Hi Daniel, and thanks for the good question. The instrument is fully collimatable via thee black 120 degree spaced Phillips type screws on the rear outer bulkhead - they can be seen in the video at 36:34. The primary mirror support tube, and focus assembly are all mounted on a steel backplate and this plate is controlled by the three adjustment screws. Where the screws meet the backplate they have a medium strength 'Loctite-like' compound on them, but this is easily 'cracked' on adjustment. It's nicely done. KR RJD A&NTV
@@RocketPlanet Is there any note in the product's documentation that covers the subject of collimation? I wonder if the fact that they have painted the screws with Loctite might imply that the user shouldn't really need to collimate, or that the factory collimation is adequate for the life of the instrument. Your thoughts?
Hi again Daniel. No, the instructions have no reference to collimation. But this is not unusual of course, plenty of larger commercial Maks have mighty thin documentation equally silent on this important subject as well. I think the manufacturer, like most, is just doing what they can to ensure the product has a reasonable service lifetime more or less in line with customer expectations. Primarily they'll wish to have a product that survives the warranty period by a safe margin. I think, in this case, they have probably exceeded that factor by a good number of years, depending on how the user treats the instrument. This does not mean an instrument selected, as it were, at random, will not require now, or at some point in the future, collimation adjustment to achieve the standard of performance achieved by good factory alignment. Nor indeed, does it eliminate the possibility that the instrument may benefit from collimation to promote its performance beyond this standard. And this all speaks to it being a properly constructed instrument. One that risks failure by striving for the highest standards of performance achievable with the limited technical and economic metrics, rather than play 'safe' with near fixed mediocre to poor performance we see in so many small aperture low-cost reflectors (e.g., of the Jones-Bird type). Ask Synta (the OEM of this and many other popular Maks by Celestron, Orion, and Skywatcher etc) if they think the users of their Maksutov instruments will ever need to collimate them: you can spread the silence on bread it's so thick. Just my thoughts. KR RJD A&NTV
@@RocketPlanet Thank you for your thoroughness in answering. I have learned so much from your videos. I am new to this hobby at the age of 63. You've helped me feel like a kid again as I learn.
@@RocketPlanet Damn, that's an incredibly thorough, and incredibly careful, response. You must have been a lawyer in a past life ;) I'm very glad you are now doing telescopes. Your vids are **fantastic**.
I'm glad you're still making videos. This is my favorite channel by far. It looks like these would make great telescopes for middle school. You can teach basic science lessons on space and optics and show them off with that clever "bonnet." Hopefully a few kids will start an after school astronomy club. I'm a big fan of clever engineering and there is nothing wrong with plastics, the industry has made great strides in their development. I know videos aren't easy to make but if you're looking for suggestions, I'd love to see a short length series (~10 minute segments should help get more viewers) on the basics of using telescopes. It's quite overwhelming when you're new to the hobby! Maybe record a typical viewing session of (pick object here) using (pick different types of telescopes) from how to set up, find your target manually and track it through the night sky. It's actually hard to find videos as competently put together as yours. I'm a big fan from across the pond. Sorry for the long post and keep up the good work!
Thanks for taking the time to cover a great entry level telescope! Similar to Amateur radio we should all work to help new people (kids or not) to gain an interest in the hobby. Having good reasonably priced options helps. LCARA Ham Radio
After a bit of digging it seems they are made by these guys en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synta_Technology_Corporation_of_Taiwan , they also own and manufacture Celestron telescopes along with a wide variety of high quality spotting scopes
This is impressive. This fellow is one of the best I've encountered on UA-cam. I'm an ex radio and television announcer and very picky and grumpy. The pace, the diction, the delivery, and the thoughtful exploration of this telescope are great. 5-stars, Like, props, and highly recommend this fellow (and I'm gonna get this product based on this review also). Thanks.
Purchased one on account of your review and love it. Very clear image and it feels like a quality tool, if it were not for your review I would have dismissed it as a toy. Other than the optics, just the decorative/educational value was worth the money (is displayed on top of a bookshelf in my home office). Thank you for the great videos and greetings from Texas, USA.
This review convinced me to buy this as my first telescope. So far I've taken some fantastic pictures of birds and the moon just using my phone. It also opened the research doors into Astrophotography and techniques and equipment and free software that has me embracing the hobby. Thank you so much for making this review video and inspiring new people to get their first telescope and see the world/sky in a different way.
I like that focuser. You probably get a super-fine focus. Yeah, a cheap camera tripod is better than that lil thing. I have bigger scopes but Im gonna try and get one o these. Thanks for the review. I just checked and they have a Dobsonian mount for $20 more. They move really smooth but if ya bump em.....
Cute but good luck finding things that aren't the Moon. A newbie I know started out with a 70mm Celestron Mak. She never could even find the Moon! Now she has a C6 SCT and is well on her way. The real use for this thing is as an ultra-lightweight guide scope.
Thank you for this amazing review! I ordered this little gem of a telescope yesterday. Regarding the dew shield I have used black foam sheets for arts and crafts. They come in different thicknesses and are perfect for this purpose. My Nexstar 5SE has one and it works perfectly well. You can put it together with hot glue.
So after 7 months of purchasing this telescope, how do you think it is ? Let’s know if you were able to see Jupiter and Saturn 🪐 with it… have you taken photo of these planets ? If yes then where can we see those pics ? Thanks in advance 🙏
As always, a brilliant communicator, and though he goes off tangent, he is master of off tangent waffle! Thank you for yet another enjoyable product talk and glad to see this channel still delivering super content.
