Amazon Prime Big Deal Days – Best Telescopes & Cameras 2023

Today and tomorrow are the Amazon Prime Big Deal Days and there are some great offers on telescopes and cameras on Amazon and other retailers that we have selected.

Two great smart telescopes:

• Dwarf II Smart Telescope – 20% off (Dwarflab / Amazon)
• Unistellar eVscope eQuinox – 33% off (Amazon)

Several great Celestron deals:

• Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ – 17% off (Amazon)
• Celestron NexStar 4SE – 12% off (Amazon)
• Celestron NexStar 8SE – 22% off (Amazon)
• Celestron Travel Scope 70 DX – 33% off (Amazon)
• Celestron SkyMaster 20X80 Astronomy Binoculars – 18% off (Amazon)

Our two top recommended cameras for astrophotography:

• Nikon Z6 II – 15% off (Amazon)
• Sony A7 III – 15% off (Amazon)

See below for more details on these items and for other selected deals.

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Amazon Prime Day Telescope Deals

Celestron 70mm Travelscope

Celestron is one of the best telescope manufacturers and so you can be confident in any of the options we have selected here.

This is a great family telescope. Whilst it is sold as a travel telescope and works brilliantly for that, it is also great to have at home and use in the backyard.

It’s sturdy, easy to use, and packs up nice and small for easy storage.

Included is all you need, like a backpack, tripod, a smartphone adapter for photography, and all necessary accessories like eyepieces.

Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 102AZ

The Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 102AZ smartphone app-enabled telescope is a great option for beginners and older children.

How this StarSense Explorer works is that you attach your smartphone and it works with the telescope to show you what you are looking at. This makes it massively easier to find things in the night sky.

This model is a 102mm (4-inch) aperture refractor telescope.

Overall, this is a great Amazon Prime Day telescope deal for beginners as the smartphone interactivity makes it really easy to find things to look at in the night sky.

Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ

Also available as a Prime Day deal is the StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ.

This has all the same smartphone interactivity as the model above but is more powerful with 130mm (5-inch) aperture. This will give you better views of the night sky.

The downsides compared to the model above are that it costs a little more and is heavier and bulkier as a reflector-style telescope.

Celestron NexStar 130SLT

The Celestron NexStar 130SLT is a computerized telescope that is great value for what you get – and even better value as a Prime Day sale.

It comes with a 5-inch aperture reflector telescope tube and a computerized (GOTO) mount that automatically finds and tracks objects in the night sky for you from a database of over 40,000.

This is actually the same telescope tube as in the Starsense Explorer DX 130AZ above. That model is cheaper but lacks the GOTO/computerized functionality.

Overall, this is a great option if you want a quality GOTO telescope for a relatively low cost.

Celestron NexStar 4SE

This is a more advanced computerized telescope from Celestron’s extremely popular NexStar range.

The Celestron NexStar 4SE is a great computerized telescope that works for beginners or intermediate users.

With this, you will be able to take advantage of GoTo technology to automatically locate planets, stars and other objects at a press of a button from the database of 40,000 objects.

It is great for a beginner astronomer or just for someone keen to spend more time viewing and less time hunting those objects in space.

It has an aperture of 4 inches (that is the “4” in the name). In spite of its power, it also benefits from being small and easy to move and store.

Overall, this is one of the most popular telescopes of all time as it gives you GOTO technology for an affordable price.

If this is what you are after then this makes a great Prime Day telescope deal. Just work out your budget and go for the most powerful you can, but the 4SE is great.

Unistellar eVscope eQuinox

The Unistellar eQuinox is a smart telescope. It finds and photographs deep-space objects for you at the press of a button.

It is operated completely via an app on your smartphone or tablet and completely automatically scans the skies above you, asks you what you want to look at, and then – with the in-built camera – sends the image of the planet, galaxy, or whatever to your phone to look at or share.

It requires absolutely no experience with telescopes to operate as you literally just have to turn it on and follow a few instructions.

The eQuinox is one of the best smart telescopes and this is a rare deal.

Celestron CPC 1100

This 11-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope is pretty much the most powerful telescope you can buy.

As well as big power, it has all you need in one package, including a GOTO fork mount that you can operate via smartphone app.

It works well for both astronomy and astrophotography and the long focal length makes it particularly excel for viewing and photographing the planets of our solar system.

(There is also an upgraded version available that is optimized for deep sky photography – see the Celestron CPC Deluxe 1100 HD).

It’s not cheap but it is on sale and suits someone that just wants to get the most powerful option right off the shelf to set up at home.

What Prime Day Telescope Should I Buy?

