Re: How much does the way a telescope looks play a role in whether you buy it?

From: Too_Many_Tools (too_many_tools_at_yahoo.com)
Date: 02/01/05 

Date: 31 Jan 2005 21:59:17 -0800

Your question is a good one...and in my opinion the answer is one that
many do not like to admit to.

Many times what you are seeing is that people will focus on what they
can relate to. A poor finish, rough mechanical fittings, paint chips,
etc. are things that many reviewers will go on and on about because
they are unable or unwilling to do a respectable optical or mechanical
review.

It takes time, money, equipment and experience to do a complete review
on any product. Most reviewers are short on one or more of these
resources.

Stop and consider how many reviews you see for other consumer products
that are superficial and shallow. Reviewers will go on and on about
small insignificant details while refusing to review the actual
functionality of the product.

Many small refractor discussions are an example of the non-review in
the astronomy hobby. Take any review and highlight the actual physical
optical data that the review offers...it will be little to nil. How
really good or bad are the optics? Numbers please. Is there color where
none should be? If so, then how about pictures and graphs measuring
exactly how much? If the mount is shaky, then how much vibration is
there? How much weight will the mount take before performance actually
suffers? I would sure like to know all these details...so would others.

Meanwhile, the reviewers will go on and on about the finish, the feel,
the look, the...well, you get the idea. Funny how it is always stuff
that you can't see in the dark. Isn't the whole idea of this hobby is
to look at the sky and not at the scopes. Scopes are merely a means to
that end.

There is a saying, "You can't know what you won't measure."

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