Sarblue came out with a 70 mak. Based on your highly informative review, I am hopeful the quality is similar. I am interested in buying the 70. Will you do a review of the 70 mak?
I love that you can open the tube and actually look inside. Its not everyday that you can look inside the tube of a maksutov. Just gotta be careful to not get any dust in. Overall It seems like the perfect telescope to teach kids and beginneers overall.
It doesn’t matter about the subject Rob describes or explains about astronomy equipment, whatever it costs, he just increases my beginners enthusiasm! Truely excellent quality presentation every time 👍
Thanks so much for posting this excellent information. After recently viewing Jupiter and Saturn through my old 6 inch reflector and equatorial mount following a lot of faffing about I am attracted to such a simple alternative for having a quick look. And after watching your video I noted the Acuter Maksy 60 is available from ebay here in Australia for $169. I,'ve just placed an order for one. 🙂 Thanks again and cheers!
60mm maksutov is rare, and this one has been tested for planet photography too. It's sharp enough to do so. Much better than omegon mightymak 60 and PICO-6. It's also fee telescopes that were truly made for education.
Great video with lots of details. Curious other than the moon, did you get a chance to view any other big M, IC or NGC objects? I know you can't photograph them with that mount, but if so how well did the scope perform on those DSO's? Thanks! My first ever scope (Apertura 8D8) is set to arrive tomorrow, I'm so excited, but you have me intrigued with this little gadget as well
Hi! I'm a total newbie and am looking to purchase the sarblue mak 60 after reading your review. While searching on amazon, I saw that they have two new upgraded models, one with tripod + finderscope, and another with dobsonian mount + finderscope. Would you recommend getting the upgraded version, and if so, which one?
Happy 2021! Another great video, packed full of information that's well explained as always. Great Scope for outreach and science education it seems. Don't fancy doing a video on that big Newtonian at the start do you? 😊
Great presentation. Keep it up :). An idea for a video: An up-to-date review of what oculars to go for (as the amount of options are staggering) at different price brackets, with focus on the amateur.
I should think if it was put on a proper mount and a higher power eyepiece two cloudbelts should be visible under good conditions,although with no great detail.
Hi Gerald, I had a look at Mars with a 10mm eyepiece and managed to convince myself I could see a distinct phase shape and a hint of shading in the southern hemisphere. But I was in a bit of a hurry to cut the observing sesh. short as it was about minus 12C, and although I'm not the kind of sissy that minds losing a few fingers and toes to frostbite for the glory of astronomy, it's the gas gangrene that sets in afterwards I frown on. We'll have to be patient and wait for big Jupe and Saturn to come round again. Thanks for posting. KR RJD A&NTV
Excellent review as always! Good tips for those who already have it, and those that don't yet but will. I just bought one of these with portability in mind and it is very impressive on the Moon and Saturn so far. Jupiter will be a big test for it. I bought the version with the "full size tripod", and while not great, it does the job. Mine also has a finder - it's so bad I don't know why they bothered. I stopped trying to use it after an hour in a two hour first session. It's fine without the finder on the Moon and planets, but so far I've found it difficult to get to brighter stars. I wish they would have provided a way to add a standard finder shoe. I'd stick a Telrad on this but it's too big for this tiny Mak! I'm going to just use it as a portable planetary 'scope but it would be nice to split some doubles with this. I have a small stable of telescopes (including a 127 Mak) but a recent move has made it difficult for me to use them since I have to observe in a city park nearby, so lately I've been sticking with binoculars. But the Sarblue it so portable and so quick to set up and acclimate to ambient temperaturess I"m bringing it along on my binocular sessions as well. So glad you're still doing videos on this channel, Robert. Your videos helped me tremendously when I got started in 2019 and they will continue to help beginners for years to come!
Robert, With the creation of this video, and the fact that I respect your opinion so much, you have convinced me to try this wonderful piece of modern engineering, despite its toy-ish appearance. I found a variation of this item with a full size tripod and a finder scope, which addresses two of your negative concerns. Just placed my order today. Thanks for bringing this telescope to light for us and for such a thorough review. I very much appreciate you and this channel.
I bought this telescope per your recommendation. As my very first telescope I’m really impressed! When I was choosing my first telescope, I was staying away from anything that was less than $400. Of course I’ll upgrade after I learn how do use it a bit more and reach its limits
This telescope got me started. I now have 2 dobsonians, a 102 mak, Orion Short Tube 80 and a 40mm solar scope. I still have my little blue scope. I wonder how a Rigel Quickfinder would work with this.
I got myself this Macsy and it is amazing. I have it on a photo tripod, and it surely could use a serious mount (and a pointer), but the scope itself is excellent. I also got a solar filter and had a go at the sun too. Thank you, great advice!
Hi someone (even Mr. Robert) i have the same telescope, i would like to use with a eyepiece of 10mm for get more zoom! should be work or not?? :)) thanks for halp
Thank you. Great video! Pretty impressive little telescope. Matsutov Cassegrain is an amazing design. My sister loves birds and has a bunch of feeders in her back yard. She I think, would love this telescope for recording close-ups of her birds with her iPhone.😊
I just found your channel yesterday and I’m hooked! The thorough research and presentation are second to none! I’ve been in the market to buy a telescope, but have been told by several people that if you get a cheap one, you’ll regret it, and quickly realize that money would have been better spent towards a more expensive model. I’m really impressed with this one!
