In the late 80s, or 90s, whenever they came out in mass, I remember seeing a new range of orange tube Celestrons in a small but expensive optic shop at the Mall... they really caught my eye. I knew about SCTs in theory but I had never seen a real one up close. Still too expensive for me to buy at the time ; I could only dream of owning one. What could this odd looking orange machine do ? ( and of all colours, who would be bold enough to make a telescope orange ?) Indeed it was so radical it was not even referred to as a telescope... it was simply a Celestron, born to reveal countless "Celestial" wonders. That Celestron began with a "C" and looked so different, so short, fat, and stubby, such a different shape from my long thin refractor which certainly began with a "T" for Telescope.... Today, many years later I have a C5 and a Nexstar 6, 2 Maks and a 10" Newt. I also have a Meade 8" SCT at my Sister's house in Sardinia. All my scopes are good, and Meade is certainly a good name, but my imagination left planet Earth forever when I first saw those Celestron SCTs.
Your channel is my Meade. It doesn’t matter what title or thumbnail you put for your videos. Somehow I just want to click and watch, lol. Marketing and logos doesn’t capture my interest, but I had to watch anyway and was totally drawn in and found your video fascinating.
I like how the Red Cat's whiskers is a Bahtinov diffraction pattern. My fave logo is the old Vixen script one - but the new plain sans-serif one is nice and simple. Always red.
Another great video to start the week thank you. I lol’ed when you say that Lunt cactus looks like it is giving me finger, and now this is what I think. Also I use to think that William Optics was associated with Swarovski. So it made me think it was very expensive. Even though you already mention the Tele Vue brand I think the best product logo they have is the paracorr with the bird. Keep up the great work Ed.
Meade still makes me want to buy their stuff too. Even though it's mass produced, average equipment (sometimes below...). Orion's logo looks like an umbrella that's perpetually raining inside of it... iOopstron stole Celestron's 'C' and altered it! I do like the cactus on Lunt, it just needs to have an arm cut off and shrink a little... 👍Great review!
Interesting video, reminds me of drum cymbals...back in the day there were no logos at all...example is Ringo, he played Zildjian cymbals and Zildjian started to sell twice as many cymbals because of Ringo but still no logos. Then finally in the 70s a few companies started to add small logos at first, then the 80s they got bolder with bright colors like Paiste 2002 cymbals. Anyway...it took some companies decades to figure out to add logos to their products. It would be like making cars with no name on them...lol
I enjoyed hearing your thoughts on the subject. I agree the Orion logo is a bit dated, but if you showed it to me, I immediately recognize it. I forgot what the Meade logo looked like until you showed it, so that is not good. I think it is just a bit too complicated. By the way, we used to laugh at those old Meade ads when they put astronomers in lab coats. Hilarious. We would ask each other if our lab coats came in the mail yet. I guess they were actually supposed to be the optical engineers that built the telescope, but we did a lot of optics fabrication and teaching of optical design in the department, and none of us had lab coats for that work, either. Conversely, we really liked the Celestron ads back in the 70s and 80s. We had lots of young women take an interest in our astronomy program around this time, and I think in part it was because they could picture themselves owning a Celestron and setting it up all on their own. I feel the Sky-Watcher logo is promising too much because you are never going to see spiral arms on a galaxy with your bare eyes. And yes, I do own Sky-Watcher equipment that I love. I also own Explore Scientific equipment and never even really noticed the logo before. I assumed Red Cat was cashing in on a logo vaguely familiar to a generation of kids who grew up with Hello Kitty. Hard to not remember it, but I think of it as a Red Kitty logo and not a Red Cat. Finally, I always thought the William Optics logo looked a bit too much like a turkey or a goose. It looks more like a cursive V instead of the W that I think they were trying to make.
I always liked Meade's logo but it also seemed to me a somewhat risky choice in the 1980s: it has a passing resemblance to the emblems of the Galactic Empire in Star Wars. Meade's dark SCT colour schemes also look vaguely Imperial, right down to the red and blue pushbuttons on their hand controllers of the era looking like those on Darth Vader's suit. But at least it conveyed a sense of seriousness. On another Star Wars-related note, the name "Sky-Watcher" and the family name "Skywalker" are rather similar, so I have seen people post about their "Skywalker" telescope online or, especially it seems, in used telescope ads. The similarity definitely doesn't help when it comes to writing it as "Sky-Watcher" rather than "Skywatcher".
When Televue came out with the Pronto, their ad showed a telescope resting on a well-muscled forearm, indicating that this is one powerful little scope. The little holes around the edge of the focuser...I so desperately wanted that scope but could not afford it. Years later I got a TV-76 and I loved that little powerhouse. My most-used scope is now a TV-85, outfitted with a 60mm Lunt H-a filter.
The Meade logo was (and still is) my favourite Astro logo. I still have a few various Astro catalogs from years gone by. The Meade ones from the late 90’s and early 2000’s take some beating-they’re more like books than catalogs. Lots of large colour pictures and very well laid out. I still think the anodised blue tubes are a thing of beauty. As for influencing my pocket, of course they did! I currently own 5 classic’ Meade scopes, a non goto ETX90, an ETX125 (gonna de-fork that one) 2 7” Maks (wonderful scopes) and a very nice uncomplicated 8” LX10. The only ‘lemon’ in the bunch is the ETX125 goto. Not the OTA, just the mount and drives. When the goto worked it was very good. The problem is the very cheap electronics and mount. Still, it let me dip my toes into the world of computerised telescopes without breaking the bank. BTW, agree with your assessment of the Questar logo-a timeless classic.
