Intes Micro MK-67


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Brand and Model:Intes Micro MK-67
Price ($USD):$843.00
Type:Maksutov-Cassegrain
Attributes: un-checked Go-To un-checked PEC
Aperture:152mm (6")
f Ratio:f/12
Focal Length:1500mm
Finder:8x50
Electric Power:n/a
Mount:none supplied
Tripod:n/a
Weight (lbs):lbs.
Dimensions (w/h/d):
Description:The INTES MK67 is an improved Rumak designed Maksutov-Cassegrain optical tube assembly (OTA) with a fixed primary mirror with a matched separate secondary mirror (both of Pyrex) mounted in an adjustable cell attached to the meniscus corrector lens. Focusing is by a 2" Crayford focuser mounted at the rear of the OTA. This is the updated version of the original Russian scope (the former MK-65) that started the latest "Mak Revolution" in the USA, and the "beat goes on" with more refinements that have made a great scope even better.

All the optics are multicoated. The meniscus corrector is made of first grade Russian BK7 glass and is multicoated and enhanced for maximum UV light transmission. Focusing is afforded by a 2" Crayford focuser (35 mm of travel) which enables the use of a wide range of readily available optical accessories including both 1.25" and 2" star diagonals and eyepieces. The MK67's ergonomic design and construction provide excellent optical characteristics in a short, lightweight compact tube, making this telescope the first truly portable Maksutov-Cassegrain for the astronomical "jet-set." It is excellent choice for visual observations, astrophotography and as a guidescope for larger aperture optical systems. The MK67 comes with a convenient tube handle and a 7x35 mm straight-thru finder scope, a mounting plate with 3/8" and 1/4" x 20 threaded holes, and a 2" Crayford focuser. Note: An upgraded 10x50mm straight-thru finder or a 7x35mm or 10x50mm right angle finder are available as options. All the finderscopes have a port for an optional cross hair illuminator. A black padded travel bag is provided for the OTA with enough room in the zippered side pocket for your own assortment of optical accessories. The scope in the travel bag is compact enough to fit in the overhead compartment of any modern aircraft.

With the Standard version of the MK67 you can expect an optical quality of a minimum of 1/5 wave p.t.v. (1/5 to 1/6 wave p.t.v. range).

The MK67 Deluxe offers all the features of the MK67, but also includes Sital mirrors, optical quality of a minimum of 1/7 wave p.t.v. (1/7 to 1/8 wave p.t.v. range), piggy-back camera mount on a quick exchange bracket, baffled dewcap, and 96% dielectric coatings on the mirrors.

INTES recently introduced several improvements to this popular telescope in order to make an excellent scope even better. There is an improved Crayford focuser and a better quality finder scope. In addition, the backfocus on this optic has been extended to permit all eyepieces to come to focus. An optional 2" drawtube/extension tube is a highly recommended accessory.

The ability of this optical system to resolve very fine details on celestial objects is aptly illustrated in the following image of the lunar crater, Clavius. Mike Palermiti of Jupiter, FL captured this image using the standard version of the MK-67, a SAC-7 CCD camera and a 2X Clave' Barlow lens. This is a single frame unprocessed image. Note the craterlets in the floor of the crater. Several of these craterlets resolved in this image are a sub-arc second in size, proof positive that the MK-67 is a "killer optical system."

Affordable Astronomy's Review
Todd Gross's Review
Ed Ting's Review of the Orion Argonaut 150
Cloudy Nights' Review 1
Cloudy Nights' Review 2
Review by Al Misiuk

Vote Highlights Vote
Intes Micro MK-67
Under dark and stable skies had an opportunity to compare views between a MK-67/Orion Argonaut and a very fine Takahashi FS102 APO. Not sure how the Tak compares to a TMB 4" - but frankly the difference between the 150mm MCT and the 102mm APO was discernable but not excessive. Both scopes used Naglers of very similar magnification (~120x) on a variety of studies - OC's, GC's, and double stars. Both scopes gave a very fine resolution of the demanding disparate magnitude Delta Cygni pair. Both scopes were able to resolve at least a few outliers in 8th magnitude globular clusters. Both scopes resolved stars across the core of M13.

Overall, the 150mm MCT showed perceptibly better resolution, slightly brighter images and slightly better magnitudinal reach (~12.5 for the 102 and ~12.8 for the 150 under ULTM 5.5 / stability 8/10 Pickering at 120X).

The APO had a slightly darker background sky (the forward looking flourite element really helps). AND the APO could get down to 25X and include the entire usably visible portion of M31 in a single field. (Due to its longer focal length, the MK-67 has a hard time dipping below 50x using commonly available eyepieces.)

