope in place for viewing. The slightest bump and the telescope falls completely forward or back. (I had 4 different adults attempt to tighten the arm and all were unsuccessful.) The second issue is with the legs. I am glad they are adjustable, but I feel like the mechanism to lock them in place could be better. Most tripods I have seen use a simple ‘squeeze’ lever that can easily be operated and raised or lowered with one hand. This one definitely can not. The locks need to be twisted and you have to push the leg up from the bottom. With how top-heavy the telescope is, this makes height adjustments very difficult. Lastly, only about half of the people who tried (we brought it out during a family gathering of 12 adults and 18 kids) could see anything through the telescope. I read in another review that you weren’t supposed to use your eye to look through he eyepiece, only the phone attachment, so perhaps that was the issue. We haven’t yet used the phone option. Overall, the telescope was not successful for us. We are going to keep trying, though, because I have an 11-year-old currently obsessed with astronomy. Either have to make this one work, or upgrade to a more expensive one, because the bug has bitten!!

I love this telescope! The initial setup was not hard. The instructions were just pictures, but they were easy to follow. The tripod is very sturdy. The telescope itself isn’t as heavy as it looks, so it’s pretty easy to move around. The phone attachment is a nifty little accessory to capture some of the awesome views.