I just wanted to say that I love all of your content. This video is 6 years old as I write this and I still find value in the clarity in which you present the information. Having owned many of the products you review on this channel I 100% agree with your opinions. You tell the truth and we your audience love you for it. We learn valuable how to information too. We value your voice.
Saw your review on the Celeston 130 slt and purchased one. I have not been disappointed. Although most of the nights to date have been cloudy, will be taking the 130 slt with me on the next night fishing trip. Happy days, keep the vids coming.
Robert i hope you continue making videos. your insight about the night sky and your narration skills are top teir, i really enjoy watching your videos, even the ones from a decade ago are great
A true delight to watch and listen. Thank you for the useful information, tips, and tricks about all that you presented so far. I had quite a nice laugh at the "did that one moved" bit.
Good to see you back behind telescope gear handing out your usual excellent advice. Had to look twice when flipping through You Tube on the date of this video I thought it was a typo, but seemingly not. Welcome back, looking forward to more good reviews and I am sure it hasn't escaped everybody notice who followed you previously on You Tube there has been a good number of new products and advanced technology becoming available to all who are interested in astronomy since you last put in an appearance here.
Thanks for this new video - as always, top quality, great review - nice to see new well designed products for beginners - keep up the good work, Robert 👍🏻
Was wondering if you guys were ever going to start publishing videos again... Glad to see you! I recently did your "how far away is the moon" thing with a class, and none of them had any clue, just like the people in the park. What a great teaching tool! Thanks!
Hi there and thanks. The AZ Pronto (AZP) isn't quite beefy enough to compete with the Porta, but keep a look out for our next video featuring the new Sky-Watcher AZ5 - it is potentially a competitor for the Porta - at least the head is. The only question mark hangs over the tripod which is the same as the one used on the AZP. For the AZP it's fine - but is it suitable for the more capable AZ5? KR RJD A&NTV
Welcome back - another great video - you've also cleared up why I can't prime focus on my 130P even with a camera body of about 25mm - should have bought a Mak!!
I notice when you fit the Sky Max to the mount, the locking screw is against the flat edge of the Vixen plate .The indents on the vixen are on the other side which would give a more secure grip. To do this you have to rotate the head and use the other side. the problem is when you do this the two control cables converge on one another.
Wow . Good news - finally ! , no collimation - Point&Shoot Newtonian reflectors . Looks like in a couple years technology will make Newtonian reflectors with usual every other day collimation plate screws , as a rare and unpopular with regular average Joe users ( with less than Newtonian intellect and without spare time to tinker with screws ) , as a manual / stick transmission on a cars , or a photo cameras without autofocusing . Great video as always . Thanks!
Good review again Robert and some decent beginner telescopes too this time ! Although I am not comfortable with an Newtonian telescope I can not collimate myself, I see the benefit it has for beginners. Not sure why they added the thread to thefocuser to be able to attach a DSLR to it, as it needs some extra modifications to make it work as you pointed out. Also not sure why they add this to an AZ mount as this mount has it's limitations when it comes to using it for taking photographs, as you pointed out too. I can see why some people like these mounts as they are quick and easy to set up (hence the name Pronto) and weigh little compared to an equatorial mount. Personally would prefer the later though even for visual observations. ;)
Thank you for this video, I’m just trying to decide between the 130ps and the Skymax, whilst the Skymax is easier to travel with being smaller it is appealing, but it’s only once per year that I would take it away with me and space in the car isn’t that limited that I couldn’t take the 130ps which still leaves me scratching my head, I suppose the 130 wins out when it comes to deep sky targets, I’m curious to know what the difference is between the two when observing planets?
Excel.lent video as always. I've learned a lot watching your videos about astronomy. Right now, I have a small refractor (80mm aperture, 400mm focal length), and a big reflector (150mm/750mm), and both an EQ5 and an AZ3 mount, all from Skywatcher. The reflector came with a 28mm 2inch eyepiece (don't know what kind), and I completed the collection with a 18, 10, and 6mm orthoscopic eyepieces (all from Baader Planetarium). What is your opinion about orthoscopic eyepieces? Myself I am quite happy with them, they give sharp good contrast images, without much aberration. I also have a 2.25x Barlow lense.
Orthoscopic eyepieces are optically very good and also cheap. On the other hand, they don't have very wide field of view and long eye relief in the short focal lengths.
The Skymax 102 does have collimation screws - they are situated at the rear of the instrument and allow the entire rear cell assembly to be aligned with the tube and corrector. A rubber 'O' ring mediates the interface between the primary mirror assembly and the corrector/tube assembly. KR RJD A&NTV
@@RocketPlanet www.cloudynights.com/uploads/monthly_10_2018/post-294862-0-24388900-1539428564.jpg It is not my photo, but it is photo of SW Skymax-102, and as you can see, there are no collimation screws at the backplate.
