Telescope Brands

[Ganymede12]

I only have one telescope which means I don't know a lot about the different telescope manufacturers. So I was wondering Which telescope brand is the best? (I'm looking for personal opinions)

p.S I wanted to post this in the retailers forum but it said I didn't have access.

[John]

There are quite a few very good brands:

Skywatcher

Celestron

Meade

Orion Optics

William Optics

TAL

Vixen

Takahashi

Orion (USA)

Intes Micro

Plus a number more that I've forgotten.

"best" is a personal thing and the above brands carry many different models / designs all of which have their pros and cons.

I've always been a fan of the Vixen brand personally but I also own Orion Optics and Skywatcher scopes which are very good too.

[crazyjedi]

That is a loaded question! And one that is going to bring out a healthy debate.

There are different angles to the question too. For instance do you mean which manufacturer builds the best quality scopes or the best value scopes or the best range of scopes? Some manufacturers may be better at SCT's othera may be better at Newts or fracs. I like SkyWatcher and have had good experiences with them and they do seem to build a good range of highly thought of scopes including some premium quality (and price) scopes. BUT when it comes to SCT's SW don't offer much in comparison to Celestron or Meade. This should be a fun thread

[Ganymede12]

The only telescope I actually own is a Sky-Watcher and I have found that it is great value for money!

( It's a Sky-Watcher SK707AZ2)

[John]

... BUT when it comes to SCT's SW don't offer much in comparison to Celestron or Meade. This should be a fun thread

Synta, who own the Skywatcher brand, also own the Celestron brand now so I guess they figure that Skywatcher SCT's would be competing against themselves !

[crazyjedi]

My SkyWatcher was good value and has very good quality optics. The Skywatcher Fracs are also extremely good for value and optics. I've heard nothing but good things about TAL but they do seem to have a rather limited range of scopes. I have a friend who has a Meade 8 inch SCT that he loves but I could never afford and I'm not sure that image wise it is much better than my humble 6 inch newt. He disagrees though obviously

[crazyjedi]

Synta, who own the Skywatcher brand, also own the Celestron brand now so I guess they figure that Skywatcher SCT's would be competing against themselves !

Yeah I did have an idea that they were owned by the same company. Synta optics are in most chinese made scopes i think.

[Tinker1947]

Most things are made in china due to the lack of health and safety, a decent wage, long hours, now the chinese people have got wind of what the rest of the world gets and want some of it, so i suppose the next race to build scopes ect will be the eskimo's as all they have is snow...

[sologuitarist61]

Most things are made in china due to the lack of health and safety, a decent wage, long hours, now the chinese people have got wind of what the rest of the world gets and want some of it, so i suppose the next race to build scopes ect will be the eskimo's as all they have is snow...

Best get our orders in quick then before the prices start to rise again - and FLO is already saying there aren't many scopes about at the moment, is this a sign of a price hike on the way?

[John]

Lets keep on topic folks - the subject of scope supplies etc has been discussed many times on the forum

[sologuitarist61]

I wasn't actually discussing scope supplies, just taking the point from tiinker1947 a step further.

[DC_MPA]

"best" is a personal thing and the above brands carry many different models / designs all of which have their pros and cons.

I've learned this is the core of advice in terms of astronomical equipment. I wish you the best in whatever decision you make (as well as a review of whatever equipment you add to the collection).

[glowjet]

What is best, is a very loaded question and has to be a personal choice based on performance, I am a devotee of refractors, I have looked through a few, but based on others experiences and reports, and I am sticking my neck out here, at the top of the tree you are in the Astro-Physics Starfire range, Tec of which the 140 APO has a high reputation, Takahashi, tele Vue, TMB designed by the late optical wizard Tom Back, Vixen and others as you come down the quality line. Some of these top range scopes will set you back thousands of pounds and to boot you may have to wait a year or so for your order. But there are some young contenders who are receiving very good reports with a price range to suit a lot of pockets, I am thinking of the new Altai Astro APO 115 for instance, which was recently reviewed by Olly Penrice. Now I have put the cat among the Pigeon's we shall no doubt await the fireworks

John.

