Re: Best 4" Mak

On Jan 19, 3:22 pm, David Nakamoto <david.nakam...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Paulie wrote:
On Jan 19, 10:43 am, David Nakamoto <david.nakam...@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

Thad Floryan wrote:

On Jan 18, 2:32 pm, Paulie <jones.pau...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Hi,

There are thousands of messages in the archives about
reviews of all kinds of 4" apo and 8"-11" SCTs but there
is almost none about 4" Maksutov Cassegrain. What
are the choices available? I only heard about the
Orion Apex 4" Mak. Have anyone owned other brands?
What's new out there and existing in the market that
is not commonly heard or reported? Thanks.

Meade's ETX line is Mak (though their new ETX-LS is
a 6" SCT).  I "think" ETX OTAs are 90mm and 127mm (5")
though there may be other sizes; not sure if the OTAs
are available separately.

I think the Orion Mak is the only one sold separately, and you can't
beat the price or quality.  I own the 5-inch Orion Mak, and have
compared it side-by-side with the 6-inch Orion Mak, and both are great
Maks for the price, delivering better images than an 8-inch SCT we
compared them to side-by-side-by-side.

   --- Dave- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I read that the inside tube of the Orion Mak is shiny
and off-axis reflections can be seen in the eyepiece.
Do you know how to disassemble the tube to put
flocking paper in the shiny wall?

Also how can a 5" Orion Mak beat an 8" SCT
when the latter have twice the light gathering power??

Paulie

I don't know about the Mak you have, or the one the guy who wrote to you
had, but I just examined my 5-inch Orion Mak, and the interior through
the front meniscus lens is a flat black surface, and I have not
experienced any reflection problems aiming it at the moon.

A good Mak should have better contrast than an SCT.  Brightness isn't
everything, and it doesn't count when seeing the moon or planets to a
large degree.  Contrast is as or more important, and everyone thought
the 5 and 6-inch Maks had better contrast, myself included.

But one observer who's observation skills I trust got one of the 5-inch
Maks and said that he was able to see almost all of the objects he saw
through his 8-inch SCT, a feat he attributed to higher contrast, meaning
more contrast between the object and the background, even though the
images were slightly dimmer.

   --- Dave- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Here's the thread

http://groups.google.com/group/sci.astro.amateur/browse_thread/thread/c759aecd3a292486/747729e96619a5b7?lnk=gst&q=APEX+ORION+tube#747729e96619a5b7

The message opens with ...

"Earlier today I purchased an Apex 90 for some ancillary piggyback
applications and overall it's fine but it seriously needs some
baffling/flocking inside the OTA."

When did you get yours? The above message was written in 2003.

paulie
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: C5+ pages updated
    ... got one favorable report on the Orion 127mm Mak. ... I tried the Orion 127 mm, and it was very nice, but not *that* ... If this thing is really outperforming every 8-inch SCT ...
    (sci.astro.amateur)
  • Re: Any Good ?
    ... Someone here predicted accurately that Orion USA would likely ... The mak is, I understand, made by Celestron, and should therefore be good. ... you might want to compare prices between Orion and ...
    (uk.sci.astronomy)
  • Orion 6" Mak- any good?
    ... I notice in the latest catalog that Orion has a 6" Mak. ... wouldn't offer time for me to set up my C11. ...
    (sci.astro.amateur)
  • Re: Orion 6" Mak- any good?
    ... I've got both 127mm Mak and 150mm Mak from orion. ... My only complaint is mirror shift in the focuser. ... from orion is right on with little slop in the focuser. ...
    (sci.astro.amateur)
  • Re: Best 4" Mak
    ... Orion Apex 4" Mak. ... I think the Orion Mak is the only one sold separately, ... Also how can a 5" Orion Mak beat an 8" SCT ... Contrast is as or more important, and everyone thought the 5 and 6-inch Maks had better contrast, myself included. ...
    (sci.astro.amateur)
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