SKYMAX 127 AZ GOTO

[lindon uk]

Hi all, could anyone give me a decent review on the Skymax 127, what i could expect to see ie:- lunar, deep space etc, the reviews i have found just seem to be sales bumph, so if anyone has had first hand experience of actually owning one or observed through one i would be very grateful, thanks for you time.

[Space Cowboy]

I have this setup. If I had my time again i would get the auto-track rather than GOTO as the deep sky objects are very faint with this scope and its narrow field of view does not help. Fantastic optics for lunar and planet viewing. The mount is very lightweight which is good for grab and go observing but rather flimsy for astrophotography..shakes like crazy when focusing very easily vibrated. Scope takes a good hour or more to cool down. I believe its the best selling scope there is.

[Jim M]

I have this setup. If I had my time again i would get the auto-track rather than GOTO as the deep sky objects are very faint with this scope and its narrow field of view does not help. Fantastic optics for lunar and planet viewing. The mount is very lightweight which is good for grab and go observing but rather flimsy for astrophotography..shakes like crazy when focusing very easily vibrated. Scope takes a good hour or more to cool down. I believe its the best selling scope there is.

If you keep the magnification low - no more than 60x or so then the scope is immediately usable even when taking it out from a warm house into a frosty night. The rest of the info is about right.

[Macavity]

I found the GoTo useful, if occasionally rather "hit or miss". Ideally needs hard-standing? I sense the scope is a bit HEAVY for a Synscan. The hardware of the latter is [iMO] distinctly... "variable" too. I suspect this is broadly similar with the tracking-only version. Might as well have GoTo?

The MAK127 itself is significantly upgradable. Despite the known constraints of high-ish f-number, it is not exclusively a "planetary scope". Get a T2 -> SCT adaptor. Get a 2" diagonal. Get a better (RDF and 9x50 RACI) finder? But a DECENT mount, can transform this (already good) scope into something special - Surprisingly good on (brighter) DSOs, and significantly "general" purpose.

[scotastro]

One problem that showed up with the Mak127 on the AZ GOTO mount was the difficulty in getting the object into the FOV using the supplied 25mm EP (60x mag). It was always just outside the field no matter how accurately the mount was set up. Using a 40mm EP (38x) made life much easier as the object was always in the FOV using the GOTO.

If you are most interested in Moon, planets and double stars and the odd bright DSO the Mak127 is hard to beat, but for faint DSOs you need a bigger aperture such as a Newtonian

I would agree that the the scope is a bit heavy for the AZ mount. I use mine on an EQ3-2 which is far more stable.

Mike

[Space Cowboy]

I would second that...got myself a 32mm plossl which gives more margin for error on the GOTO. There is definite flexing in the mount when slewing which loses accuracy.

[Macavity]

As a random selection of objects, the MAK127 / synscan (when the latter is working well!) allowed me to FIND M36/37/38 (in Auriga) in rapid sucession. M42 (and the Trapezium) reveals quite a lot of detail. M13 looked "quite nice"? M57 is surprisingly(?) clear! The MAK127 resolves double stars close to it's theoretical limit - Ergo: Castor, Epsilon (1&2) Lyrae etc. are usually fairly easy? I had never bothered to look for the companion of Polaris, but as an assymmetric double, this was a notable first for me... with the MAK.

If the MAK is on a sturdier mount, you can add an adaptor (etc.) to allow use of 2" eyepieces. At least VISUALLY, you can then use 32+mm / 70 Deg eyepieces for ~1.5 degrees true field... maybe 1.7 Deg? Worthwhile, since the whole of m45 then just about scrapes into the field of view! But, with a 2" screw-on adaptor, the "back end" of the MAK is a lot more rigid, and won't dump heavier eyepieces onto the floor...

[AlexG]

Interesting! How does the Giro III Push-To fit in?

AG