Review on 🔭 Sky-Watcher 150mm Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope - Advanced Compound-Style Reflector with Large Aperture by Jerry Leon

I got this from Revain Warehouse Deals. It was packaged incorrectly and received terrible beatings from UPS. If the Schmidt-Cassegrain received such blows, the corrector plate could shatter. I keep it. It doesn't offer a wide field of view, but reduces it to 48x (with 56mm Plössl) or 68x (Pentax 40 XL). It's just under a degree, but it's sharp across the field, although it suffers from some vignetting. On the other hand, 450x is a sharp and useful magnification, while 386x is normal. I wear it on an EQ5 class mount (an old Celestron CG5). This is great resolution and aperture at a reasonable price and has no special installation method requirements. Celestron AVX with 15lb counterweights will do. The telescope comes with an 8x50 viewfinder. It works. A Vixen-style dovetail plate is bolted to the underside of the scope. You need to craft or buy a dew shield. You also want to buy a case. You get a 28mm half-wide three-element eyepiece that works great, although I haven't used it much. Since this is an f15 telescope, almost any eyepiece will work well with it. The included 2-inch diagonal was not collimated. I replaced it with a 2" GSO. I also use a 1.25" Takahashi prism. The sight focuses just like the Schmidt-Cassegrain, with all the pros and cons that follow. You get excellent focus range to take advantage of with a range of standard SCTs. Accesories. On the other hand, there is a slight mirror shift. Another consideration: this isn't a scope you can pick up and take outside in the cold. It takes time to cool down. I haven't encountered this problem. , because I'm observing from the tropics, but like any telescope of this size, in winter, put it outside an hour before observing. Keep this in mind and you will be satisfied with a very powerful telescope. Edit (Oct 2017): I've been using the telescope for a full year. During that time, I've watched Jupiter's moons (and not just their shadows) pass through the planet. I observed Saturn at 386x and the Moon at 540x. The Veil Nebula at 48x with an OIII filter. When I first received it I decided to send it back due to rot. In the afternoon I checked the collimation and found that it was still collimated. I took it for a quick star test and decided to give it a try and keep it. Synta Optical handles spherical aberration well. Additionally, the in and out of focus rings were smooth. This explains the scope's ability to provide such high magnifications. There is always variety when it comes to mass market optics, but this scope stands out.