Best Black Friday Telescope Deals 2022 – Live Updates

Black Friday 2022 is today! See below for our recommendations on the best deals on telescopes, binoculars, spotting scopes, cameras, and more.

*This website makes money through affiliate commissions. This means we may be compensated if you click links on this page at no extra cost to you.

---

Black Friday Telescope Deals 2022

Celestron StarSense Explorer LT 80AZ

Great for beginners and all

The Celestron StarSense Explorer LT 80AZ smartphone app-enabled telescope is a great option for beginners, older children, and adults.

The StarSense Explorer is Celestron’s latest range of telescopes. How they work 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.

Watch a quick overview video of this here:

This model on sale is an 80mm refractor version. There are more powerful versions but they tend to be more expensive- see our article on Celestron StarSense Explorer Telescopes for more detail on this range or check out the links to the other models on sale now:

• Celestron StarSense Explorer LT 114AZ – more powerful with 114mm aperture and also cheap, but bulkier than the LT 80AZ
• Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 102AZ – more powerful but bigger and more expensive
• Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ – even more powerful but bigger and bulkier

This is a brilliant option for beginners as you get a great telescope as well as smartphone technology to make it easy to find objects to view in the night sky.

Specifications

• Telescope type: Refractor
• Mount: Manual Alt-Azimuth
• Aperture: 80mm (3.1-inch)
• Focal length: 900mm
• Weight: 9.2 lbs

Sky-Watcher Heritage 130

Compact Telescope for Beginners

This is a great option for families, beginners, or just those short on space.

It is a powerful (5-inch aperture) telescope with a tabletop dobsonian design. This means that you literally use it by placing it on top of a table or similar surface in your backyard.

This makes it very easy to operate with no need to muddle around with a tripod or complicated mount.

It is light and the collapsible design means that it can be packed up smaller for easier storage or travel.

Specifications

• Telescope type: Reflector
• Mount: Dobsonian Alt-Azimuth
• Aperture: 130mm (5-inch)
• Focal length: 650mm
• Weight: 7.5 lbs

Celestron 70mm Travelscope DX

Great Travel Telescope

There are some great Black Friday telescope deals on Celestron models at the moment.

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

This Celestron Travelscope is a great family telescope on sale that works perfectly for indoor use or to take on trips.

It would make a great gift for a child as it’s sturdy, easy to use and packs up nice and small for easy storage, and includes a smartphone adapter for photography.

You can also buy this telescope with either 60mm or 80mm apertures:

• Celestron Travel Scope 60 – cheaper but less powerful
• Celestron Travel Scope 80 – more powerful but a little more expensive

We’d recommend getting the 70 (this one) or the 80, or else it will limit what you will be able to see.

You can see our guide to the Best Portable & Travel Telescopes if you’d like to understand more.

Specifications

• Telescope type: Refractor
• Mount: Manual Alt-Azimuth
• Aperture: 70 mm (2.8-inch)
• Focal length: 400mm
• Weight: 3.3lbs

Celestron NexStar 5SE

Advanced GOTO Telescope

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

The Celestron NexStar 5SE 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 5-inches (that is the “5” in the name). In spite of its power, it also benefits from being small and easy to move and store.

The more powerful (and more expensive) 8SE is also on sale – see below. Or, alternatively, the smaller and cheaper Celestron NexStar 4SE.

Specifications

• Telescope type: Schmidt-Cassegrain (Catadioptric)
• Mount: Computerized (GOTO) Alt-Azimuth
• Aperture: 127 mm (5-inch)
• Focal length: 1250mm
• Weight: 17.6lbs

Orion Starblast 90mm

Powerful Travel Telescope

Orion is another of the great telescope manufacturers and this is a compact but powerful telescope that’s designed for travel.

Like the Celestron Travel Scope above it’s a refractor telescope that comes with all you need in one package to just throw in the back of your car and take on trips.

The difference is the larger aperture of 90mm, which will make a significant difference in the what you can expect to see but it also the reason it costs more.

Specifications

• Telescope type: Refractor
• Mount: Alt-Azimuth
• Aperture: 90 mm (3.5-inch)
• Focal length: 500mm
• Weight: 8.8lbs

Celestron NexStar 127LT

Budget Computerized Telescope

The Celestron NexStar 127SLT is a small, compact computerized telescope that is great value for what you get – and even better value as a Black Friday sale.

It comes with a 5-inch aperture Maksutov-Cassegrain 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.

Its size and weight mean that it is one of the only computerized telescopes that you could consider traveling with.

The other models in the SLT (Star Locating Telescope) range can also be found on sale:

• Celestron NexStar 90SLT – very similar to the 127SLT but less powerful
• Celestron NexStar 102SLT – less powerful but also good
• Celestron NexStar 130SLT – more powerful but bulkier

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

Specifications

• Telescope type: Maksutov-Cassegrain (Catadioptric)
• Mount: Computerized (GOTO) Alt-Azimuth
• Aperture: 127mm (5-inch)
• Focal length: 1500mm
• Weight: 18lbs

Gskyer 70mm Telescope

Budget Telescope

This Gskyer telescope is very similar in terms of specifications to the model above.