[Scott]

i think while there are quite a few good makers of telescopes, a more valid question is which should you avoid. i'm new to this forum(2/3 mth) but was advised to steer clear of a certain make that is of poor quality. just my opinion.

very grateful for that by the way.

[nicnac]

I've heard nothing but good things about TAL but they do seem to have a rather limited range of scopes.

TAL have a fair range of telescopes, OVL just dont supply them all.

i have the 150P and i can say hand on heart that i would not swap it for anything other than a larger TAL

[johninderby]

A basic rule is to never buy brands that are only available on eBay. If that brand can't be found on the website of a dealer that sells the main brands such as SkyWatcher, Celestron or Meade etc then stay well away.

BTW there are also high end brands (££££££) that aren't found at many dealers as well but they're another matter entirely.

John

[dav1d]

For my 2p worth, I'm rather fond of Celestron / Skywatcher

[garethmob]

for best value for money id go for a skywatcher / celestron (celestron mounts do seem to have a slightly better built quailty and electronic quailty than their counterparts)

avoide meade unless your getting a new one as the older ones had problems with gears and stuff all being made of plastic and electroncis dieing)

im really fond of william optics, never have i seen somthing so nice have so good build quailty fantastic little scopes

and tal well their built like bombs fantastic quilty, iv seen a larger one and considering getting a small one now

[Moonshane]

It depends what you mean by best. I only really know reflectors (Newtonians that is) and feel that the best value scopes are made by the Synta brands (Celestron/Skywatcher). Next up the chain are Orion Optics UK of which I have three versions, all with excellent quality optics although some are not so sure on the build quality.

The very best optics are produced as separate items to the carcase that they are carried in and are made by private individuals / small businesses in the UK and USA on the whole but as mentioned these costs big money. You then have to buy a carcase to carry the optics in that does them justice.

Best also affects ability to move about. Would a 40" Newtonian be better at finding faint galaxies than a 6"? Of course but moving it about is a different thing altogether.

For the average observer the limits of the UK sky conditions mean that you cannot do much better than the main best value brands.

The telescope is only half of the optical chain of course and the view is also greatly affected by the eyepieces, filters and even the focuser and mirror cell's ability to retain all in collimation.

[Thirdway]

It's an interesting question. Can i add another on a similar track?

There are volume and custom manufacturers. Ignoring the volume manufacturers for the moment I have been looking through the custom builders, of which there are literally thousands.

The USA do a great job of promoting their specialists producers of Newtonian scopes and mirror manufacturers such as Zambutu, mike Lockwood, starmaster, astro physics and loads of others. The UK seem relatively quiet about what we have. I found Beacon Hill telescopes but not much else. There is little comparison with mirrors such as Oldham against Zambuto, or Starmaster against Beacon Hill. Do we produce equipment as well as the USA or are we well behind.

I think it's a pity we walk into a shop or look at an Internet site and the choice is all based on price and only the usual suspects. You can buy a custom scope from Orion, but it's not off the shelf, so really it's not an option for the first time buyer. The hifi industry used to be like that, just technics, Sony etc until suddenly the British contenders appeared and became the 'proper' hifi.

[Moonshane]

I know of two other options to OOUK and these are John Nicol Nichol Optical and the one you mentioned, Oldham Optical. I am pretty sure they all have very minimal stock items but most are made to order as customers' requirements are very specific when paying such an amount of money for a mirror.

I may be wrong but suspect most USA mirror makers work on the same basis.

Personally, I only buy used as I could never afford a new one. E.g. I bought a 16" 1/8 PV primary for about a third of the new price.

[Daveb3650]

"Whch telescope is best?" ........ that's a bit like going into the library and saying "any good books in here? "..........

[Thirdway]

Surprised to find that John is actual local.

[Moonshane]

he's incredibly down to earth as well.

[Qualia]

I've heard nothing but good things about TAL...

TAL..i have the 150P and i can say hand on heart that i would not swap it for anything other than a larger TAL

and tal, well they are built like bombs fantastic quality

Nuff said