Stellamira 125 ED F7.8

[RobertI]

10 minutes ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

Thanks for your thoughts...

I've taken advantage of FLO's offer to polish the ota to remove the (very minor in my case luckily) tube ring imprints and it's being picked up tomorrow.

Otherwise I've been very happy with the Stellamira's performance, although the scope has only had three outings due to poor weather and work. The ota was taken to Astrocamp unfortunately that long weekend was a washout.

The combination of aperture, focal ratio and low weight combined with the nice optics and focuser is perfect for my needs. There's absolutely no need for me to keep more than one telescope now, so I'll very soon be selling my Altair 102ED, Skymax 127, AZ5 and AZGTI. 

Sometime next year the AVX will go too as I aim to simplify observing and replace that with an alt az mount. 

Hopefully the weather will be kinder at Kielder Star Camp in October. I really want the Stellamira 125 to render me speechless under those dark skies. 🧐

 

Sounds like a great idea to simplify your kit to just the 125ED on a sturdy altaz mount. 👍

[IB20]

So, er, how are owners of this fine telescope getting on with them? I’ve just seen FLO have got a Xmas sale on and I’m getting fidgety… it is nearly Xmas after all. 😬

[globular]

[SCANS]

5 hours ago, IB20 said:

So, er, how are owners of this fine telescope getting on with them? I’ve just seen FLO have got a Xmas sale on and I’m getting fidgety… it is nearly Xmas after all. 😬

Yeah, if you're already fidgety, you probably don't want to check out Chris's reviews on AstroLaVista : https://youtu.be/_ii55pJqHwo  Personally, I'm hanging by a thread. I really don't need another scope, but I'm pretty much convinced that I should treat myself to one of these anyway.

 

[Sunshine]

I love the look of this scope!

[M40]

13 hours ago, SCANS said:

Yeah, if you're already fidgety, you probably don't want to check out Chris's reviews on AstroLaVista : https://youtu.be/_ii55pJqHwo  Personally, I'm hanging by a thread. I really don't need another scope, but I'm pretty much convinced that I should treat myself to one of these anyway.

 

Thanks for pointing this video out 👍 I also looked at his video where he compares the stellamira 125 with a tak fc100, well worth a watch. I didn't realise this telescope would be so good on Saturn and Jupiter, I will be giving it a go weather permitting. Here it is alongside it's smaller brother which is surprisingly a very similar weight....

 

 

Edited November 29, 2023 by M40

[Paz]

I've had this scope since mid August. Taking how much you actually use a scope as something objective and measurable I have had 24 sessions since then, using the following scopes...

15 sessions Stella Mira 125mm

5 sessions TS Photoline 72mm refractor

2 sessions Bresser MC 127 Maksutov

1 session Altair ED102R f7

1 session 8x42 Opticron DBA VHD+  Bins

Usually this list would have my 102mm f7 refractor as my most used scope by far. Having gone past the honeymoon period the SM 125 has taken over as my main scope.

I've taken the handle off and I've got on a longer (300mm) dovetail so I can balance it straight away with very light or very heavy loads without having to move the scope in the rings.

There is one thing  I am not so keen on is that it's stressful setting up for solar as the dark carbon fibre heats up immediately when setting up in the sun, but it is fine once it is pointing at the sun.

[IB20]

18 minutes ago, Paz said:

I've had this scope since mid August. Taking how much you actually use a scope as something objective and measurable I have had 24 sessions since then, using the following scopes...

15 sessions Stella Mira 125mm

5 sessions TS Photoline 72mm refractor

2 sessions Bresser MC 127 Maksutov

1 session Altair ED102R f7

1 session 8x42 Opticron DBA VHD+  Bins

Usually this list would have my 102mm f7 refractor as my most used scope by far. Having gone past the honeymoon period the SM 125 has taken over as my main scope.

I've taken the handle off and I've got on a longer (300mm) dovetail so I can balance it straight away with very light or very heavy loads without having to move the scope in the rings.

There is one thing  I am not so keen on is that it's stressful setting up for solar as the dark carbon fibre heats up immediately when setting up in the sun, but it is fine once it is pointing at the sun.

That’s great to hear. I don’t actually think I’ll use it for solar as my PST always comes out for the sunny days. My mount (AZ75) & tripod for the 4” is a two act carry out, the 5” would be no different so I’m thinking the 5” will be out when the 4” would currently. It looks so damn appealing too. 
The 4” may have to go to help pay for it though, I’m sure I could live with a 5” and 3” gng set-up mind. 

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

On 28/11/2023 at 20:25, IB20 said:

So, er, how are owners of this fine telescope getting on with them? I’ve just seen FLO have got a Xmas sale on and I’m getting fidgety… it is nearly Xmas after all. 😬

I was blown away by mine at Kielder Starcamp. Performance was all I could ask for at the price point and aperture. Although due to poor weather and work I've not used the Stellamira since, however the scope's coming out tonight.

[paulastro]

On 09/08/2023 at 13:42, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

First the bad news. Full disclosure, my first SM125 had a bubble and swirls of scratches on the dew shield.

The whole telescope was swiftly replaced by FLO yesterday. On inspection I could not see any faults and last night I even managed half an hour under a clear sky. I was very impressed with the short session.  Albireo's yellow and blue colours really popped. The orange colour of Gamma Aquilae was strikingly obvious even at low mags.

I swung the ota up through Cygnus and was impressed with  how the star fields were rendered even under the light pollution. M29 popped right out at me.

A defocused Vega showed a tight even round circle and no false colour in the mix.

A very quick test but so far I'm very happy with the telescope despite the initial hiccup.

A bit late to the party, but is it correct you have the scope on an AZ5?  If so, could you tell me how it handles the scope please?

Best regards, Paul

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

18 hours ago, paulastro said:

A bit late to the party, but is it correct you have the scope on an AZ5?  If so, could you tell me how it handles the scope please?

Best regards, Paul

I tried the scope on the AZ5. Not recommended! The Celestron AVX holds the ota great however on a couple of occasions the star diagonal has caught the tripod legs.

I'm currently mulling over other mounts...

[fireballxl5]

First "DSO imaging light" for my scope was of M51 on Sat 20th April before the clouds rolled in around midnight... Just an experiment really with the Moon around to see if I may need a flattener with this 'simple' doublet refractor using a 1" chip. Little data so pushed too much maybe and no flats so background isn't right...

Conclusion being that I don't need to spend any more money on astro gear (atm...😜)

M51 / Stella MIRA 125ED f7.8 / ASI533MCP / IDAS D2 / 8x300s (40m)