Bosma telescope - Chinese brand

[ManUtdFans (Alan)]

Anyone here had bought or played the scopes of this brand Bosma(Chinese brand). Looks a bit cheap for a beginner.

http://www.bosmaoptics.com/

[Hzadbhat (Brandon)]

I've got a chinese knock off of a skywatcher 8". Can't even give the bloody thing away. Useless for parts as well.
Stick to a reputable brand such as a genuine sw, meade or celestron.
There's several other brands such as takahashi.
If you buy cheap, you usually get cheap.

[Wavytone]

Www.andrewscom.com.au lists a few things from Bosma.

Stick to Skywatcher if you want a cheap scope that works.

[ManUtdFans (Alan)]

Originally Posted by Hzadbhat

I've got a chinese knock off of a skywatcher 8". Can't even give the bloody thing away. Useless for parts as well.
Stick to a reputable brand such as a genuine sw, meade or celestron.
There's several other brands such as takahashi.
If you buy cheap, you usually get cheap.

I understand.
The brand I asked was cheap because it is selling on Chinese website so that's why they are cheap.
For the SkyWatcher, aren't they made in China now?

I guess when you buy Chinese product if you are in China will be cheap as you buy US products when you are in US?
BTW, if no one have used Bosma then I won't take that risk.

[Shark Bait (Stu)]

Originally Posted by ManUtdFans

I understand.
The brand I asked was cheap because it is selling on Chinese website so that's why they are cheap.
For the SkyWatcher, aren't they made in China now?

Yes, Sky Watcher is made in China. In this case that does not mean that the quality of the product is poor. If you purchased a Sky Watcher telescope i'm sure you will be happy with its performance. As mentioned elsewhere, if you can afford to spend more you can have very nice optics available from Japan, USA and Europe.

At the end of the day if you purchased a Dobsonian, it would not really matter if you ended up with a Sky Watcher, Saxon, GSO or Bintel.

If you have an astronomical society near you, chances are they hold free public viewing evenings. The best way to pin down what you are looking for is to try before you buy.

[ManUtdFans (Alan)]

Originally Posted by Shark Bait

...At the end of the day if you purchased a Dobsonian, it would not really matter if you ended up with a Sky Watcher, Saxon, GSO or Bintel...

Hi,
What do you mean this?
Are they the same piece of product by one factory (OEM) but only put on different brand badge?

[Shark Bait (Stu)]

Originally Posted by ManUtdFans

Hi,
What do you mean this?
Are they the same piece of product by one factory (OEM) but only put on different brand badge?

Saxon and Sky Watcher telescopes come out of a Chinese factory (Synta).

GSO telescopes come out a factory in Taiwan. Bintel dobsonians are GSO telescopes with their own branding marked on the optical tube assembly.

Essentially all scopes within the price bracket you are looking at will be made in China or Taiwan.

So Sky Watcher & GSO telescopes are not made in the same factory. Find your way to a free public viewing session with an astronomical society and I am sure you will be impressed with the views at the eyepiece.

Either way, you can be confident that the Sky Watcher, Saxon and GSO Dobsonians are going to serve you well.

That said, we all have the option of buying hand made mirrors in custom made optical tubes. It all depends on how deep your pockets are.

[doppler (Rick)]

Originally Posted by ManUtdFans

Anyone here had bought or played the scopes of this brand Bosma(Chinese brand). Looks a bit cheap for a beginner.

I use a 102mm f7 Bosma refractor as a guide scope and sometimes for photography. The tube is made of a reasonably thick alloy and the optics are good for an achromat. The focuser is 2" with a 1.25" adaptor. This is where the ok part ends, the focuser works ok but is made of a lot of plastic parts and the tripod is far too light weight and unstable .The eq2 clone mount that it came with is just ok. The ota makes a great telephoto lens as well (on a camera tripod).

[MortonH]

Bosma make the Ioptron 150mm Mak that is well regarded, so some of their stuff is good.

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

I have heard about these , have not looked thru one and don't know who makes them but Andrews Communications sells them .
Brian.

[doppler (Rick)]

I think that I should update my earlier post about my Bosma scope. The ota is made of a cast 3mm thick alloy tube and very solid. Visually the optics are excellent. The focuser is a rack and pinion and with a 150mm drawtube travel, it makes a great telephoto lens. There is a fair bit of side movement on the drawtube, but there is a screw on top to lock the focuser in place when needed. It did come with a 50mm bosma finder scope and 12mm and 25mm bosma plossel eyepieces. I did buy it as a package from an online Chinese discount store so the mount and tripod were probably not made by the Bosma factory. I am happy with the ota, even if the mount is a bit ordinary.

[Sylvain (Jon)]

I have had the chance to look through one of their 150 Maks, and it was nice and sharp. Very good value for money if you ask me! Not everything that is made in China is bad, there are quality and non quality products.
Mechanically and optically I found it to be good but of course if one starts comparing with much much more expensive brands (I saw tak mentionned in this post!!), one is bound to notice the differences, no doubt about that!

[David Niven (David Niven)]

Astronomy is such a flexible hobby, that you don't need to spend thousands of dollars to enjoy it. Your imagination, interest and skill is more important IMHO.