I purchased one of these after watching your review a couple of years ago and it's been a reliable, fun and quality little telescope. Thank you for your perspective and wisdom. Even as a newbie, I would have dismissed it and missed out on a worthwhile piece of equipment.
Very interesting! I would guess (especially considering how much thought went into the eyepiece) that the small opening in the back plate means you cannot have a larger AFOV or longer focal length than that of the supplied eyepiece without severe vignetting. And on the other side (shorter focal length), you're limited by aperture. So my guess is that you can only really use a second eyepiece with this scope, perhaps with a 12.5 mm focal length. In practice, the scope would then offer two useful magnifications, x37.5 and x75. Which is plenty for such a small scope...
Hello sir. I am very new to telescopes. I very much do not know what I am doing. There is a Mak60 telescope being sold at a store near my house. I am very interested in buying it but I want to ask you if I need a Barlow to be able to see Saturn with adequate details of its surface. I am worried that a Barlow would not fit onto the Mak 60 telescope. would you be able to inform me if it can in fact fit onto the telescope? lastly, I have no idea which size moon filter I should get. sorry for the question, if you could help out with some answers, that would be much appreciated. have a pleasant day
I Know Its A 2 Y/O Video,But What A Nice Little Scope,My Grab and Go Is A Celestron Mak90..Great Video,Watched The Whole Thing..God Bless,and Clear Skies🙏🏼❤️🔭✨🌏
Excellent review very informative. This is a very impressive small scope, I think I might just get one put a planetary camera on it, and have some fun, I know my grands will love it
very good educational telescope indeed thanks for sharing this. I sold my telscopes one a masutov 127mm x 1500mm skywatcher and a orion 6'' tube . made good videos of the moon.
Anyone that is watching your channel should not care what telescope you're reviewing. They should enjoy all of them. After all, they all started with some kind of telescope.. not an observatory. No matter what any subscriber has, there is someone else out there who has something vastly more expensive and powerful, so don't be one that complains because this is not that pricey. For a child who wants to just look at the moon, like my younger son. It would be the worlds best telescope in his eyes!
Two things - Central Obstruction and focus How much is the central obstruction? Percentage of diameter and area. Is it enough not to affect lunar planetary viewing? I am not getting into DSO Focusing!!! Ah that knob graced my ,now paperweight, Meade ETX80AT TC. That focuser is the reason now my scope is not working. I don't want that happening to this..
I was impressed wifh the introduction maxe for this scope it was informative and easy to follow. I do have a problem tbough, i have equipment that i hzve purchased through what i think is the same company if the name is correct that is i purchased from Ozhut which i tnink is an offshoot from the guy givin the talk, which i have often sent emails to asking questions that would have relared to further purchases only to never receive any reply which i do find a little off putting i have been trying to find out a lot more about the system now used by Celestron and skywatcher that uses self alignment technology that before purchase i would like to know more about, I have two telescopes a skywatcher 5 inch and a 6 inch cassegrain that really is very good ineed any comments would be interesting as i live in a very restricktive area in turms of purchase, we dont have a place near at hand to purchase or visit for advice as i live in a small town in south western Australia and a trip to the city is a day long job so have to do my purchases via internet.
They are selling for £49.99 on ebay at the moment......cheapest half decent scope you can buy add a barlow and zoom lens and it should be more capable a decent cheap barlow and 9-24 zoom lens may cost more than the scope but should improve it a lot....this should have also been in the demonstration and testing on this video/stream to see how capable the scope was with a few addons because the scope only has 1 eye piece
Very well done! I especially appreciate a small quality instrument where extra detail, as you point out, is found that makes the scope perform as well as possible. I wonder if a non-erecting prism or mirror star diagonal will provide better images when using a higher power eyepiece. As a rule of thumb, the erecting diagonals fall slightly short of their non-erecting cousins for astronomical detail. I also wonder if the three apparent ‘adjustment’ screws on the back housing are for collimation of the optics. A Maksutov must be carefully collimated to yield the best images possible. Just a small out of collimation condition will have a large effect on image quality. That being said, if they are collimation adjustment screws, they should NOT be touched except by someone very, very familiar with the process. But having the ability to collimate the instrument is always a good thing with catadioptric systems. Thanks for a very well done presentation!!
Hi JD and thanks for your comments. The three screws you refer to are indeed full collimation adjustment screws. The primary mirror support tube and focus assembly are all mounted on a steel backplate and this plate is controlled by the three black screws you can see on the outside of the rear bulkhead. The screws have a medium strength 'Loctite-like' compound on them, but this is easily 'cracked' on adjustment. It's nicely done. KR RJD A&NTV
I'm really enjoying this channel. My question is about eyepieces. I have a 400x80 refractor telescope and so far I can't see the rings of Saturn with any of my eyepieces (9mm, 12mm, 25mm). What do you recommend?
Try pointing it at Saturn. The 9mm being slightly over 40x should easily resolve that there is a ring around it. Perhaps you are looking at something else Yes as mentioned a Barlow will help. Note that 80mm f5 will have alot of false color (purple glow) which makes resolving details harder
No, there's no "too much information" when it comes to the quality of an optical instrument! This was very, very good info on this telescope. Exactly what I was after!
