Saxon 8 inch maksutov?

[robz (Robert)]

I know that this question has been brought up on this forum quite some time ago,and I got a little feed back from a kind fellow forum member as a P.M.

However, I now have the opportunity to get one through one of the local dealers at at a very low price........far lower than Skywatcher, Russian versions or any of the 8 inch S.C.T.'s out there, so the situation has changed as far as budget is concerned .

So I need your help guys ..............if any one has seen one in action or knows of anyone who has one?

I know that these things are made to a price, but the optical performance should be quite good if they truly are made at the same factory etc. as the big brand versions as advertised on the Saxon web site?

Any info would be appreciated

[robz (Robert)]

Anyone??

[Starkler (Geoff)]

I believe that Saxon come from the same factory as skywatcher.

[robz (Robert)]

Hi Geoff, yes that is correct.

What makes the Saxon interesting besides it's discounted price (like all the Skywatcher/Meade stuff at the moment) is that it uses a 2 inch Crayford focusser to avoid mirror shift. That's a plus in my opinion.

There are some collimation screws at the back of the mirror should collimation ever be required.

I may go ahead with this purchase and will probably be the first to do a review on it's performance out in the field.

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

If this information is any good to you, I have never seen a bad Saxon telescope.
I've never heard of anyone have problems with them either.
Yes they are Skywatcher brand (or whoever makes Skywatcher)




I am in no way affiliated with Saxon Telescopes, even though they use my Deep Sky Images in their website Gallery
http://www.saxon.com.au

[robz (Robert)]

Thanks for your input Ken.
It should be a great scope for planetary use which is my main intention, but D.S.O. will be on the cards as well.

Cheers,
Rob.

[TheAstroGuy (Shane Ross)]

Hey Rob,

Shane here, still reckon the 7.1" black diamond will give superior images that's why they are more expensive, better lenses are used. But i think already told you this, did you consider a Good quality Refractor? they are getting pretty cheap these days especially with the dollar, OPT corp have some , i just think if you wanna do deep sky stuff and photography down the track a Mak isnt the way to go.

Kind Regards

Shane

[TrevorW]

Rob will your primary use be visual, at F12.5 it will be a bit slow for astrophotography

[robz (Robert)]

Hi Trevor,yes I realise that, but the Mak was only really intended for planetary visual use and the plan was to use a short F ratio Newt. for D.S.O. work/photography.

Anyhow it doesn't matter now as I have been extremely dissapointed with the state of confusion that exists with amateur astronomy(after a 30 year break) and the various types of scopes and their pros and cons.

It seems that any unknown brand that threatens the existing ones with a once in a life time price can only be crap.

Then comes the expert opinions from the ''very experienced'' who have owned at least a dozen different types of scopes and end up professing that the best scope is a ridiculously priced Ferrari red refractor that defies the laws of physics and beats everything hands down ??

It doesn't stop there........................ .in comes the ''aperature rules'' crowd that insist that their 30 inch dob is the ant's pants and is the greatest peice of kit the world has ever seen.

I once owned a 16 inch Newtonian with English made optics.It was an F4 and compared to my 8 inch F4.4 Orion, the ''fuzzies'' were still ''fuzzies''.....only a bit brighter and occasionally showed slightly more resolution, mostly with averted vision

Needless to say, I got sick of hauling that big heap around and nudging it from time to time because it did not pocess a drive system.So, ........been there and done that.

As a teenager, I dreamt of owning a C14.......the original orange one.
I still do...................until I started reading comments on this forum and others on the Web.
Now it seems like they are not what they're supposed to be : the ultimate, compact, powerful and large aperature dream machine????
Apparently these SC.T's (yes the latest versions) are plagued with the dreaded ''central obstruction/contrast destroying secondary mirror''.
Then comes problems with the focussing system and ''mirror shift''.
On top of that..........dew on the corrector lens, and yes.............they too can go out of collimation...................as can refractors.............WHAT???
Oh yeah, ............before I forget....................only a triple element exotic glass primary lens made by highly trained Japanese masters during the year of the dragon is worthy to be used and called a refractor for any serious viewing or photography.

I apologise for this rave, but my venture back in to astronomy has ground to a sudden halt.

