After using the XT10i a few times at a dark sky site, I quickly learned how to handle the instrument and am quite pleased with its performance.
First light with this 'scope gave me a stunning view of Orion Nebula complete with a lavender hue (however, keep in mind that the ability to see coloration depends largely on dark sky conditions, age/sensitivity of the viewer's eye, and telescope aperture). I've also spied a purple Ring Nebula, the Whirlpool Galaxy, two cloud bands on Jupiter and four of its moons, a ringed Saturn flanked by four satellites, and Earth's moon using a 15% moon filter.
Overall, the XT10i is an excellent choice for anyone, like myself, looking to graduate from the flimsy Sears catalog reflector of their youth.
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The XT10i is my first telescope and overall I'm really pleased with it. It's well made, easy to operate, and provides a very large aperture for the price. The intelliscope locator is impressively accurate if carefully calibrated against reference stars, and I've found it very useful indeed for finding objects. I love the elegant simplicity of this telescope, and that there is really very little that can go wrong with it (no motors, gears, etc).I could go on about its many other great features, but perhaps some criticisms would be more valuable:
The intelliscope device does not work well when it is cold! I've been out a few times with the XT10i in temperatures around freezing point. The LCD display on the intelliscope unit basically becomes almost unreadable (e.g. missing segments) and is very slow to update. You might be able to improve things by attaching a handwarmer or something to it, but I've not tried this yet. In warmer temperatures I've had no problems, but it's inconvenient that on cold clear nights it performs poorly.
I'm not all that keen on the finder scope (9x50). I find that the right-angle and the high magnification actually make it difficult to find a particular star. For example, last night I was trying to put the finder on to a very bright star that I could clearly see with my unaided eyes. I pointed the scope in what I thought was roughly the right direction, but actually struggled for quite a while to find it in the finder scope. If there was no right-angle and lower magnification, I think it could be easier it would be more like aiming down a gun barrel and there would be more stars in the finder's field of view. Perhaps as my knowledge of the night sky increases it will become easier.
The tube and base are big and heavy, and rather awkward to carry. You really do need the bag to transport the tube. The base has a convenient handle on it, but it's just an awkward shape to carry.
You need quite a few accessories to really make the most of the XT10i, and the cost really starts to add up! I bought the Orion carry-bag for the tube, a barlowed laser collimator (Astrosystems), moon filters, and three really good Televue eyepieces. In total the eyepieces cost more than the telescope, but you could probably go with lower cost alternatives. But I would say that the telescope really benefits from having better eyepieces than those supplied.
Having pointed out the above issues, none of them would change my mind about buying the XT10i I think it's a great telescope.
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Got this scope for Christmas 2012. I am in central Connecticut, and the skies are not the darkest here, but even so, my first evening of viewing was very rewarding with clear skies and no moon, once I got Jupiter into view, it was wonderful. What was otherwise just a bright object in the sky was now clearly visible with multiple stripes and four or more moons lined up. I have not yet connected the electronics looking forward to that! Assembly was easy maybe 45 minutes or so. It was a little tricky aligning the finder scope with the primary optics I wish that had been a bit easier and I'm still not thrilled with the correlation, but I'm still learning. The clarity of the image and ease of use are outstanding.Honest reviews on Orion 10019 SkyQuest XT10i IntelliScope Dobsonian Telescope
I love this scope it blows my mind every time I look though the eyepiece. I must say that it can be tiresome transporting this huge Dob but it is manageable (I'm 5'5" @ 155 lbs) its not the weight I have short arms lol. thinking about mod-ing a dolly/case configuration. I haven't used the intellescope feature yet mainly because I'm still learning.Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Orion 10019 SkyQuest XT10i IntelliScope Dobsonian Telescope
At my first glance I was little reactant to use this telescope as it is somewhat big and heavy.But my first few movements showed me that it is very delicate in all directions and very versatile. The construction is excellent and I didn't find any cheap plastics anywhere.The base is astonishingly stable than I thought.The instruction Manuals are well written and very understandable. If you are having any problem in assembling you can use two demo videos on Youtube also.The finderscope is well made and the optics are excellent and it is very easy to align with main tube. The collimation was superb and dead centre,It was well preserved during this long journey to Sri lanka.
I like the Object locater also and found it is dead accurate in finding object. But I tried my best to do finding objects my own and if I failed only I use it, because I like to feel the joy of finding objects by my self.
The views are excellent and one should observe himself to see the difference of the views,which it delivers. You will find how easy to locate object in the sky with minimum effort with the help of large finderscope.I only added red dot finder which help you to get the general direction of the sky.
I have observed many objects with this telescope and I'm extremely satisfied with the purchase.
Thank you very much Orion...!
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