In my estimation, the performance of the MK-67/Argonaut could probably be matched by that of a 120mm APO refractor on deep sky. However, the unique virtues of the MCT design allow it to outperform any 150mm refractor on close double stars. In terms of cost, the MK-67/Argonaut is an outstanding value. One worthy of consideration by any optophile no matter how much money they may have to spend.

And for the rest of us use the spare change to buy a decent rich field achromat for those times when you want to step back a little and frame the entire Veil Complex in a single field of view.

For the star party report Visit: "http://astro.geekjoy.com/aug-01-reports.html#11"

Overall Rating: No Vote
Weight: 5 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
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Intes Micro MK-67
This might be the best telescope for the money spent.

This evaluation is of a 150 mm MK-67 standard manufactured by Intes of Moscow in the spring of 1999; mounted on a Celestron G4 tripod of aluminum extendable legs and a german equatorial mount with dual axis drives; including a convenient and durable zippered carrying bag, a 30 mm eyepiece, 7X35 finder, daisy finder, dust cap and assorted tools. New, these components would cost around $1300. I was fortunate to obtain it from the original owner with less than two years of gentle wear for $950.

Ratings on Specifics: On a scale of 1 (poor) to 10 (excellent).
Mechanics: The scope receives an 8, and the mount-tripod and drives a 7.
Portablity, Storage, Ease of Set Up/Take Down: 10
Optical Quality: 8.
Aesthetics (finish and telescope "look"): 8.
Price: 7.
Fellowship 10.

One might ask how a telescope, which receives ratings of 7 and 8 on a number of categories, can receive a rating of 10 overall. An analogy from swimming competitions might be useful. A team can win an overall state championship even though the boys team came in seventh and the girls team came in second. Other telescopes are superior in price, superior in light gathering, superior in mechanical quality, superior in ease of storage-setup-transport, or superior in optical excellence. Others might be superior in two of these categories. But one would be hard put to find a telescope which surpasses the MK 67 in most or all of these categories.

Highlights:
(1) Contrast with a good low cost eyepiece (e.g. a Paul Rini, a University Optics orthoscopic) is very good. Stellar backgrounds are inky black, as are shadows on the moon, reminescent of a long focal length large refractor.
(2) Resolution is very good. The moons of Jupiter are disks. Saturn's Cassini division goes all the way around. The double stars 52 orionis and alpha geminorum (castor) are two pearls in a row. Claims of seeing the encke division and the crepe ring are often heard. One can easily see the domes of Hortensius in the Copernicus region of the moon and even glimpse the caldera on the top of the domes.
(3) Deep Sky is good. M42 looks like flames. The smoke ring looks like a smoke ring. Globulars look like clusters of stars. Many galaxies beyond the Messier list are visible. And this is from within a light polluted city. Galactic detail is reported in dark sky areas.
(4) The crayford focuser is smooth and allows for tension control. Further, the focuser can be rotated to any point allowing ease of access to the focus knobs.
(5) Collimation is easy. This scope is designed to be adjusted and maintained by the owner. Both the primary and secondary mirrors have easily accessible and usuable sets of collimation screws.
(6) The entire arrangment takes up a very small amount of space in the home. The telescope carrying case, an eyepiece box, and a small tool box take up about 4 cubic feet on a shelf. The assembled but retracated tripod takes up about 4 square feet of floor space. All of the components, plus an observing chair and table easily fit in the trunk of a compact car. Set Up takes less than ten minutes.
(7)The RA drive for the cg4 tracks easily and effortlessly. With four D cell alkaline batteries, the drive can easily track for twenty or more hours in zero degree fahrenheit weather. The declination slow motion control is easy and accurate to use.
(8) In an urban environment with a light polluted sky, the finder provides very useable views for guiding to objects. The daisy finder (not provided) is a very useful addition.
(9) The fellowship among those who possess and use this instrument are a very informed, civil, and friendly group of people. One of the joys I have experienced is the initial and ongoing relationship with the person from whom I purchased the scope. The representatives of the companies that market these scopes are responsive and helpful. The same is true for contacts within Intes. The scopists and stargazers who use these scopes carry on a constant, lively, informative and friendly dialogue on various mailing lists.