@@Grigorych Hi Cassini, I'm sorry, you are quite correct. I had assumed that only some models of 90mm SkyMax had an 'economy' back - but as you point out - the 102 bundled with the latest small mounts is collimation 'free' also. I note there is a small amount of wiggle room afforded by that fact that the screws securing the Mak corrector and the rear cell are slightly larger than the diameter of the fasteners, but this hardly constitutes user accessible collimation. The manufacturer is relying on precision limit collimation, that's to say he feels that he can manufacture the optical elements and the tube hardware to a sufficiently precise and consistent form that zero variation assembly will achieve a high enough level of collimation performance to satisfy the user. Does this mean your instrument will always be perfect collimation? Not at all, there are a number of reasons why the instrument may arrive with you from new in an uncollimated state or become uncollimated over time. Typically, a severe enough blow to the instrument may cause the mirror support tube to become deflected from its central position - thus putting the instrument in an uncollimated state. I suggest if you have detected that your instrument is out of collimation that you present it back to your supplier as faulty. I hope this helps, and thanks for giving me a steer on the lack of 102 collimation screws. KR RJD A&NTV
Hi Ruth, it's a page from Harmonia Macrocosmica: a star atlas written by Andreas Cellarius et al and published in 1660. The atlas features the celestial system of Tycho Brahe and as such much of it is quite wrong, but gloriously and beautifully wrong. The image on our wall, serves as a reminder (to me) that beautiful ideas are not necessarily correct, no matter how much we want them to be. KR RJD
Everything looked fine until "no collimation screws on 130 mm reflector". I mean - the Newtonian reflectior without collimation screws is an abomination even worse than PowerSeeker 127.
![จบจนได้ ! | Black Myth: Wukong #007 [ตอนจบ?]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/DSqvWndF0sw/mqdefault.jpg)
I just wanted to say that I love all of your content. This video is 6 years old as I write this and I still find value in the clarity in which you present the information. Having owned many of the products you review on this channel I 100% agree with your opinions. You tell the truth and we your audience love you for it. We learn valuable how to information too. We value your voice.
Saw your review on the Celeston 130 slt and purchased one. I have not been disappointed. Although most of the nights to date have been cloudy, will be taking the 130 slt with me on the next night fishing trip. Happy days, keep the vids coming.
As you mentioned its really nice having you folks back producing videos! Thanks for providing such good information.
Robert i hope you continue making videos. your insight about the night sky and your narration skills are top teir, i really enjoy watching your videos, even the ones from a decade ago are great
Please keep up the good work, we missed you!
Welcome back 🎉
A true delight to watch and listen. Thank you for the useful information, tips, and tricks about all that you presented so far. I had quite a nice laugh at the "did that one moved" bit.
Great review.glad to see your back. Thought you had gone forever!!
Good to see you back behind telescope gear handing out your usual excellent advice. Had to look twice when flipping through You Tube on the date of this video I thought it was a typo, but seemingly not.
Welcome back, looking forward to more good reviews and I am sure it hasn't escaped everybody notice who followed you previously on You Tube there has been a good number of new products and advanced technology becoming available to all who are interested in astronomy since you last put in an appearance here.
Thanks for this new video - as always, top quality, great review - nice to see new well designed products for beginners - keep up the good work, Robert 👍🏻
Was wondering if you guys were ever going to start publishing videos again... Glad to see you!
I recently did your "how far away is the moon" thing with a class, and none of them had any clue, just like the people in the park. What a great teaching tool!
Thanks!
Hi there, that's good to hear - thanks for posting. KR RJD A&NTV
Great video, very informative. The Pronto should give the Porta some good competition.
Hi there and thanks. The AZ Pronto (AZP) isn't quite beefy enough to compete with the Porta, but keep a look out for our next video featuring the new Sky-Watcher AZ5 - it is potentially a competitor for the Porta - at least the head is. The only question mark hangs over the tripod which is the same as the one used on the AZP. For the AZP it's fine - but is it suitable for the more capable AZ5? KR RJD A&NTV
Welcome back - another great video - you've also cleared up why I can't prime focus on my 130P even with a camera body of about 25mm - should have bought a Mak!!
Great to see you back!
Great to see you back,keep the videos coming plz
Great info on the Skymax 102 and mount , helped me make up my mind on my first scope.
I notice when you fit the Sky Max to the mount, the locking screw is against the flat edge of the Vixen plate .The indents on the vixen are on the other side which would give a more secure grip. To do this you have to rotate the head and use the other side. the problem is when you do this the two control cables converge on one another.
Very interested in this mount. Just hope we get it here in the states.
Would love to see a video on the Sky-Watcher AZ GTi WiFi Alt-Az Mount & Tripod?
