Intes Micro MK-66

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Intes Micro MK-66
I am extremely happy with this telescope, images are very bright terrific - portable too! It is very solidly built, I expect it to last me long while.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38873

Intes Micro MK-66
I am extremely happy with my Intes MK-66. Images of planets & moon are perfect. Does an excellent job on brighter deep space objects. About on par with an 8" SCT on faint objects. Stars come to a sharp pinpoint in this scope - looks very much like a refractor. Best views use 2" diagonal with wider fov eyepieces like Panoptics/Naglers. Moving mirror design gives no backfocus issues which are inherent in the MK-67. Very nice carry case. Built like a Mack truck (no pun intended - well, maybe it was intended). 35mm Panoptic and 22mm Nagler look perfect, perfect, perfect when used with this scope.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38875

Intes Micro MK-66
Sharp optics but has several mechanical quirks. The moving mirror focuser doesn't have enough back focus to accomodate a diagonal+binoviewer or diagonal+telecompressor like a typical SCT. The finder has limited eyerelief but does have provisions for illuminating the reticle. Comparing the MK-66 with the Alter 603: the finder bracket attachment on the MK is not a dovetail arrangement like the 603 and there is play in the bracket even when tightened. The handle on the MK is smaller and not over the OTA CG like the 603 making it less comfortable to carry. The MK has a smaller central obstruction at F12 than the 603 at F10. The focusing mechanism of the MK is smoother than the 603's. The fixed, but removable dewshield makes the OTA less portable than it could be. A retractable one would be a neat feature. Good price for what you're getting. With a few improvements this scope could be a 10.

Overall Rating: 8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38878

Intes Micro MK-66
Mechanical construction pretty good. Optics were only fair. My 25 yr. old 3" Unitron refractor was much sharper and had more contrast. Very dissapointed in the optical quality. Didn't live up to all the glowing comments that have been published about Russian optics. Colimation was right-on but performance no better than a mediocre C8.

Overall Rating: 6
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=38879

Intes Micro MK-66
I have had several scopes thus far. Some fair, some decent, some outstanding. Celestron C90, Celestron HD102, Meade 8" SCT, and a Televue 102. Without a doubt...the Intes MK66 has given me the best views out of all of the above. This includes star fields and planetary views. I still cannot believe to this date the outstanding views I get with this Russian Mak.

The build quality of these Russian telescopes is equally fantastic. They are truly overbuilt in terms of overall quality. I honestly think this is better built than my Televue 102 which has in its own right outstanding quality and what I would consider another world class scope both optically and mechanically.

The MK66 can use any and all of the many standard SCT attachments on the market today, such as, focal reducers...SCT diagonals, regular diagonals, any Astrophotography attachments. That is one area that sets the MK66 apart from the MK67 version (aka Orion Argonaut). The other thing that sets this apart from the MK67 is the focuser design. The MK66 allows all eyepieces to come to focus (unlike the MK67) and there is no focus shift or mirror flop with this telescope (like many SCT's).

Did I mention the views? The views are truly outstanding! Stars are picture perfect pinpoints with a beautiful black background. I had to pull my head away from the eyepiece over and over again...looking at the sky...then thru the eyepiece...I still cannot believe how beautiful the views are thru this scope and what a nice black background I get with this scope.

Planetary views are some of the best I have ever seen thru any scope. My TV102 comes the closest to the MK66 but I believe I am getting slightly better image resolution and brightness from the MK66. Obviously due to it's outstanding world class optics and larger objective size when compared to a 4" APO refractor. Another plus...the MK66 is absolutely color free when focused on bright planets.

The only downside I can see for this telescope is this...The Maks take a bit longer to cool down when compared to an APO refractor. That's it. You will have to take this outside sooner than with a refractor to get it cooled down properly. That is it though!

The INTES Maks are built like tanks. They are truly what one would call a research grade instruments...put another way THE BEST BUILD AVAILABLE! This telescope delivers outstanding views once they are properly cooled down. The MK66 is lightweight, making it very easy to mount(I use mine on my Vixen GP and on my Vixen GP-DX with no vibration at all. The MK66 is extremely portable, due to it's light weight, small size, and the fact it has a wonderful handle that makes carrying it to and from the mount a joy. It also comes with an outstanding bag for transporting and storing the telescope with the metal dewshield attached...forgot to mention the outstanding metal dew shield that comes standard with this telescope, as does the bag. I opted out of the INTES finderscope and instead purchased a University Optics 7x50 right angled amichi prism (lets you see things upright and correct left to right) that I highly recommend also for this or any other telescope.