Overall, if you are not sure what to look for in a telescope, our advice is to consider these five things:

1. Brand: Go for a manufacturer like Celestron, Vaonis, or Unistellar which have a history of leading the market for telescopes, providing good customer support, and having a big customer base who can support you through ‘how-to’ videos on YouTube, etc.
2. Aperture: This is the key measurement of how powerful a telescope is. We recommend you get something with a minimum 70 mm (3 inches) so that you will be able to have views worth seeing.
3. Mount: In general, alt-azimuth and dobsonian mounts are the best for astronomy as they are simple and easy to operate by hand and point where you want to look. Equatorial mounts are better for astrophotography but are more difficult to operate and fairly cumbersome.
4. GOTO/Smart: Another aspect to consider is whether the mount is GOTO/computerized. Computerized mounts use software to scan the skies above you and then locate and track what you want to view. Smart Telescopes add in-built cameras to this. This makes it easier but they are also more expensive and need a power source. This loses some of the simplicity of a grab-and-go telescope you can take into the backyard with little effort or planning.
5. Size and weight: Think about what suits you with regard to where you will use and store it. For example, some big aperture dobsonians are brilliant and provide great value for the price, but they are very big and heavy. You need to consider if you have the space at home or whether something more compact is better for you, with a trade-off of either higher cost or lower power.

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Best Amazon Prime Day Binocular Deals

Astronomy binoculars make a great alternative to telescopes. They are cheaper, more portable and lighter, and easier to use.

See the best Prime Day binoculars offers, as well as alternative options like spotting scopes and monoculars.

Celestron SkyMaster 25 x 70 Binoculars

The Celestron SkyMaster 25×70 are possibly the most popular astronomy binoculars in the world.

They provide the perfect balance of price to performance, whereby they are relatively affordable but also have the capacity for exceptional astronomy viewing (and even photography if you add the smartphone adapter).

25 x 70 means a magnification of 25 times (so objects are 25 times closer), and a 70mm aperture, which refers to how bright the images you see will be (the higher the better).

Celestron Cometron 7×50 Binoculars

These binoculars are perfect for beginners but also great for anyone that wants a pair to use handheld when stargazing.

The low magnification is actually an advantage for handheld use as any higher than 7x and the natural shake in your hands becomes so exaggerated that your views are heavily hindered by shakiness (even for the most steady-handed!).

The 50mm aperture is adequate to significantly brighten the night sky objects you will be viewing.

Given they are so cheap, they make a great introduction to stargazing and are perfect for just taking into the backyard or on trips and looking at visible objects like the moon or the planets and also watching events like meteor showers.

Celestron Outland 15×50 Monocular

A great alternative to binoculars is a monocular like this Celestron Outland 15×50 model. They can provide just as good views but are used with just one eye, rather than two with binoculars (binoculars are effectively two monoculars strapped together).

The main advantages are that they are cheaper and smaller/lighter. They are easy to put in a pocket or bag to take traveling or hiking.

This model comes complete with a smartphone adapter to make them ready to go for photography.

The 15×50 means 15x magnification and 50mm aperture, which is comparable with the binoculars above and are more than capable of providing great views.

Overall, these are a great option if you are after something smaller that you can easily take on trips and outings.

Celestron C5 Spotting Scope

Another alternative to binoculars is a spotting scope. These are effectively mini-telescopes but are more versatile and can also be used for terrestrial use.

This is literally a Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope with a 5-inch aperture. It is the same telescope tube as is sold in other Celestron packages. It is therefore very powerful, but also very affordable when compared to telescopes and binoculars and so makes a great option to consider.

Included are a carry case and a mini-tripod. If you add a smartphone adapter then you can use it for photography.

There are also other smaller options available in the Celestron MAK 90mm Spotting Scope and Celestron Mini Mak Spotting Scope.

What Prime Day Binoculars Should I Buy?

Binoculars are defined by two measurements that are usually stated in the model name:

1. The first number is the magnification which indicates how close you will be zooming in. For example, a 10X model means you are viewing ten times closer. High magnification obviously means you get closer to what you are viewing, this is generally good but can be a hindrance if you are using it by hand, where it will exaggerate shakiness, or if the aperture is not high enough, where you will just be magnifying unclear views.
2. The second number indicated the aperture which is the size of the lenses in millimeters and determines how good they are for gathering light. This is always the higher the better, but they will also be more expensive as this gets higher.

For a full overview, see here our guide to the Best Astronomy Binoculars.

As noted above, monoculars and spotting scopes can make great alternative options. For more on this, see our guides:

• Best Monoculars for Stargazing
• Best Spotting Scopes for Astronomy

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Best Amazon Prime Day Camera Deals

Since we are an astrophotography-focused publication, we have selected the best camera deals for astrophotography.

