I'm bored, so I'm gonna write up a post comparing the FirstScope's variants and its clones. This is all theoretical, as I've only owned one of the FirstScope variants. I don't care if no one wanted to see this, but sometimes I like to write big pointless lists so here it is.

All telescopes are tabletop dobsonian type newtonians with a 76/300 (3", F/4) spherical primary, a rack-and-pinion focuser, and a price point under 100 dollars.

The main differences are the livery/paint scheme, the focuser/finder positions, and the accessories. The latter two make a big difference. I feel I should explain the classification for focuser and finder positions. When you point the telescope at the horizon, the "top" position is the highest position on the optical tube.

* A Top position is unfavorable for an eyepiece in my experience for a few reasons. When pointed low in the sky, you must bend over the telescope to look through the top, and there are very few cases where this is a comfortable position, and sometimes this viewing angle is *impossible.* When pointed high in the sky, the eyepiece is pointed straight sideways, which is easy to view from a seated position but uncomfortable from a standing position. For finderscopes, this is a good position.
* A Side position is good in most cases for an eyepiece from a seated position, especially with a small scope where there's not much difference in height. However, from a standing position, when the telescope is at a table, it requires an uncomfortable contortion to view. This is only a good position for finderscopes when pointing low in the sky, or if you're comfortable kneeling on the ground.
* An Angled position is an ideal middle-ground, comfortable from most viewing positions, whether seated or standing. It's also a decent finderscope position, but then the eyepiece can't go there.

Some of the FirstScope models available have very cheap Huygens and Ramsden eyepieces. Avoid those at all costs unless you literally can not afford another option. Celestron makes several versions of the FirstScope with 20mm and 10mm Kellners, which does mean you'll miss out on the higher magnification provided by the 4mm Symmetrical-Ramsden. In my experience the SR4 does beat out the Kellner 10 for splitting some double stars, but mostly the SR4 is a piece of crap.

**"Default" FirstScope** (International Year of Astronomy version)

The "one that started it all," sold starting in 2009, hence the IYA livery.

* Price: $49.99
* Livery: Black tube with names of astronomers spiraling around the tube in white text, plain white mount.
* Tube is oversized. This might result in better contrast.
* Focuser Position: Top
* Finder Position: Side
* Accessories:
   * No Finder.
   * H20mm Huygens Eyepiece. 1/5 might as well be a beer bottle.
   * SR4mm Symmetrical Ramsden Eyepiece: 3/5 blurry but not distorted.

**"Moon by Robert Reeves" FirstScope** ("Signature Series")

This is the FirstScope version that I actually own.

* Price: $54.95 (As of writing it is on sale at Amazon for $44.90)
* Livery: Black tube and mount with a large photo of the Moon wrapped around the tube, with major features numbered, those numbered features are named in text on the base.
* Tube is oversized, identical to International Year of Astronomy version. This might result in better contrast. The 75mm solar filter cap I ordered didn't end up fitting, as it was slightly larger than the 92mm maximum outer diameter. I sent it back.
* Focuser Position: Angled
* Finder Position: Top
* Accessories:
   * No Finder.
   * H20mm Huygens Eyepiece. 1/5 might as well be a beer bottle.
   * SR4mm Symmetrical Ramsden Eyepiece: 3/5 blurry but not distorted.
   * Starry Night software digital download code; link to a moderately entertaining pdf e-booklet about Moon observing by amateur astronomer Robert Reeves (which is not relevant, given the magnifications shown are unattainable by the FirstScope)

**"Cometron" FirstScope**

A version of the FirstScope sold under the pretense of using it to spot bright comets. I wish I'd have looked at NEOWISE through my FirstScope to test the validity of this.

* Price: $59.95 (As of writing it is on sale at Amazon for $43.93)
* Livery: White tube with black accents, black focuser, and a plain black mount. "Cometron" is written on the side in black.
* Tube is the same size as the other Celestron FirstScope OTAs. For a while I thought this version's OTA was smaller, but it seems to have been an illusion.
* Focuser Position: Angled
* Finder Position: Top
* Accessories:
   * 5x20 Finderscope. Allegedly quite dim and not super useful, but better than sighting along the tube.
   * 20mm Kellner eyepiece.
   * 10mm Kellner eyepiece.

**"COSMOS" FirstScope**

No longer being sold by Celestron. Probably the best looking of the lot of these.

* Price: $69.95
* Livery: Black tube with black mount. "Eyeball" Planetary Nebula graphic printed along the telescope tube going from blue to white to yellow to red, matching the appearance of the logo for the COSMOS tv series (the NDgT one, not the Sagan one). C O S M O S is printed on the side in white.
* Tube size is identical to the IYA and Moon versions.
* Focuser Position: Angled
* Finder Position: Top
* Accessories:
   * From what I can tell there's two variants of this scope's accessories. In some pictures, the scope is shown with an H20mm eyepiece, and presumably also includes the SR4. But the only pics and accessory lists I can find showing the whole accessory kit, I see two kellners. I'll go by the latter.
   * Red Dot Finder
   * 20mm Kellner Eyepiece with eye cup.
   * 10mm Kellner Eyepiece.
   * Cosmic Calendar poster (a reference to the COSMOS tv show)
   * "a free planetarium app for your phone" (I assume Starry Night but it does not actually say.)
   * There's a CD/DVD included but I can't figure out what's ON it, given that smartphone apps are not distributed on disks.

**National Park FirstScope 76**

Presumably made to be sold in National Parks giftshops? Wait... I've never been to a national park... *are there gift shops?* Ok, a quick google tells me there are.

