Skymax 90 Table Top 3.5" Maksutov Cassegrain

[cearnshaw]

Thanks for the thoughts on the celestron in the my other thread. This is the competition to the celestron 80ED refractor for a grab and go scope. Does anyone have any experience of this? At £108 it seems a bargain but I am sceptical about how well it would perform

[John]

I've not used one myself but they are supposed to be cracking little scopes. My guess is that the ED80 would perform at least as well though and the Mak would not be as useful for wide field stuff as it has a long focal length and is limited to 1.25" eyepieces. Another benefit of the 80mm refractor is quick cool down time - you can get pretty good images almost straight out of the house.

Just my views - others might prefer the Mak of course

John

[jgs001]

Would an EQ1 be solid enough with the C80ED on it ? I've heard good things about the Skymax 90 as a grab and go

[Lee]

The Skymax 90 started it all for me. It was my first "proper" scope, and would make a great choice.

As the others have said, the views through it will provide a more instant appeal due to the more magnified views. But this will obviously limit you on the wider stuff. Planets and the moon will be good. This will also perform on some of the brighter DSO.

I do prefer refractors but as a starting scope a Mak is a great choice, When I started I found the views through fast refractors quite disappointing. I feel totally different now as I understand what to expect.

You could always get both. It won't take long to justify it to yourself...

I would spend the extra and get the EQ mount, as the table top mount has limitations.

Just remember there is no "do it all" scope...

Lee.