Orion SkyView Pro 127mm Mak-Cass

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Brand and Model:	Orion SkyView Pro 127mm Mak-Cass
Price ($USD):	$649.00
Type:	Maksutov-Cassegrain
Attributes:	Go-To PEC
Aperture:	127mm
f Ratio:	12.1
Focal Length:	1540mm
Finder:	6x30
Electric Power:	DC (optional)
Mount:	EQ-4 (CG-5)
Tripod:	Aluminum Tube
Weight (lbs):	43.9
Dimensions (w/h/d):	OTA: 14.5 inches
Description:	Product Description

Vote Highlights

Orion SkyView Pro 127mm Mak-Cass

This is a delightful scope. The optics on my sample were excellent, showing round airy discs surrounded by one (!) diffraction ring all the way to 308x, which is higher than I would normally push a scope of this aperture. But the image holds up, even at that power. The mount is steady and damps quickly. The motors are adequate, but there is a delay when pushing the drive buttons since the gears must be left a little loose to not bind. It's not a real problem, but noticeable. The focuser is smooth as silk, and the scope exhibits NO image shift when focussing. Of course, it's still new, but my 8" SCT has more. With the optional drive motors, this scope was $698. Had I known it would show such detail on the Moon, and now Mars, I would gladly have paid more. The field of view is narrow, so this might not be the perfect scope for scanning the Milky Way on a summer evening, but it is excellent when used as a high-resolution instrument for gazing at star clusters, globulars, planets and moon. Orion is to be commended for such a fantastic value. My eyepieces are Meade Super Wide Angle 24.5 and 18, with a 2x Barlow available, also Meade UltraWide angle 6.7 and 4.7mm. I also upgraded the diagonal with a Lumicon High-reflectivity diagonal. It is obvious the optics desrved the eyepiece and diagonal upgrades, so bear this in mind if you make the purchase. The original eyepieces and diagonal weren't bad, but were lacking in field size and contrast. In the final analysis, I'm going to keep this one a while. Recommended.
Contact me if you have more questions: Pensack1@excite.com

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:10 Mount:8 Ease of Use:9 Value:10
Weight: 10 (Trustworthy Vote)
Date: 08/07/2003 11:41:22 am PST
By: Starman
Link to this vote: https://www.excelsis.com:443/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=281936

Reply Replies: 0

Orion SkyView Pro 127mm Mak-Cass

I've been using my SVP 127 Mak for about a year, purchased it for the Mars madness back in August of 2003. I wanted to get a small, portable scope that handled magnification really well.

Main points about this scope: The optics are really quite good for being such a low cost scope. Being an f12 means that it doesn't perform as well as some of the light buckets for DSO. Still, i've been able to get some reasonable detail on M81/M82 and M51. Low brightness objects like M101 are nearly invisible, however.

With the central obstruction, albeit smaller than the ones for SCTs, the diffraction rings make splitting tight double stars a little difficult. For example, a split of the Double Double was hinted at 75x, but the diffraction rings kept it from being a true split. I needed to run it up to about 90x for a clean split with a dark line between elements.

If you get this scope, I highly suggest a red-dot finder *and* the 9x50 right angle amci prisim finder scope. The available FOV of this scope is 1.1 degrees max, so narrowing onto a specific target can be difficult with small finders.

Focus action on this Mak is smooth with clean definition. I really like the planetary views through this scope over some of the larger SCTs that I've seen at starparties. Also, with its small size, you can easily over-mount this scope, making for rock-steady viewing even in high wind conditions.

The front meniscus lens is prone to dewing. I used a couple of cheap craft foam sheets from Michaels to fashion a dew shield. The dewshield also helps with contrast, keeping the worst of the stray light out of the tube.

My wife and I have recently purchased a wide-field refractor that is taking precedence over this scope until we get another mount. At that time, it will become a guidescope for prime focus photography.

Stephen

Overall Rating: 8
Optics:8 Mount:7 Ease of Use:8 Value:9
Weight: 5 (Veritable Vote)
Date: 07/16/2004 06:35:13 pm PST
By: smigol
Link to this vote: https://www.excelsis.com:443/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=368525

Reply Replies: 0

Orion SkyView Pro 127mm Mak-Cass

The most beautiful weinddg pictures I have ever seen! Color, lighting, capturing the moments. They tell an amazing love story between these two great people, Truly capturing who they are as individuals and as a couple. Can't say it enough, outstanding!

Overall Rating: 2
Optics:3 Mount:4 Ease of Use:3 Value:5
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date: 05/16/2012 12:44:05 pm PST
By: Anonymous (xxx.xxx.87.0)
Link to this vote: https://www.excelsis.com:443/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=600181

Reply Replies: 0

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