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After many failed purchases on the telescope, we decide to provide a new scope, for beginners.
We want to make it:
Well built. Low-quality scope will ruin our interest and passion for astronomy.
Simple. As users ourselves, we know how important it is to make it simple to use and easy to carry, so it's more likely to end up in travel packs than on shelves. (More on bloody lessons we learned below)
Essential. Astronomy can be daunting, especially for beginners who don't know what they should start with. We want to make it a no-brainer for beginners. The package only got what has to be there. Nothing more.
Affordable. Being essential is not enough. It has to be cost-friendly. By selecting models that are in mass production, making countless negotiations with suppliers, and calculating a profit that is barely enough to make our business sustainable, we can guarantee this is the best-valued scope in its class.
Read below before you buy any telescope, especially if this is your first telescope!
1. GoTo or not?
GoTo mount can automatically direct telescope to the astronomical object one selects. The caveat is that it takes time to learn how to use it and a majority of users would end up giving up learning it and using the mount as a normal one at the end of the day.
A typical night in my early days with GoTo mount was like: by the time I got it right after an embarrassingly long period of calibration process (yes, you have to calibrate the system every time before you could actually use it with a keypad controller. It needs to be aligned on a known "alignment star". And sometimes, a second alignment star, as far away as possible from the first and if possible close to the object to be observed, may be used for accuracy purposes), my kids are already bored and sleepy to enjoy it.
For starters, the GoTo solution is like the problem it is trying to solve. If you finally decide that you want to devote yourself to a GoTo mount knowing exactly what you can benefit from it and having the determination to go over the learning curve, it's never late to purchase one later separately.
But how would I find my targets without a GoTo mount? Well, for the first few nights, you could just use the red dot finder scope to aim for stars that interest you most (or is bright enough for you to see). Later on, when you are more and more keen on finding a specific astronomical object that you learned along the way being an amateur astronomer, you can use a star finder app on your phone, such as SkySafari, to help you locate your target.
2. MAK VS Refractor
Mak and refractor utilize 2 different mechanisms. So each one has its pros and cons.
Here is the dilemma for optics. We can not get long focal length and wide view fields at the same time.
Mak is money wise to achieve a long focal length with little body, but a small view field. (compared with refractor)
Refractor is good at wide view fields, but it will be super expensive for long focal length with refractor.
What should we do? It depends on what we are looking for. Generally speaking, as a starter, our curiosity drives us to go deeper and deeper, this is our first need. Mak will be the best solution:
All in all:
Planets, detailed lunar crater views, double stars, planetary nebula, small tight open clusters (eg Wild Duck), and globular clusters are a Mak’s domain, at a fraction of what a refractor would cost to give equal performance on these objects.
We can then take the saved money and get a rich field telescope (small focal length, low magnification telescope) to give us the big open clusters, big nebula and Milky Way sweeping, that the Mak can’t deliver.
3. Quality VS Others
In order to ensure high quality. We have screened 100 factories, and finally visited 9 of tops.. We are lucky to find the big brand's OEM factory to work for us.
Single channel Mak (which is common on the market), just have one channel to view. So each time we have to choose between eye or camera.
With dual channel Mak, there are 2 channels to view, so we can do visual observation and astrophotography at the same time.
As a photographer we ourselves, we deeply know that, we are visual animal. We can not miss the chance to observe the beauty with our naked eyes. So, we choose the dual channel way.
5. Price, MSM Dual channel Mak VS other single channel Mak
Currently, without MSM Dual Channel Mak 90, all the Single Channel Mak 90 (Single Mak tube + 2 eyepieces + red dot finder) cost around $270~$390.
What can we do for our users?
Back to our starting point, we want to make astro affordable, that's why we dig for the original factory, one for quality, one for price.
So, here it comes, all our users could get the kit (MSM Dual channel Mak tube + 2 eyepieces + Reddot finder) at $209.
Hope you enjoy it.
Hanna
Overview
This grab-and-go Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope is excellent for all types of near and deep-sky viewing, except for extremely dim objects. The 1250mm focal length optical tube assembly (OTA) comes with 2 eyepieces, 25mm and 12mm, providing 50x and 104x magnifications respectively.
Features
Internal 90° Degree Diagonal & Flip Mirror System
The internal flip mirror can direct the light either straight to the rear of the telescope or reflect it 90-degrees to the eyepiece, allowing
Viewing with eye
Attachment of a camera on the back of the scope (Camera Specific T-Mount Adapters required)
BYOD packaging
So you don't pay for what you already have and this gives you a lot of flexibility in how you build your kit. Please note mount and tripod are NOT included and required for proper use.