I am trying to decide between this SARBLUE Planet Mate 60mm, the ORION 10015 StarBlast 4.5 Astro Reflector and the ZHUMELL Z114. My daughter is an undergrad science major, and I'd like to get her a lightweight and inexpensive telescope for her birthday. I am completely new to learning about telescopes, and the information is a bit overwhelming, I confess. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you.
Very detailed and not rushed with some good design points clearly explained. Thanks for an excellent, well-produced video. Edit: in the USA this scope appears to be available for $110.
Until today I didn't know it was possible, till today, to talk for nearly 45 minutes about an entry level 60mm Mak. About 17 years ago I was at an event where someone had brought his ETX 60mm out for first light. He set up next to my C14. That was probably a poor choice of where to set up on his part. The are many virtues of small scopes but often times one must see the sky in larger apertures to one day develop a taste for smaller aperture views. Today I really like the view of the Ring Nebula as a tiny dot at 15x. But I would have been very impatient with the view in a 60mm when I was starting out. (I think 100 to 150mm is probably a better place, and of course the internet consensus is a 200mm Dobsonian).
Thanks for such a comprehensive review. I am a newbie/slash beginner/geriatric of 75, and I needed a perceived confident, and truthful assessment on a practical beginners telescope. Based on your extensive assessment I purchased the Sar blue Mak60 from Amazon Canada. I must be lucky, mine has a sturdy metal full length tripod, and a cross hair finder scope. Also Amazon increased the price by about 20% a few days after I firm ordered. Initial viewing was in hazy conditions, yet what I could see came in clear as could be expected in the conditions. As at this I am well pleased, and look forward to better climatic conditions. Thanks for the terrific review. I shall now attempt to review all your telescope related posts.
Hey I'm from New Zealand and was wondering if you could help me, I have an 80mm telescope refractor and I have seen a white ball go passed 3 times on separate occasions as I'm looking at clusters etc. Could this be space rubbish, satellites or asteroids / meteors? I managed to follow one for a little bit. They didn't shine like stars. I've tried looking it up on Google but it's hard to find any information. Thanks for taking the time to read this!
Just received one of these for Christmas. Turned the focal knob from as far as it would go both ways slowly but can't loose the black spot in the center. Instructions not much help.
Not that small 60mm I often use my 25mm Pocket Borg refractor as it's quick and easy to set up.in fact I was looking at the Moon through it yesterday and the day before had it up to 21x.the matte black inside is very well though out for such a cheap scope considering that Zeiss leave the inside of their monoculars gray which means significant light lose when you are dealing with an already tiny telescope like their Zeiss Mini Quick 5x10 Monocular.
Great videos, but could you set them up so that we get closed captions? It's quite simple. I just set my own videos up to provide "auto-generated English." That would be most helpful.
I don't understand why the Telescope police would have any right to find you or you may have to do jail time to open a lens after all you have purchased it and as far as I understand it's yours to do whatever you want to do with it, I have seen many of your videos and I love your channel, I have wonderful to watch at anytime, since I found your videos I tend to watch all I can find of them, as someone else asked can you see with any detail on the closer planets, Great video as always so keep making them the are wonderful wish you clear skies always but I know we don't live in the best place for that, have a wonderful 2021 and many more...
What is the story on collimation of the instrument?
Hi Daniel, and thanks for the good question. The instrument is fully collimatable via thee black 120 degree spaced Phillips type screws on the rear outer bulkhead - they can be seen in the video at 36:34. The primary mirror support tube, and focus assembly are all mounted on a steel backplate and this plate is controlled by the three adjustment screws. Where the screws meet the backplate they have a medium strength 'Loctite-like' compound on them, but this is easily 'cracked' on adjustment. It's nicely done. KR RJD A&NTV
@@RocketPlanet Is there any note in the product's documentation that covers the subject of collimation? I wonder if the fact that they have painted the screws with Loctite might imply that the user shouldn't really need to collimate, or that the factory collimation is adequate for the life of the instrument. Your thoughts?
Hi again Daniel. No, the instructions have no reference to collimation. But this is not unusual of course, plenty of larger commercial Maks have mighty thin documentation equally silent on this important subject as well. I think the manufacturer, like most, is just doing what they can to ensure the product has a reasonable service lifetime more or less in line with customer expectations. Primarily they'll wish to have a product that survives the warranty period by a safe margin. I think, in this case, they have probably exceeded that factor by a good number of years, depending on how the user treats the instrument. This does not mean an instrument selected, as it were, at random, will not require now, or at some point in the future, collimation adjustment to achieve the standard of performance achieved by good factory alignment. Nor indeed, does it eliminate the possibility that the instrument may benefit from collimation to promote its performance beyond this standard. And this all speaks to it being a properly constructed instrument. One that risks failure by striving for the highest standards of performance achievable with the limited technical and economic metrics, rather than play 'safe' with near fixed mediocre to poor performance we see in so many small aperture low-cost reflectors (e.g., of the Jones-Bird type). Ask Synta (the OEM of this and many other popular Maks by Celestron, Orion, and Skywatcher etc) if they think the users of their Maksutov instruments will ever need to collimate them: you can spread the silence on bread it's so thick. Just my thoughts. KR RJD A&NTV
@@RocketPlanet Thank you for your thoroughness in answering. I have learned so much from your videos. I am new to this hobby at the age of 63. You've helped me feel like a kid again as I learn.
@@RocketPlanet Damn, that's an incredibly thorough, and incredibly careful, response. You must have been a lawyer in a past life ;) I'm very glad you are now doing telescopes. Your vids are **fantastic**.
