Moonlite focuser are that worth the price!?

[Supernova74]

Hi guys firstly hope you are all on stargazers lounge are keeping well and safe in thease differcult times is anyone else on here spending more money now since the lock down etc.at least we have got the weather and clear sky’s on our side at the moment anyway after some consideration I’m thinking of upgrading my standard focuser on my Meade 12”ACF  even tho I upgraded the focuser with the Peterson engineering upgrade kit still a little twitchy in getting fine focus especially at higher powers.i go by the general rule you get what you pay for in life however at times it’s not always the case and I’m considering the 3.25” to 2” moonlite focuser from other people’s experiences is it worth paying the extra premium price tag compared to the likes of skywatcher,Astro revelation and william optics as I don’t mind paying for superior quality and mechanical reliability 

[Brian28]

Hi , never had an issue with Moonlite Focusers , they are very very good ..,I have them on each of my scopes ..,

[johninderby]

The Baader Diamond Steeltrack is very, very good and has a much higher max load than the Moonlite as well as being more durable. The drawtube of the Mmonlite has just a plain anodised bottom surface whereas the Baader has a diamond coated one that will last for many years. I’ve had both but find the Baader is simply a better buy. The Moonlite looks nice but you are paying a lot more for the looks.

Edited April 7, 2020 by johninderby

[CraigT82]

I've had both moonlites and baader steeltrack and I found the moonlite was better for ultra precise focusing (lunar and planetary imaging). Better focus resolution if you will.

However my imaging train is not heavy and I've read that moonlites can suffer under heavy trains as the is so little friction between shaft and drawtube 

[johninderby]

When is Moonlite going to bring out an R&P focuser?

[Second Time Around]

3 minutes ago, CraigT82 said:

I've had both moonlites and baader steeltrack and I found the moonlite was better for ultra precise focusing (lunar and planetary imaging). Better focus resolution if you will.

However my imaging train is not heavy and I've read that moonlites can suffer under heavy trains as the is so little friction between shaft and drawtube 

Craig, was your Steeltrack the original or the Diamond model?

I ask as I recently bought the Diamond but have some other jobs to do before it gets fitted.

[RayD]

15 minutes ago, johninderby said:

When is Moonlite going to bring out an R&P focuser?

Now that would be something!

[CraigT82]

Diamond version, was on a mak150 a few years ago. Really nice focuses though. I just preferred the moonlite for one reason only and that was that I felt it was quicker to get to perfect focus. 

If you went for either the Baader or moonlite you would not be disappointed. To be honest I've also had several skywatcher and revelation focusers that I've been very happy with.

[johninderby]

Fav focuser of all time was a FeatherTouch 3” R&P on a WO FLT98. Perfection in focusing but now just a silly price. 😥

[Second Time Around]

4 minutes ago, CraigT82 said:

Diamond version, was on a mak150 a few years ago. Really nice focuses though. I just preferred the moonlite for one reason only and that was that I felt it was quicker to get to perfect focus. 

If you went for either the Baader or moonlite you would not be disappointed. To be honest I've also had several skywatcher and revelation focusers that I've been very happy with.

Thanks, Craig.