What a bargain !

[John]

If anyone wants 5" apo refractor performance for 4" achromat money this will give you that !:

http://www.astrobuys....php?view=66716

I had an Intes 6" F/6 mak-newt (the one above is 6" F/8) and that pretty much matched my ED120 on lunar and planetary and beat it on deep sky of course. The Intes Micro's are better again

Cool down will be longer (though this one has a fan) and they need a decent mount but great scopes - world class performers really.

I've no link with the advert by the way.

[sparkyjon]

nice wish i had £299 spare.

[John]

I ought to add that the small secondary mirror on these, while eliminating diffraction to virtually zero, does mean that it's not going to work that well with low power, wide angle eyepieces. At medium to high powers they are superb though.

[Grotemobile]

That is a lot of kit for the money.

Make a great planetry scope for

someone.

Steve.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Very good deal, but not for me (though I am tempted). At F/8 it is going to be long, heavy (especially because it is Russian), and cumbersome. It will beat my C8 for contrast, but not for detail.

[John]

Very good deal, but not for me (though I am tempted). At F/8 it is going to be long, heavy (especially because it is Russian), and cumbersome. It will beat my C8 for contrast, but not for detail.

I agree they are a niche scope Michael. But interesting all the same. With all the attention that the TAL's get (deservedly) it's interesting to see other Russian scopes. The Intes and Intes Micro's are a step up from TAL in terms of optical and engineering quality and finish in my opinion. Normally they cost a lot more than TAL's too which is why this one stood out for me !

[John]

I've just noticed that the vendor says that there is some loss of coating on the corrector plate which accounts partially for the low price I guess.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I've just noticed that the vendor says that there is some loss of coating on the corrector plate which accounts partially for the low price I guess.

That had me worried. Loss of coating could indicate the presence of tiny scratches on the surface. This might well impair performance (even if not immediately obvious to the eye).

[E621Keith]

I had the smaller MN56 for a while. It had wonderful optics and I'm sure a MN68 will be better. Unfortunately I really didn't get on with a Newtonian on a GEM and sold it.

The ABS photo doesn't have enough resolution to show the coating damage, it could be a problem if it is severe, or it could be the greatest bargain of the year if the damage is minor.