What is your favourite manufacturer?

[matt]

Yes.

I really like the William Optics gear as well.

It's beautifully put together. Very nice fit and finish, and still competitively priced. As good as anything on the market in terms of performance and quality for your dollar.

[Terry B]

A Vixen is my best scope. For quality at a reasonable price it is hard to beat.

[Zuts]

I voted other which would be Televue as I just put an order in for a TV 85

Paul

[Glenhuon (Bill)]

My favourite manufacturer is the the one that can give me a quality product at the lowest cost

[spearo (Frank)]

Losmandy...hence my recent downpayment on a G11
frank

[dugnsuz (Doug)]

Although I Don't Own Any Of Their Products Yet, I Feel That William Optics Have Re-introduced A Quality And Aesthetic Sorely Lacking From The Meade/celestron Space Race!!!
Cheers
Doug

PS - I owned a C8 back in the 90's and I think that the Celestron hardware is better than the Meade stuff - but Meade won hands down on the innovation, electronics side of things.

[Stephen65]

I'd be voting for WO too

[GLENN A DAVIS]

My First Telescope Was A 50mm Amasco.it Was A Simple Table Top Scope, But Gave Me Years Of Enjoyment!
I Then Got A 100mm Unitron Refractor, Which Was Superb!
I Then Made Myself A 200mm F/8 Newtonian Reflector.
In 1978 I Finaly Got A Celestron C8 Which Was A Great Portable Instrument.
Celestrons Advertising In The 1970's Was Very Enticing And Certainly Wet My Appetite!
Right Now I Do Not Own Any Telescope At All!
I Am Hoping To Get A 100mm Triplet Next.
Maybe If I Ask Santa Nicely??

[IanL]

I would have voted for televue. I can not see past their build quality. Over engineering and fine optics.

Ian

[madtuna (Steve)]

No particular manafacturers advertising influenced me...(save for Macdonalds and Cadbury)

I am influenced by use, feedback from users and forums like this

[Ian Robinson]

Don't have a favourate .... I choose by quality (wont compromise on it) and want good value for the $ too.

I am probably a very tough customer to deal with.

I do my homework before buying anything.

[torr (James)]

Well Tasco probably influenced me the most advertising wise, but I've never bought any Tasco gear (that i now of..ie unbadged cheap eyepiece). My old man did once when I was a kid, a little 60mm apt/800mm fl refractor on a wobbly az mount.

[ving (David)]

nikon

[seeker372011 (Narayan)]

orion-the best customer service in the industry

[TrevorW]

Stallarvue for bang for buck

A & M Italia for sheer opulence

[Ian Robinson]

I' go for quality and performance.

I am not the least bit influenced by hype / advertising, as I do my homework and know exactly what I want before I start shopping and have never physically visited a shop to buy a camera or telescope or mount or assessory.

I like Vixen GEMs , Lumicon odds and sods and have never bought a manufactured telescope (I've bought all my telescopes as components and assembled them myself , opticals from Nova , Orion Optical , NPGW and the like, cells and HW from Novak or Orion Optical or AS, focusors from JMI or made to order etc).

The only telescope I have that was bought complete was the one dad bought for when I was a kid (a 1960's vintage Tasco 60mm EQ) ,... still got it.

[DavidU (Dave)]

I remember the early Astro Physics adds in the US mags, I wanted one so bad !!!!!!!!!! still do, they are just 10 times the price.
I did manage to drool all over the early Meade Starfinder 10" with elec drive so I bought one (from a fella in Coonabarabran).

[multiweb (Marc)]

Originally Posted by DavidU

I remember the early Astro Physics adds in the US mags, I wanted one so bad !!!!!!!!!! still do, they are just 10 times the price.
I did manage to drool all over the early Meade Starfinder 10" with elec drive so I bought one (from a fella in Coonabarabran).

When I was a teen I had a magazine and I used to look at those Perl/Vixen massive newt and drool over the Celestron HSTs on their fork mounts looking at the price list and thinking "yeah, right! no in this life time". And now I'm in the land of kangoroos with a C11! See? S**t happens. Even for a frog!

[Zaps]

Takahashi.

When I was young I had very little interest in amateur astronomy equipment. Maybe because I wasn't an amateur astronomer until after I retired from a professional astrophysics career. Then I got to see and use Takahashi telescopes when observing with friends, and nothing else will do for me now. My fellow Americans think the sun shines out of Roland Christen and Astro-Physics, but for me they pale to Tak.

[dpastern (Dave Pastern)]

Advertisting didn't sway me one iota. A bunch of reviews in magazines, and via online forums helped me make a decision with my current gear.

Dave