It is a 70mm aperture refractor that comes with all you need in one package in terms of accessories, including a tripod, eyepieces, barlow lens, bag, smartphone adapter, etc.

It is a very popular model and would suit someone looking for a good budget option to use at home.

Specifications

• Telescope type: Refractor
• Mount: Manual Alt-Azimuth
• Aperture: 70 mm (2.8-inch)
• Focal length: 400mm
• Weight: 5.6lbs

Celestron NexStar 8SE

High Power GOTO Telescope

This is the most powerful option in the Nexstar SE range. The 8SE has a huge 8-inch aperture which gives it advanced capacity for the views it will provide.

It is all the same features, including the computerized mount, as outlined with the 5SE above and this is probably the most popular individual telescope of all time as it gives you advanced power in an easy-to-use package that is suitable for all users.

It also has a much higher focal length, which makes it better for zooming into planets and small astronomical objects in the night sky.

The only real downsides are the increased weight and higher price.

Specifications

• Telescope type: Schmidt-Cassegrain (Catadioptric)
• Mount: Computerized (GOTO) Alt-Azimuth
• Aperture: 203 mm (8-inch)
• Focal length: 2032mm
• Weight: 33lbs

Unistellar eVscope eQuinox

Budget Smart Telescope

The Unistellar eVscope eQuinox is what is known as a smart telescope.

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. These are amazing, but not cheap.

You can read more here about smart telescopes but this is a rare deal on any of the models and is a $1000 price reduction bringing the price down to $1999.

This model is the budget option in the range, with the slightly higher-spec eVscope 2 also on sale below.

You can watch a quick overview here:

Specifications

• Telescope type: Smart/Hybrid/Digital
• Mount: Computerized (GOTO) Alt-Azimuth Fork Mount
• Aperture: 114 mm (4.5-inch)
• Focal length: 450mm
• Weight: 20lbs

Unistellar eVscope 2

Premium Smart Telescope

The Unistellar eVscope 2 is the more premium smart telescope option and it is also on sale at 18% off, down to $3999.

It is a very similar build to the eQuinox above but with an improved high-resolution sensor and additional eyepiece on the side of the telescope for real-time viewing.

This is a cool feature as it makes it feel much more real to be looking through the telescope rather than just on your phone, but it also makes the telescope significantly more expensive (along with the improved image sensor).

There are only a handful of smart telescopes on the market and deals like this hardly ever occur, so this is a good opportunity to buy if you were waiting for the right time.

Watch this overview from Unistellar here:

Specifications

• Telescope type: Smart/Hybrid/Digital
• Mount: Computerized (GOTO) Alt-Azimuth Fork Mount
• Aperture: 114 mm (4.5-inch)
• Focal length: 450mm
• Weight: 20lbs

Vaonis Vespera

Ultra-Compact Smart Telescope

The Vespera is the lightest, and most compact smart telescope on the market.

The Black Friday deals knocks $500 off the price.

It does all the same things as the above eVscope models but is smaller. It is also less powerful in terms of aperture and sensor size.

You can watch a quick overview here:

Specifications

• Telescope type: Smart/Hybrid/Digital
• Mount: Computerized (GOTO) Alt-Azimuth Fork Mount
• Aperture: 50 mm (2-inch)
• Focal length: 200mm
• Weight: 11lbs

Sky-Watcher 12″ GoTo Collapsible Dobsonian

One of the most powerful telescopes you can buy

This is a huge 12-inch Dobsonian telescope from Sky-Watcher that is on sale right now.

It is huge in the sense that 12 inches of aperture is about the biggest you can get in a retail telescope to use at home.

And huge also in terms of physical size. It is massive and would suit only someone with sufficient space to use and store it.

If you do have the space to handle it then it is a real bargain for the price, as 12-inch aperture telescopes are very expensive and the Dobsonian design provides the best price-to-aperture ratio.

It is also fully computerized with a GOTO mount. This means that it scans the sky and you tell it via the hand controller (or smartphone app) what you want to see and it will find it and track it.

If you want the biggest and best and want to explore other options, then check out our guide to the Most Powerful Telescopes You Can Buy.

Specifications

• Telescope type: Dobsonian Reflector
• Mount: Dobsonian Alt-Azimuth
• Aperture: 305 mm (4.5-inch)
• Focal length: 1500mm
• Weight: 99lbs

What Black Friday 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. Go for a brand like Celestron, Sky-Watcher, or Orion who are in the US and 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. You’ll see promoted deals on Amazon for telescopes from brands you’ve never heard of, these won’t necessarily be bad but there are plenty of great options for different budgets from these, trusted and recognized companies and we recommend sticking with them.
2. Look at the aperture as the key measurement of how powerful a telescope is and get something with at least 70mm so that you will be able to have views worth seeing. This figure is usually in the model name of the telescope.
3. Look at what type of mount it comes with. 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. The other aspect to consider is whether the mount is computerized (also known as GOTO) or not. Computerized mounts use software to scan the skies above you and then locate and track what it is you want to view. This is generally a really good thing as it makes it easier but they are also more expensive, heavier, and also require to be plugged in, and so lose some of the simplicity of a grab-and-go telescope you can take into the backyard with little effort or planning.
5. Look at the size and weight of the telescope and 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 and so you need to consider if you have the space at home or whether something more compact is better for you but with a trade-off of either higher cost or less power.