I think the logos for Starlight Instruments are pretty neat. The feather on the feather touch focusers; the stars with diffraction spikes on the dust caps. You see that feather and you know immediately who makes that dual speed focuser.
I've always wondered if Orion got the idea for the logo from the cover of Blue Oyster Cult's first album, which coincidently, has a few astronomy related songs, including one titled "Workshop of the Telescopes". This album was out before Orion existed.
LOL. I had to look this up. They look the same. I’ve never paid attention to what Orions logo really was until this video. I just thought it looked like an umbrella.
Great survey! My big beef as an astronomy writer is knowing how to spell out the brand names. Even the manufacturers can be inconsistent. Is it TeleVue, Tele Vue, Tele-Vue (the latter is wrong, but that’s how people spell it). Is it SharpStar, Sharpstar or as they seem to use it, SHARPSTAR. But always using all caps in an article looks shouty and ugly. Is it Stellarvue, or StellarVue? For Backyard Astronomer’s Guide we just had to decide unilaterally what our style was and stick with it, despite companies having inconsistent typography. And I agree on Orion. The company needs a marketing makeover. But what about brands like SVBony (!), Apertura and Zhumell. Who thought of those names? Cheers!
Thanks Ed this was a really interesting piece of analysis. I have to confess that the Meade advertising in the late 80’s and earlier 90’s just made my “want” gland throb. I don’t know what it was but I just ached for one of their scopes.....them, and Takahashi! 🤓👍
Loved this episode! I think it's important to make the distinction between what newcomer to the hobby and an experienced knowledgeable amateur would see in a logo. Some of them are just plain text and some have logos which hint to the telescopes strengths and features. If I were to pick a favourite logo it would have to be APM LZOS with that triplet lens logo and the spectrum of light passing through. No beginner would know what it hints to but to experienced observers it hits home that this telescope knows how to handle light and bring it focus. It is a logo which means business, have whatever logo you want on your dew shield but the APM LZOS logo says it all, to those who know what they want in a telescope.
Before I got into learning about telescopes, I wanted the Meade ETX-125. Of course, now I know better, but their marketing for that line of products was what drove the desire. I ended up with an Orion 125 MakCass on a flimsy mount and eventually sold it. The thing I really like about the RedCat, other than being a cat fancier, is that the whiskers are actually a diffraction spike. I just thought that was a really cool way, with the built-in Bhatinov Mask, of saying 'you're in focus!
I’m really drawn towards the William Optics logo and the brand in general. I got the Zenithstar81 as my first scope last winter and love it. Any chance you will cover the brand in one of your videos as you did with others ? :) And greetings from Germany Ed.
Ed, I totally understand the market of advertising is what everyone sees, not it’s what the people say on the viewing field. Everyone who owns a Tele Vue eyepiece knows the don’t need to know the logo, but are sure of which one suits their style. The same to say about Asto Physics or Stellarvue, as the owners need not look for an emblem or monicker to know what their sees is top-notch. Old school marketing still works, but word of mouth does more to get newer amateurs to buy than slick magazine advertising. YMMV.
Thanks Ed, I totally agree with your picks. While the Sky-Watcher logo is fine, I never cared for the name because it sounds too much like a child's toy as opposed to an 'adults toy'. IMHO I had my LX200 for about year when I was cleaning it. Afterward, while I was congratulating myself for making it shine, I suddenly realized the logo was 4 Ms I told my wife and she said "duh" I felt dumb. It also looked cool on the website when it would spin. A logo has never influenced my decision to buy but they do cause me look.
Hi Ed, I find your videos quite insightful. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. What is your opinion on Binocular Telescopes? Especially ones in the 100-150mm range (perhaps you can also talk about hypothetically larger models). These are becoming increasingly popular lately and are being adopted by many brands. Some argue that these are the best visual instruments around. A detailed video about the subject would be greatly appreciated.
Binocular telescopes come with their own challenges. 1) Even more so than with telescopes, it's all about the mount. Some of the better bino mounts cost more than the binos themselves. 2) Binos always seem to fall out of collimation at the worst possible moment. If this happens you have to find (and pay) someone to realign them. 3) Some people find they cannot merge the two images in their brains no matter how hard they try. This tends to get worse as the magnification increases. This varies by person.
@@edting Indeed it seems many things can go wrong with binoculars as you're working with 2 OTAs and more elements in general. The binos themselves are expensive for their aperture. Then you also have to spend twice as much on eyepieces and account for IPD etc... On the other hand I hear there are many positives once you get them to work properly, especially at low to medium magnifications which seems like their primary use. 2 eyed observation, upright image, and easy manual navigation with the proper mount/head, all culminate to a very comfortable viewing experience. Some sellers of premium models also offer collimation guarantees. I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the bigger models such as the Oberwerk 127s and APM 150s if you came across them.
Totally agree with the meade bit. In the 90-00s I was dying to get my hands on any big scope by Meade. Their marketing was so effective and my younger self didn't know any better so it was the goto brand by default. That logo is very recognisable amongst all the astronomy brands even though it kinda looks more like a car logo than anything else.
The Meade logo also works regardless of the orientation of the telescope. One of the M's will be pretty much upright, no matter where it's pointed in the sky.
