If anyone has noticed the Lightweight Newts that ZWO has been developing, shown here on their website:
http://www.zwoptical.com/Eng/Optics/305/
Scroll down to where the scope photo is located.
They look a bit like they are made from Mechano sets but if they are truely light, and the optics are good enough and assuming they will have a shroud available they could break some new ground in the market.
I emailed them about availability and this is what came back:
"
Hi, our 12" newtonian will be available at july I think
our 10" newtonian will come at first
yes, you can buy directly from us
but shipping cost maybe a lot
I am not sure our Australian agent will get in stock or not".
Best Wishes
Sam
ZWO Co., Ltd.
Tel:
+86 18914084791
Phone:
+86 512 65923102
Web:
http://www.zwoptical.com
FB:
http://www.facebook.com/ZwoDesignAstronomyCameras
Yahoo Group:
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ASICamera/
So I guess we need to know what Optics Central's position is going to be on making these available. How much could shipping be from China? All the weight looks to be in the mirror. You could always throw away or sell the mirrors and replace them with high quality if your keen for the framework.
As a bolt together kit the package should be fairly small.