Skymax 150

This a great "little" scope. This review is for the 7" (180mm) maksutov cassegrain. Out of the box, the collimation was perfect. Personally, I am a "refractor person", but when those scopes get up there in aperture, the tube length can become cumbersome for transporting. Maksutov scopes can give you the benefits of refactors, in a folded reflector format. Planets look spectacular. With the 7" mirror, you get some good light gathering for deep sky objects. At the same time, it's easier to transport and set up. Match this scope with a celestron AVX mount - or similar. You don't need anything more sturdy - unless you're going to do some very long exposure astrophotography. That said, these kinds of "maks" are best for visual use. At a recent star party with a local astronomy club, many were looking at Saturn rising through the 'scopes. There were big schmidt-cassegrains and newtonians, as well as a couple of small refractors. Everyone thought this 7" mak had the "best" image - at 180x. The rings - while still almost edge on - were crisp. We also saw 4 satellites of Saturn. They were pinpoints sparkling next to the planet. The bigger scopes showed them, but they were more like small "blobs", even in best focus. This mak gave a more "sharp" and detailed view, which everyone enjoyed. As for the focusing, maks (and SCTs) can have a little "wobble" when focusing. This 'scope did have a small shift when focusing, but not horrible. Objects stayed in the eyepiece. Fine focus is possible if you have a steady hand. But there are other focusers you could add, to give even finer focus. But I had no problem with the stock focuser for visual use. As for deep sky objects, again, the views may not have been as bright as in bigger 'scopes, but the views were "beautiful" - the detail and almost 3-d structure of clusters and nebulae was impressive. Double stars are very nice - especially colored ones like Albireo in Cygnus. The colors and sharpness were similar to or better than through a refractor. The Moon is equally stunning. If you're looking for a good, portable 'scope that's primarily for visual use on solar system and brighter deep sky objects , you can't beat these maksutovs. If you're looking to do more astrophotography and deep sky observing, a larger SCT is probably better for you. I would highly recommend also getting an aftermarket fitted carrying case/bag for this scope.

I was looking for a lightweight Mak-Cass or similar to mount on a small Alt-Az mount for night hikes. I did NOT want this for go-to or astrophotography. Though I imagine this scope would be great for that too. I wanted a scope that's easy to bring outside and actually use. The first Sky-Watcher I ordered had a damaged O-ring. I returned it and they new one was fine. I mounted the Skymax 102 to an old surveyor's tripod and a Svbold alt/az mount. Moon gazing was phenomenal. Jupiter, Saturn, Orion, Pliedes were sharp. Edge-to-edge field of view was crisp. No chromatic aberration that I could see. Overall I am very impressed! Perfect for what I need.

I started with a small 90mm Orion Mak-Cassegrain and wanted something a bit bigger. The 127mm Sky-Watcher was the perfect choice for me. It is a bit larger and heavier than the Orion, but is still much smaller than a Dobsonian. The added focal length and aperture give me a better, brighter, and sharper image. You may not be able to see large deep sky objects with this scope, but if your interest is the moon and the planets, this may be the right fit for you.

So far so good. The one I bought was sold as "used- very good" and was heavily discounted. The version I received, to my relief, had the collimation screws as advertised on Amazon for the new model. A speck of debris inside the tube immediately caught my eye. Shining a light into the tube (never do that to yourself) revealed a miniscule amount of debris and a slight smudge on the corrector plate; nothing I was concerned would significantly affect performance. This is a nice looking scope. I like the finish. This scope is light but feels substantial for its size. The caution with this scope is that, despite its compact size, it is easy to under mount due to its long focal length. It is designed to be used at medium to high powers and so will amplify any shakiness to the point of nuisance. Desiring this scope to function as a grab-and-go instrument, I was concerned when my lighter eq mount couldn't keep this scope steady when being brought to focus or repositioned with slow motion controls, taking several seconds to stop wobbling. Despite recommendations against doing so, I mounted this on my fluid panhead photo tripod and to my surprise this worked very well. I now experience no wobble at the eyepiece while focusing or viewing. This pairing was my original hope as this setup is extremely portable and versatile, allowing for simple height adjustments, standing or seated. Of course it will be rainy and cloudy for days on end because I have a new scope. However, I have had a couple of less than ideal moments that nevertheless allowed some testing of the optics. A mak cass is said to specialize at sharp, contrasty lunar and planetary observing as well as double star splitting. It gave up an effortlessly sharp saturn in the early a.m. Just tonight I observed the moon. At 140-160x the view was razor sharp and contrasty. I noticed a couple of rimae inside a crater that I now wish I had taken the time to find on a lunar map. I took the power to 195x using a 20mm redline with a celestron 3x barlow. Still effortlessly sharp. After that, I split the double-double in Lyra. No problem. This thing does what it is meant to, beautifully. So, 5 stars. Under better seeing conditions I'm looking forward to seeing what else it can do. I was able to nab the ring nebula no problem before haze and clouds drifted in. I did swap the diagonal out for a William Optics dialectric I already owned. Svbony sells a nice, affordable dialectric. The included diagonal might be fine. The included red dot finder works great. I will probably go back and forth between the red dot and an Orion 9x50 finderscope that I'm happy to be able to use with this scope. The only issue I see limiting this scope's grab-and-go potential is its cooldown time, reportedly 30 minutes or more. Keeping that in mind and planning accordingly sort of flies in the face of the concept of grab-and-go, but it is what it is. Otherwise, it can still be used at lower powers til the unit reaches ambient temperature. Um, I made a temporary dew shield with construction paper. I like the soft carrying case that came with the scope. I guess that's about all I can say for now. Easy 5 stars for performance vs price. Hmm...I just realized this thing can easily handle my binoviewers, which makes this my only small scope that can. It's also my only scope that doesn't require a barlow to bring my binos to focus. Can I give this scope 6 stars?

Had only but bad weather since receiving this telescope but I did test it on daylight and it was sharp even at extreme magnifications. I was able to also check jupiter and it showed up nicely. I think this is the sweet spot between portability and planetary ( especially planetary) power

Needed a long focal length scope to complement my "short" scope. Short scope is great for nebulas, etc, but too wide for closeup planetary or lunar viewing/photography. This scope at 1300 mm FL, altho not too wide in aperture, is a great scope for planetary viewing and is easy to carry around. Saturn & jupiter pics were shot with it the day (night!) it arrived! Recommended.

Wish there is a version with a nice GOTO Mount

Ottimo telescopio perfetto anche per uso in terrestre. Potente, sufficientemente luminoso ed estremamente nitido. Ottimo telescopio, costruito interamente in metallo e con una buona dotazione di base. Compatto e non troppo pesante, è facilmente trasportabile. Gli oculari forniti a corredo sono già validi per iniziare. Il cercatore di tipo red dot funziona bene ma è di scarsa qualità. Buono il prisma raddrizzatore. Mi ha soddisfatto al 100%

Incluye el telescopio con montaobjetivos de 2", un objetivo 28mm de 2", un adaptador de 2" a 1.25" y un buscador normal que es algo dificil de alinear al principio, muy bueno para observar planetas y la luna, aunque los planetas se ven muy claros con el ocular incluido, yo preferi usar el adaptador de 1.25" para poder usar un objetivo 9mm y verlos mas ampliados, aunque con mas movimiento aparente y mas oscuros, una montura ecuatorial bien amortiguada por un peso es necesaria para poder observar sin tanto movimiento. La luna se ve espectacular, aunque muy brillante, debe ser necesario un filtro lunar. Los objetos de espaco profundo aparecen muy tenues al ojo, como es de esperar.