Generally speaking, there are a number of very good mirror makers out there. Zambuto is the most famous, but Mike Spooner, Tom Swazey, and several others are all very much in the same league. You wouldn't go wrong with any of them. Discovery mirrors are also very good, and you wouldn't really go wrong with one of them, some people get a dicovery refugured, and often it's more a matter of finer polishing than significant refiguring. Bob Royce runs a professional optical company making this kind of thing for NASA and other places and he produces on his promises both time and performance. (He makes astronomy mirrors on the side because he is an avid amateur astronomer.) I don't have any experience with Galaxy.
Among the top levels (and that may well include Discovery) any perceived difference is as likely to be psychological as optical, and certainly the best mirrors only do their best under very good seeing conditions, rare where I live. That said, I own a Sponner 8 inch, and a Royce 12.5 inch conical (light, easy to mount, and cools down quickly). I certainly get "peace of mind" from them.
Evan Reed said:
So I am looking into building a dob around a higher-end mirror and have been doing some research on primaries. I am interested in feedback people have on the optics and customer service of these companies (or others you have worked with). I was honestly surprised to find the price differences were rather drastic. For example a 10" f/6 is $599 Discovery, $795 Royce, and $995 Galaxy. I wasn't expecting a $400 difference in price, with Galaxy leading the way (guaranteeing 0.85 or better Strehl while Royce claims 0.96). Since I have heard nothing but good things about all of these products, my biggest question is: is anything in the way of customer service being sacrificed for the lower price? Is Galaxy simply a smaller operation? Thanks for looking.
Evan
