Mak-Newt?

I'm still fairly new to this hobby and was wondering if somebody could give me their unbiased opinion on Maksutov-Newtonian type scopes? I was reading some reviews and it seems a lot of people feel these scopes(like the Intes MN56 and MN66) equal the performance of a 5"-6" APO refractor. In fact, one person said they performed just as well as his Astro-Physics 5" refractor. What is the real story here? If this design is just as good as an APO refractor then why is AP, Tak, etc. still in business?

It seems like one problem with these Mak-Newts is the quality(the finder scope sucks, focuser isn't that great, etc.). I would like to see a US company produce some high quality Mak-Newts that match the craftsmanship of Tele Vue or AP scopes. I mean, it would be great if I could buy a 5" Mak-Newt for $2,000 that is equal to the quality of Tele Vue's new $6,000 NP127. And at the same time be getting all the performance of that NP127, but not having to pay $4,000 extra.

Yes, the Intes and Intes-Micro Mak-Newts are very good telescopes. At f/6, the MN61 or MN66 offer a fairly wide field and killer planetary views. They compare well to a 4" or 5" apo except for cooldown, infrequent collimation, and coma.

Mak-Newt imaging with CCD is fine, but emulsion camera backs often cannot reach focus without projection. Also, weight must be considered for mounting the heavier versions, though some now use carbon fiber tubes

Forgot to mention that AP built a very fine 235mm f/4.3 Mak-Newt, and at one time considered production. Peter Ceravolo gave the design new life, but does not build volume quantities of his very good HD version.

I would encourage you to look through one and be amazed at the planetary detail. Visually, it's the best bang for the 6" buck IMHO.

Hi Chris,

As Mike Gibson said in his post "very good telescopes..". I've had a bunch of telescopes from 4" to 10", SCT's, SN, Mak-cass, mak-newts, Vixen VISAC, refractors, etc. All I can say is that the MN61 6" mak-newt that I have gives the best views, period, compared to any other tube of similar aperture. Does my 8" SCT reveal more DSO's, yes, but the views through the mak-newt of what it does see are far nicer (black, contrasty skies, pinpoint star images, great contrast, terrific detail, my best planetary scope). I wish it was larger than 6", but any decent mak-newt larger is going to cost you the bank. The downside is "long heavy tube", long cool-down, not very nice to look at, collimation a little tricky (but it stays once you're there), doesn't handle film, but will do fine with CCD, etc. If you've got a mount to handle it and film astroimaging isn't a requirement, then by all means, seriously consider one.

Tony

I am unbiased. Good Maksutov Newtonians are great . . . once they have cooled down. Images just like Apo refractors. Cooldown is the only flaw IMO.