---

Black Friday Binoculars Deals 2022

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

See our recommended Black Friday binoculars picks right now, as well as alternative options like spotting scopes and monoculars.

Celestron Cometron 7×50 Binoculars

Great Budget Astronomy Binoculars for Beginners

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!).

This is why many people have a pair of basic 7×50 astronomy binoculars like this but then also a more powerful pair – like those below – that need to be used with a tripod to use properly.

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 SkyMaster 25 x 70 Binoculars

Our pick for Astronomy Binoculars this Black Friday

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).

Given the high magnification and the relatively heavy weight of these, to get the most from them they should be used with a tripod. This is the case for all astronomy binoculars apart from those like the model above. Any regular photography tripod will do, you just need to also get hold of an adapter.

Overall, these are great astronomy binoculars for a beginner or any user.

An alternative option to consider are the Celestron 20×80 SkyMaster binoculars. These have higher aperture at 80mm, which means better views, and they have a built-in tripod adapter but they are more expensive.

Both of these models are an excellent option for someone looking for a first pair of serious astronomy binoculars. They can also be found as “Pro” versions, these are more high-quality builds and are waterproof, but are more expensive.

If you have a bigger budget you could also consider the very high-aperture Celestron SkyMaster 25×100 Binoculars.

Celestron Outland 15×50 Monocular

Compact alternative to binoculars

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 Mini Mak Spotting Scope

Versatile alternative to a telescope or monocular

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 mini maksutov cassesgrain telescope with a 70mm aperture with a high-powered zoom eyepiece of 25-75x.

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 more powerful options available in the Celestron MAK 90mm Spotting Scope and Celestron C5 Spotting Scope, which is literally Celestron’s 5-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope tube in a spotting scope package.

What Black Friday 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 into what you are viewing, this is generally good but can be a hindrance if you are using 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

---

Black Friday Camera Deals 2022

See our recommended Black Friday camera picks. Since we are an astrophotography-focused publication, we are selecting the best camera deals for astrophotography, rather than any other photography type.

See our top five picks below:

Sony A7 III

Best Camera for Astrophotography in 2022?

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

It is a great all round mirrorless camera and this is a great Black Friday offer.

Specifications

• Type: Mirrorless
• Sensor Size: Full-Frame
• Weight: 1.44 lbs
• Resolution: 24.2 MP

Sony A7R IV

High Resolution Sony Mirrorless

The upgrade pick to the mid-range model above is this professional-level Sony A7R IV which has a huge 61-megapixel resolution.

This is also one of the top cameras for astrophotography from our research and is in the premium price bracket.

Specifications

• Type: Mirrorless
• Sensor Size: Full-Frame
• Weight: 1.46 lbs
• Resolution: 61 MP

Nikon Z6 II

Budget Mirrorless Black Friday Camera

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.

Specifications

• Type: Mirrorless
• Sensor Size: Full-Frame
• Weight: 1.36 lbs
• Resolution: 24.3 MP

Nikon Z7 II

Premium Mirrorless Black Friday Camera

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 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.

Specifications

• Type: Mirrorless
• Sensor Size: Full-Frame
• Resolution: 45.7 MP
• Weight: 1.9 lbs

Canon EOS 6D Mark II

Budget DSLR Black Friday Camera

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 in key characteristics of a great night sky camera and this is a great deal for a budget full-frame DSLR with proven performance.

Specifications

• Type: DSLR
• Sensor Size: Full-Frame
• Resolution: 26.2 MP
• Weight: 3.5 lbs

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV

Premium DSLR Black Friday Camera

The Canon EOS 5D Mark IV has ruled for premium DSLRs for the past few years and is available as a Black Friday deal.

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

Specifications

• Type: DSLR
• Sensor Size: Full-Frame
• Resolution: 30.4 MP
• Weight: 1.8 lbs

What Black Friday camera should I buy?

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, please see the Best Cameras for Astrophotography.

---

Black Friday Lens Deals 2022

For lenses, 14mm is perfect for landscape photography and astrophotography and so we have selected deals on the best Sony, Nikon and Canon lenses, as well as tripods and other photography gear.

Samyang 14mm F2.8 Lens for Canon/Nikon/Sony/Olympus/Pentax

Budget Wide-Angle Lens

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

Black Friday Sony Lens

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

Premium Black Friday Canon/Nikon Lens

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

Premium Black Friday Canon/Nikon Lens

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.

---

Black Friday Tripod Deals 2022

K&F Concept 64″ Tripod

Budget Black Friday Tripod Deal

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

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

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

Premium Black Friday Tripod Deal

Manfrotto are 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.

---

When is Black Friday 2022?

Black Friday falls on the day after Thanksgiving.

So in 2022, it will be Friday 25 November 2022.

---

When is Cyber Monday 2022?

Black Friday is followed by Cyber Monday on 28 November 2022.

See the Best Cyber Monday 2022 Telescope and Camera deals.