I am no longer confident in spending any money towards any type of scope because of the issues I have mentioned and I definately DO NOT want to own 4 or more different scopes to overcome the defficiencies that exist between them.

[TheAstroGuy (Shane Ross)]

Rob, your funny yes the world is not a perfect place, but your right there's not one scope out there that's perfect for everything.
Neither is there one perfect woman?? no maybe that's not true but yeah unfortunately you must know what you want and base your decision on which best suits that i believe.

And hey if all else fails go to a Club night and try a whole bunch and or borrow a couple of my scopes. Who told you a Ferrari was the way to go??
Crazy nutter

Kind regards

Shane

[mill (Martin)]

Rob just get an ED80 and an 8" reflector.

[qld]

hello Robz, i have one of these scopes which i put on a skywatcher eq5 or my eq6 works fine on planets and the Messier objects i use it at school nights and it gets the wow factor .I had a few extras put on the scope such as changing the finderscope to a right angle finderscope illuminated and the diagonal to a quality 2" unit which improved things out of sight.It is heavier than my c8 due to the big hunk of glass on the front, generally it is of a very robust construction.a minor problem is that the visual back thread is not compatible with off the shelf gear and i had to get an adaptor made to accept standard threaded diagonals.i had one great evening looking at a creator on the moon where the contrast was so good that you could see the shadows of the mountain inside the crator move accreoss the floor of the crator.You either like Maks or you dont......another friend has a skywatcher version 8inch Mak and it has exactly the same performance as my Saxon .Hope this helps you fight the deamons.

Originally Posted by robz

I know that this question has been brought up on this forum quite some time ago,and I got a little feed back from a kind fellow forum member as a P.M.

However, I now have the opportunity to get one through one of the local dealers at at a very low price........far lower than Skywatcher, Russian versions or any of the 8 inch S.C.T.'s out there, so the situation has changed as far as budget is concerned .

So I need your help guys ..............if any one has seen one in action or knows of anyone who has one?

I know that these things are made to a price, but the optical performance should be quite good if they truly are made at the same factory etc. as the big brand versions as advertised on the Saxon web site?

Any info would be appreciated

[TrevorW]

Rob don't worry, I am primarily in to astro photgraphy these days due to poor eyesight but even then the need for multiple scopes and camera's to capture and image the myriad of objects out there means you need deep pockets.

I've got an 8"RC and an ED80 but would like a fast f4 10" equivalent Newt or RC, a 10" f12 Mak for planetary, a 120mm APO refractor, a very good mount and numerous different camera's etc etc but alas I have not won lotto as yet

PS: would also like an acre of land and a dark site to put my 2 storey architectually designed observatory on.

At the end of the day just buy what you like the look of and stuff everyone else's opinion, I do.

[omnivorr]

I utterly concur with all your comments except the last part of the last sentence :p

Originally Posted by robz

Hi Trevor,yes I realise that, but the Mak was only really intended for planetary visual use and the plan was to use a short F ratio Newt. for D.S.O. work/photography.

Anyhow it doesn't matter now as I have been extremely dissapointed with the state of confusion that exists with amateur astronomy(after a 30 year break) and the various types of scopes and their pros and cons.

It seems that any unknown brand that threatens the existing ones with a once in a life time price can only be crap.

Then comes the expert opinions from the ''very experienced'' who have owned at least a dozen different types of scopes and end up professing that the best scope is a ridiculously priced Ferrari red refractor that defies the laws of physics and beats everything hands down ??

It doesn't stop there........................ .in comes the ''aperature rules'' crowd that insist that their 30 inch dob is the ant's pants and is the greatest peice of kit the world has ever seen.

I once owned a 16 inch Newtonian with English made optics.It was an F4 and compared to my 8 inch F4.4 Orion, the ''fuzzies'' were still ''fuzzies''.....only a bit brighter and occasionally showed slightly more resolution, mostly with averted vision

Needless to say, I got sick of hauling that big heap around and nudging it from time to time because it did not pocess a drive system.So, ........been there and done that.