Folks...this is an outstanding value that will give you 4" to 4.5" APO quality for 1/2 the price. What a buy!

If you could rate this as a 9 1/2 I would give it a 9 1/2. The only dowside to this scope is the cool down time. Listen, no scope is perfect and none can do it all. This comes as close as you can get without spending 2-3x's as much!

Great buy...great value...fantastic views...excellent build quality...excellent optics...no mirror flop or problems with eyepieces coming to focus...can use all SCT accessories.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=41325

Intes Micro MK-66
Very good optics, but not 100% quality consistency.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=41327

Intes Micro MK-66
Intes and Intes-Micro materals and mechanics sometimes remind me of plumbing fixtures, probably because of the finish they put on on some surfaces. However, the optics of my MK-66DX are really quite good. There seems to be very little scatter in the OTA, and planetary images are superb when the scope is thoroughly cooled, collimated, and seeing is adequate. My only complaint is that there is a slight yellowish tinge to the view as compared to other scopes, but transmission seems quite good. Stars E and F of the trapezium, for example, are nearly always easy to see.

Overall Rating: 8
Optics:9 Ease of Use:9 Value:8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=47499

Intes Micro MK-66
You should get the MK66-deluxe version - hits 10 microns resolution capability and a 1/7 wave. Costs about a few hundred dollars more - and it's worth it.
Truly astounding.
I don't think SCT's are going to last much longer in the astronomy world.
Certainly not with Intes Micro making MCTs the way they do.

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=60855

Intes Micro MK-66
This is a Intes (no Micro) MK66 Deluxe model.
Tested during a week in Canary Islands (next to a TV Pronto).
As expected it outperformed the small TV that has been sold now.
Very good value for money for a portable scope.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:9 Ease of Use:9 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=74605

Intes Micro MK-66
About 4 months ago I order an Intes MK67, coming from a Intes Micro MN56 I was making this switch for better portability and maybe the added inch might give better deep sky performance but I didn't expect what I got. First I ordered the scope from ITE who are the only stateside dealer who is authorized warranty repair for these scopes. They are also the only dealers who have them optically and mechanically certified by an outside optical designer's shop. This alone gives some peace of mind if you have had a few bad optical experiences with some of the dealer's who have really know way of doing this job properly. I have purchased threw ITE before and there service is in the 10 plus arena in my book. What I wanted was portable scope with enough size to have some fun with deep sky but be excellent on the planets, double star, and lunar observing. Before the scopes hit the US I decided to change my order to the MK66 which would allow the use of most all the SCT accessories made, plus give me a very stable and zero image shift focuser plus a dew shield built onto the scope already. Well the scope arrived with a very nice carry bag, a 2" visual back that I ordered, 10X50 finder and bracket, manual in English and the optical certification. I was impressed with the built quality of this scope and after having the Intes Micro scope I felt that the original Intes company's built quality was better in many ways. The focuser was smooth and right on the money, they seemed to use a very flat texture type black paint inside the ota and dew shield (very very black), the finder and bracket was a step up from the MN56 style and the paint job had a much nicer finish, kinda a creamy color off white plus a stamped serial #. Now lets get to the observing part, first off it rained for 2 weeks after I got the scope but once it cleared I was in heaven, first look was at the double double which was perfect separation even at lower powers around 100X but when you pushed it higher it just got wider and wider, between 225X and 300X it was the best I have ever seen. Then the next victims were M13 and M92 that were also from my poor lighted back yard very nice indeed, detail to the core with excellent extensions as you went outward from the cluster. M31 was very bright even at 45 degrees up from the horizon, you could just about make out some forming of extensions but once at a dark site it really look outstanding. M10, M12, M2 & M15 were even surprising from my back yard. But the real proof was waking up at 3 am and observing Saturn for over an hour between 225X to 400X, I have never seen such a beautiful view of this planet before. The C ring was a clean black space and the outer ring you could see the low-level contrast change from the inner ring brightness. The planets banding was very easy to see plus the surface looked 3 d like from the bands and three moons shown. Jupiter was another stunning sight with multiple banding and festoons with cloud swirls seen easily, four disks like moons with shadow transits seen with the moon above the planets surface and shadow casts like a black dot on the surface. I have not had that much time under enough skies yet to give any more detail but what I have seen so far is that this scope is way better than the best 4" apo's and more like a 5" apo but the deep sky performance is far better than the Synta 6" refractors out there and easily compares with 8" dobs or SCT's. The only scope that do much better on DSO's are the 10" to 12.5" dobs or larger. Planetary detail has to be seen to be believed but its that good. The star tests that I have done so far have been excellent for an MCT system with very smooth optics. I have this scope on a re lubed/built CH5 on top of a Universal Asstronomics HD surveyor tripod and with the 2" Intes Diagonal were looking at a 13lb payload which settles down in less than 1 second. I am extremely impressed with this scope and highly recommend it for serious observing work