Sorry this is off subject- don't know how else to reach you. Meade is recommending a 19 pound tripod for a 62 pound scope. My original Inquiry to Meade: "I’m seeing where your website says the Meade Standard Field Tripod is designed for the Meade 10" f/10 LX200 ACF Telescope". I questioned them and the response was " I would say yes, although I understand why you were concerned. For example the stock "10 inch f/10 LX200 ACF Telescope with Field Tripod" bundle says that the tripod only weighs 19 lbs. These thick steel leg designs are very robust in our experience.." I remember Ed Ting recommending a scope about half the weight of the tripod.
Love your videos, Ed, and this one reveals your marketing background (without your having mentioned it) - so much so that I laughed and thought, this guy could sell refrigerators to the Inuit ! Speaking of logos, I have a magnificent 152mm APM LZOS ED APO refractor (leaves much bigger telescopes for dead in terms of its optical quality) but the logo on the dew shield is rather tacky and looks like a transfer, most unbecoming of such a quality telescope.
I agree with you on most of your list, except Questar. The medallion on the 90mm in your video is not the Questar logo. One only needs to visit the website to see the current box logo with right facing stylized arrow. What that symbolizes, I'm not sure. It's certainly no better than the other brands ranked towards the bottom half of your list. In most of their ad history, it has simply been the word Questar. However, later ads include the box logo. The red medallion with Questar in the center is also a little too close to Leica's famous red dot logo, which is why it's probably not their official logo.
Hey Ed, from the left wing. What g-shock are you wearing? :) Great channel by the way. I have the Intes MN56 in miserable greige color! Fantastic mirrors though.
hello Mister Ed. i really love and enjoy your videos. Thank you for bring the fire to the astronomy and telescopes in me, i really appreciate your work on videos also your opinions in this and other videos. May I ask you how old you are ?
I like one you didn't even mention: Askar and/or Sharpstar (they are very similar). I think the branding they are putting on their new scopes is attractive and would be considered a marketing success. Not that I'm ever influenced by such marketing shenanigans, and totally unrelated, but I just bought an Askar 300-pro, over a WO scope. Had nothing to do with the looks... ;)
There's a great point coming from the Askar/Sharpstar logo: NASA! Their "worm" logo *defined* space fonts ever since, and deservedly so. Among all space-related logos, that one surely is the absolute pinnacle. Just thinking about it sends shivers down my spine.
Okay that was interesting however I would like a little more in-depth on these companies. In particular whatever happened to meade? They were the kngs and now they don't even advertise in Astronomy anymore. What happened?
Meade lost a $20M lawsuit to Orion Telescopes in 2019 for price fixing and anti-competitive practices. This caused the company to file for bankruptcy and Orion bought Meade in 2021. Currently, Orion seems to be restructuring Meade and keeping them limping along but their ultimate fate is still up in the air.
On first use of my Explore Scientific ED127 FCD100 telescope I notice the O is nearly invisible under red light. I’ve gotten used to it now, but my initial knee jerk reaction was, did a decal fall off already? I believe the logo is silk screened on so no real worries.
Questar doesn't get #1 in my list because you rarely see it anywhere. The name is great, but 99% of non-mak amateurs will say 'who?' Meade's logo since I became familiar with it in S&T in the 80s has always had the look and feel of scientific engineering. Seeing a big SCT box with the logo on it exudes seriousness, that what's inside is going to be the equipment you need. Also having the blue-white motif for night-day was again a genius marketing tactic. Walk into a camera/telescope shop 20 years ago the Meade section was immediately recognizable. For the long term companies the color schemes of scopes and accessories always made me wonder what Celestron was thinking. I loved the early orange but they've had too many color changes! Sky & Telescope's logo is a study in marketing simplicity.
Hey Ed. Is there any possibility for a series on mounts... Im having a hard time finding basic information and compairisons of mounts of a given class e.g. middle weight gem, lightweight alt-az, ext.
It's hard to do definitive reviews on mounts. I haven't seen them all, and you have to see a ton of the same model to get a sense of how reliable and accurate they are. As a rule of thumb, *all* electronic Goto mounts eventually fail. It's just a matter of degree, and how long it takes.
I am totally a Edmund Scientific Fangirl. If you looked at the catalog in the 80s and didn't want to be a scientist by the time you got to the back cover, you were dead inside!
Back in the 70's as a kid, I was impressed with Celestrons catalog they sent me, It was my dream, but at that price (C-8) there was no way I ended up with a department store piece of junk (My mother God bless her soul)
Tripod leg diameter is an issue. The most frustrating thing is when manufacturers don't always put the thickest legs on their largest mounts, causing people to offer swaps online.
I was thinking Questar as number one before he even started talking. I always like there over the top prescription of her scopes in the front back cover of sky and Telescope magazine
Orion should update their logo simply with the Orion constellation or an archer looking at the constellation. I would consider making it red logo on black background so it the red glows at night when using red light for stargazing at night. The logo will still be on a telescope during the day, but be more subtle.
Svbony has a distinctive logo and branding that I think works well. The logo with its color scheme is very recognizable, with the stand-out golden "V" that evokes a reminder that you have no idea how to pronounce the company name.
The svb in svbony has always bothered me, how do I say it? What is a svbony anyways, is it someone’s name? Same issue with the Gskyer brand. The names don’t make sense to English speakers.
The original Tele Vue "logo" was the best back in the 80s and 90s. Wasn't flashy at all as its pretty much just a font and it looks good on their products. Sounds weird but to me it says quality.
