Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This is my first telescope as an adult, after having a cheaper Newtonian reflector as a kid. I never was able to really get that telescope working like I wanted, and eventually it ended up in a storage box and sold. I've been wanting to get another telescope for quite some time, and the choices were daunting. Do I buy a cost effective for aperture Dobsonian? Do I go whole hog and buy an 8" CST? What about a refactor so I don't have to worry so much about collimation? Eventually I settled on the 127SLT Maksutov-Cassegrain. It was small enough that I could transport it to and from the local astronomy club, which is a big plug for a beginner. An 8" Dob is great if your backyard is dark, not so much if you need to travel for some darker skies.The GoTo functionality is also a plus in my book, as my wife has never used a telescope, and showing her how to check out Jupiter in just a couple minutes was pretty incredible. I knew that buying this there would be some opportunity areas, and there are a couple. First, the tripod is described as wobbly, and it is. I've found much less vibrations in the grass/dirt than a hard surface. Second, I've put an 8lb. weight on the accessory table which certainly helped to dampen the vibrations. I've read other solutions to super glue joints, epoxy stuff etc. After tightening the bolts on here, I would say the vibrations are only a slight annoyance, and as long you don't manhandle the focuser or smack the eyepiece when you're viewing, they calm down quickly. 2nd is the alignment process. I read people having tons of issues with this. If I try to align using my starting point as a city, it fails. Almost every time. Whenever I punch in my GPS coordinates (compass app on iPhone by default) it aligns immediately on SkyAlign. To me, this seems a nonissue. Overall, very happy with my purchase. You'll need to add a few things to this telescope to really make it complete, but you aren't hamstrung up front by any means. 1. AC Adapter or Celestron Power Tank. This thing will eat your 8 AA batteries in no time, buy the AC adapter, or better yet the Power Tank, which is a pretty impressive piece of kit. 2. Dew shield - you will want to buy one, or craft one. Foam rubber sheets from your local hobby store work well. 3. Additional eye pieces. 4. If you're transporting it, some sort of case. HomeDepot sells an 18" Husky tool bag with a strap that works PERFECTLY. Using the two pieces of foam from the box, it fits snugly in there and doesn't slide around.