Gskyer AZ90600 Refractor Telescope

The Gskyer 90mm AZ90600 is my favorite Gskyer telescope model. It is just the right combination of stability, lightweight, ease of use, and capabilities for anyone with a sweet tooth for astronomy. Replace the diagonal and eyepieces, and this scope could sit right beside much higher-priced models used by experienced amateur astronomers.

More information on how to set this telescope up and use it can be found on my manuals page.

Telescope Specifications

Type of telescope	Newtonian reflector
Objective aperture	90mm (3.54″)
Focal length	600mm(f/6.7)
Type of mount	Altitude Azimuth
Eyepiece magnification	25mm(24X), 10mm(60X), & 5mm(120X)
Maximum magnification	225X
Tripod	Adjustable 65cm aluminum tripod

Gskyer AZ90600 telescope review

The first thing I noticed with the Gskyer AZ90600 was that there was a serious lack of plastic. If you exclude the diagonal, eyepiece tray, objective cover, and knob handles, there is almost no plastic. Does that really matter? Absolutely!

Having things made mostly of metal increases stability dramatically, and it also generally makes things last a lot longer. These are both things people want in a telescope.

When talking about stability, the mount is mostly metal and moves pretty smoothly. I would have preferred something with slow motion controls so I can more easily track objects across the sky when using higher powered eyepieces, but this telescope isn’t really meant for high power. The only times this will be a factor is looking at the moon, or sun (with the correct solar filter, of course).

With the moon, a Plossl 7mm eyepiece will just about fill the eyepiece with the field of view and you can minimize the hassle of keeping it tracking by using a lower power eyepiece. That same eyepiece or something a little wider will give excellent views of the Orion Nebula.

Another thing I really like about the Gskyer AZ90600 is that the scope uses a standard vixen style dovetail to attach to the mount. This means that if I want to use this scope on a better mount, even an expensive computerized go-to mount, it just slides right in. No muss, no fuss.

The same is true for the finder scope, which uses a standard vixen finder scope mount. This allowed me to remove the almost useless finder that came with the scope and slide in one of my favorite red dot finders.

I also replaced the eyepieces and diagonal with something better and wound up with an excellent performing little scope. No, it is not an APO triplet, but especially when you factor in the price, it is an amazing little unit. It has quickly become one of my favorite “throw it in the car just in case” telescopes.

What about the views? They are what you would expect, or maybe a little better. This is, after all, a beginner telescope sold on Amazon for a relatively low price. It focuses well and stars are pretty sharp with obvious halos around brighter ones. Looking at the moon really needs a moon filter and would really benefit from a minus violet filter. The Orion Nebula looks pretty dang good, and I have also had good luck with several nice views of open clusters.

Review Conclusions

This is probably my favorite Gskyer telescope. Even though I bought my first telescope and began my astronomy journey probably three decades ago, this telescope has found a place in my stable. It is solid, gives good views for what it is, and I can throw it in the car to take anywhere I think I might want to look up.

Do I recommend the Gskyer AZ90600 telescope for beginners? Absolutely! Is it worth the money? Absolutely! To get the most out of it, just be prepared to replace the diagonal and eyepieces, and I would suggest the finder scope as well.

Videos

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Best Gskyer Telescope Alternatives

There are some excellent options if you can not get the Gskyer AZ90600 90mm refractor, or if you want something a little different. For whatever reason, here are some of my favorites:

Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 102AZ

The Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 102AZ adds about $100 to the price but includes nicer eyepieces, a nicer finder scope, a larger optical tube (102mm instead of 90mm), longer optical tube (812mm instead of 600mm) and best of all, the StarSense system where you dock your phone, and it helps you point your telescope at hundreds of targets.