Skywatcher

[robwin]

Hi all,

I am thinking of purchasing a Skywatcher Skymax-150 pro (f/12) with a eq6 pro skyscan goto mount

can anyone give any advice on if they are worth the money or am i just going to wait mine.

Cheers

Rob

[moondog]

Rob

The Skymax seems to get mixed reviews, Sky & Night thought it was OK, but then they hardly ever say a bad word about any 'scope!

The Skymax is not a large scope and the HEQ5 go-to ( which I have ) would have no problem handling it. I think you'd be wasting your money on the EQ6 - unless you were thinking of buying a larger scope later.

8)

MD

[DaveGibbons]

Rob, I purchased a Skmax 150 pro maksutov when they first came out and have to admit it was optically stunning! I had an Orion Optics OMC140 deluxe that cost 3 times the Skywatcher and the Skymax 150 absolutely blew it away on every type of observation. The only down side is image shift through focus , this is not a real problem for visual use but could be rather annoying if you wish to use it for imaging. I had it mounted on an HEQ5 that handled it no problem. I would still get the EQ6 mount though as it is far more versatile and you will be future proof with regards to any larger scope you may get.

I sold my 150 Mak after getting aperture fever and boy do I regret it! As soon as my bank balance improves I am going to buy it's bigger brother the 180!

cheers

Dave

[GordonCopestake]

I'm an APO type of guy and would say go for the ED100/EQ6 instead. Not as much aperture but the high contrast is much more pleasing to the eye

[Rob]

I'm going to say if you can afford an Eq6, get it!... to get a top whack mount like that is the best thing you can do!. The mount is everything. Even if you swap to another scope, thats the mount that can take most ion the market. So a decision on scope will never be an issue!.

[FLO]

Here are a couple of reviews:

http://tinyurl.com/ouesf

http://tinyurl.com/on54n

[GazOC]

I sold my 150 Mak after getting aperture fever and boy do I regret it! As soon as my bank balance improves I am going to buy it's bigger brother the 180!

Dave,

Apperently Markus Ludes has one for evaluation and, although he hasn't tested it properly yet, says that first impressions are "promising". High praise indeed!

Gaz

[robwin]

Thanks for your onfo guys you have been a great help.

Rob

[Brass n glass]

Ciel et Espace magazine, which sends all its review instruments out for independent interferometer tests, was very keen on this scope. It said the test showed very slight astigmatism and that there was no image shift.