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William Optics Megrez 90 APO - Looked at but not through..... so far

John

By John
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John

John

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My new WO Megrez 90 APO was deilvered today and I have now had time to unwrap it and have a look over it. The usual "new astro gear" weather conditions are currently in force however so no 1st light as yet :-(

Arrived in a solid 2ply cardboard box. When opened there was a further layer of bubble wrap around the hard case that the scope comes in. No damage to packing or contents and delivered in 24 hours as promised by Ian at Altair Astro so full marks there.

Heres a photo of the rather nice scope case:

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And heres the Megrez 90 nestling in it - the diagonal is my Tele Vue Everbright Dielectric 1.25 inch:

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The overall size of the scope is about the same as the ED80 but with the weight of the ED100. For scale the scope case is 24 inches long. Heres the scope with the dew cap extended - the main tube is 90mm in diameter:

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The fit and finish of this thing is simply superb - it's really in a different league to anything I have owned up to now. The focusser is high gloss black with machined alloy focussing knobs except the fine focus knob which is machined from brass. The focusser is reinforced with steel strips so that it can take heavy loads. It's action is incredibly smooth and precise. The tube has thick (3mm) walls and is finished in satin white eggshell. The rear of the sliding dew cap assembly is finished in matt anodised brushed gold alloy as is the matching front tube cap. The sliding movement of the dew cap is firm but smooth. As you push it back down the air in the tube vents through holes hidden under the mounting plate.

Here is a side view of the focusser and mounting plate:

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The whole focusser can rotate smoothly around the gold band just in from of the mounting plate and then fixed in place - no more having to rotate the diagonal and then fumbling for the focus knobs in the dark !.

Heres another view of the focusser - a very impressive piece of kit in itself:

image.jpg

Finally, for now, the optics - a 90mm f6.9 apo doublet made from FPL-53. There was a fleck of matt black paint on the inside of the ojective but the lens cell was very easy to unscrew (you take the dew shield off first) and a puffer brush sorted that out. Otherwise pristine (as it should be) and remarkably few reflections as the photo shows here:

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Overall I am really impressed by the quality of this scope and needless to say I can't wait to get under the stars with it. I've now got to make a simple adaptor to fit it on to my AZ-3 mount - which may or may not be it's final resting place. I've also got to decide if I need a finder for it - there is no finder dovertail as there is with Synta scopes but, if you use tube rings, the mounting plate can be rotated and a finder fitted to that.

I'll post a 1st light report as soon as the clouds allow :-)

John

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John

John

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I'ts a rather strange feeling really - this is the sort of scope I have gazed at and longed for since a 1st started reading "Astronomy" magazine in the early 1980's. I felt really guilty placing the order for a 90mm scope that cost £750 quid - with no mount ! - but now it's here all that has faded away - it's so obviously worth the money.

Obviously the performance under the stars is the the key but if it's anything like the reports I have read then Tele Vue and Tak are going to have to watch out - this thing cost half as much as their offerings.

Yes, I'm very happy ... :-) :-) :-) :-) etc, etc

John

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John

John

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a well corrected 90mm triplet in such a well machined tube for £750 is a bargain in my mind!

It's a doublet Gordon - but so are the Tele Vue 85 and the Tak Sky 90 I believe and they cost £1,500 - £1,800 !!.

I'll let you know how well corrected it is when the clouds go away - if it's not then I'll need to be corrected ;-)

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John

John

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Is it? Oh! I thought it was a triplet.... Hmmm, although colour free is colour free and the triplets take longer to cool anyway :D

I think read somewhere that a triplet is more significant if you use the scope for imaging - I'm a visual observer (and with my patience destined to remain so) so I think a doublet will do fine for me. The cool down is imprtant as well - I believe it can be up to an hour before even a modest apeture triplet is giving of it's best - I'm a grab and go type observer so a quick (or no) cool down time is what I'm after.

Mind you I must get that white tube resprayed a nice champagne colour ....... :-D :-D

John.

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MartinB

MartinB

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that should be a fantastic scope.

Something troubles me about William Optics scopes though, and has bothered me more since I got my Zenithstar. They look too nice. All that shiny finish, retractable dew caps, posh hard cases, rotating focussers. I really couldn't give a damn about that and would rather be spending my money on the optics. I think WO have hit on a clever trick by tarting up their scopes - all designer chic. It makes not one iota of difference to how well the scope performs. The other strange thing is that they go into aesthetics big time and then (on Zenithstar doublet) put a horrible plasticy knob on their excellent dual speed crayford focusser - the one thing that you are aware of in the dark!

Fortunately they perform well, I just don't like paying for pretty paint jobs

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Jamie

Jamie

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Martin as you well know WO lenses are considered as some

of the best out there.

Personally i can't fault the build quality of the Zenithstar range of scopes

as you can see from my sig i have two of them.

If you wanted a good build quality on a frac that size you would have been looking at a TMB CNC

which would probably been outside our price range.

Like i say i have the Zenithstar 80 fluorite doublet but no plasticy knobs on the focuser though.

I wouldn't have bought the scope if it didn't have the build quality that it does.

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MartinB

MartinB

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Sorry Jamie, I don't think I can have explained myself clearly! There is no questioning the build quality of WO scopes. What bugs me is paying for build quality which is purely cosmetic and theres plenty of that with WO scopes. Fine for TMB, Takahashi etc cos making the scope look pretty is a small proportion of the overall cost. So quality optics, good focusser yes please. Fancy, shiny paint job, retractable dew shield, rotating focusser, smart hard case - personally I would prefer the budget version and spend the diference on quality filters.

If I'm going to pay for something to look I would rather buy a painting than a telescope. Give me chipped and cheap Synta paint jobs any day!

God I'm turning into a grumpy old man :shock:

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SteelRat

SteelRat

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If I remember rightly, according to the TV series the age bracket starts at 36. I think I just sort of accepted the role there and then - if the cap fits etc etc etc.

You both got yer points on WO though I'm not sure the finnish'd cost them all THAT much. There are quite a few WO66/80 style clones out there that seem cheap enough. They just won't share the WO/TMB pedigree. Does any of that make sense?

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FLO

FLO

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There are quite a few WO66/80 style clones out there that seem cheap enough.

If you see this months Sky & Telescope, you will see that Synta/Skywatcher (the people who started the affordable APO era) have two new APOs on the way. They will be called Equinox and - as far as I can tell - use the glass from their current PRO range but have WO style build quality/features.

Personally, If a telescope is too posh, I am more concerned with having to look after it so I tend to favour regular Skywatcher build-quality.

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SteelRat

SteelRat

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Yup - know what you mean Steve. Both mine are old tanks; Tal100r (pre RS) and SV Nighthawk (pre crayford & sliding shield) - the Nighthawk IS the poshest scope I've ever had.

These Skywatcher scopes going to look like the Celestron Onyx per chance? or more WO than that?

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