Thanks for your review! In twoo weeks I will be getting a brand new one from my Dealer including the F6 Reducer for AP. Your Video helped me a little bit to reduce the waiting time :-) Clear Skies and Happy new Year! Marc
Nice review :) I am adding this scope to the list for my 1st OTA. Have been shooting with my Nikon and lenses. Am also considering the Edge but now I am looking at Vixen too :)
It's a great scope and hard to beat for the money. You can also use the Astro-Physics CCD Focal Reducer for f/9-f/18 Telescopes with it for visual work. You attached it like a Baader coma corrector to the bottom of the eyepiece. From my reading on Cloudy Nights I understand it also works well for CCD work on the Vixen VMC200L.
Like other SCT designs , it probably has a large CO, central obstruction, means magnifying bright stars, thick diffraction rings dance around it. It's OK, most people don't get bothered about it, but me being a HQ refractor nut guy, got used to tight, sharp, star images would bother the hell out of me, when stars look like Saturn! It's good for extended DSO's and planets, quality is most likely above any mass produces SCT designs! Vixen has the reputation and is famous of good quality telescopes and mounts!
Great overview again. I used the VC200L years ago, but was considering one of these VMC 200L vs C8 EDGE. curious of the flatness of the field, but how did you rate the scope overall compared to other designs, particularly the rumak or other Maks/SCTs? I woudl also get the focla reducer (the 0.77x more recent version has good correction but less reduction..).
The field was flat with a KAF8300 chip. It also was lighter than the MAK 150 I currently have. No corrector plate so cool down is quicker than a MAK or Edge. It's a great scope IMHO.
This looks like the Fairburn area just east of the Black Hills. I used to live there when younger. Is this that area? I built a 6 in. reflector while living out there. The skies can be amazing there.
Hi Phil, you're close... It's just north of Hermosa and south of Rapid City. Like you guessed its east of the Black Hills. Found a new dark site last summer east of Rapid, off the Cheyenne River. Right now I'd say it's between a cat 2 - 2.5. Amazing, and only a 40 min dive from Rapid. It's a shame how people just don't seem to care about keeping what little dark skies we have left. We're losing them fast.
The VMC200L has price and aperture advantage over the SV102. But the real question you should be asking yourself is at what focal length do you want to image at? SV102's fl/750 or the VMC's fl/1950? If it just visual work you're wanting to do then the VMC200L is the winner in my book. Thanks for posting.
Dakota Starry Nights thanks for getting back to me. I enjoy doing photography right now I just use a ZWO 290 on my SV102 with a 2. Powemate. Been shoot planetary with good results and just started trying deep space. I want to be able to resolve more on the planets. I have a reducer/flattener for the SV 102. I want another option for more focal length but with a reasonable flat field. I was looking at the VC200L but am a bit concerned about the addition optics in the tube. The connection at the back of the focus tube you mentioned in your video concerns me. Thx for your opinion in advance
The extra aperture of the VMC200L will help increase resolution on planets as opposed to the SV 102. The VMC200L yields a nice flat field via the secondary. I don't see the concern over the "additional optics". A Celestron Edge has additional optics to flatten the field via the corrector plate. However, that presents a number of problems. Cool down, fogging, and additional weight. They also cost more. There's also the rack-n-pinon focuser of the VMC200L which eliminates mirror flop as I mentioned in the video. Clear Skies
Dakota Starry Nights thank you for taking the time to answer. The extra optics I had mentioned are in the VC200L their 1800mm f9. I am concerned the extra optics might interject problems if I combine it with an powermate. Have you tried Vixen 1 to 6 focuser? Appreciate the advice. Thank you
I feel that you are better off allowing 30 minutes to get tube temperature to ambient levels rather than sucking in fine particles/dust into the main tube. Your stainless steel screen will not trap everything in the air.
Fair enough, Petra. Thirty minutes isn't that long to wait. But some things to consider: The OTA, being open at the end, will allow dust and much larger particles to drift on top of the primary mirror, as with a dob. But not having a corrector plate meant problems with dew were eliminated. The air is also being brought in from the rear through the hole in the primary mirror. Which means it does not flow onto the reflecting surface of the primary mirror. However, the correcting lens in the secondary does have air passing in front of it. But it is a much smaller surface when compared to the primary and the stainless steel screens used have square openings measured in a few microns so... Thanks for posting. Clear skies!