I'm glad you're still making videos. This is my favorite channel by far.
It looks like these would make great telescopes for middle school. You can teach basic science lessons on space and optics and show them off with that clever "bonnet." Hopefully a few kids will start an after school astronomy club. I'm a big fan of clever engineering and there is nothing wrong with plastics, the industry has made great strides in their development.
I know videos aren't easy to make but if you're looking for suggestions, I'd love to see a short length series (~10 minute segments should help get more viewers) on the basics of using telescopes. It's quite overwhelming when you're new to the hobby!
Maybe record a typical viewing session of (pick object here) using (pick different types of telescopes) from how to set up, find your target manually and track it through the night sky.
It's actually hard to find videos as competently put together as yours. I'm a big fan from across the pond. Sorry for the long post and keep up the good work!
Thanks for taking the time to cover a great entry level telescope! Similar to Amateur radio we should all work to help new people (kids or not) to gain an interest in the hobby. Having good reasonably priced options helps. LCARA Ham Radio
The Mighty Mak!! Never underestimate the power of a PLANET KILLER!!!
After a bit of digging it seems they are made by these guys en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synta_Technology_Corporation_of_Taiwan , they also own and manufacture Celestron telescopes along with a wide variety of high quality spotting scopes
This is impressive. This fellow is one of the best I've encountered on UA-cam. I'm an ex radio and television announcer and very picky and grumpy. The pace, the diction, the delivery, and the thoughtful exploration of this telescope are great. 5-stars, Like, props, and highly recommend this fellow (and I'm gonna get this product based on this review also). Thanks.
Purchased one on account of your review and love it. Very clear image and it feels like a quality tool, if it were not for your review I would have dismissed it as a toy. Other than the optics, just the decorative/educational value was worth the money (is displayed on top of a bookshelf in my home office). Thank you for the great videos and greetings from Texas, USA.
Hi. I just ordered one after watching this video. Did you order a Barlow lens and/or moon filter? Would like to order from Baltimore, MD.
This review convinced me to buy this as my first telescope. So far I've taken some fantastic pictures of birds and the moon just using my phone. It also opened the research doors into Astrophotography and techniques and equipment and free software that has me embracing the hobby. Thank you so much for making this review video and inspiring new people to get their first telescope and see the world/sky in a different way.
Try and point it at Jupiter. You should be able to see the orange ball and the 4 jovian moons around it
Wow! Great to see that you guys are still making videos!
Have a great 2021!
Very well done! If the scope is out of collimation can it be adjusted?
I like that focuser. You probably get a super-fine focus. Yeah, a cheap camera tripod is better than that lil thing. I have bigger scopes but Im gonna try and get one o these. Thanks for the review. I just checked and they have a Dobsonian mount for $20 more. They move really smooth but if ya bump em.....
Cute but good luck finding things that aren't the Moon. A newbie I know started out with a 70mm Celestron Mak. She never could even find the Moon! Now she has a C6 SCT and is well on her way. The real use for this thing is as an ultra-lightweight guide scope.
Thank you for this amazing review! I ordered this little gem of a telescope yesterday. Regarding the dew shield I have used black foam sheets for arts and crafts. They come in different thicknesses and are perfect for this purpose. My Nexstar 5SE has one and it works perfectly well. You can put it together with hot glue.
yoga mats also work great
So after 7 months of purchasing this telescope, how do you think it is ? Let’s know if you were able to see Jupiter and Saturn 🪐 with it… have you taken photo of these planets ? If yes then where can we see those pics ?
Thanks in advance 🙏
Pls tell us how key planets are seen ?
As always, a brilliant communicator, and though he goes off tangent, he is master of off tangent waffle! Thank you for yet another enjoyable product talk and glad to see this channel still delivering super content.
Sarblue came out with a 70 mak. Based on your highly informative review, I am hopeful the quality is similar. I am interested in buying the 70. Will you do a review of the 70 mak?
Excellent review and some well thought out details for such a low price. Love those Maks!
I love that you can open the tube and actually look inside. Its not everyday that you can look inside the tube of a maksutov. Just gotta be careful to not get any dust in. Overall It seems like the perfect telescope to teach kids and beginneers overall.
It doesn’t matter about the subject Rob describes or explains about astronomy equipment, whatever it costs, he just increases my beginners enthusiasm! Truely excellent quality presentation every time 👍
So happy to see you posting again!!! Brilliant!
Thanks so much for posting this excellent information. After recently viewing Jupiter and Saturn through my old 6 inch reflector and equatorial mount following a lot of faffing about I am attracted to such a simple alternative for having a quick look. And after watching your video I noted the Acuter Maksy 60 is available from ebay here in Australia for $169.
I,'ve just placed an order for one. 🙂
Thanks again and cheers!
60mm maksutov is rare, and this one has been tested for planet photography too. It's sharp enough to do so. Much better than omegon mightymak 60 and PICO-6. It's also fee telescopes that were truly made for education.
Great video with lots of details. Curious other than the moon, did you get a chance to view any other big M, IC or NGC objects? I know you can't photograph them with that mount, but if so how well did the scope perform on those DSO's? Thanks!
My first ever scope (Apertura 8D8) is set to arrive tomorrow, I'm so excited, but you have me intrigued with this little gadget as well
Hi! I'm a total newbie and am looking to purchase the sarblue mak 60 after reading your review. While searching on amazon, I saw that they have two new upgraded models, one with tripod + finderscope, and another with dobsonian mount + finderscope. Would you recommend getting the upgraded version, and if so, which one?