Say something is a 'special edition' or even 'limited edition' and I will buy it! I wanted to buy a orion 8" dobsonian as my first telesope a few years back. I went online with the intention to buy the same one you have, the all black one with the springs.. BUT! there was a special edition blue one that included a few extra things and had a different tension mechanism... I obviously bought the blue one :)
hey ed, i’ve had a 10’ dob for a few years and want to try a refractor, i want one that uses 2inch eye pieces. you know any that are in stock or good websites i could buy from?
Good 4" refractors are easy to find these days. The Chinese stuff is really good today, and if you have the money, go with Takahashi/ TeleVue/ AP/ etc. I've bought from High Point, Astronomics, Woodland Hills, OPT, Orion, and others. Our retailers in this hobby are generally very good.
@@edting i ended up getting a Sky-Watcher 80ED apo off of OPT. been really loving it so far, even on my crappy mount. i’ve been searching for a simple alt az mount but they seem to be few and far between, equatorials everywhere i look
The FedEx logo is not blue & orange, it's purple & orange, 257 & 28 degrees on the RGB color wheel to be exact. Blue is 240, orange 30 degrees. A more interesting presentation would have related the quality of the advertising to the quality of the products to expose who was the most truthful ie trustworthy. What does a woman in bell bottoms at the beach have to do with astronomical observation? Nothing ie what are you trying to hide Celestron?
This video was like having a docent walk you through a museum: I learned so much beyond what I already suspected was true at the surface. Wonderful, thanks! I also love the Meade and William optics logos, but I'm thinking you're a bit influenced by your exposure to the heyday of astronomical companies, because (for example) I still find the font and spacing of TeleVue, Questar, and Astro-Physics ("ASTRO-PHYSICS", ugh) atrocious! In fact, I consider their "logos" acceptable only because their products are excellent, much as I love Boston but hate the Citgo sign. One example of a classic manufacturer who improved their logo beyond the obvious is TEC Telescopes. The first TEC APO140ED telescopes off the line had horrendous, italic Helvetica print on their dewshields and their official logo still sucks, but the font they actually use on their products is so good that, like Takahashi, they can print it in any color they like (red/black, gold, etc) and I want to buy that scope just to see those letters in my home. So, to me, TEC could have been #1 on your list, or at least an example of a successful re-branding in progress.
I used to joke that Meade’s logo was the diffraction pattern you’d see when you star tested one of their SCT’s. I’m sure they’re turning out better stuff now. I hope…
Its funny because my two hobbies are astronomy and single track dirt biking. Both my favorite brands colors are orange. Celestron and KTM motorcycles. But in reality im not a fan of orange. By the way when i was younger i didnt pay much attn to orion and thought their logo was an umbrella.
Has marketing worked on me? I bought a laptop (Asus G14) two weeks ago that has a CPU and a GPU that cannot work any better than the model down because they are thermally limited. And the lower models go on sale, while the top one does not. I excuse it because it was the only way to get 32 GB of RAM - which I probably don't need.
Well Celestron… Let’s just say they took a more traditional approach to marketing. Bwaaaaa haaa haaaaa 😀😀😀 I agree 100%. And I’ve always been attracted to Meade’s advertisements ever since I was young
It's always a good day when Ed Ting uploads a video :)
Yes its great when Ed gives us SUM -TING
Nyuk nyuk nyuk
Been reading his stuff for 20 plus years...Great guy
In the late 80s, or 90s, whenever they came out in mass, I remember seeing a new range of orange tube Celestrons in a small but expensive optic shop at the Mall... they really caught my eye. I knew about SCTs in theory but I had never seen a real one up close. Still too expensive for me to buy at the time ; I could only dream of owning one. What could this odd looking orange machine do ? ( and of all colours, who would be bold enough to make a telescope orange ?) Indeed it was so radical it was not even referred to as a telescope... it was simply a Celestron, born to reveal countless "Celestial" wonders. That Celestron began with a "C" and looked so different, so short, fat, and stubby, such a different shape from my long thin refractor which certainly began with a "T" for Telescope.... Today, many years later I have a C5 and a Nexstar 6, 2 Maks and a 10" Newt. I also have a Meade 8" SCT at my Sister's house in Sardinia. All my scopes are good, and Meade is certainly a good name, but my imagination left planet Earth forever when I first saw those Celestron SCTs.
Your channel is my Meade. It doesn’t matter what title or thumbnail you put for your videos. Somehow I just want to click and watch, lol. Marketing and logos doesn’t capture my interest, but I had to watch anyway and was totally drawn in and found your video fascinating.
Ed, every time you make a new video you make my week!
I like how the Red Cat's whiskers is a Bahtinov diffraction pattern. My fave logo is the old Vixen script one - but the new plain sans-serif one is nice and simple. Always red.
Another great video to start the week thank you. I lol’ed when you say that Lunt cactus looks like it is giving me finger, and now this is what I think. Also I use to think that William Optics was associated with Swarovski. So it made me think it was very expensive. Even though you already mention the Tele Vue brand I think the best product logo they have is the paracorr with the bird. Keep up the great work Ed.
Meade still makes me want to buy their stuff too. Even though it's mass produced, average equipment (sometimes below...). Orion's logo looks like an umbrella that's perpetually raining inside of it... iOopstron stole Celestron's 'C' and altered it! I do like the cactus on Lunt, it just needs to have an arm cut off and shrink a little... 👍Great review!
