A big mirror on a box that costs almost nothing · review
A 130/650 parabolic Newtonian on a wooden tabletop Dobsonian base, with a collapsible tube, a red dot finder and two eyepieces.
The bottom line The most storable real aperture in this group, on the understanding that a shroud and a collimation check come with the territory.
Two struts let the upper tube slide down over the lower one, so an instrument with a 650 mm focal length packs into roughly half the length. On a tabletop Dobsonian base the whole thing lives in a cupboard, which is an unusual thing to be able to say about a 130 mm parabolic mirror.
Two things. Stray light reaches the focuser through the open struts, which flattens contrast — a cloth shroud is the accepted fix and costs very little. And each extension repositions the secondary slightly, so a collimation check before an important session is part of the routine rather than a sign of a fault.
A red dot finder suits a short, wide instrument: at f/5 the low-power field is large enough that a rough aim usually puts the target somewhere in the eyepiece. On a long-focal-length telescope the same finder would be much less adequate.
One supplied-items line is printed twice, and no weight appears anywhere. The aperture, focal length and eyepiece sizes are all stated clearly, which are the figures that matter most.
German and Italian Amazon stores ran from 273 € to 274 € on the day of the survey.
British Amazon store lists it in local currency, which the euro range above sets aside.
American, French and Spanish Amazon catalogues hold a record for it that nobody is selling.
Figures as Keepa reported them on the day this page was last updated. Stock and pricing shift without warning.
Prices quoted in this text were read on 17 September 2026. The live price is at the top of the page.
| Aperture | 130 mm (maker’s supplied-items line) |
|---|---|
| Focal length and ratio | 650 mm (maker’s supplied-items line) · f/5, the quotient of the two figures above |
| Base | Alt-azimuth wooden Dobsonian, tabletop height |
| Bearing design | Not published by the maker. |
| Tube construction | Parabolic Newtonian, collapsible tube · Single-arm holder, per the maker |
| Heaviest single part | Not published by the maker. |
| Eyepiece height | Not published by the maker. |
| Amazon reference | B002828HJE (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces) |
| EAN | 0610074966982 |
It opens the light path to stray light from lamps and the sky, which lowers contrast. Observers commonly fit a fabric shroud around the struts; it costs little and it is the standard answer.
Collapsing and extending moves the secondary relative to the primary, so a check before each session is sensible. The single-arm holder makes that check quick, and also makes it necessary.
130 mm parabolic mirror · tabletop Dobsonian
A 130 mm parabolic Newtonian on a manual tabletop Dobsonian base with Teflon bearings, steered by the maker’s smartphone sky-recognition app.
Best for: A beginner with somewhere solid to stand it who wants aperture without a tripod
≈ $430 / £299 / €400
76 mm aperture · 350 mm focal length
A 76/350 tabletop Dobsonian sold pre-assembled, with two eyepieces, a Barlow and a Moon filter.
Best for: A very compact first telescope for a child or a small flat
≈ £113 / €142
203 mm aperture · 1200 mm focal length
A 203/1200 Newtonian on a Dobsonian base — the largest aperture in this group, sold with an accessory set and a mount with nothing to align.
Best for: The observer who has decided that aperture matters more than portability
≈ €529
