Review: Maksutov-Cassegrain for Beginners

Posted by E. Gazelle on April 5, 2009

Review: Orion Apex 102mm Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope
An All-Purpose Compact and Power-Packed Quality Scope

Confirmed: Quality, both the parts and the images.

Terrific feature: Portability and great value for money!

Good things do come in small packages and the proof of the pudding is in the eating.  Just take a peek into this Mak-Cass, both at night and during the day, will convince you of its quality delivered in a short one-foot compact tube.  Combined with its comparatively large 102mm aperture, it is able to serve up brighter and highly resolved images. In spite of its short housing, the 1300mm focal length is achieved through mirrors and lenses which folds the light several times.  This design allows Mak-Cass to perform many times more powerful than telescopes of similar size.

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For Terrestrial Viewing

The Apex 102 is excellent as a spotting scope as the 45° diagonal provides a correctly-oriented field of view.

For Observational Astronomy

For astronomy viewing, you may wish to get a 90-degree mirror diagonal.   Use this Mak-Cass telescope to view the planets, the Moon as well as nebulas and star clusters.  It accepts standard 1.25″ telescope eyepieces for nearly unlimited magnification options.  Because of the superb quality of its optics, you may wish to spend time studying detailed features on the Moon surface, the cloud patterns of Jupiter or even the ring of Saturn.  You may even use it to study brighter deep sky objects of up to magnitude 12 (our naked eyes can see up to magnitude 6).

Photography

The scope can be easily mounted on a telescope mount or camera tripod with the built-in 1/4″-20 adapter plate. It can be used as a high-power telephoto lens for photography by mounting a 35mm camera body (with optional T-ring) to the T-threads on the eyepiece holder.

Tips for adult beginner amateur astronomers: Consider getting a Mak-Cass 102mm telescope tube, an Orion HD-F2 Paragon Tripod and an Orion EQ-2 Mount.

Why?

* You’ll get more mileage from your initial investment in a Mak-Cass as it allows you to grow into this new hobby – all the way to astrophotography by mounting it on an equatorial mount with tracking functionality.  You get quality images and a wider spread of the night sky.

* Mount your Mak-Cass on the Orion HD-F2 Paragon and use it for terrestrial viewing in the day and as an astronomy telescope at night. This multipurpose usage is afforded by the unique smooth panning feature of the tripod.

* When you are ready to venture further with an equatorial mount, do consider the Orion EQ-2 mount since it gives you the option of adding tracking functionality in the future.

Truly a match made in heaven – for viewing the heavens!