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Ease of Use:10 Value:10
Weight: 4 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=133928

Intes Micro MK-66
My MK-66 Deluxe provides terrific planetary and lunar views. I am impressed with the overall quality of the instrument including the optics, focuser and finder. Views are brighter and sharper than an average 4" apo refractor, however the contrast is not quite as good. Perfect collimation is absolutely critical to get true apo-like performance. Also, this scope takes longer to cool than an 8" SCT, so plan on at least 20 minutes per 10 degrees. I highly recommend this affordable telescope for planetary, lunar or double star observing!

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=179165

Intes Micro MK-66
Hello *:O)!

I bought this scope as my first telescope and i really enjoy it.
It's not the deluxe version.
Lunar views are really really good. As good as the Intes-micro M715 of my father and as good as takahashi mewlon 180 of a friend.
On Jupiter that's a bit different. M715 and mewlon 180 got better details.
On Saturn that's almost the same view.
I tried it in deep sky but i'm a bit exigent as far as i'm disappointed by under 300mm in deep sky but that's my point of view =).
Overall it's an excellent scope, with collimation which doesn't move even after a few months of using!!
We can easily (if the sky allows it) go up to 300x on planetary views.
Since a few months I use it with a webcam and i'm really impressed by the results according to the diameter.
If you wanna see some images taken with this scope, you can go here:
http://astrosurf.com/halfie/gallerie1.htm

Best regards *:O)!

HAlfie

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=222076

Intes Micro MK-66
This is a truly amazing 6" Maksutov telescope. Unlike well-known brands SCTs, there is no mirror shift when you focus.
I have not colimated the telescope since I bought the telescope. I regularly check the colimation but it never moves at all. So, you never have to worry about colimating the secondary mirror at all. It always give you pin-point focusing. Cosmetic design is somewhat dull but the performance is far better than other American-brand SCTs.
Now, I want to buy a bigger INTES Maksutov telescope.
It is truly the best Maksutov telescope you can afford.
You will probably be glad to buy this telescope.

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=303655

Intes Micro MK-66
Here goes another review again after using this telescope for several years. As I mentioned in my previous message, the MK66 has a built-in hood for the telescope. You will need these accessories anyway, it is a nice touch to have these when you buy the telescope.

As for the telescope performance, I must confess that you cannot expect more for 6" class telescope. I use this telescope for both CCD and visual works but the results are always excellent for both works. Of course, there is no universal telescope from high-powered planetary observing to low-powered nebula observing but this telescope is one of the closest telescope for this. It is truly amazing to do the above with a little over 10 lbs (5kg) telescope.

Here is my recent CCD picture that I took with the MK66.
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/deep/sky/ngc7662intes.jpg

It needs some cooldown time as same as other SCT-type telescopes but it is normally 1-2 hours to settle down without doing anything.
If you have a motorized fan, put the fan to the telescope and run it for a while. It cools down the primary mirror within a hour.

One advantage over American-brand SCTs is that there is almost ZERO mirror shift. As for the visual observations, you probably cannot tell any mirror shift when you focus. I barely noticed a very little mirror shift when I was focusing my CCD camera with enlarged focusing screen. Even with the enlarged PC screen, the image does not move at all. But the maximum brightness level slightly changes. So, I am guessing there is a very little mirror shift! (I cannot confirm any mirror shift visually).

I only had one problem so far. The original russian grease becomes hardened when you have the telescope below 32F (0 C) degree in winter. When this happens, the primary mirror does not move at all, when you are focusing. This problem can be solved with changing the original russian grease to a high quality lithium grease that does not become stiff in a low temperature.

Overall Rating: 9
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=589602

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