Interesting video, reminds me of drum cymbals...back in the day there were no logos at all...example is Ringo, he played Zildjian cymbals and Zildjian started to sell twice as many cymbals because of Ringo but still no logos. Then finally in the 70s a few companies started to add small logos at first, then the 80s they got bolder with bright colors like Paiste 2002 cymbals. Anyway...it took some companies decades to figure out to add logos to their products. It would be like making cars with no name on them...lol
I enjoyed hearing your thoughts on the subject. I agree the Orion logo is a bit dated, but if you showed it to me, I immediately recognize it. I forgot what the Meade logo looked like until you showed it, so that is not good. I think it is just a bit too complicated. By the way, we used to laugh at those old Meade ads when they put astronomers in lab coats. Hilarious. We would ask each other if our lab coats came in the mail yet. I guess they were actually supposed to be the optical engineers that built the telescope, but we did a lot of optics fabrication and teaching of optical design in the department, and none of us had lab coats for that work, either. Conversely, we really liked the Celestron ads back in the 70s and 80s. We had lots of young women take an interest in our astronomy program around this time, and I think in part it was because they could picture themselves owning a Celestron and setting it up all on their own. I feel the Sky-Watcher logo is promising too much because you are never going to see spiral arms on a galaxy with your bare eyes. And yes, I do own Sky-Watcher equipment that I love. I also own Explore Scientific equipment and never even really noticed the logo before. I assumed Red Cat was cashing in on a logo vaguely familiar to a generation of kids who grew up with Hello Kitty. Hard to not remember it, but I think of it as a Red Kitty logo and not a Red Cat. Finally, I always thought the William Optics logo looked a bit too much like a turkey or a goose. It looks more like a cursive V instead of the W that I think they were trying to make.
This is the pinnacle of Ed Ting
No kidding I used to Love Ed Ting and now he's going on about the fonts of writing
I always liked Meade's logo but it also seemed to me a somewhat risky choice in the 1980s: it has a passing resemblance to the emblems of the Galactic Empire in Star Wars. Meade's dark SCT colour schemes also look vaguely Imperial, right down to the red and blue pushbuttons on their hand controllers of the era looking like those on Darth Vader's suit. But at least it conveyed a sense of seriousness.
On another Star Wars-related note, the name "Sky-Watcher" and the family name "Skywalker" are rather similar, so I have seen people post about their "Skywalker" telescope online or, especially it seems, in used telescope ads. The similarity definitely doesn't help when it comes to writing it as "Sky-Watcher" rather than "Skywatcher".
When Televue came out with the Pronto, their ad showed a telescope resting on a well-muscled forearm, indicating that this is one powerful little scope. The little holes around the edge of the focuser...I so desperately wanted that scope but could not afford it. Years later I got a TV-76 and I loved that little powerhouse. My most-used scope is now a TV-85, outfitted with a 60mm Lunt H-a filter.
Way cool, Ed! I purchased a William Optics Zenithstar 61 a few months ago and I am pleased that their logo came in at third place.
The Meade logo was (and still is) my favourite Astro logo. I still have a few various Astro catalogs from years gone by. The Meade ones from the late 90’s and early 2000’s take some beating-they’re more like books than catalogs. Lots of large colour pictures and very well laid out. I still think the anodised blue tubes are a thing of beauty. As for influencing my pocket, of course they did! I currently own 5 classic’ Meade scopes, a non goto ETX90, an ETX125 (gonna de-fork that one) 2 7” Maks (wonderful scopes) and a very nice uncomplicated 8” LX10. The only ‘lemon’ in the bunch is the ETX125 goto. Not the OTA, just the mount and drives. When the goto worked it was very good. The problem is the very cheap electronics and mount. Still, it let me dip my toes into the world of computerised telescopes without breaking the bank. BTW, agree with your assessment of the Questar logo-a timeless classic.
I think the logos for Starlight Instruments are pretty neat. The feather on the feather touch focusers; the stars with diffraction spikes on the dust caps. You see that feather and you know immediately who makes that dual speed focuser.
I've always wondered if Orion got the idea for the logo from the cover of Blue Oyster Cult's first album, which coincidently, has a few astronomy related songs, including one titled "Workshop of the Telescopes". This album was out before Orion existed.
LOL. I had to look this up. They look the same. I’ve never paid attention to what Orions logo really was until this video. I just thought it looked like an umbrella.
Great survey! My big beef as an astronomy writer is knowing how to spell out the brand names. Even the manufacturers can be inconsistent. Is it TeleVue, Tele Vue, Tele-Vue (the latter is wrong, but that’s how people spell it). Is it SharpStar, Sharpstar or as they seem to use it, SHARPSTAR. But always using all caps in an article looks shouty and ugly. Is it Stellarvue, or StellarVue? For Backyard Astronomer’s Guide we just had to decide unilaterally what our style was and stick with it, despite companies having inconsistent typography.
And I agree on Orion. The company needs a marketing makeover. But what about brands like SVBony (!), Apertura and Zhumell. Who thought of those names? Cheers!
Thanks Ed this was a really interesting piece of analysis. I have to confess that the Meade advertising in the late 80’s and earlier 90’s just made my “want” gland throb. I don’t know what it was but I just ached for one of their scopes.....them, and Takahashi! 🤓👍
I actually like the Lunt logo. I bought a sticker and put it on the barrel of my 50mm. I hate the old logo though. Totally agree with you on that one.