Low lights:
(1) The crayford focuser has only 35 mm of backfocus. With some eyepieces an extension tube needs to be used (e.g. a barlow with the lens removed) or the drawtubes extended. This diminishes greatly from this scopes value for terrestrial viewing.
(2) It can take up to two hours for the scope to adjust to outside temperatures when brought out from a warm house to below freezing temperatures outside. There is even some tube current problems each time the temperature changes during the night.
(3) The exposed nature of the meniscus leads to quick dewing in high humidity areas. A lens cap helps a lot.
(4) The finder scope ends up in some hard to use positions because the tube cannot be rotated (in this configuration).
(5) This mount for this scope cannot handle a breeze. That is, the image shakes noticeably.
(6)The declination circle does not provide a high degree of precision. Further, combining this scope with this mount, offsets the declination axis by about ten degrees.

This telescope is fun.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:8 Value:7
Weight: 5 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
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Intes Micro MK-67
I have the Orion (Argonaut) version of this unit and have written up
my experiences with that scope elsewhere on this site. Despite this,
it also made sense for me to comment on the OTA alone and perhaps
recast my input in a slightly different form...

Like all performance scopes, the MK-67 is heavily impacted by seeing
conditions -- especially on planetary objects. However, under stable
skies (not necessarily clear), Saturn displays a laundry list of features
(Cassini division, inner dusky ring against the planet body, shadow
of body on B-ring, unresolved striations in A-ring -- hints of the
Encke division --, north equatorial belt, a broad equatorial
band at planet waist, up to 5 satellites.) Views of Saturn are
simply transfixing (though, in my opinion, no real "work" can be
done with Saturn using such a modestly sized scope.) But
you will find yourself returning to it time and time again and also
revisiting your perplexity of how it can look so good or so bad
depending on the sky...

Jupiter's satellites are obviously not stars. (Although if I had
more than a 200x ep, all four Galilean's would probably display
a disk.) Six belts are visible on the surface (the equatorial belt splits
into a central and southern component) plus the two NEB's and 2 SEB's.
At 200x, I have not seen detail within the EB, but irregularities in its
edge are often apparent. Finally the "Great (not so Red) Spot" is
visible when present. I would say that the 34% central obstruction
of the MK-67 reduces image contrast on Jupiter. For this reason, surface
details may not be obvious to less-experienced observers.
In terms of serious "work", MK-67 users can probably make useful
contributions in the area of satellite- and the occasional NEB disturbance-
transit timing but little more than this...

For deep-sky use (more important to me personally than viewing
planetary detail), the MK-67's long-focus gives up a little to shorter-focus
8" Newtonians (in terms of light grasp and image brightness). However,
the MK-67 provides superb definition -- when sufficient light is present.
(M42 is a religious experience, brighter globular clusters resolve in ways
comparable to that reported about 8" Newts rather than 6" models).
For lesser surface brightness "deep-fuzzies" (such as the Ring Nebula)
a lot depends on the observer's experience in "seeing" faint detail or
variations in image intensity. In viewing the 52 Cygni region, for instance
with both the MK-67 and a decent 10" Dobsonian Newt (using an OIII filter),
the 10" Dob will show you filamented nebulae which just happens
to have stars embedded in them. The MK-67 will show you star
arcs that just happen to be connected by faint nebulosity. Surprise!
Aperture wins!

NOTE: I would say that the bottom line of deep sky and planetary
observation with this scope is that you have to learn to really "sense"
deep sky subtleties more readily apparent in 8" reflectors and
scrutinize for planetary detail distinctly present in 5" refractors.

Color-correction in this scope is outstanding. Star images are better
than SCT's of any size. Star-tests show textbook perfection inside
focus while outside focus tends to be slightly "mushy" -- but still quite
good. According to the literature, this suggests that the optical
configuration is slightly under-corrected.. Compared to an APO
refractor however, the MK-67's central obstruction exaggerates
the size of bright-star spurious disks (at similar magnifications). (Vega's
180X disk, for instance, is probably 4 arc-seconds in diameter,
however it's 10.5 magnitude companion is not over-powered by
light-scattering.)

During much less than ideal sky conditions (Milky Way not quite visible),
I have seen stars photoelectrically measured at magnitude 12.8. I
suspect that under ideal conditions, the threshold limiting magnitude
is closer to 14. (This is a little better than most 6" scopes, but if you
keep in mind the excellence of the optics, this should not be surprising.)