As a teenager, I dreamt of owning a C14.......the original orange one.
I still do...................until I started reading comments on this forum and others on the Web.
Now it seems like they are not what they're supposed to be : the ultimate, compact, powerful and large aperature dream machine????
Apparently these SC.T's (yes the latest versions) are plagued with the dreaded ''central obstruction/contrast destroying secondary mirror''.
Then comes problems with the focussing system and ''mirror shift''.
On top of that..........dew on the corrector lens, and yes.............they too can go out of collimation...................as can refractors.............WHAT???
Oh yeah, ............before I forget....................only a triple element exotic glass primary lens made by highly trained Japanese masters during the year of the dragon is worthy to be used and called a refractor for any serious viewing or photography.

I apologise for this rave, but my venture back in to astronomy has ground to a sudden halt.

I am no longer confident in spending any money towards any type of scope because of the issues I have mentioned and I definately DO NOT want to own 4 or more different scopes to overcome the defficiencies that exist between them.

[Sylvain (Jon)]

Robert, I love your post
Funny as f.... and quite true!

Anyway, go for it, pull the trigger on this 8" mak. It's not because it's not massively expensive that it isn't good. I went down that road, came back from it, and the result is that I simply LOVE my 180mm Skywatcher-chinese-made MAK. It's a great great scope, and you'll get lots of enjoyment out of it. It's a killer on planets, use it with a wide angle eyepiece and DSO are VERY accessible. Seriously, awesome value for money, you won't regret it.

Cheers
Sylvain

[robz (Robert)]

........Thanks guys!.............glad you liked my thread, and realised that I wasn't being too serious................I was hoping top get a few laughs and throw in some reality to this amazing hobby!

Glad to see you have one of these scopes qld..................and that it works well.................thanks for posting.

Had a chat to my ''perfect woman'' Shane .................and guess what?................she's all for me getting my dream scope in the next couple of months or perhaps sooner if funds permit...............I got to her in the end !

Please , please, drop off your Skywatcher Mak next time you're passing through......I'd love to check it out over a couple of nights.
Pity it's not finished in ''FERRARI RED''

May the JET STREAMS go to hell!!

Rob.

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

Rob I have 3 Saxon scopes an ED80 , 150mm f/5 refractor and a 150 f/8 refractor with Chromocor fitted , It was an awsome scope before the chromocor and now its bloody amazing ,rival a friends Astro Physics 6 inch on all objectes to about 350x .
As what has been said before Saxon has a very good name for there quality, I have heard they are hand picked from the Synta factory in China , So if visual observing of the Planets and Moon are your joy. get the 203 mm mak. Just be prepaired for awsome views... After cool down of course 1.5 hours minimum as all mak's need to its in there design.
Brian

[robz (Robert)]

Originally Posted by brian nordstrom

Rob I have 3 Saxon scopes an ED80 , 150mm f/5 refractor and a 150 f/8 refractor with Chromocor fitted , It was an awsome scope before the chromocor and now its bloody amazing ,rival a friends Astro Physics 6 inch on all objectes to about 350x .
As what has been said before Saxon has a very good name for there quality, I have heard they are hand picked from the Synta factory in China , So if visual observing of the Planets and Moon are your joy. get the 203 mm mak. Just be prepaired for awsome views... After cool down of course 1.5 hours minimum as all mak's need to its in there design.
Brian

Cheers, Brian...........good to know

[blink138 (Pat)]

there is an saxon 8 inch mak for sale on this site yesterday
pat

[robz (Robert)]

Originally Posted by brian nordstrom

Rob I have 3 Saxon scopes an ED80 , 150mm f/5 refractor and a 150 f/8 refractor with Chromocor fitted , It was an awsome scope before the chromocor and now its bloody amazing ,rival a friends Astro Physics 6 inch on all objectes to about 350x .
As what has been said before Saxon has a very good name for there quality, I have heard they are hand picked from the Synta factory in China , So if visual observing of the Planets and Moon are your joy. get the 203 mm mak. Just be prepaired for awsome views... After cool down of course 1.5 hours minimum as all mak's need to its in there design.
Brian

Hi Brian, I've also been considering a SkyWatcher 150mm F5 achromat refractor.

Are these any good for bumping the power up (with a chromacor possibly) and using for planetary viewing?

Thought you'd be the best person to ask as you have one and seem happy with it.

F5 is about as large as I wish to go though.

Your thoughts on this are welcome.

Regards,
Rob.