Loved this episode! I think it's important to make the distinction between what newcomer to the hobby and an experienced knowledgeable amateur would see in a logo. Some of them are just plain text and some have logos which hint to the telescopes strengths and features. If I were to pick a favourite logo it would have to be APM LZOS with that triplet lens logo and the spectrum of light passing through. No beginner would know what it hints to but to experienced observers it hits home that this telescope knows how to handle light and bring it focus. It is a logo which means business, have whatever logo you want on your dew shield but the APM LZOS logo says it all, to those who know what they want in a telescope.
Before I got into learning about telescopes, I wanted the Meade ETX-125. Of course, now I know better, but their marketing for that line of products was what drove the desire. I ended up with an Orion 125 MakCass on a flimsy mount and eventually sold it.
The thing I really like about the RedCat, other than being a cat fancier, is that the whiskers are actually a diffraction spike. I just thought that was a really cool way, with the built-in Bhatinov Mask, of saying 'you're in focus!
I’m really drawn towards the William Optics logo and the brand in general. I got the Zenithstar81 as my first scope last winter and love it. Any chance you will cover the brand in one of your videos as you did with others ? :) And greetings from Germany Ed.
Ed, I totally understand the market of advertising is what everyone sees, not it’s what the people say on the viewing field. Everyone who owns a Tele Vue eyepiece knows the don’t need to know the logo, but are sure of which one suits their style. The same to say about Asto Physics or Stellarvue, as the owners need not look for an emblem or monicker to know what their sees is top-notch. Old school marketing still works, but word of mouth does more to get newer amateurs to buy than slick magazine advertising. YMMV.
Every time I see the Orion logo I think it's an umbrella.
That's a good observation. Never thought of that!
Stole my thunder... It's always raining inside that umbrella too! 😄
I loved that Tron game and the movies and the 80s arcades. I always thought the same thing about Orion
Great idea and video Ed!
Thanks Ed, I totally agree with your picks. While the Sky-Watcher logo is fine, I never cared for the name because it sounds too much like a child's toy as opposed to an 'adults toy'. IMHO
I had my LX200 for about year when I was cleaning it. Afterward, while I was congratulating myself for making it shine, I suddenly realized the logo was 4 Ms I told my wife and she said "duh" I felt dumb. It also looked cool on the website when it would spin.
A logo has never influenced my decision to buy but they do cause me look.
Hi Ed, I find your videos quite insightful. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
What is your opinion on Binocular Telescopes? Especially ones in the 100-150mm range (perhaps you can also talk about hypothetically larger models). These are becoming increasingly popular lately and are being adopted by many brands. Some argue that these are the best visual instruments around. A detailed video about the subject would be greatly appreciated.
Binocular telescopes come with their own challenges. 1) Even more so than with telescopes, it's all about the mount. Some of the better bino mounts cost more than the binos themselves. 2) Binos always seem to fall out of collimation at the worst possible moment. If this happens you have to find (and pay) someone to realign them. 3) Some people find they cannot merge the two images in their brains no matter how hard they try. This tends to get worse as the magnification increases. This varies by person.
@@edting Indeed it seems many things can go wrong with binoculars as you're working with 2 OTAs and more elements in general. The binos themselves are expensive for their aperture. Then you also have to spend twice as much on eyepieces and account for IPD etc... On the other hand I hear there are many positives once you get them to work properly, especially at low to medium magnifications which seems like their primary use.
2 eyed observation, upright image, and easy manual navigation with the proper mount/head, all culminate to a very comfortable viewing experience.
Some sellers of premium models also offer collimation guarantees. I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the bigger models such as the Oberwerk 127s and APM 150s if you came across them.
Absolutely agree on Questar.
(Nit pick: Those are typefaces, not fonts. A font is an instance of a typeface, like 12pt Century Schoolbook italic.)
Ed's a legend in his own time👌🇺🇸
didnt expect this as a video
Totally agree with the meade bit. In the 90-00s I was dying to get my hands on any big scope by Meade. Their marketing was so effective and my younger self didn't know any better so it was the goto brand by default. That logo is very recognisable amongst all the astronomy brands even though it kinda looks more like a car logo than anything else.
The Meade logo also works regardless of the orientation of the telescope. One of the M's will be pretty much upright, no matter where it's pointed in the sky.
I agree. Questar is by far the best logo. There are no compromises with this brand. Just seeing the logo evokes images of greatness.
Keep up the great work!
It would be fund to see a presentation on shipping boxes--how the more serious the telescope is, the less there is marked on the side(s) of the box.
Sorry this is off subject- don't know how else to reach you. Meade is recommending a 19 pound tripod for a 62 pound scope. My original Inquiry to Meade: "I’m seeing where your website says the Meade Standard Field Tripod is designed for the Meade 10" f/10 LX200 ACF Telescope". I questioned them and the response was " I would say yes, although I understand why you were concerned. For example the stock "10 inch f/10 LX200 ACF Telescope with Field Tripod" bundle says that the tripod only weighs 19 lbs. These thick steel leg designs are very robust in our experience.."
I remember Ed Ting recommending a scope about half the weight of the tripod.
How do you like that Tak achro you got chillin over your left shoulder?
Love your videos, Ed, and this one reveals your marketing background (without your having mentioned it) - so much so that I laughed and thought, this guy could sell refrigerators to the Inuit ! Speaking of logos, I have a magnificent 152mm APM LZOS ED APO refractor (leaves much bigger telescopes for dead in terms of its optical quality) but the logo on the dew shield is rather tacky and looks like a transfer, most unbecoming of such a quality telescope.
