Vixen VMC110L - after a month of use

[gooseholla]

After a month of using this scope properly, here are some more thoughts on the Vixen VMC110L.

Finder

The red dot finder is, let's put it mildly, rubbish. It is so fiddly to align, and to keep in align. I've had occasions where it has moved out of alignment as the scope has moved around the sky. I've never been able to get it into perfect alignment through use of any of the screws or adjustment wheels. Finally, this weekend, it broke completely so cannot be used without repair. I'd suggest buying a small finder scope or better RDF if you are planning on using this scope in the long term.

Views

The views are great through this scope, even though it is small. However, even at medium power Jupiter cannot be made out too well. The bands are there but not very distinguished, and I would say it would be very hard to make out the red spot. (maybe this has something to do with the fact I view it as soon as it is getting dark rather than in pure darkness?) But on things like deep sky objects – Crab Nebula (M1), Bode's nebula (galaxies in Ursa Major), orion nebula, etc... it gives very good views. Orion is a joy through the scope and rivals, in my opinion, the view from my 8 inch celestron Newtonian.

Mounting

The provision of two places to mount the Vixen dovetail bar has come into its own when transferring from a camera tripod to the Skywatcher Alt/AZ goto mount. However, i've never been able to use the rear eyepiece holder 'as is'. That is, to make use of it you need a star diagonal, unless you are going to mount the telescope way above your head (but then you'd never be able to use the top eyepiece!!!). This is a shame as the rear holder is the only one you can screw a 2 inch eyepiece adapter into, which would mean more outlay in getting a 2 inch diagonal as well, and crucially, slight loss of light.

Focusing

When using both eyepieces, they are pretty much in focus when switching between the two. However, having to add a star diagonal means that the rear view is way out of focus. This is a shame and detracts from having two eyepiece holders really, as you might as well just change the eyepieces over in the top one. If you had a camera in one and wanted to view with the other, it could get quite frustrating! However, with a star diagonal at the back and eyepiece holder on the top, it does mean that if mounted at a suitable height you can sit down and view the night sky, which is a bonus, especially when trying to draw objects.

Another bonus is that both the eyepieces seem to have good collimation – nothing noticeably different or poor about looking through either.

Cool down

Being a small open tube the cool down time is very quick. By the time I've set up my mount and it has gotten dark, it is ready to go. It doesn't seem to suffer from dew problems, either. Yes, you can see the mirror dewing up sometimes, but it disappears very quickly when heated. Also, I've had it out regularly for 5 – 6 hours in variable temps and it never seems to cloud over so that you can no longer see the image clearly.

Conclusion

All in all, not a bad scope for £180. Use it way more than my big Celestron, and it gives some good views. It is light and portable, which is a bonus. I'd definitely recommend the scope if you are looking at a Cassegrain type. I don't know, however, how it compares to a 5inch Mak. The price I paid for the mount and telescope starts to rival the skywatcher's own 5inch goto Mak system, so might be worth comparing both carefully before buying. The 2 eyepiece holders seem attractive, but in reality has its limitations for everyday standard using. In reality, the extra inch of mirror might be worth paying a bit more for and living with the hassle of swapping eyepieces.

If, however, your setup has a solution for the lack of easy viewing from the back, and the rubbish red dot finder, then this scope is well worth owning, as being able to find an object in a low power view, and then switching to a medium - high power to view it in more detail at the flick of a switch is great.