What's in the box
Option 1: Mak Only Kit
Optical Tube Assembly
Red dot finder
1.25" 12mm Plössl Eyepiece
1.25" 25mm Plössl Eyepiece
Option 2: Ready to Go Kit A
Mak 90+ Aluminum Tripod+ 3 Way Pan Tilt Head
Optical Tube Assembly
Red dot finder
1.25" 12mm Plössl Eyepiece
1.25" 25mm Plössl Eyepiece
Aluminum Tripod
3 Way Pan Tilt Head
Option 3: Ready to Go Kit C
Mak 90 + Carbon Fiber Tripod+ 3 Way Pan Tilt Head
Optical Tube Assembly
Red dot finder
1.25" 12mm Plössl Eyepiece
1.25" 25mm Plössl Eyepiece
Carbon Fiber Tripod
3 Way Pan Tilt Head
Specs
Optical Design
Maksutov-Cassegrain
OTA Tripod Socket
1/4''
Aperture
90mm
Effective Focal Length
1250mm
Focal Ratio
F/13.8
Image Circle
33mm
Eyepiece Holder
1.25"
Focal Length of Eyepiece 1
25mm
Magnification of Eyepiece 1
50x
Focal Length of Eyepiece 2
12mm
Magnification of Eyepiece 2
104x
Finderscope
Red dot finder
Optical Tube Material
Aluminum
Adapter for T-ring output
M42×0.75
OTA Weight
1.6 kg
Box Dimensions (LxWxH)
391x202x165mm
For full frame camera users: Vignetting is to be expected with full frame cameras
A solid construction and a great first telescope to start astronomy. Easy to set up and offering a nice image.
If it would have been delivered with a bag to transport it, it would have got 5 stars.
G
Girish Bhat Bhat
Easy to Use Beginner's Telescope
The MAK-90 is a great beginner's telescope for planetary viewing and astrophotography. It is light, compact, portable and easy to set up and use making it easy to take along with you on trips. The supplied Plossl eyepieces provide good and clear magnification making for enjoyable experience. All in all a great beginner's telescope at a very reasonable price.
D
Dwith Chenna (San Francisco, US)
Great for moon pictures !
I recently bought and used the MAK 90 telescope to capture moon, its compact and easy to carry and setup. Will try to capture planets soon.
D
David Prince (Port Moody, CA)
Good Value - Portable and Powerful Little Scope
I got this MAK90 to replace my old MEADE ETX 90 which was well used, but now the mirrors have gotten a little scratched and its due for replacing. The MAK90 has great viewing optics, its much brighter, when compared to the Meade which is good, because now I can choose my filters rather than having to live with pre-coated lens. All in all I'm very satisfied with the value, portability, and power of this nice little scope.
G
Gerry (Mesa, US)
Wow! Great Addition to the Camera Bag!
Well built and simple to use. I attach my Canon 80D to the telescope and focusing is simple and user friendly with the required attachments. I pre-ordered this item and customer service was great in ensuring I received to quickly when it was released. It's a great addition to my Move Shoot Move items!
S
Susanna Leung (Central, HK)
Telescope Mak 90
It’s very light and handy to use
S
Stephen Hall
MSM mak 90
The mak 90 is the perfect user friendly portable scope with it's solid construction and value for money it complements my astrophotography gear perfectly
J
Jason Jacks (Kingsland, US)
Fantastic lightweight scope
Great optics for the price. The included eyepieces are very nice and and very wide view. The mirror flip feature is very convenient for camera use. I would've given 5 stars, but the finder mount is smaller than the standard dovetail size of so you'll have to find, or make an adapter if you want to use a different red dot, or finder scope. The included red dot is pretty useless and poor quality.
Quick Polar Finder to Skywatcher Star Adventurer 2i
I had been having difficulty doing polar alignment with the illuminator supplied by Skywatcher. Purchasing the Quick Polar Finder by MSM has totally eradicated any problems I encountered. It is quick, easy to use and accurate and has made my initial difficulties with polar alignment a thing of the past.
MSM has took my astro photography to the next level. Low noise images is no longer a dream. It’s is compact and portable, polar aligning is easy, my whole setup is 2-3kg and it handles it very well! Definitely recommend!
MSMs polarscope is a very nice addition to my portable grab-and-go astrophotography collection. Finally, a chance to experiment with a longer lens! Do a quick alignment with the lazer, and then tune that alignment with the polarscope. With care and patience, it is very quick to polar align and start capturing light. My first light test on Sadr in Cygnus with one minute subs at 135mm show no sign of trailing. (Bortle 4, Nikon d5500, Samyang 135mm, 64 lights and 24 darks, stacked in Siril). Very happy with the results from the addition of MSMs polarscope. Using the universal bracket for lazer and polarscope also makes things tidy, lightweight, and easy to setup.
Love the laser pointer and the brackets. Fit perfectly. It gets the alignment done in seconds. I could track 2 min exposure with my 50mm lens and get pinpoint stars. Highly recommend it!
I still have the first version of the laser and got this one as it is adjustable. The laser seems well made but I still need to play with it a bit more as I’m getting 2 different alignments using the same bracket between version 1 and version 2.
This looks so much better than those 3d printed options available on "the bay". The finer lines should (hopefully) help to get a more precise focus. Can't wait to test this on a W/A lens - just need some clear nights.
Does exactly what it claims, and my setup was really easy. The tripod makes a huge difference to my photography. I definitely recommend this tripod and attachments. Fabulous.