I agree with you on most of your list, except Questar. The medallion on the 90mm in your video is not the Questar logo. One only needs to visit the website to see the current box logo with right facing stylized arrow. What that symbolizes, I'm not sure. It's certainly no better than the other brands ranked towards the bottom half of your list. In most of their ad history, it has simply been the word Questar. However, later ads include the box logo. The red medallion with Questar in the center is also a little too close to Leica's famous red dot logo, which is why it's probably not their official logo.
Hey Ed, from the left wing. What g-shock are you wearing? :) Great channel by the way. I have the Intes MN56 in miserable greige color! Fantastic mirrors though.
A G-Shock fan! The only reference I can find is on the manual. It's a Baby-G (I have a 6.75" wrist) # BA110BC-1A.
hello Mister Ed. i really love and enjoy your videos. Thank you for bring the fire to the astronomy and telescopes in me, i really appreciate your work on videos also your opinions in this and other videos. May I ask you how old you are ?
I like one you didn't even mention: Askar and/or Sharpstar (they are very similar). I think the branding they are putting on their new scopes is attractive and would be considered a marketing success. Not that I'm ever influenced by such marketing shenanigans, and totally unrelated, but I just bought an Askar 300-pro, over a WO scope. Had nothing to do with the looks... ;)
There's a great point coming from the Askar/Sharpstar logo: NASA! Their "worm" logo *defined* space fonts ever since, and deservedly so. Among all space-related logos, that one surely is the absolute pinnacle. Just thinking about it sends shivers down my spine.
I Like Williams Optics Logo..And The Celestron One,Fell For EMS 24 Years Ago If That Counts,lol
You missed out the Takahashi logos with the dollar sign
As a New Englander myself I can only hope to bump into you at a star party someday!
Tron game from the 80's being 63, that was so funny 😂
I’ve literally never noticed the arrow in FedEx’s logo. Not sure how effective that little touch is, though it is a cute Easter egg.
Okay that was interesting however I would like a little more in-depth on these companies. In particular whatever happened to meade? They were the kngs and now they don't even advertise in Astronomy anymore. What happened?
Meade lost a $20M lawsuit to Orion Telescopes in 2019 for price fixing and anti-competitive practices. This caused the company to file for bankruptcy and Orion bought Meade in 2021. Currently, Orion seems to be restructuring Meade and keeping them limping along but their ultimate fate is still up in the air.
On first use of my Explore Scientific ED127 FCD100 telescope I notice the O is nearly invisible under red light. I’ve gotten used to it now, but my initial knee jerk reaction was, did a decal fall off already? I believe the logo is silk screened on so no real worries.
I don't even need to see Meade's old catalogs to want one of the scopes in them. Just from memory.
I like the Altair✴️ logo. Just wanted to give them a mention too. 🙂
Have you seen some of the newer smart scopes? What are your thoughts on those products?
What do you have against Skywatcher ?????
Great video...
SVBONY logo is solid!
@2:18 I thought you were going to say napkin!😂
Sharpstar and Askar?
Questar doesn't get #1 in my list because you rarely see it anywhere. The name is great, but 99% of non-mak amateurs will say 'who?'
Meade's logo since I became familiar with it in S&T in the 80s has always had the look and feel of scientific engineering. Seeing a big SCT box with the logo on it exudes seriousness, that what's inside is going to be the equipment you need.
Also having the blue-white motif for night-day was again a genius marketing tactic. Walk into a camera/telescope shop 20 years ago the Meade section was immediately recognizable.
For the long term companies the color schemes of scopes and accessories always made me wonder what Celestron was thinking. I loved the early orange but they've had too many color changes!
Sky & Telescope's logo is a study in marketing simplicity.
What? No Tasco or Bushnell??
Orion’s logo looks like an umbrella !
Hey Ed. Is there any possibility for a series on mounts... Im having a hard time finding basic information and compairisons of mounts of a given class e.g. middle weight gem, lightweight alt-az, ext.
It's hard to do definitive reviews on mounts. I haven't seen them all, and you have to see a ton of the same model to get a sense of how reliable and accurate they are. As a rule of thumb, *all* electronic Goto mounts eventually fail. It's just a matter of degree, and how long it takes.
I am totally a Edmund Scientific Fangirl. If you looked at the catalog in the 80s and didn't want to be a scientist by the time you got to the back cover, you were dead inside!
Meade lost a lawsuit with Orion and then filed for bankruptcy. Orion now owns Meade and the Meade name.
Right you are Ed, Questar in another league. And, yes, I was influenced by their looks and advertising.
Back in the 70's as a kid, I was impressed with Celestrons catalog they sent me, It was my dream, but at that price (C-8) there was no way
I ended up with a department store piece of junk (My mother God bless her soul)
Ed I was wondering from your prospective what are the best monoculars to view the night sky with?
We don't use monoculars for astronomy.
Come back next week when we rank the tripod leg thickness
Tripod leg diameter is an issue. The most frustrating thing is when manufacturers don't always put the thickest legs on their largest mounts, causing people to offer swaps online.
I was thinking Questar as number one before he even started talking. I always like there over the top prescription of her scopes in the front back cover of sky and Telescope magazine
Orion should update their logo simply with the Orion constellation or an archer looking at the constellation. I would consider making it red logo on black background so it the red glows at night when using red light for stargazing at night. The logo will still be on a telescope during the day, but be more subtle.
