Bresser Messier 127mm F15 Maksutov

[johninderby]

Bresser Messier 127mm F15 Maksutov

Just bought this OTA as my grab'n'go planetary scope.  ?
 
Chose it over the Skymax 127 for one main reason. The Bresser is a full 127mm aperture, not only 118mm like the Skymax. Also has a bigger primary and a smaller central obstruction. Tube is bigger in diameter than the Skymax to accomidate the bigger primary. Just on simple aperture alone it's 8% bigger but due to the smaller central obtruction it's about 10% bigger in aperture area. A worthwhile difference.

Build quality is similar to the Skymax. IE: not high end but very good. Do like the clip on front cover which is similar to a camera lens cover instead of just a push on type. Finder bracket has an 11mm mounting rail on the top so many red dot finders will just fit on. However I wanted a regular Synta type mounting so used an Orion SCT shoe. Also replaced the standard visual back wth a TS one with compression ring. Just don't like those visual backs with a single screw that bites into the diagonal. Diagonal is a Skywatcher delectric. Just waiting for a dew shield to arrive and a 1.25" to T2 adaptor so I can fit a Baader helical microfocuser to the top of the dagonal.

Sits nicely on my Manfroto 475 geared tripod and Manfroto 405 geared head. The head has beem modded by removing the centre geared secton to make it into an Alt-Az head. I have used a C8 on this combination which was pushing it's capacity to the very limit. Doesn't even notice the weight of the 127 Mak. The whole setup with OTA can easily be carried single handed outside. Proper grab'n'go.  ?

Had it's first light about 4:00am this morning. Was a bit misty so not a lot to see but Jupiter was visable just over the neighbours roof. The scope had been sitting in the conservatory so not to warm and was able to observe right away. Was impressed with how sharp and clear Jupiter was at 158x mag. The equal to what I had ever seen with my old Skymax 127 and the scope wsn't cooled fully plus Jupiter was low down. Did the obligitory star test and the Airy dsks both in and out focus were excelent and showed colimation was spot on. Left the scope out to cool for a while but when I went back out the mist was getting thicker so just brought the scope back inside. Oh well at least had a nice look at Jupiter earlier. 

So I'm pleased with the build quality and the optics seem to be slightly sharper than both the Skymax and Celestron 127 Maks I used to own. More testing needed but very happy with the scope so far.

         John
 

[John]

Interesting report John. I have wondered about these Bresser mak-cassegrains for a while. Thanks for posting something on this one

[nightfisher]

Positive report John, i have toyed with this scope but im sure i read a poor review on here some time ago, might be wrong by sound of it

[JeremyS]

Sounds really promising, John.

Hopefully you will also try out the Bresser Messier MC-152 at some point? ?

 

[johninderby]

Looking forward to some lunar observing with it where it should perform well with the increased apeture over the Skymax. Did come across some comments comparing the Bresser and Skymax and they thought the Bresser optics were slightly better. It is a more expensive scope so not surprising if it turns out to be a bit better.

Did read some negative comments by a Cloudy Nights “expert” who it turns out had never looked through the Bresser and didn’t know the specs. ?

[johninderby]

8 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Sounds really promising, John.

Hopefully you will also try out the Bresser Messier MC-152 at some point? ?

 

My Skymax 180 won’t allow the Bresser 152 in the house. ?

Love the 180 but wanted something that basically took no setting up and was curious about the Bresser 127. 

[JeremyS]

10 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Love the 180 but wanted something that basically took no setting up and was curious about the Bresser 127

I do admire your spirit of curiosity John ?

Taking one for the team as ever ?

 

 

 

[johninderby]

Few bits arrived for the scope. Dew shield, Baader micro focuser and a nosepiece for it, solar filter and a solar finder.

Hard to find the right sized dew shield as everyone in the UK seems to have stopped stocking this size but found a new one on eBay. The Baader micro focuser will add fine focusing. The stock focuser is actually pretty good and smoooth though. Found an open box but new solar filter at a nice £25.00 discount. Perfect fit and even matches the colour of the rear of the scope as well. The solar finder came from China via eBay for a whole £12.16 delivered but very well made.

Edited May 2, 2019 by johninderby

[johninderby]

Well the sun peeped out through a break in the clouds and had the chance to try out the solar filter and finder. With a 25mm 60 degree eyepiece the sun just about filled the field of view. Nice sharp image of a featureless sun. ?

The Baader micro focuser worked nicely. ?

Edited May 2, 2019 by johninderby

[JeremyS]

Looking good, John!

[johninderby]

Solar finder

The basic Svbony solar finder is non adjustable but they also do a version with a mini ball head mount so I’ve now mounted mine on a mini ball head. No lack of adjustment now. ?

Also removed the disc from the finder and filled in the etched lines with ink.

[nightfisher]

In some ways this would be a nice scope for me to own but sadly the focal length is to long, i can only just fit a full moon on the chip of the 1000D with the skymas 127........at 1900mm FL i would end up with a square moon

[Paz]

Great report. I've had one of these for some time  and have done a lot of observing with it. Here's some shots from the family album... The last one is side by side with the VX14 which illustrates how compact it is. I'll try and add a few comments about it when I get a moment.