Fair point (love the telescope & astro gear that you use). I recently completed the grinding and coating of a ~350mm mirror (assembled in a Dobsonian type mount). I am getting sensational images from the location I have set up the scope. No guidance or GoTo system of course, but amazing what you can see with quality eyepieces and clear crisp skies. (Mirror is a little inconsistent in some small sections and there are a few micro bubbles/defects in the glass that I couldn't remove during grinding/polishing. These aren't too much of a problem unless you are looking at the wrong spots (lol). Cheers
hello group. i practice observation only. Iam very interessed by this telescope. Is it a good compromize for deep sky observation. Thx a lot. Take Care
While the VMC200L is a great scope, I'd believe for visual work a 10 or 12 inch dobsonian telescope would serve you better as you'll see more with the larger aperture. But if you really need the go-2 feature of a mount then this would do the trick.
It is a great scope with a flat corrected field and quick cool down. And if you're considering it for astorphotography then an 8" is really the sweet spot for price and weight. It's easier to get it to guide properly for longer exposures. Clear skies!
to much object specific nomenclature.. I do not understand half of the words you used.. this is for advanced folks and not in my purview.. I am just a novice that wants to start to learn again after many years of non use.. thank you for you knowledge But I must start at a lower level.. I will how ever follow you on your site.. it is rather enjoyable.
Thanks for your review! In twoo weeks I will be getting a brand new one from my Dealer including the F6 Reducer for AP.
Your Video helped me a little bit to reduce the waiting time :-)
Clear Skies and Happy new Year!
Marc
Cool! Happy New Year to you too, Marc!
wow Welcome back!
Thanks. :)
Nice review :) I am adding this scope to the list for my 1st OTA. Have been shooting with my Nikon and lenses. Am also considering the Edge but now I am looking at Vixen too :)
It's a great scope and hard to beat for the money. You can also use the Astro-Physics CCD Focal Reducer for f/9-f/18 Telescopes with it for visual work. You attached it like a Baader coma corrector to the bottom of the eyepiece. From my reading on Cloudy Nights I understand it also works well for CCD work on the Vixen VMC200L.
Nice review. Thanks.
Thanks for the review. I enjoy mine. I don’t think it can be beat for the combination of length, aperture, and weight.
Agreed. It's really an overlooked scope. Most guys go for the Celestron and SkyWatcher SCT's. But this guy has got the goods!
Beautiful dog brother, nice little set up as well
Thank you and Happy New Year.
Like other SCT designs , it probably has a large CO, central obstruction, means magnifying bright stars, thick diffraction rings dance around it.
It's OK, most people don't get bothered about it, but me being a HQ refractor nut guy, got used to tight, sharp, star images would bother the hell out of me, when stars look like Saturn!
It's good for extended DSO's and planets, quality is most likely above any mass produces SCT designs!
Vixen has the reputation and is famous of good quality telescopes and mounts!
かっこいい！！
Smart tech!
Great overview again. I used the VC200L years ago, but was considering one of these VMC 200L vs C8 EDGE. curious of the flatness of the field, but how did you rate the scope overall compared to other designs, particularly the rumak or other Maks/SCTs? I woudl also get the focla reducer (the 0.77x more recent version has good correction but less reduction..).
The field was flat with a KAF8300 chip. It also was lighter than the MAK 150 I currently have. No corrector plate so cool down is quicker than a MAK or Edge. It's a great scope IMHO.
I bought one as a scope and now I'm converting it to Takahashi cn 212
I’m going to try extending my dovetail too. What thread are the holes tapped for?
Metric I believe. Take one of the bolts to a hardware store. They usually have a sizing plate around.
This looks like the Fairburn area just east of the Black Hills. I used to live there when younger. Is this that area? I built a 6 in. reflector while living out there. The skies can be amazing there.
Hi Phil, you're close... It's just north of Hermosa and south of Rapid City. Like you guessed its east of the Black Hills. Found a new dark site last summer east of Rapid, off the Cheyenne River. Right now I'd say it's between a cat 2 - 2.5. Amazing, and only a 40 min dive from Rapid. It's a shame how people just don't seem to care about keeping what little dark skies we have left. We're losing them fast.
What is the Length of the ADM losmandy plate you used?
15" / 381mm. Thanks for posting.
