If you are looking for a telescope within 200$ budget, the chances of you to stumble upon these telescopes are very high: Celestron PowerSeeker 127EQ and Astromaster 114EQ. Both of these telescopes come from the same company called Celestron.
If you are muddled in choosing between these two telescopes, then this is the article you want to read. In this article, we will discuss in detail about the differences between them and will compare them side by side so that you choose the right one for your needs.
Celestron Powerseeker 127EQ vs Astromaster 114EQ: Comparison Table
| Comparing factor | PowerSeeker 127EQ | AstroMaster 114EQ |
| Dimensions | 29.92 x 16.73 x 8.46 inches | 11.02 x 32.28 x 16.73 inches |
| Weight | 21.38 lbs (9.7 kg) | 17 lbs (7.7 kg) |
| Aperture | 127 mm (5″) | 114 mm (4.48”) |
| Focal length | 1000 mm (39″) | 1000 mm (39.37”) |
| Ease of collimation | Very difficult to collimate because of being a Bird-jones type reflector and absence of center collimation dot. | Diffcult to collimate for being a bird-jones type design. |
| Viewable objects | Most of the planets within the solar sytem with the exception of Neptune and Pluto. Can capture more light and see more because of having a bigger aperture. | Most of the planets of the solar system like the 127EQ. But smaller aperure and lower magnification means it can’t see as much as 127EQ can. |
| Eyepieces | 20mm and 4mm eyepieces. Usage of 4mm eyepiece is not recommended as it tends to distort focused objects. | 20mm and 10mm eyepieces. Both of them provides good magnification and their usage is recommended. |
| Mount | Normal German equatorial mount. | Advanced German equatorial mount. |
| Suitability for Astrophotography | Not suitable for astrophotography. | Suitable for astrophotography. |
| Dual purpose functionality | Not suitable for terrestrial usage. | Suitable for both terrestrial and astronomical usage. |
| Finderscope | A normal 2✕54 finderscope. | Relatively modern red dot finderscope. |
| Magnification | 250X magnification with the included 4mm eyepiece and 50X magnification with the 20mm eyepiece. | With the 20mm eyepiece 50X magnifcation and with the 10mm eyepicce 100X magnification can be achieved. |
| Price | Under 200$ | Above 200$ |
| Focal ratio | f/8 | f/8.7 |
| Design | Bird-Jones Newtonian reflector. | Bird-Jones Newtonian reflector. |
| Barlow lens | 3 times Barlow lens included. | No Barlow lens is indcluded. |
Celestron PowerSeeker 127EQ
Celestron PowerSeeker 127EQ is a Bird-Jones type Newtonian reflector telescope. This telescope is a pretty solid choice for beginners. It comes with a German equatorial mount with a slow motion altitude rod. It will help in tracking astronomical objects smoothly.
The 127EQ is also portable in shape. So, this telescope will not cause any trouble during transportation. 127EQ comes with a respectable aperture of 127mm (5″). Because of which, this telescope is able to provide a detailed and contrasted image of the objects. It comes with two eyepieces. One of them is 20mm and the other one is 4mm. A 3 times Barlow lens is also provided with this model.
When it comes to magnification, this telescope really shines. It has an impressive magnification power of 50X to 250X. All thanks to its respectable 1000mm (39″) focal length. You can increase the magnification up to 3 times increasing it to 750X using the included Barlow lens but doing so is not recommended as it can distort the image of the object.
This telescope has a focal ratio of f/8 which means, it provides a narrow field of vision and good magnification. Hence it is suitable for long distant planetary observations. It weighs about 23.18lbs or 9.7Kg which definitely places it in the heavier territory.
This telescope raises some red flags if we take a look at the user reviews. Most concerning of them is the collimation problem that this telescope has. This, being a Bird-Jones type telescope requires frequent collimation. And there is no center dot to aid the collimation process which makes the task very hard for beginners.
Click here to know more about the price and details of this telescope!
Celestron AstroMaster 114EQ
This is a great choice for passionate novice stargazers. It is also a uses Bird-Jones type Newtonian reflector design. This telescope comes with a high quality German equatorial mount which has two dedicated knobs for slow motion controls. By using the knob, users can fine tune their adjustments to get a better view of terrestrial and astronomical objects.
This telescope comes with fully coated glass optics to ensure a better viewing experience. It also ships with a 20mm and a 10mm eyepiece. Sadly, no extra Barlow lens included in the package. But the telescope features a corrector lens which has 2X magnification so it can serve the purpose of the Barlow lens.
AstroMaster 114EQ comes with 144mm (4.48″) aperture. It can capture a decent amount of light. This telescope also has a focal length of 1000mm (39.37″) but the included bigger eyepieces hinder its magnification capability. It can produce 50X to 100X magnification.