Wow . Good news - finally ! , no collimation - Point&Shoot Newtonian reflectors . Looks like in a couple years technology will make Newtonian reflectors with usual every other day collimation plate screws , as a rare and unpopular with regular average Joe users ( with less than Newtonian intellect and without spare time to tinker with screws ) , as a manual / stick transmission on a cars , or a photo cameras without autofocusing .
Great video as always . Thanks!
Good review again Robert and some decent beginner telescopes too this time ! Although I am not comfortable with an Newtonian telescope I can not collimate myself, I see the benefit it has for beginners. Not sure why they added the thread to thefocuser to be able to attach a DSLR to it, as it needs some extra modifications to make it work as you pointed out. Also not sure why they add this to an AZ mount as this mount has it's limitations when it comes to using it for taking photographs, as you pointed out too. I can see why some people like these mounts as they are quick and easy to set up (hence the name Pronto) and weigh little compared to an equatorial mount. Personally would prefer the later though even for visual observations. ;)
Two videos in two days!? What is this? Christmas?
What's better than Christmas? Two Christmases! KR Robert A&NTV
Welcome back!
oooo, welcome back !
Thanks
Great video! I plan on purchasing the skymax 102 az pronto. What’s the difference if I swap out the diagonal with the Mirror star diagonal? Thanks!
Thank you for this video, I’m just trying to decide between the 130ps and the Skymax, whilst the Skymax is easier to travel with being smaller it is appealing, but it’s only once per year that I would take it away with me and space in the car isn’t that limited that I couldn’t take the 130ps which still leaves me scratching my head, I suppose the 130 wins out when it comes to deep sky targets, I’m curious to know what the difference is between the two when observing planets?
Nice video 👍
Excel.lent video as always. I've learned a lot watching your videos about astronomy. Right now, I have a small refractor (80mm aperture, 400mm focal length), and a big reflector (150mm/750mm), and both an EQ5 and an AZ3 mount, all from Skywatcher. The reflector came with a 28mm 2inch eyepiece (don't know what kind), and I completed the collection with a 18, 10, and 6mm orthoscopic eyepieces (all from Baader Planetarium). What is your opinion about orthoscopic eyepieces? Myself I am quite happy with them, they give sharp good contrast images, without much aberration. I also have a 2.25x Barlow lense.
Orthoscopic eyepieces are optically very good and also cheap. On the other hand, they don't have very wide field of view and long eye relief in the short focal lengths.
Why Skymax-102 does not have collimation screws? 😦
The Skymax 102 does have collimation screws - they are situated at the rear of the instrument and allow the entire rear cell assembly to be aligned with the tube and corrector. A rubber 'O' ring mediates the interface between the primary mirror assembly and the corrector/tube assembly. KR RJD A&NTV
@@RocketPlanet www.cloudynights.com/uploads/monthly_10_2018/post-294862-0-24388900-1539428564.jpg It is not my photo, but it is photo of SW Skymax-102, and as you can see, there are no collimation screws at the backplate.
@@Grigorych Hi Cassini, I'm sorry, you are quite correct. I had assumed that only some models of 90mm SkyMax had an 'economy' back - but as you point out - the 102 bundled with the latest small mounts is collimation 'free' also. I note there is a small amount of wiggle room afforded by that fact that the screws securing the Mak corrector and the rear cell are slightly larger than the diameter of the fasteners, but this hardly constitutes user accessible collimation. The manufacturer is relying on precision limit collimation, that's to say he feels that he can manufacture the optical elements and the tube hardware to a sufficiently precise and consistent form that zero variation assembly will achieve a high enough level of collimation performance to satisfy the user. Does this mean your instrument will always be perfect collimation? Not at all, there are a number of reasons why the instrument may arrive with you from new in an uncollimated state or become uncollimated over time. Typically, a severe enough blow to the instrument may cause the mirror support tube to become deflected from its central position - thus putting the instrument in an uncollimated state. I suggest if you have detected that your instrument is out of collimation that you present it back to your supplier as faulty. I hope this helps, and thanks for giving me a steer on the lack of 102 collimation screws. KR RJD A&NTV
hi, can you tell me how low can the magnification go on the maksutov, whould a 32mm eyepiece work on it?
what is the name of the map behind you?
Hi Ruth, it's a page from Harmonia Macrocosmica: a star atlas written by Andreas Cellarius et al and published in 1660. The atlas features the celestial system of Tycho Brahe and as such much of it is quite wrong, but gloriously and beautifully wrong. The image on our wall, serves as a reminder (to me) that beautiful ideas are not necessarily correct, no matter how much we want them to be. KR RJD
Everything looked fine until "no collimation screws on 130 mm reflector".
I mean - the Newtonian reflectior without collimation screws is an abomination even worse than PowerSeeker 127.