Skywatcher Skymax 90

[fairyhippopo]

anyone owned Skywatcher Skymax 90? can give me some reviews or problem with this scope?

[Anthonyexmouth]

i had one, got it to try out a little planetary and lunar. ended up gathering dust as i couldnt be bothered to swap scopes on my mount. great for the price, focus can be tricky but adding a clothes peg to the focuser helps with fine adjustment. 

[fairyhippopo]

1 hour ago, Anthonyexmouth said:

i had one, got it to try out a little planetary and lunar. ended up gathering dust as i couldnt be bothered to swap scopes on my mount. great for the price, focus can be tricky but adding a clothes peg to the focuser helps with fine adjustment. 

is it good for planetary?

[Ags]

I have a Skymax 102 which is very similar. A small Maksutov like this can give nice views of the Moon and and planets and also some of the smaller and brighter deep sky objects. But Maksutovs have a very narrow field of view, so it is hard to find things if you don't know your way round the sky.  Not a problem for bright targets like the main planets or the Moon.

[vlaiv]

+1 for Skymax 102.

It's recent addition so I have not had a chance to use it much, but so far - I like it very much.

When I was thinking of getting my first Maksutov scope - there were a few contenders 90mm, 102mm and 127mm. I'm glad I've chosen 102mm.

In essence very similar focal length to 90mm (1250mm vs 1300mm) but a bit more aperture - good for both light grasp and for resolving things. Moon is very sharp with this scope. I was not much of Lunar observer but this scope is now my grab&go for quick lunar.

Many people will say that Maks have very narrow field of view, and while this might be true for larger instruments with longer focal length, I don't think it is necessarily true for 90/102mm models. I also have 8" dob. That instrument has 1200mm of focal length and is considered one of the best amateur visual instruments and often recommended to beginners. Almost the same focal length as 90/102mm maks (only 50mm difference between each of them). I never felt "boxed in" by my 8" dob, and yes, if you want to observe whole Andromeda with it - it's not really going to work, even if you put forward serious cash (and get ultra wide 2" eyepiece) - you'll still miss a bit of FOV.

But if person wants wide field views - its just much more cost effective to get ST102 / ST120 type scope and enjoy truly wide fields at 500-600mm of FL.

In any case - good scopes, if you can, get 102 - just a bit larger and a bit more fl but more aperture for a bit more money.

[fairyhippopo]

2 minutes ago, vlaiv said:

+1 for Skymax 102.

It's recent addition so I have not had a chance to use it much, but so far - I like it very much.

When I was thinking of getting my first Maksutov scope - there were a few contenders 90mm, 102mm and 127mm. I'm glad I've chosen 102mm.

In essence very similar focal length to 90mm (1250mm vs 1300mm) but a bit more aperture - good for both light grasp and for resolving things. Moon is very sharp with this scope. I was not much of Lunar observer but this scope is now my grab&go for quick lunar.

Many people will say that Maks have very narrow field of view, and while this might be true for larger instruments with longer focal length, I don't think it is necessarily true for 90/102mm models. I also have 8" dob. That instrument has 1200mm of focal length and is considered one of the best amateur visual instruments and often recommended to beginners. Almost the same focal length as 90/102mm maks (only 50mm difference between each of them). I never felt "boxed in" by my 8" dob, and yes, if you want to observe whole Andromeda with it - it's not really going to work, even if you put forward serious cash (and get ultra wide 2" eyepiece) - you'll still miss a bit of FOV.

But if person wants wide field views - its just much more cost effective to get ST102 / ST120 type scope and enjoy truly wide fields at 500-600mm of FL.

In any case - good scopes, if you can, get 102 - just a bit larger and a bit more fl but more aperture for a bit more money.

my main purpose is planetary, so i guess fov is not an issue for me..

[vlaiv]

Just now, fairyhippopo said:

my main purpose is planetary, so i guess fov is not an issue for me..

Then get a driven mount. Even simple clock drive on a basic mount is going to be beneficial.

I mostly observe with 8" dob, but got AzGti with ST102 (primary purpose of purchase was something else, but with strong desire to keep the scope close to me for quick grab n go from balcony). It really makes a difference not having to nudge scope every so often - focus shifts solely on teasing out the details and not messing with mount and getting view back in center of EP ever dozen of seconds or so.

[Ags]

Skymax 102 with the AZ-GTi mount is a nice combination, particularly for viewing planets.

[Louis D]

I bought two used 127mm Maks for $200 each, one for me and one for my daughter.  That's basically the same price as a new 90mm Mak.  The latest 127 versions come fitted with a 2" visual back, so you can use 2" eyepieces for a wider true field of view with some vignetting and weird reflections from bright objects.  For planetary, my 8" Dob blows it out of the water, but the 127 Mak is so much more compact and easily pack-able for car trips.  The views through 90mm Maks seem much dimmer than through the 127 Maks despite only being just over an inch smaller.  However, I find the views through my 90mm APO much brighter than either because it operates at a much shorter focal length.  If you need absolute compactness, then the 90mm Mak is the way to go.

[Geoff Lister]

My 90mm Mak came with the Skywatcher Virtuoso (Dobsonian) mount. Provided that the seeing conditions are reasonable, this little Mak is fine for the Moon, Jupiter and Saturn. The mount gives me AZ/Alt:- (1) full manual, (2) powered tracking, or (3) full GoTo with the Synscan handset from my 10" Skyliner. Again, if seeing conditions are good, and with the aid of the GoTo, Uranus is visible, and different from adjacent stars.

With a solar film filter on the front, the 90mm Mak is excellent for solar "white light" observation.

Celestron have the 90mm Mak as a spotting 'scope package with 45 degree diagonal and 32mm Plossl eyepiece; designed to sit on a photographic tripod, and will also fit most astronomical mounts. This is a bit of a compromise, as the 40x minimum magnification is a bit high for bird-watching. I prefer Skywatcher's Virtuoso version.

Geoff

[Anthonyexmouth]

Oh, if you get the chance, go for the next size up if you can afford it. The 90mm comes with a silly mounting plate, every other model bigger comes with a standard dovetail, that was pretty much my only regret with the 90. 

[Anthonyexmouth]

11 hours ago, fairyhippopo said:

is it good for planetary?

This is my very first, and to date, only planetary imaging session. Really need to have another go at this sometime. 

 

[RT65CB-SWL]

Hi @fairyhippopo and welcome to SGL. 

I have a Meade ETX105, now 're-modded' as it had a 'minor' accident many years ago.

Below is an image of Montes Appeninus area of the Moon; (taken with a 2.1 megapixel digital compact camera and 26mm Meade Plossl e/p @ 56.5X magnafication); before the 'minor' accident...

...and 're-modded' ETX105 --->