Quote:
Originally Posted by AlexN
Fair enough. As is always the way, taking scopes for a test drive is the definitive answer. I do know however that a fast Newtonian will likely one serve to drive you mad. I had a 10"f/3.8 for a short while and it was superb when precisely collimated but the slightest shift and the scope was of no better quality than a cheap department store scope.
For the record too Phil, I was at no point bagging out anyone who buys pricey gear nor was I trying to come to terms with my compromises. I've never been one to compromise when I want something.. I've had Tak scopes, Ive had a TMB apo, an apm with TMB lens, had the Williams optics 110/5.6 TEC apo. I've had custom built newts for imaging, rc's, intes micro 8" mak-cass for visual work. That said I was never shy to buy a cheaper alternative ifbthat alternative could outperform the competition. That's why I bought my C11. Sure, I could have hunted about for a 12" Mewlon, or built a classical cassegrain, but after heaps of discussions and the obligatory test drive or two the C11 was the best option. And at the time the AUD was at parity with the usd so with a bit of shopping around and bargaining with a couple of shops I picked up my C11 with the dew shield,a heater strap, the 6.3 reducer and a piggyback setup for my small apo for $3600. The money saved was funnelled into a Moonlite motor focuser. The scope was a dream and all up cost me less than half the price of my other options.
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Sounds like you have gone through a lot of scopes :-) Astronomy seems to do that to us all lol
I had similar experiences but my last SCT was a C11 which was the best SCT OTA I had used to date. Was very nice on planets.
Then used a friends Mewlon 250 which made the C11 look very poor comparatively. Plus the outstanding build quality and secondary focuser were a dream to use.
So almost went and got a M250 until I was introduced to someone that had the Mewlon 300 which blew the doors of both of them. Especially on Planetary and Lunar visuals. So though what the hell may as well go the whole distance and get the M300.
If I could have gotten the same usability, build quality & optical quality in a cheaper alternative then certainly would have done so as I certainly don't agree with paying premium dollars for a label, but there are not many alternatives options with the same combinations.
It may be that I keep the M300 and buy a custom newt/dob with zambuto mirrors just for wide field... will have to investigate !!
Cheers