I replaced the red-dot finder on my dobsonian I received a few months back this this item. I absolutely love it! I was frustrated with the plastic base of the red-dot EZ finder since I could never get is centered and the slightest bump made it off center. My telescope This finder is sturdy with a metal base and is crisp and clear. I actually enjoy looking at the sky through only the finder!

Wide angle of view and light weight make this a winner on my Orion Astroview 90 EQ. I was not sure how easy it would be to aim, since you are not looking up at the sky, but thanks to the wide field of view, I can sight along the telescope tube and get it close enough to find in the 6x30, then center in on my target for observing through the big scope. Not as easy as the EZ Finder or a Telrad, but it shows stars that are invisible to the naked eye in my light polluted skies, which the zero-mag finders won't do, which is why I wanted to try this scope.

The build is acceptable given the light weight. Everything fits tightly and is well finished. It's a precision instrument, not a utility item, and if treated with the care due a fine optical device, should last forever. It uses a prism, not a mirror, so no worries about the mirror failing someday. Fits well in the Orion dovetail slot and keeps its alignment when removed and reattached.

The view is noticeably dimmer than through the 7x35 binos I use for constellation spotting, but I can see all the same stars through both instruments which makes star hopping much easier. The stars are just not as brilliant through the 6x30, is all. I can still see them, and they are right-side up and with enough background for easy orientation. I think it is a good match for my scope, and much easier on my neck than the 9x50 finder it replaced!

Let me begin with saying that I am not a fan of the "red dot" finders so many telescopes come with these days. For the way I use my telescopes (star hopping in a light polluted small city) the red dots are nearly useless. In the past, I've replaced my red dot finders with conventional 5x24 or 6x30 finders (that mount to the telescope with two bolts) and been much happier with them. However, I bought a Meade Infinity 102 as a gift for my father and wanted to get rid of the red dot on it but the telescope used a dovetail connection for the finder so I needed to try something new.

I knew that my dad preferred a right angle finder, and that meant there was only one option available: this one. I was a little put off by the price but bit the bullet anyway.

I must say that I am impressed with this finder. Fist, a quick summary:

Pros:
-Excellent correct-image optics
-Easy to focus
-Surprisingly easy to align
-Rigid mounting with tall stalk
-Caps for eyepiece and objective

Cons:
-Expensive
-Can't seem to rotate the crosshairs
-Can't remove the finder from the mount without major disassembly

The most important criteria is optical quality and this finder delivers in that regard. Images are bright and sharp and it's very easy to focus the finder on terrestrial or astronomical targets. Many right angle finders use a diagonal mirror resulting in a upright image that is reversed left-to-right, making them more usable for land use than the traditional upside down finderscope view but still less than ideal. This one uses an amici prism to give images that are upright and correct left-to-right making it easier to use for earthbound targets. It's especially nice with scopes like the Infinity 102 with its correct image optics since what you see in the finder exactly matches what you see in the telescope eyepiece. Nice.

Aligning the finder proved to be surprisingly easy. I'm normally not a big fan of "three screw" finders preferring instead four or six screw finders for their superior ease of adjustment and ability to hold alignment despite bumping against them. I was especially suspicious of this "two screw and a spring" finder at first but when I actually tried to use it I was blown away by how simple it was. A typical three screw finder is loose on the front end requiring some tape to hold it in place but the Orion finder uses a rubber O-ring to secure the front of the finder scope in the mount. Better still, rather than being oriented 120 degrees apart like three screw finders, the adjustment screws on this one are 90 degrees apart. In a three screw finder you need to adjust two screws at a time but for this one you can adjust one screw at a time. The 90 degree orientation of the Orion finder's adjustment screws means you simply adjust the finder until it's centered left-to-right then adjust it up-to-down and you're done. Quick and painless.

The only thing that would make it easier would be if you could rotate the crosshairs until they were lined up with the adjustment screws, but that's a pretty trivial nitpick.

The tall stalk means the finder is far enough away from the main telescope tube that is doesn't get in your way when looking through the telescope and it's easy to get to when you need it. The dovetail mount is nice because there's very little "wiggle" in the connection between the finder mount and the telescope so when you remove the finder for storage and later put it back on you likely won't need to realign the finder to the main scope. Given how smooth the alignment process is that's almost a pity.

Speaking of storage, there are caps for protecting the lenses which is nice. They fit snugly enough they aren't likely to fall off and get lost.

My only other nitpick is that there isn't an easy way to remove the finderscope from its mount. That's only a drawback because it makes it take up a little more room in storage but that's a minor tradeoff for the overall quality of the rest of the finder.

While it's definitely not the cheapest finder on the market, it is the only one in its category (right angle with dovetail) and it very effectively gets the job done.

I use it on my Orion Starquest 6" Dob. Reasonably bright image to locate bright objects near the target object. The crosshairs help in collimating the image so that it is centered even at moderate power in the eyepiece of the scope.

This is a very nice product for users of small telescopes. I've had no problems whatsoever with adjustments of the positioning of the crosshairs after altering the mounting. The magnification has proved just right for most applications.