Happy 2021! Another great video, packed full of information that's well explained as always. Great Scope for outreach and science education it seems. Don't fancy doing a video on that big Newtonian at the start do you? 😊
Great presentation. Keep it up :). An idea for a video: An up-to-date review of what oculars to go for (as the amount of options are staggering) at different price brackets, with focus on the amateur.
Nice video! I just bought my first Maksutov. Skywatcher Starmax 127/1500.
Wondering what, say jupiter might look thru this one
I'd be greatly impressed if it could resolve any detail at all to the naked eye. The moons, yes of course.
I should think if it was put on a proper mount and a higher power eyepiece two cloudbelts should be visible under good conditions,although with no great detail.
Hi Gerald, I had a look at Mars with a 10mm eyepiece and managed to convince myself I could see a distinct phase shape and a hint of shading in the southern hemisphere. But I was in a bit of a hurry to cut the observing sesh. short as it was about minus 12C, and although I'm not the kind of sissy that minds losing a few fingers and toes to frostbite for the glory of astronomy, it's the gas gangrene that sets in afterwards I frown on. We'll have to be patient and wait for big Jupe and Saturn to come round again. Thanks for posting. KR RJD A&NTV
Excellent review as always! Good tips for those who already have it, and those that don't yet but will. I just bought one of these with portability in mind and it is very impressive on the Moon and Saturn so far. Jupiter will be a big test for it. I bought the version with the "full size tripod", and while not great, it does the job. Mine also has a finder - it's so bad I don't know why they bothered. I stopped trying to use it after an hour in a two hour first session. It's fine without the finder on the Moon and planets, but so far I've found it difficult to get to brighter stars. I wish they would have provided a way to add a standard finder shoe. I'd stick a Telrad on this but it's too big for this tiny Mak! I'm going to just use it as a portable planetary 'scope but it would be nice to split some doubles with this.
I have a small stable of telescopes (including a 127 Mak) but a recent move has made it difficult for me to use them since I have to observe in a city park nearby, so lately I've been sticking with binoculars. But the Sarblue it so portable and so quick to set up and acclimate to ambient temperaturess I"m bringing it along on my binocular sessions as well.
So glad you're still doing videos on this channel, Robert. Your videos helped me tremendously when I got started in 2019 and they will continue to help beginners for years to come!
Robert, With the creation of this video, and the fact that I respect your opinion so much, you have convinced me to try this wonderful piece of modern engineering, despite its toy-ish appearance. I found a variation of this item with a full size tripod and a finder scope, which addresses two of your negative concerns. Just placed my order today. Thanks for bringing this telescope to light for us and for such a thorough review. I very much appreciate you and this channel.
A couple of dots of glow in the dark paint on the sight bumps make them usable for finder function
I found your detail about the eyepiece very interesting
I purchased this scope after watching this video, excellent review Thank you
I bought this telescope per your recommendation. As my very first telescope I’m really impressed! When I was choosing my first telescope, I was staying away from anything that was less than $400. Of course I’ll upgrade after I learn how do use it a bit more and reach its limits
I ordered this little gem after I watched your review. Thank you for your in depth review.
Glad your back, I just Got interested in the hobby and was about to see all your last videos
Your "child-friendly?" statement at 6:45+ mins should be an anthem. Very well said, sir. Very well said!
This telescope got me started. I now have 2 dobsonians, a 102 mak, Orion Short Tube 80 and a 40mm solar scope. I still have my little blue scope. I wonder how a Rigel Quickfinder would work with this.
Which one do you prefer?
Your view on children and telescopes is exactly right. And is expandable to pretty much any tech.
Good insight, mate.
This channel is TV worthy! Great job😀
This is my favorite channel. I'm picky --like REALLY picky-- and this hits all the marks I look for. Plus they're very relaxing to watch lol.
I watch it on TV already :))
I got myself this Macsy and it is amazing. I have it on a photo tripod, and it surely could use a serious mount (and a pointer), but the scope itself is excellent. I also got a solar filter and had a go at the sun too. Thank you, great advice!
Excellent video 👍🏼 Looks like a great little grab-and-go scope for overnighters in the mountains etc. Thanks for the in-depth review.
Hi someone (even Mr. Robert) i have the same telescope, i would like to use with a eyepiece of 10mm for get more zoom! should be work or not?? :)) thanks for halp
yes, it works
Thank you. Great video! Pretty impressive little telescope. Matsutov Cassegrain is an amazing design. My sister loves birds and has a bunch of feeders in her back yard. She I think, would love this telescope for recording close-ups of her birds with her iPhone.😊
I just found your channel yesterday and I’m hooked! The thorough research and presentation are second to none!
I’ve been in the market to buy a telescope, but have been told by several people that if you get a cheap one, you’ll regret it, and quickly realize that money would have been better spent towards a more expensive model.
I’m really impressed with this one!
I purchased one of these after watching your review a couple of years ago and it's been a reliable, fun and quality little telescope. Thank you for your perspective and wisdom. Even as a newbie, I would have dismissed it and missed out on a worthwhile piece of equipment.
Very interesting! I would guess (especially considering how much thought went into the eyepiece) that the small opening in the back plate means you cannot have a larger AFOV or longer focal length than that of the supplied eyepiece without severe vignetting. And on the other side (shorter focal length), you're limited by aperture. So my guess is that you can only really use a second eyepiece with this scope, perhaps with a 12.5 mm focal length. In practice, the scope would then offer two useful magnifications, x37.5 and x75. Which is plenty for such a small scope...
