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Skywatcher Skymax 150 mm.


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I have a black diamond version of the Skymax 150 mm. I have owned a few Maksutovs in the past including an older champagne colour version of this scope.

My understanding of the capabilities and attributes of different telescopes designs has finally come home to me after chopping and changing telescopes over the last few years.

I have to admit that I have only recently appreciated that some telescopes can give bright views with very black skies (high contast). Well this Skymax 150 mm does deliver on this. Also there have been times when I have been observing I have seen stars as tight points of light. Resolving double stars nicely is one task that this telescope is capable of. One night I was viewing the stars in and around the Orion constellation. It was delightful. Lots of well resolved points of light. The view being pleasingly bright with a very black black background sky.

It may give views similar to that of a lower diameter ED refractor. But the Skymax 150 mm has extra diameter and light gathering power. It's no way a light bucket.

Planets have been disappointing this year. But the Skymax is not at fault here due to the low height of their positions and horrible seeing conditions generally these days in and around large cities. Being in South East Hertfordshire as I am. Very close to London. I suspect that the truth is that planetary observing has been below par this year.

The field of view is not that of other faster, shorter focal ratio telescopes. Being F12 and not F 6 or 5. I use a two inch star diagonal with a 22 mm Nagler. The field of view is very acceptable indeed for visual star gazing. Observing the Moon is a joy. I may well look for a pair of white tube rings so as I can add a carry handle for easier handling. At 150 mm it does get beaten on apature with other Cassagrain design telescopes. But it does have a narrower central obstruction and this does make a difference on object sharpness.

Cooling time is longer due to it's thicker meniscus lens. So it's a more specialist telescope. You cannot just take it out and observe.Unlike my 80 mm refractor which cools down quicker and is ready to view much quicker.

I am hoping to buy a goto mount in Feburary/March time. My hope is that the mount will further enhance my observing experience with this instrument. I will also take it to the dark skies of Swanage when lockdown allows.

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Nice report, I have owned a SW 150 Mak and sold it because i was so curious about owning a refractor. Sometimes i do think and wish i still had the 150 Mak, it put up views of the moon and planets that were amazing.

Hmm, i do miss that Mak, maybe i will find another one and this time i'll keep it.

Edited by Sunshine
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You make some interesting points Martin..

In my time I've bought and sold, at a guess, probably 50-75 telescopes., often owning 6-8 scopes at a time! 

Many of these were older refractors which I bought as I loved long, older achromats (I still do in many ways). But I've also owned a fair few Maks and the odd SCT or reflector too. 

But if I'm honest, one very good long achromat of 80mm -100mm performs very much the same as another of the same aperture and optical quality..they might look  a little different or have a crayford focuser instead of a rack & pinion, or vice versa, but what you see, at the same focal length, is very similar, probably 95% similar.

I suspect that the same is true for other scope types, like Maks and reflectors: I'd emphasise that I'm talking like for like here, apo vs apo, focal length vs focal length, and also assuming a minimum quality of optics.

I've come to realise, though, that other factors are every bit as important as the scope I'm using..for example, in no particular order: location, light pollution, atmospheric conditions, eyepieces, my age, diagonals, mounts, barlows, my mood, tiredness vs alertness, temperature, what's on tv vs what's on view in the sky, family, work, diet, state of health, what I did today, what I'm doing tomorrow...pause for breath!!

So now I permanently own two scopes, like you Martin, and I buy and sell a whole lot less "stuff" than I did 5-10 years ago. No longer am I searching for a "Holy Grail" scope or "Optical Nirvana".. yes, I'm fortunate to own one high end refractor, which I had to wait until I was in my 60s to acquire, but for the past 4 years I'm learning to be content with my equipment and to develop, (belatedly in my case) my observing skills, patience and making the most of every session to see or learn something new about our great pastime.

Reading your report, Martin, I sense that you have seen views through your Mak that prove to you that your scope can deliver probably as pleasing results in your location as you could hope to achieve with any other scope of comparable capabilities. You also have a very fine 80mm refractor for those all to common short, sharp sessions..

That being the case, I'd respectfully urge you to hang on to both of them and really get to know them inside out, so you can push both your scopes and your observing skills to the very limit. I'm finding that approach for myself surprisingly rewarding.

I look forward to reading more reports of your experiences with both your fine scopes 👍😊

Dave

Edited by F15Rules
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1 hour ago, F15Rules said:

You make some interesting points Martin..

In my time I've bought and sold, at a guess, probably 50-75 telescopes., often owning 6-8 scopes at a time! 

Many of these were older refractors which I bought as I loved long, older achromats (I still do in many ways). But I've also owned a fair few Maks and the odd SCT or reflector too. 

But if I'm honest, one very good long achromat of 80mm -100mm performs very much the same as another of the same aperture and optical quality..they might look  a little different or have a crayford focuser instead of a rack & pinion, or vice versa, but what you see, at the same focal length, is very similar, probably 95% similar.

I suspect that the same is true for other scope types, like Maks and reflectors: I'd emphasise that I'm talking like for like here, apo vs apo, focal length vs focal length, and also assuming a minimum quality of optics.

I've come to realise, though, that other factors are every bit as important as the scope I'm using..for example, in no particular order: location, light pollution, atmospheric conditions, eyepieces, my age, diagonals, mounts, barlows, my mood, tiredness vs alertness, temperature, what's on tv vs what's on view in the sky, family, work, diet, state of health, what I did today, what I'm doing tomorrow...pause for breath!!

So now I permanently own two scopes, like you Martin, and I buy and sell a whole lot less "stuff" than I did 5-10 years ago. No longer am I searching for a "Holy Grail" scope or "Optical Nirvana".. yes, I'm fortunate to own one high end refractor, which I had to wait until I was in my 60s to acquire, but for the past 4 years I'm learning to be content with my equipment and to develop, (belatedly in my case) my observing skills, patience and making the most of every session to see or learn something new about our great pastime.

Reading your report, Martin, I sense that you have seen views through your Mak that prove to you that your scope can deliver probably as pleasing results in your location as you could hope to achieve with any other scope of comparable capabilities. You also have a very fine 80mm refractor for those all to common short, sharp sessions..

That being the case, I'd respectfully urge you to hang on to both of them and really get to know them inside out, so you can push both your scopes and your observing skills to the very limit. I'm finding that approach for myself surprisingly rewarding.

I look forward to reading more reports of your experiences with both your fine scopes 👍😊

Dave

Hi Dave. I am so grateful for your contribution and experience here. Not a technical thesis. But from the heart regarding your personal experiences and advice to be. I have been reading your posts over the years and conect with them.

Thanks.

Martin

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