Vixen VC200L


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Brand and Model:Vixen VC200L
Price ($USD):
Type:Modified Cassegrain
Attributes: un-checked Go-To un-checked PEC
Aperture:200mm (7.9")
f Ratio:f/9
Focal Length:2000mm
Finder:6x30
Electric Power:
Mount:GP
Tripod:AL90
Weight (lbs):lbs.
Dimensions (w/h/d):
Description:

Vote Highlights Vote
Vixen VC200L
So far I have not imaged with my VC200L, but the visuals are quite good. It realy will point out the difference in eyepiece quality, so you may find yourself spending more money. I consider the scope an excellent upgrade from my Nexstar 8i, and it works well with the CG5-GT I bought for it. Overall an 8, but there isn't much in this world I consider a 10. Consider this OTA recomended.

Overall Rating: 8
Optics:8 Ease of Use:9 Value:10
Weight: 5 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=408324


Vixen VC200L
After careful consideration I brought this scope primary for astrophotography, I won’t get technical. Visually I have been able to compare this scope against two Meade 8 inch SCTs and three Celestron 8 inch SCTs, deep sky there is not much between them, but all present when comparing prefer the Vixen visually, field is little flatter, stars are sharper, in fact every area the vixen was ahead . On the Planets, tie, half of us preferred the vixen half the SCT’s. One advantage as the SCT started dewing up the Vixen was unaffected. For astrophotography hands down the SCTs are left behind. This scope is meant for astrophotography which so far it has proven an excellent choice, but visually it is very good in my opinion better than SCT’s on Deepsky but on planets the SCT’s I feel have a slight edge.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics: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=396297


Vixen VC200L
I received my VC200L-dg the latest version of this scope early January and have to admit that this could be the best 8" out there. I have owned a Meade 10" & 12" - TEC-200 Mak Cas - Mewlon 250 and for Visual & CCD work, this scope has them all beat. I was fortunate to have imaged M78 in January and my shot (along with others) was used to make the now famous animation of McNeil's Nebula. The advantages of this scope are many the most important being that I get 20 micron stars to the edge over a field that covers a 40mm circle. This is a must buy for astroimagers not to mention the value.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics: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=343731

Hi what does the added "DG" in the model name imply? I always new this scope as a VC200L not VC200L DG.

I have only recently seen the DG version (as of 18/3/09) is it a newer improved model?

Vixen VC200L
The optics is very good. Bright sharp stars but not so good for Jupiter. Moon and other planets are good. This is the scope for imaging!

Overall Rating: 8
Optics:9 Mount:8 Ease of Use:9 Value:7
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=109115


Vixen VC200L
Very good scope. He has a very good flatfield and coma correction, startest is very good. This scope need a while to cool down. He is not sensible for dew like a Schmidt-scope. Litle minus: not so easy to collimate. But once collimated, he stays for long time very good.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=40416


Vixen VC200L
The VC200L is an excellent imaging scope and a nice visual scope too.

It has a large secondary mirror so that it fully illuminates a 35mm film frame. The downside is that the large secondary diffracts a lot of planetary contrast.

The 3-element corrector in the baffle tube corrects much better for field curvature and coma than a Schmidt corrector. As well, it doesn't dew up as easily, though I've found a dew shield is still necessary or the secondary mirror can dew up. With this corrector, stars on film are as sharp at the corners as they are in the centre.

The scope needs to be perfectly collimated and completely cooled to do well on the star test. When set up properly, it delivers wonderful low power images, bright objects with sharp stars, and good high power images too of double stars, the Moon, Mars, Saturn and so on. Jupiter is not the best view with the loss of contrast.

Once cooled, the image is very good. The open tube cools faster than a closed tube but while cooling there are large thermal currents visible in the image.

Collimation is like a newtonian, adjusting the secondary first and then the primary mirror. Collimation stays put better than with a newtonian but not as well as with a SCT.

The Vixen DD-1 dual axis controller tracks very well. The mount with those motors is fairly accurate when properly polar aligned, good enough for most 60s unguided CCD exposures to be sharp.

The mount is not quite stable enough for the scope as is, but adding Celestron Vibration Suppression Pads and wooden tripod legs make it more than stable enough for photography. A motorized focuser from JMI (MFCREF type) makes it even nicer so you don't have to touch the scope.

The fixed mirror is great for lack of image shift and it doesn't change as the temperature changes.

The scope comes with a guidescope/piggyback camera bracket too.

Being f/9 the scope has a wider field than an f/10 SCT. Also, the 60mm visual back illuminates 2" eyepieces better. A f/6.4 reducer is available mostly for photography as eyepieces won't reach focus with a diagonal installed with the reducer, though they will focus without the diagonal. A 40mm MK-70 Konig or 55mm Plossl gives about 1.5 degrees of true field.

Used with the Vixen 60mm Direct Wide Photo Adapter you don't get vignetting like with smaller T-rings and the smaller visual backs of most 8" SCTs.

This scope is really best suited to a person who intends to do imaging primarily. If you want to do visual planetary work, a scope not designed for full frame illumination, thus with a smaller secondary, will give you higher contrast. Since I am mainly an imager I give the scope a 9/10.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=40413


Vixen VC200L
Startest is perfect. collimaztion is not easy to made. Gp mount is ok but a GP-DX is better. a GP mount is just enough to carry this telescoop. motor track (optional) is good.

Overall Rating: 8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=40412


Vixen VC200L
Note that, despite the "Notes" section of the review table, this is NOT a
Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. It is true Cassegrain type, with unspecified
"sixth-order aspheric" modifications. There is a corrector lens built into
the focusing tube also.

The main mirror has nice push-pull collimation adjustments, as does the
mount for the focusing tube (to ensure that it is parallel with the optical
axis - once set, it shouldn't need to be redone). The secondary is collim-
ated with three *tiny* screws behind a plate that is held in place with an
even *tinier* screw. Don't even *try* to remove the plate in the dark!

The focal length, at f/9, is short for a Cassegrain; this means that the
central obstruction is quite large, which robs you of fine planetary detail.
It makes a better deep-sky scope, particularly with the focal reducer. In
this respect, it is no better or worse than a Schmidt-Cassegrain.

Astrophotographers have reported terrific results with this scope; unfor-
tunately, mine is a very poor optical sample, which I am having refigured
locally. My rating is probably colored by that somewhat; others have re-
ported excellent optics.

A big attraction of this scope for astrophotography is the fixed main
mirror - there's no mirror flop. Focusing is done by a normal rack-and-
pinion focuser at the back. This focuser is somewhat larger than 2", and
is threaded for screw-on adapters. It's quite solid and smooth.

This scope has the advantages of a Schmidt-Cassegrain, in terms of havinga short, portable tube in relation to its aperture. And it does NOT have the Schmidt-Cassegrain's disadvantages:

no dewing problem since there is no front corrector plate

fast cooldown since the tube is open, not closed

no "mirror flop" since the main mirror does not move

However, this scope does bring back spider vanes, so you do get the classic
4-spike diffraction pattern on bright objects, something the Schmidt-Cass-
egrain saves you from. Worse, the spider vanes are quite thick, which re-
duces image contrast in addition to making the diffraction spikes more prom-
inent.

This scope is a terrific alternative to an 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain, particu-
larly if, like me, you need fast cooldown (temperatures drop quickly in the
desert at night) and can't tolerate mirror flop.

Overall Rating: 7
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=40411

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