Outstanding presentation! Very informative, relevant, and entertaining. I enjoyed it very much! All the best from rural East Texas!
Clever product naming. "Acuter maksy", is a cuter maksutov. Hahah, "a great tit", excellent!
Great review, anyone looking for this scope in the EU it goes by the name "acuter maksy 60"
Hello sir.
I am very new to telescopes.
I very much do not know what I am doing.
There is a Mak60 telescope being sold at a store near my house.
I am very interested in buying it but I want to ask you if I need a Barlow to be able to see Saturn with adequate details of its surface.
I am worried that a Barlow would not fit onto the Mak 60 telescope. would you be able to inform me if it can in fact fit onto the telescope?
lastly, I have no idea which size moon filter I should get.
sorry for the question, if you could help out with some answers, that would be much appreciated. have a pleasant day
I Know Its A 2 Y/O Video,But What A Nice Little Scope,My Grab and Go Is A Celestron Mak90..Great Video,Watched The Whole Thing..God Bless,and Clear Skies🙏🏼❤️🔭✨🌏
Excellent review very informative. This is a very impressive small scope, I think I might just get one put a planetary camera on it, and have some fun, I know my grands will love it
very good educational telescope indeed thanks for sharing this. I sold my telscopes one a masutov 127mm x 1500mm skywatcher and a orion 6'' tube . made good videos of the moon.
The 2ndary baffle is attached to the corrector, but the 2ndary itself is simply aluminized on the corrector itself
Have you tried watching planets with it?
Some *bright* DSO - globular clusters, or open clusters?
Anyone that is watching your channel should not care what telescope you're reviewing. They should enjoy all of them. After all, they all started with some kind of telescope.. not an observatory. No matter what any subscriber has, there is someone else out there who has something vastly more expensive and powerful, so don't be one that complains because this is not that pricey. For a child who wants to just look at the moon, like my younger son. It would be the worlds best telescope in his eyes!
Yes! you're back!!! 😂
Is the Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope, Mak70 better than this one for a bit more money?
Two things - Central Obstruction and focus
How much is the central obstruction? Percentage of diameter and area. Is it enough not to affect lunar planetary viewing? I am not getting into DSO
Focusing!!! Ah that knob graced my ,now paperweight, Meade ETX80AT TC. That focuser is the reason now my scope is not working. I don't want that happening to this..
I do need to buy an inexpensive yet HQ tele that is highly portable. This is an intriguing entry.
Delighted to see another video posted - so informative and well presented as always - thanks and looking forward to future videos this year.
I was impressed wifh the introduction maxe for this scope it was informative and easy to follow.
I do have a problem tbough, i have equipment that i hzve purchased through what i think is the same company if the name is correct that is i purchased from Ozhut which i tnink is an offshoot from the guy givin the talk, which i have often sent emails to asking questions that would have relared to further purchases only to never receive any reply which i do find a little off putting i have been trying to find out a lot more about the system now used by Celestron and skywatcher that uses self alignment technology that before purchase i would like to know more about,
I have two telescopes a skywatcher 5 inch and a 6 inch cassegrain that really is very good ineed any comments would be interesting as i live in a very restricktive area in turms of purchase, we dont have a place near at hand to purchase or visit for advice as i live in a small town in south western Australia and a trip to the city is a day long job so have to do my purchases via internet.
That's a really nice little 'scope, really has much more going for it than the looks will suggest.
They are selling for £49.99 on ebay at the moment......cheapest half decent scope you can buy add a barlow and zoom lens and it should be more capable a decent cheap barlow and 9-24 zoom lens may cost more than the scope but should improve it a lot....this should have also been in the demonstration and testing on this video/stream to see how capable the scope was with a few addons because the scope only has 1 eye piece
Ordered the scope based on your passion for it! Used your link, thanks for all you do!!
Well done, Robert! Nice to see another video of yours! This might be a nice option as a travelling telescope.
This is the best telescope in this price range.
Great vid. If only a Jammy Dodger holder was an optional extra.
Very well done! I especially appreciate a small quality instrument where extra detail, as you point out, is found that makes the scope perform as well as possible.
I wonder if a non-erecting prism or mirror star diagonal will provide better images when using a higher power eyepiece. As a rule of thumb, the erecting diagonals fall slightly short of their non-erecting cousins for astronomical detail.
I also wonder if the three apparent ‘adjustment’ screws on the back housing are for collimation of the optics. A Maksutov must be carefully collimated to yield the best images possible. Just a small out of collimation condition will have a large effect on image quality. That being said, if they are collimation adjustment screws, they should NOT be touched except by someone very, very familiar with the process. But having the ability to collimate the instrument is always a good thing with catadioptric systems.
Thanks for a very well done presentation!!
Hi JD and thanks for your comments. The three screws you refer to are indeed full collimation adjustment screws. The primary mirror support tube and focus assembly are all mounted on a steel backplate and this plate is controlled by the three black screws you can see on the outside of the rear bulkhead. The screws have a medium strength 'Loctite-like' compound on them, but this is easily 'cracked' on adjustment. It's nicely done. KR RJD A&NTV
28:51 Marsh Tit, not Blackcap. Great presentation, though!
I could watch this guy speaking for hours
lol I know. I was just commenting how relaxing these videos are.