Sony A7 III

We found that the Sony A7 III was the most successfully used camera in the most recent Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition.

It is a full-frame sensor, mirrorless camera with 24.2 megapixels. It is lightweight and good for all photography, not just astrophotography.

It is a great all-round mirrorless camera and this is a great Prime Day offer.

Sony A7R IV

The upgrade pick to the A7III above is the professional-level Sony A7R IV.

It is also a full-frame mirrorless camera that is an astrophotography beast. The upgrade comes in the form of a huge 61-megapixel resolution.

Nikon Z6 II

The Nikon Z6 II has been fantastically popular since its release.

Part of Nikon’s early mirrorless range, it has proven to be a very successful camera for astrophotography and for other types of photography.

This model has all the qualities of an interchangeable-lens mirrorless camera. It is smaller and lighter than a DSLR and you get a much better live view.

It also has a full-frame sensor which is a big part of what makes a good landscape astrophotography camera.

It comes at a great price for a full-frame mirrorless.

Nikon Z7 II

An upgrade option to the above model is the Nikon Z7 II, which is the higher-resolution sister model to the Z6 / Z6 II.

This is a professional-level camera with a 45-megapixel resolution.

For those that want a modern mirrorless camera and prefer the Nikon interface to that of Sony, this is a great option.

Canon EOS 6D Mark II

The Canon EOS 6D Mark II is one of the best deals for an astrophotography DSLR.

It has been around for a few years, but every year we see it as one of the most popular landscape astrophotography cameras.

The full-frame sensor and 26-megapixel resolution are key characteristics of a great night sky camera and this is a great deal for a budget full-frame DSLR with proven performance.

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV

The Canon EOS 5D Mark IV has ruled for premium DSLRs for the past few years.

It’s a brilliant all-round camera, with proven astrophotography performance but also high video capabilities.

What Prime Day Camera Deal Should I Go For?

The main thing to look for in a DSLR or mirrorless camera for astrophotography is a full-frame sensor and a resolution that is of 25MP and above. The above models all fit that characterization.

For more on this, see the Best Cameras for Astrophotography.

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Best Amazon Prime Day Lens Deals

We have selected deals on the best Sony, Nikon and Canon lenses for astrophotography.

Samyang 14mm F/2.8

The Samyang 14mm f/2.8 lens has been a favorite lens for landscape photographers and astrophotographers for a while.

The 14mm wide angle is perfect for capturing wide expanses of the sky and the f/.28 aperture is very fast, which is key to capturing long exposure images in low light.

This lens can be bought for Sony A Mount, Nikon, Canon EOS, Pentax or Olympus cameras. Just click the right box when buying.

If astrophotography is your thing, check out more detail on the Best Lenses for Astrophotography.

Rokinon 14mm F2.8 Lens for Sony E-Mount

This Rokinon lens has all the same killer attributes as the lens above but is for Sony E-mount mirrorless cameras and has autofocus functionality.

Samyang lenses are also sold under the Rokinon name – they are the same manufacturer just using different brands in different markets. So this is a very similar lens to that listed above.

Sigma Art 14mm F/1.8 Lens for Canon and Nikon

A more premium option is the highly-rated Sigma Art lens.

This lens has an ultra-fast f/1.8 aperture for brilliant night sky performance to go alongside the wide-angle 14mm.

This model can be bought for Nikon and Canon EOS DSLRs.

Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary Lens for Sony E

This is an extremely fast f/1.4 aperture 16mm lens for Sony E-Mount cameras that comes with the assurance of the quality of Sigma.

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Best Amazon Prime Day Tripod Deals

K&F Concept 64″ Tripod

K&F Concept is a reliable manufacturer of mid-range tripods that are sturdy and high-quality.

This is an aluminum tripod that weighs just 2.8 lbs but can carry a capacity of 22 lbs.

It stands 64 inches (162 cm) tall at full height and comes with a 360 panorama ball head. The 68-inch version is also available on sale.

Manfrotto Carbon Fiber 3-Section Tripod

Manfrotto is one of the premier tripod manufacturers and this is a tall but light carbon fiber model.

It can carry a payload of 19.8 lbs but weighs just 4.4 lbs.

Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i

Not a tripod obviously, but we didn’t want to miss out that the best star tracker on the market is available for a Prime Day sale.

This is a tool that you use for landscape astrophotography to allow your camera to move with the rotation of the earth and take long exposure photographs of the milky way and night sky.

This model is the most popular with astrophotographers and is well-proven.