Zhumell Z130 is, without a doubt, the best tabletop beginner telescope.
9.7
- Easy to Use
- Portable
- Well-Built
- Great Optics
- Pricey
Summary Review
Zhumell Z130 is perfect on all areas. It’s optics are as powerful as they can be, it’s build quality is excellent and the accessories that come with it are perfectly adequate. It is one of the go-to’s.
It has a 5”(130mm) aperture which allows in a substantial amount of light. Deep space objects such as galaxies, nebulas, and star clusters are clearly visible. The Moon, Jupiter, and Saturn will also be clear and detailed thanks to its wide aperture.
Z130 has perfect deep-space performance and above-average planetary performance.
What makes Zhumell Z130 special is its tabletop Dobsonian design. It is sturdy, a joy to use and butter-smooth. If you are a camper and want to bring your telescope with you, its design couldn’t be more suitable.
Zhummel did the right thing with this model, which is to provide the best optics possible combined with portability and ease-of-use. Zhumell Z130 is an excellent beginner’s model and a great grab-and-go addition to your telescope line if you are an intermediate astronomer.
In-Depth Review and Technical Specifications
At this price range, Zhumell Z130 is not the most powerful telescope. But who is looking for “most power”? The difference between a 5” and a 6” aperture telescope won’t be huge. Adding to that for a tiny bit of power you will have sacrificed most of the space in your room and a comfortable, portable device. This is the reason why Zhumell Z130 is so popular. It is powerful enough for deep space and Solar System objects, as well as incredibly easy to use and portable.
Optics
It has a 130mm parabolic primary mirror, which is uncommon for telescopes this size. It will remove spherical aberrations and provide sharper views. Zhumell used high-reflectivity coatings with its optics on this model. Therefore you will have 90 percent light transmission, which is great for observing dim deep space objects. Combined with 5”(130mm) aperture Zhumell Z130 will bring in substantial amount of light, even more than popular tripod models such as Orion StarBlast 4.5.
The primary mirror is a well-built adjustable parabolic.
The parabolic primary mirror sits inside a 650mm focal tube, which is a solid tube made more stable with mounting rings. It has to be said that Zhumell Z130 has a surprisingly well-made feel to it. It won’t get damaged on long travels in the back of your car and to be honest, looks incredibly cool.
650mm focal tube will provide a wide field of view compared to telescopes this size which is great for observing large deep space objects such as nebulas. 130mm aperture and 650mm focal tube create a f/5 focal ratio, placing the Zhumell Z130 in the “rich field telescope” realm. Meaning this telescope will provide high magnifications with a wide field view.
It comes with a 25mm eyepiece for 26x, wide-field observations and a 10mm eyepiece for 65x, narrower observations. These eyepieces will come in handy in the beginning but if you want to get the full potential of the telescope you have to get a narrower eyepiece, around 6mm or 5mm aperture. Since the eyepiece slot is 1.25” standard, you don’t have to worry about adding extra eyepieces to your collection. Most of the eyepieces in the industry are made for 1.25” slots and it will be very easy to find an eyepiece to your liking.
The eyepieces are not top-notch, but don’t expect that at this price range.
For more awesomeness we would recommend a Barlow Lens, which will multiply (2x, 3x etc.) the magnification of any 1.25” eyepiece. Nebulas, galaxies and star clusters will be incredibly sharp and clear. Adding to that Jupiter’s 4 Galilean Moon’s and rings of Saturn will be incredible sights at this level of power. Adding to that it must be said that although the highest useful magnification is 256x, in practice around %70 of the highest magnification would provide sharp and clear images for you to enjoy. So if you wish 250x and higher magnifications specifically, this telescope won’t go that far in case of power.
Tabletop Dobsonian Mount
The mount is butter smooth and sturdy.
Zhumell Z130 Portable has a tabletop altazimuth Dobsonian mount design. An Altazimuth is a simple mount design that provides vertical and horizontal, manual movement. The simplicity of the design is great for a beginner. Adding to that, in the moment of excitement, it will take 30 seconds for you to find the object and focus, which makes this telescope something you can use every night at any moment.
If you want to turn the Z130 into a tripod model telescope, you can. You can always use an equatorial mount with this telescope or just place it on a surface which also sits on a tripod.
Accessories
The finder is simple and useful.
Adding to the eyepieces there is a red dot finder scope which makes it even easier for you to find the object you want to in the night sky. Since this is an Altazimuth design aligning the red dot finder with the scope is easy. But if you want a different finder scope in the future there are a lot of good options in the market.
The focuser is a 1.25″-rack and pinion. It is mostly plastic but it is smooth and solid. It is more than adequate for a 5″ telescope.
Drawbacks
One thing that might annoy some users is that the optics of the telescope are a little exposed and might collect some dust or dirt if you forget to close them.
The only real drawback with this telescope is the price. Around 200$ you can get an amazing Dob like the Orion SkyQuest 4.5.
Conclusion
This is one of the best portable telescopes in the industry at the 200$ price range. It has great build quality, perfect optics and combined with that a perfect design for ease of use. It is powerful enough for deep space objects and Solar System celestials. It is small enough to carry around without even thinking about it. If you are looking for a perfect combination of portability, ease of use and power, Zhumell Z130 Portable Altazimuth Reflector Telescope is a great choice.