It has a focal ratio of f/8.7 which again produces a narrow field of vision. But it has a lower magnification power which means it can be used to observe both ground and celestial objects.
The AstroMaster 114EQ is very lightweight. It features a lightweight aluminum frame because of which it weighs only 17lbs or just above 7.7kg. Making this telescope very light and easy to carry. AstroMaster 114EQ also comes with a red dot finderscope which makes stargazing easy.
The users reveal many negative aspects of this telescope. The first problem reported by the users is its requirement for very frequent collimation. Optics on this telescope gets misaligned very easily. Collimating the telescope can be very bothersome.
Another bad review of this telescope comes from its finderscope. As mentioned above, AstroMaster 114EQ comes with a red dot finderscope. Many users found this scope to be not very helpful. Users also reported the scope using too much battery power causing them to run out frequently and demanding constant battery change.
The corrector lens that comes with the telescope has default 2X magnification on it. Which many users found to be troublesome. The solution to this problem is really simple. By using a .5X Barlow lens, we can reduce the magnification to 1X and resolve the problem.
Click here to know more about the price and details of this telescope!
Celestron PowerSeeker 127EQ vs AstroMaster 114EQ
Optics:
PowerSeeker 127EQ has an aperture of 127mm (5″) and AstroMaster 114EQ has an aperture of 114mm (4.48″) which means 127EQ has a larger aperture. Because of having a larger aperture, 127EQ is able to capture more light and produce a more clear image compared to 114EQ.
Both 127EQ and 114EQ have the same focal length of 1000mm, but because of having a difference in their eyepieces, their magnification varies by a significant margin. 127EQ can produce a magnification of 50X to 250X using its 20mm and 4mm eyepiece respectively.
On the other hand, because of having a relatively bigger 20mm and 10mm eyepiece, AstroMaster 114EQ can produce a magnification of just 50X to 100X. Which is notably less than what PowerSeeker 127EQ can. That being said, 114EQ can be used for terrestrial observations too because of having a lower magnification power. But 127EQ can not be used in terrestrial observations.
The 127EQ has a focal ratio of f/8. But 114EQ has a slightly larger focal ratio of f/8.7. Which makes both of them slow telescopes. Both of them produce a narrow field of vision but 114 EQ produces ever so slightly more narrow field of vision because of having a slightly large focal ratio.
Weight:
Both 127EQ and 114EQ trade blows when it comes to weight and portability. AstroMaster 114EQ is very light compared to PowerSeeker 127EQ. Their weight difference is 4.31lbs or about 2 kilograms. But the compact design of 127EQ makes it very easy to travel with.
Finderscope:
The AstroMaster 114EQ comes with a red dot finderscope which is of much better quality than the plastic 5✕24 finderscope that comes with the PowerSeeker 127EQ.
Mount:
PowerSeeker 127EQ comes with a normal German equatorial mount with a basic slow motion altitude rod. But the AeroMaster 114EQ comes with a much advanced German equatorial mount that has two individual slow motion control knobs.
Final thoughts:
PowerSeeker 127EQ and AstroMaster 114EQ are both very capable telescopes. Both of them have their own strong sides. But if you are taking picture quality into consideration, then the PowerSeeker 127 is a definite winner here.
127EQ because of having a bigger aperture (127mm) produces a better image and is able to produce more magnification (up to 250X) thanks to its large focal length and small eyepieces. But 114EQ can not produce such high magnitude of magnification (up to 100X) because of having a smaller focal length. It is also unable to produce as detailed image as 127EQ because of having a small aperture (114mm).
In terms of transportability, the 114EQ is lighter but has a narrower construction. But the 127 is heavier having a compact design. 114EQ also has a far better mount than 127EQ. Slow motion control is much more precise on 114EQ.
AstroMaster 114EQ also features a red dot finderscope whereas, PowerSeeker 127EQ uses old fashion normal 5✕24mm finderscope. So 114EQ is a better option in this sector.
Both the telescopes are hard to collimate. But 127EQ is relatively harder to collimate than 114EQ because of not having a center collimation dot. Unlike 127EQ, 114EQ does not come with any Barlow lens.
So which one should you buy?
If you are looking for a good telescope to observe nearby planets, nebula, and galaxies, and also want portability then you should go with the PowerSeeker 127EQ. It is also forgiving on your wallet as it costs less than 200$. But keep in mind that, you need to be very good at collimation to get any decent result out of this telescope.
And if you are looking for a telescope that is more premium and can serve a dual purpose that is, can be used for observing both terrestrial and extraterrestrial objects, AstroMaster 114EQ is the best choice for you. It is a bit expensive costing more than 200$ but it can serve its purpose very well.
Hopefully, this article cleared up all your confusion about choosing between PowerSeeker 127EQ and AstroMaster 114EQ.