Thanks. My wife has a very different opinion! KR RJD A&NTV
I'm really enjoying this channel. My question is about eyepieces. I have a 400x80 refractor telescope and so far I can't see the rings of Saturn with any of my eyepieces (9mm, 12mm, 25mm). What do you recommend?
Saturn requires high magnifications. A good 3x barlow will stretch the optics equivalent to 1200mm. That will get you to 133x with the 9mm.
L
Perhaps not using a rich-field refractor for planetary work …
Try pointing it at Saturn. The 9mm being slightly over 40x should easily resolve that there is a ring around it. Perhaps you are looking at something else
Yes as mentioned a Barlow will help.
Note that 80mm f5 will have alot of false color (purple glow) which makes resolving details harder
any info on the blue box please
shipping container door looks fun :)
No, there's no "too much information" when it comes to the quality of an optical instrument! This was very, very good info on this telescope. Exactly what I was after!
Have you purchased this? Can you see planets decent like rings of Saturn?
What is image quality like at magnification of say 100x
Lol....isn't that the cutest little Mak you've ever seen. Shame it's over 300.00 here in Canada.
Where did you find it? And 300 is ridiculous.
Just looked on Amazon it’s like $120 American!
31:16 Remember, "American" technology too!
Great to see you guys uploading again!!
So happy you are releasing another video!
Would this scope go well alongside a 10 inch dobsonion?
You guys still have a retail business in the Fens somewhere?
Thanks so much! Can you use other eyepieces with it?
Yes, as long as they are equipped with the common 1.25" barrel.
How about a hsl 76700 reflector telescope?
I need some links to buy cassegrain telescope
They seemed to have listend to you and upgraded it to a dobson model.
I need a tiger in the tank sticker
Great video, can you include any links where you can buy it?
Hi Tony, there are links in the description below the video. KR A&NTV
Does this reach Jupiter
Great to see you back!
I am trying to decide between this SARBLUE Planet Mate 60mm, the ORION 10015 StarBlast 4.5 Astro Reflector and the ZHUMELL Z114. My daughter is an undergrad science major, and I'd like to get her a lightweight and inexpensive telescope for her birthday. I am completely new to learning about telescopes, and the information is a bit overwhelming, I confess. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you.
Very detailed and not rushed with some good design points clearly explained. Thanks for an excellent, well-produced video. Edit: in the USA this scope appears to be available for $110.
That's what I paid on Amazon, plus tax of course.
@@Randy_Torres Do you like the scope? It’s possibly the lowest cost Mak scope ever produced.
Can be made at home of cassegraine?
Until today I didn't know it was possible, till today, to talk for nearly 45 minutes about an entry level 60mm Mak. About 17 years ago I was at an event where someone had brought his ETX 60mm out for first light. He set up next to my C14. That was probably a poor choice of where to set up on his part. The are many virtues of small scopes but often times one must see the sky in larger apertures to one day develop a taste for smaller aperture views. Today I really like the view of the Ring Nebula as a tiny dot at 15x. But I would have been very impatient with the view in a 60mm when I was starting out. (I think 100 to 150mm is probably a better place, and of course the internet consensus is a 200mm Dobsonian).
Thanks for such a comprehensive review. I am a newbie/slash beginner/geriatric of 75, and I needed a perceived confident, and truthful assessment on a practical beginners telescope. Based on your extensive assessment I purchased the Sar blue Mak60 from Amazon Canada.
I must be lucky, mine has a sturdy metal full length tripod, and a cross hair finder scope. Also Amazon increased the price by about 20% a few days after I firm ordered. Initial viewing was in hazy conditions, yet what I could see came in clear as could be expected in the conditions. As at this I am well pleased, and look forward to better climatic conditions. Thanks for the terrific review. I shall now attempt to review all your telescope related posts.
Hey I'm from New Zealand and was wondering if you could help me, I have an 80mm telescope refractor and I have seen a white ball go passed 3 times on separate occasions as I'm looking at clusters etc.
Could this be space rubbish, satellites or asteroids / meteors?
I managed to follow one for a little bit. They didn't shine like stars.
I've tried looking it up on Google but it's hard to find any information.
Thanks for taking the time to read this!
Just received one of these for Christmas. Turned the focal knob from as far as it would go both ways slowly but can't loose the black spot in the center. Instructions not much help.
Not that small 60mm I often use my 25mm Pocket Borg refractor as it's quick and easy to set up.in fact I was looking at the Moon through it yesterday and the day before had it up to 21x.the matte black inside is very well though out for such a cheap scope considering that Zeiss leave the inside of their monoculars gray which means significant light lose when you are dealing with an already tiny telescope like their Zeiss Mini Quick 5x10 Monocular.
Great videos, but could you set them up so that we get closed captions? It's quite simple. I just set my own videos up to provide "auto-generated English." That would be most helpful.
I don't understand why the Telescope police would have any right to find you or you may have to do jail time to open a lens after all you have purchased it and as far as I understand it's yours to do whatever you want to do with it, I have seen many of your videos and I love your channel, I have wonderful to watch at anytime, since I found your videos I tend to watch all I can find of them, as someone else asked can you see with any detail on the closer planets, Great video as always so keep making them the are wonderful wish you clear skies always but I know we don't live in the best place for that, have a wonderful 2021 and many more...
great job thank you!
You are back awesome, my fist 12" Was from Astronomy centre back in the day ! Really glad you are back uploading great content.