Orion Telescopes
This is a great looking telescope with its shiny red tube, but what impressed me more was the great price. Once upon a time you would have needed a lot of cash in the bank to buy a Maksutov. Thanks to the Chinese now assembling them to “orion specifications” it is lowering the price of these excellent little orion telescopes.
I have been viewing with this telescope three weeks now and have had excellent results from both deep sky and planetary viewing. When viewing Saturn you can clearly see the Cassini division in the rings. Jupiter’s cloud bands are visible with some color and are clear, sharp, with good definition.
I watched Jupiter for just over an hour so I could view the moon’s orbit around the gas giant. Do this with dark sky and the views will be worth your time and effort. The telescope I was using had a EQ-3M duel-axis drive making it much easier to view an object like Jupiter for a long period of time.
I then turned this great little telescope on M81, M82 and M103 with satisfaction. The Dumbbell M27 looked very good as did the Ring nebula M57.
I noticed that the background sky appears as velvet black when you look through this Orion telescope, this is a sign that the optics are very good. These Orion telescopes give views you would expect from an Achromat.
The optics are sharp and smooth, collimation was almost perfect and there was little focus shift when turning the knob. Star tests I did at all levels were very good.
I would suggest you buy a drive if your budget allows. You can buy the single-axis electronic drive for $59.95 and the duel-axis for $109.
Having a drive system means you can do much more detailed viewing of an object and you won’t have to worry about tracking it by hand. Even the experienced astronomers have problems doing this when they are using high magnification, as the object will appear to zoom across the eyepiece.
Orion Telescopes Recommendation
These are top Orion telescopes at an incredible price, you won’t find deals like this on a Maksutov anywhere. This is a problem free telescope with excellent viewing and high quality optics.
I highly recommend the Maksutov Orion telescopes to anyone who not only wants value for money but who wants a good quality telescope.
It is light and portable and simply slips into a carry case and you’re ready to go. CatalogCity is selling the full range of StarMax Mak and has the 90mm on sale.