* Price: $59.99
* Livery: Blue starry sky wrap with rocky landscape towards the bottom. Black mount.
* Tube size is identical to IYA, Moon, and COSMOS FirstScopes.
* Focuser Position: Angled
* Finder Position: Top
* Accessories:
   * No Finder.
   * 20mm Kellner Eyepiece.
   * 10mm Kellner Eyepiece.
   * Free download for National Parks Guidebook.
   * Free download for SkyPortal planetarium app.

**Orion FunScope**

The Orion version of this scope is better in many ways. It includes a fitting for a photo tripod both on the bottom of the dobsonian base and on the telescope tube itself. It also has much better accessories than the Celestron FirstScopes.

* Price: $69.99
* Livery: Dark gray mount, pearly teal-blue optical tube with black end caps. FunScope is written on the side in white in a very exaggerated and silly font which I personally find objectionable.
* Tube size is slightly smaller than the FirstScopes. This also seems to allow enough in-travel to use a barlow, which might not work in the FirstScopes, and it would probably have accepted that 75mm solar filter cap.
* Focuser Position: Top
* Finder Position: Angled
* Accessories:
   * Red Dot Finder
   * 20mm Kellner Eyepiece. I own a nearly identical copy of this eyepiece and it performs very nicely in the FirstScope.
   * 6mm Kellner Eyepiece. Ditto.
   * 2x Barlow. This is probably a very cheap barlow, but with a telescope like this it might not even be that noticeable. This is the only one on this list which provides a wide range of magnifications from nearly the minimum magnification to nearly the theoretical maximum magnification.
   * Moon Map 260 book, which is probably more useful than the map printed on the Moon FirstScope.

Now we're really getting into no-name clone territory...

**Coleman Astrowatch Dobsonian D76mm x 300mm Reflector Telescope, Black**

This one looks very spartan and flat, with sharp corners and no decoration. Its reviews are bad, and it apparently doesn't already come fully assembled? Unless the one review I see is referring to their 700mm tripod version, a totally different scope that happens to share an aperture diameter.

* Price: $66.49
* Livery: Black.
* Tube size: Probably smaller than Celestron OTA.
* Focuser Position: Angled
* Finder Position: No finder mount.
* Accessories:
   * Huygens 20mm Eyepiece with solid plastic eye cup.
   * Product tag says "with Barlow lens"

**Landove Portable Desktop Dobsonian Reflector Astronomy Telescope**

I'm not sure who would be doing astronomy from their desk. Maybe they're counting on this telescope just becoming a paperweight. This one does at least look a bit better than the Coleman one. Also, usually cheap clones of products ought to be *cheaper* than the product they're ripping off.

* Price: $88.87, which is just ridiculous.
* Livery: Shiny black finish, matte black mount.
* Tube Size: Smaller than Celestron OTA.
* Focuser Position: Angled
* Finder Position: No finder mount.
* Accessories:
   * 1x H20mm Eyepiece. (Deceptively given a rubber eye cup to make it look nice!)
   * 1x Smart Phone Eyepiece Adapter.
   * 1x User Manual.

**Carson JC-200 SkySeeker Newtonian Reflector Telescope**

Easily the best looking out of the knock-off clones. Sweeping curved dobsonian base, bright blue tube, it's very nice. It's also the only one of these so far that seems to have a helical focuser. It also seems to have a terrible undersized OTA and an oversized secondary--this might not be a true clone of the FirstScope after all.

* Price: $62.35
* Livery: Glossy bright blue, matte black mount.
* Focuser Position: Angled
* Finder Position: No finder mount.
* Accessories:
   * H20mm eyepiece which appears identical to the celestron version.
   * H8mm eyepiece, which has an insultingly tiny eye lens.

 **Galileo Table-Top Dobsonian Telescope with Smartphone Adapter**

A wide sturdy base on this one, and by far the most overpriced. It does have an eyepiece holder, which looks like it's made of plastic, on the base. This one comes from Wal-Mart. To be honest, I'd prefer department stores sell tabletop dobs than hobbykiller refractors. Actually while writing this I read that the telescope boasts "80mm diffraction-limited optics." If that can be believed (and I'm very skeptical), then it may not be terribly overpriced, though there are still better options. And it means it's not a FirstScope clone.

* Price: $119.99
* Livery: Dull boring gray with glossy dark gray endcaps and a dark gray base.
* Focuser Position: Angled
* Finder Position: Top
* Accessories:
   *  Cassini Mars Eye Electronic Finderscope (A red dot finder)
   *  Cassini Stellarium CD-ROM
   * Very cheap looking short 6mm eyepiece, type not identified.
   * Very cheap looking "HR20mm" eyepiece. The only reference to "HR" eyepieces I can find come from high-end eyepieces sold by Vixen, so I can only assume these are actually Huygens. Or Ramsdens. Or some ungodly hybrid thereof.
   *  G-SPA Smartphone adapter kit. This seems to be used both as some kind of push-to feature/finder, as well as a camera adapter.

**IQCrew Tabletop Dobsonian /  Levenhuk LabZZ D1 Telescope**

These two telescopes are identical except in livery. They also seem to be pretty much the same as the Coleman Astrowatch above, same mount shape and sharp angles.

* Price (IQCrew): $59.99
* Price (Levenhuk): $69.95
* Livery (IQCrew): Glossy black with matte black mount. IQcrew written in white on the side.
* Livery (Levenhuk): Bright orange optical tube with black endcaps, dark indigo mount. Bold color scheme!
* Focuser Position: Angled
* Finder Position: No finder mount.
* Accessories:
   * H20mm
   * H6mm (IQcrew only)
   * H10mm (Levenhuk only)
   * 2x Barlow lens

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