I am considering this scope in addition to my sv102. Do you have a website I could send you some question to? Thx
The VMC200L has price and aperture advantage over the SV102. But the real question you should be asking yourself is at what focal length do you want to image at? SV102's fl/750 or the VMC's fl/1950? If it just visual work you're wanting to do then the VMC200L is the winner in my book. Thanks for posting.
Dakota Starry Nights thanks for getting back to me. I enjoy doing photography right now I just use a ZWO 290 on my SV102 with a 2. Powemate. Been shoot planetary with good results and just started trying deep space. I want to be able to resolve more on the planets. I have a reducer/flattener for the SV 102. I want another option for more focal length but with a reasonable flat field. I was looking at the VC200L but am a bit concerned about the addition optics in the tube. The connection at the back of the focus tube you mentioned in your video concerns me. Thx for your opinion in advance
Dakota Starry Nights here is one of my Jupiters with my 4 inch refractor instagram.com/p/BpOAa70g1Qt/?
The extra aperture of the VMC200L will help increase resolution on planets as opposed to the SV 102. The VMC200L yields a nice flat field via the secondary. I don't see the concern over the "additional optics". A Celestron Edge has additional optics to flatten the field via the corrector plate. However, that presents a number of problems. Cool down, fogging, and additional weight. They also cost more. There's also the rack-n-pinon focuser of the VMC200L which eliminates mirror flop as I mentioned in the video. Clear Skies
Dakota Starry Nights thank you for taking the time to answer. The extra optics I had mentioned are in the VC200L their 1800mm f9. I am concerned the extra optics might interject problems if I combine it with an powermate. Have you tried Vixen 1 to 6 focuser? Appreciate the advice. Thank you
Hola, te pregunto, el Vixen VMC200L es Made in ? gracias
The Vixen VMC200L is made in Japan and is covered by a Five Year Warranty. Clear Skies.
I feel that you are better off allowing 30 minutes to get tube temperature to ambient levels rather than sucking in fine particles/dust into the main tube. Your stainless steel screen will not trap everything in the air.
Fair enough, Petra. Thirty minutes isn't that long to wait. But some things to consider: The OTA, being open at the end, will allow dust and much larger particles to drift on top of the primary mirror, as with a dob. But not having a corrector plate meant problems with dew were eliminated. The air is also being brought in from the rear through the hole in the primary mirror. Which means it does not flow onto the reflecting surface of the primary mirror. However, the correcting lens in the secondary does have air passing in front of it. But it is a much smaller surface when compared to the primary and the stainless steel screens used have square openings measured in a few microns so... Thanks for posting. Clear skies!
Fair point (love the telescope & astro gear that you use).
I recently completed the grinding and coating of a ~350mm mirror (assembled in a Dobsonian type mount). I am getting sensational images from the location I have set up the scope. No guidance or GoTo system of course, but amazing what you can see with quality eyepieces and clear crisp skies. (Mirror is a little inconsistent in some small sections and there are a few micro bubbles/defects in the glass that I couldn't remove during grinding/polishing. These aren't too much of a problem unless you are looking at the wrong spots (lol). Cheers
hello group. i practice observation only. Iam very interessed by this telescope. Is it a good compromize for deep sky observation. Thx a lot. Take Care
While the VMC200L is a great scope, I'd believe for visual work a 10 or 12 inch dobsonian telescope would serve you better as you'll see more with the larger aperture. But if you really need the go-2 feature of a mount then this would do the trick.
Hello Sir, is this telescope good enough for visual? In my country is much cheaper than 8" Edge HD and I'm thinking about buying one. Thanks!
It's excellent for visual and a killer on planets and the Moon. I actually preferred it over the Edge HD. Cools quicker too. Dakota
That looks like a great scope. And the price is very good too. Oddly, the 10" version is four times the price!
It is a great scope with a flat corrected field and quick cool down. And if you're considering it for astorphotography then an 8" is really the sweet spot for price and weight. It's easier to get it to guide properly for longer exposures. Clear skies!
to much object specific nomenclature.. I do not understand half of the words you used.. this is for advanced folks and not in my purview.. I am just a novice that wants to start to learn again after many years of non use.. thank you for you knowledge But I must start at a lower level.. I will how ever follow you on your site.. it is rather enjoyable.
I took the plate off.
What plate? You mean the spider vanes?