[Paz]

Here's some additional comments...

This scope is short, light, simple, reliable, colour free, has lots of in/out focus travel, high contrast, relatively low cost, and it goes easy on eyepieces.

The cons are small maximum field of view, cool down longer than a comparably sized refractor, slight focuser shift at high magnifications, you can't use it with a Herschel wedge, the effective focal length changes if you change the distance to the eyepiece and the move the primary to refocus, and dewing is more of a risk.

I've used this on all targets from solar to dso's. It gives the cleanest images of all my scopes except when I stop down the VX14 which is also very clean. I have found double stars and open star clusters suit it the best.

I have modified it with a dual speed focuser, Telrad and Raci finder, dovetail weight, dew shield, and sometimes use a filter wheel.

This scope and my ST120 are my most used scopes, usually this one is used if it's primarily brighter and smaller targets, and the ST120 if it's dimmer or larger targets.

I went for this instead of the sky watcher because this scope is slower just like nature intended maksutovs to be(!). It's also better looking (call me shallow) but that's just a benefit of it, not a reason to buy it.

I was supposed to sell this ages ago but it's still with me and seeing action.

[Ags]

It definitely does look a lot nicer than the SkyWatcher competitor. I do feel telescopes should be white. Looking at this as the upgrade of the right hand side of my dual scope setup. I like the slight increase in aperture over the Skymax, but with 1.25" eyepieces it will never offer more than .85 degrees FOV, so it is not Double Cluster-capable.

[johninderby]

Clear at last so decided to do a bit of lunar observing with the new Mak. Gave some lovely views with really sharp and contrasty images. Spent some time wandering down the terminator enjoying the detail. Never remember the Skymax 127 ever produceing images as good as this. Just feels like a bigger scope if that makes any sense. Used a Baader Moon & Skyglow filter which I like as gives the moon a neutral grey shade.

Well I bought it as a grab’n’go lunar / planetary scope and it doesn’t disapoint. Found I could observe straight away after taking it out if the conservatory. Doesn’t seem to be as affected as the Skymax by lack of cool down time. New camera arriving on Tuesday so looking forward to trying it out on this scope.

Yes it’s a bit more expensive than the Skymax but seems worth it. 👍🏻 

Edited May 11, 2019 by johninderby

[Louis D]

Does it use a standard SCT rear thread?  If so, you could put a 2" visual back on it and use a 2" diagonal.  I did this with my 127mm f/12 Mak and the only issue is an oval flaring when bright stars pass the edge of the rear port.  Vignetting is not noticeable visually.  Using a 40mm Meade 5000 SWA really opens up the maximum true field compared to a 32mm Plossl.

[johninderby]

Yes it has a standard SCT thread. Could stick a 2” SCT diagonal on it if I wanted to.

[johninderby]

While drilling the mounting holes for the carry handle discovered that the inside of the tube isn’t just painted but has micro baffles the full length of the inside surface of the tube. Also on the inside of the baffle tube.  Was going to flock it but no need. 

Just waiting for some button head screws so the handle can be bolted on.

Edited May 19, 2019 by johninderby

[dweller25]

Hello @johninderby

I am interested in this scope, could you answer a few questions please ?

Does the Bresser have the same rubber o-ring as the Skywatcher 127 at the rear ?

Are the rear plate and rear opening plastic or metal ?

How many screws are used to adjust collimation ?

 Thanks in advance

[johninderby]

Hi

Don’t think there is an O ring at the back but haven't taken the back off. There is a metal back and the SCT port is metal as well. There is a plastic dust cover over the back.

There are three small openings in the back cover with rubber dust plugs and the colimation screws are underneath. Looks like a colimation screw and next to it a colimation locking screw bit like a newt. Collimation was spot on so haven’t touched anything.

Edited May 19, 2019 by johninderby

[dweller25]

Great info John, thanks

[johninderby]

 Fitted a carry handle to the OTA. Inexpensive one from Screwfix - Smith & Locke D Pull Handle 171mm - but quite a nice thick aluminium one. They do a few various lengths that would suit many scopes.👍🏻

[johninderby]

Focuser knob

Wanted a bigger focuser knob for the scope and had a spare GT2 60 tooth drive pulley and thought it would make a good focuser knob. The focuser knob simply would not come off so had to resort to cutting the old knob in half with a cutting disk to get it off.

The drive pulley had a 5mm bore which was close enough to the shaft diameter of 4.72mm. The drive pully was intended for a 10mm wide belt.

New knob works perfectly and makes focusing easier. 

Edited July 9, 2019 by johninderby

[Telescope40]

2 hours ago, johninderby said:

Focuser knob

Wanted a bigger focuser knob for the scope and had a spare GT2 60 tooth drive pulley and thought it would make a good focuser knob. The focuser knob simply would not come off so had to resort to cutting the old knob in half with a cutting disk to get it off.

The drive pulley had a 5mm bore which was close enough to the shaft diameter of 4.72mm. The drive pully was intended for a 10mm wide belt.

New knob works perfectly and makes focusing easier. 

Very neat and up to your usual standards, John. 

Regards. John