Takahashi Mewlon 210

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Brand and Model:Takahashi Mewlon 210
Price ($USD):
Type:Dall-Kirkham
Attributes: un-checked Go-To un-checked PEC
Aperture:210mm (8.3")
f Ratio:f/11.5
Focal Length:2415mm
Finder:7x50 (6.3°)
Electric Power:
Mount:EM10
Tripod:wood
Weight (lbs):
Dimensions (w/h/d):
Description:

Vote Highlights Vote
Takahashi Mewlon 210
Excellent optical quality. Capable of terrific results IF well collimated. That's the rub. The Mewlon design absolutely requires excellent collimation to show its stuff. There's no slop or elbow room when collimating a Mewlon. It's got to be on the money, and the only way to do that is to star test or use an artificial pinpoint light source. Start at 200x and work your way upward, the higher the better. Any new Mewlon owner would be well advised to master collimating this scope. It will be frustrating at first, but eventually you'll figure it out and be gratified by the results.

My M210 has a lovely, velvet black background that makes dso's stand out. The background is noticeably darker than either of my excellent newtonians. Stars are pinpoint. And the integral Tak 7x50 finder is awesome, by far the best optical finder I've ever used.

Due to the long 2410mm focal length, maximum FOV is around 1 degree with a Panoptic 35, 1.05 degrees with 31 Nagler. So this isn't a wide field scope by any means. But it's surprisingly portable and easy to use. The finder doubles as a carrying handle, there's no corrector plate to dew up, and the open tube design facilitates cooling. It's an all around excellent scope, but not for the beginner. I would have given it a 10 but for the necessity of mastering collimation in order to get the max out of the Mewlon.
Rex

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:10 Ease of Use:7 Value:8
Weight: 10 (Trustworthy Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=218411

Takahashi Mewlon 210
I have had the Mewlon for about 3 weeks now. The more I use it the more I realize it is not only a superb planetary and lunar scope but also an excellent deepsky scope. Fit and finish are classic Takahashi (Superb) The built in finder which couples as a handle is very nice. The scope is very light for its size and well managed on my EM-2S mount. I sold my C9.25 and purchased the Mewlon. Contrast on the Mewlon is incredible bringing out detail the C9.25 just couldn't. My only regret is that maybe I should have purchased the Mewlon 250. The Mewlon is definately one of Takahashi's best kept secrets..

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Ease of Use:10
Weight: 10 (Trustworthy Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=83000

Takahashi Mewlon 210
This scope is a gem. When the seeing is good, and you have made sure the scope is fully cooled, the detail and contrast on planets and the moon is exceptional, and really refractor like. It also produces fantastic stellar images with pinprick stars. Great for globular clusters and open clusters. I always use a binoviewer with mine so I am limited to 1.25 eyepieces, but with my lowest powers I can easily frame up M35 or M42.

Had a wonderful apo before this scope but do not regret selling it, and that is saying something! Not too big or two heavy and a product that will give you real pride of ownership.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Ease of Use:9 Value:8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=595957

Takahashi Mewlon 210
I bought a second hand OTA from 2004.
It is a nicely designed scope. Nice to look at, even nicer to look through!
Optics: Awesome! Never saw an optical quality like this in a non-refractor scope. It's like looking through a big apo. Contrast (on Saturn) is fabulous. Star test estimates wavefront error about 1/12 lambda or even better. Resolving power is fine as well: during very short moments of perfect seeing Gamma Vir (0.5" in april 2006) looks like a peanut at 636x. Spikes are somewhat visible in the image at bright objects, for who is not used to it. It is not disturbing at all though.
Collimation: I was warned about difficulties. Though, the only point is the level of precision required. The collimation screws must be turned by just a tiny fraction. Much less than at SCTs. That's all. I had no difficulties collimating my Mewlon.
Moreover: it holds collimation very well. Used the scope 4x since then and recollimation was not required at all.
Ease of use: Focusing runs nice and smoothly. Mirror shift only 20" or so. Never saw as little as that in any SCT or Mak. Cooling down runs much faster than in SCTs and Maks I owned, because of the open design. The finder must be mentioned as well. It's a miracle. Put the object in the crosshairs and it appears in the field of a 322x magnification. It is a carrying handle as well, without harming the alignment ever. Mount wedge is included. It fits on an an Astro-Phisics sliding bar ($25) to mount it on my Zeiss IB mount.
The scope is compact, lightweight (8kg) and sturdy, because of the rounded frond end of the tube (it's a baffle as well!).
It is a suberb planet scope for observation and imaging. Deep Sky observation suits as well. Though for deep sky imaging Mewlon 210 is not first choice. The optics are too slow and the flat field is too small. Optional Focal reducer reduces f/11.5 to f/9.3, which is no serious improvement.
This scope deserves a better country then cloudy Holland where I live.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Ease of Use:9 Value:9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=503352

Takahashi Mewlon 210
I have a second hand mewlon 210 since 2 months. I bought this scope for planetary and double stars. I have had 8" reflector (newtonian and SC) but i had never seen such a good reflector. This is the first big reflector which deliver refractor's like views. The only difference with a FS102 refractor is that the mewlon need to multiply by 1.5 the magnification to achieve the save level of view. I can push to X600 on Porrima and the double star view is absolutely perfect.
I was stunned by the deep sky views and the contrast of this reflector.

In the 8" reflector class this is the best i have ever tested.

I have put "only" 9 to Ease of use because the focale is very big and it's not the best for finding faint objects.

William.Guyot@univ-bpclermont.fr

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Mount:10 Ease of Use:9 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=97113

Takahashi Mewlon 210
Why do i have put a 9... 10 would be a perfect apochromatic on a goto motorized mount... The optic is the best i have ever seen for a mirror...
The mount is very efficient and very easy to use.
I can see the GRS very very easily. The crepe ring is obvious. I think i will sold my apochromatic refractor : the mewlon is doing exactly the same work with more light and details.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:9 Mount:9 Ease of Use:10 Value:9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=82642

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