In general, I would knock the OTA down a notch for a variety of
reasons: First, the contrast of fine planetary detail is hindered by
the rather large size of the central obstruction. (This same
phenomenon also negatively impacts double-star resolution where
a bright primary is present -- Antares for instance). Second, the amount
of back-focus is limited (although you can optimize to your eyepieces
if you are willing to play around with the secondary mirror position.)
Third, the scope takes a while to stabilize under rapid cool-down
and is subject to frequent dewing of the meniscus. (Heat must be
applied several times over a typical four hour observing session.
-- A dew cap really helps here.) Fourth, the finderscope has poor edge
correction, obscure cross-hairs (OK for planets -- but not deep-sky),
and is mounted far too close to the optical tube and focuser.
(Note to manufacturer: I understand that it is so close to make it
easily stored in its case but...) Finally, the observing position is poor
for objects directly overhead when using standard leg-length tripods
on GEMs. (I have to sit on an observing stool to offset this problem
-- or else exploit the ample opportunities to work on my "horse-stance".

Concerning quality assurance of the Intes scope: In general, it appears
that Intes consistently sources high-quality optics, however, the
mechanics of the scope can occasionally be off significantly. (I personally
found it necessary to "shim" the focuser body to the optical tube in
order to ensure that the center of the on-axis light cone is properly
positioned in the ep. (I also had to shim the inexpensive 1.25" mirror
star diagonal I use for the same reason.) Because these scopes are
becoming ever more popular, I would assume the necessity for such
"ad hoc" alignment aids will only increase -- so be forwarned.

Despite the above nit-picking, I would say that MK-67
performance exceeds that of a 4" APO on planetary detail and is
comparable to the average 8" Newtonian on deep sky. Not too
shabby for a scope that is easily set up. and can be handled as
"carry on" luggage during air travel. The real question before the
deep-sky amateur is this: "For $1K, why would I buy a 6" when
I can pick up a decent 10" Dobsonian?" The answer is
simple: Get the 10" Dob -- unless you also have a penchant for
outstanding planetary views, frequently travel with your scope,
want an equatorially mounted scope that can be stored and moved
about locally as a single unit, or have a penchant for terrestrial
observation that parallels your astronomical interests.

As for me, I'd probably think twice about trading my MK-67 for
a 10" Dob. Is there anyone out there who would like to put me
to the test?

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 5 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=37869


Intes Micro MK-67
For those who have champagne tastes on a beer budget, it should be noted that the MK67 can be purchased new for $880 (including shipping) and perhaps as low as $850. Further, there are many of these on the second-hand market, often in very good shape for as low as $600 for the OTA. For a scope that sees Jupiter as well as a 102mm apo, Saturn as well as a 130mm apo, equal double stars as well as a 175 apo, and deep sky as well as a good 8 inch SCT; and under nine pounds and 17 inches in length, this is a stunningly low price. Does anyone know how to change the header to reflect the actual costs?

Overall Rating: No Vote
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Intes Micro MK-67
WELL I MUST SAY THAT THIS IS A GREAT SCOPE. OPTICS ARE OF APO QUALITY TO A 4IN OR 5IN HIGH DOLLAR REFRACTOR, STAR TEST, PLANETS DEEP SPACE, ARE JUST A PURE SIGHT TO BE SEEN, ANYONE WANTING TO BUY A GREAT SCOPE HERE IT IS, AT STAR PARTIES THIS SCOPE GETS THE LOOKS AND THE LINES , HOPE THIS HELPS

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Ease of Use:10 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
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Intes Micro MK-67
A very nice scope, with high precision otics, easy to use,,,very good overall

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=164185


Intes Micro MK-67
Jeff B. and I have created a review of this telescope, as well as information on collimating it using only a bright star. You can find these at:
http://astro.geekjoy.com/scopes/ottos_MK67_review.html
and at
http://astro.geekjoy.com/scopes/MK67-collimation.html

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:9 Ease of Use:10 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
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Intes Micro MK-67
Fine optics. Solid build. High contrast views. A joy to use.
If you don't mind letting it cool down for an hour beforehand get one !

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=37881


Intes Micro MK-67
Exellent optics, way better then my TMB 4" APO. Not as good as C9.25. focuser sucks but i can deal with it. Pretty much tied with a good Meade LX200 7" Mak, which is well within striking range of the Questar 7

Overall Rating: 8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
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Intes Micro MK-67
I have been observing with this scope now for about three weeks, and it is truly wonderful. I did have to collimate it a bit, but I think that can be expected after 3 years =]. The star test at 450x is beautiful. Mars shows the polar caps, and definate color differential depending on the face that is showing. Doubles split cleanly, and are a joy to find. The finder is amazingly bright and sharp. My only complaint is that I don't have the dew shield that is available for this scope, and I think that it could use some additional baffeling, which would probably bring up the contrast a bit. I don't think this really detracts from the scope, it just makes it a bit harder to make out faint objects without perfect dark site seeing.

All in all, a 10, and an excellent choice.

Robert

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
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