Svbony has a distinctive logo and branding that I think works well. The logo with its color scheme is very recognizable, with the stand-out golden "V" that evokes a reminder that you have no idea how to pronounce the company name.
The svb in svbony has always bothered me, how do I say it? What is a svbony anyways, is it someone’s name? Same issue with the Gskyer brand. The names don’t make sense to English speakers.
As far as logos go, I like Meade’s
The original Tele Vue "logo" was the best back in the 80s and 90s. Wasn't flashy at all as its pretty much just a font and it looks good on their products. Sounds weird but to me it says quality.
What's ur dream scope????
What about Bresser? 😊
Seeing this as an "average person" that is an engineer it makes me question all past and future videos and reviews.
Say something is a 'special edition' or even 'limited edition' and I will buy it! I wanted to buy a orion 8" dobsonian as my first telesope a few years back. I went online with the intention to buy the same one you have, the all black one with the springs.. BUT! there was a special edition blue one that included a few extra things and had a different tension mechanism... I obviously bought the blue one :)
For me, it's the inclusion of a case. Take a mediocre telescope and package it with a case with custom foam inserts and I will want it.
@@edting That indeed works so well too! Marketing is a b*tch sometimes ;)
hey ed, i’ve had a 10’ dob for a few years and want to try a refractor, i want one that uses 2inch eye pieces. you know any that are in stock or good websites i could buy from?
Good 4" refractors are easy to find these days. The Chinese stuff is really good today, and if you have the money, go with Takahashi/ TeleVue/ AP/ etc. I've bought from High Point, Astronomics, Woodland Hills, OPT, Orion, and others. Our retailers in this hobby are generally very good.
@@edting thank you!!
@@edting i ended up getting a Sky-Watcher 80ED apo off of OPT. been really loving it so far, even on my crappy mount. i’ve been searching for a simple alt az mount but they seem to be few and far between, equatorials everywhere i look
You didn't get Orion logo. It's an barbeque post. When you go to star party and the clouds ruin it, then you should switch from astro to gastro mode
I feel like we all need an Ed Ting Q&A live stream....
I like zwo products but the actual zwo logo is ok I frkn love the the coordinate grid lines on the asi airs with the constellations 💯
I'm never influenced by marketing. That's why I watch Ed Ting videos. "Just the facts, Ma'am."
SWAN. Super Wide ANgle??
Yeah, maybe!
The FedEx logo is not blue & orange, it's purple & orange, 257 & 28 degrees on the RGB color wheel to be exact. Blue is 240, orange 30 degrees.
A more interesting presentation would have related the quality of the advertising to the quality of the products to expose who was the most truthful ie trustworthy. What does a woman in bell bottoms at the beach have to do with astronomical observation? Nothing ie what are you trying to hide Celestron?
This video was like having a docent walk you through a museum: I learned so much beyond what I already suspected was true at the surface. Wonderful, thanks!
I also love the Meade and William optics logos, but I'm thinking you're a bit influenced by your exposure to the heyday of astronomical companies, because (for example) I still find the font and spacing of TeleVue, Questar, and Astro-Physics ("ASTRO-PHYSICS", ugh) atrocious! In fact, I consider their "logos" acceptable only because their products are excellent, much as I love Boston but hate the Citgo sign.
One example of a classic manufacturer who improved their logo beyond the obvious is TEC Telescopes. The first TEC APO140ED telescopes off the line had horrendous, italic Helvetica print on their dewshields and their official logo still sucks, but the font they actually use on their products is so good that, like Takahashi, they can print it in any color they like (red/black, gold, etc) and I want to buy that scope just to see those letters in my home.
So, to me, TEC could have been #1 on your list, or at least an example of a successful re-branding in progress.
Even though that haven't been around for 40 + years I still like UNITRON
I used to joke that Meade’s logo was the diffraction pattern you’d see when you star tested one of their SCT’s. I’m sure they’re turning out better stuff now. I hope…
The newer Apertura logo got me
To me, Celestron is Canon to Meade's Nikon.
Its funny because my two hobbies are astronomy and single track dirt biking. Both my favorite brands colors are orange. Celestron and KTM motorcycles. But in reality im not a fan of orange. By the way when i was younger i didnt pay much attn to orion and thought their logo was an umbrella.
I thought the same thing about Lunt's logo.
Why was the Orion logo never the actual Orion constellation?! 🤔
Another great ed video. How would you do your own logo.
"Edting'
Ed-Ting
Extra low dispersion ting
The options are infinite like the universe.
Orion logo always reminds me of Space Invaders.
Celestron logo looks more like a brand of sun tan lotion. Probably why I prefer Meade.
I thought it was purple
Has marketing worked on me? I bought a laptop (Asus G14) two weeks ago that has a CPU and a GPU that cannot work any better than the model down because they are thermally limited. And the lower models go on sale, while the top one does not. I excuse it because it was the only way to get 32 GB of RAM - which I probably don't need.
Well Celestron… Let’s just say they took a more traditional approach to marketing. Bwaaaaa haaa haaaaa 😀😀😀 I agree 100%. And I’ve always been attracted to Meade’s advertisements ever since I was young
could you make a video about suitable eye pieces for a fc-100dc from takahashi... tnx in advance, btw tak logo rulez them all...(^o^)
He’s wrong about Celestron. He has to be: I just bought a C9.25 AVX.
👍👍