Parallax Instruments

I guess this question was inevitable. Does anyone have any experience with Parallax Instruments? Since I can't get a 12.5" DK OTA from Royce anymore I'm looking for alternatives. This is strictly a planetary scope so a RC is not an option. I want to stay away from corrector plates as well. Besides a Mewlon 300 does anyone have any other ideas? How about European companies. I kind of want to avoid Newtonian's as well. I have looked at this company:

http://www.cfftelescopes.eu/index.html

Thanks!!
Paul Maxson

Paul Maxson said:

I guess this question was inevitable. Does anyone have any experience with Parallax Instruments? Since I can't get a 12.5" DK OTA from Royce anymore I'm looking for alternatives. This is strictly a planetary scope so a RC is not an option. I want to stay away from corrector plates as well. Besides a Mewlon 300 does anyone have any other ideas? How about European companies. I kind of want to avoid Newtonian's as well. I have looked at this company:

http://www.cfftelescopes.eu/index.html

Thanks!!
Paul Maxson

I have a PI-250 10" f/5 newt he built for someone using a Ed Stevens mirror. I did not buy it directly but from the 2nd owner. I have had a number of conversations with Joe Nastasi of Parallax over the last few years. Both by phone and email and he has always been both pleasant and helpful. Getting on to the scope itself. 1st class quality build and I have enjoyed owning it for several years now. It does a fantastic job both visually and for imaging. It was specifically setup to be an astrograph primarily and binoviewing secondarily so I have to add an extension for single EP viewing. I have not one single complaint. I also own another scope he built using a vixen spec lens, a 90mm f/16.6 that is also an excellent little scope.

I can only speak about these two scopes.....very nicely done. If I were in the market I wouldn't hesitate to buy from him based on the two I own......

Hi Paul,

Joe at Parallax is a pleasure to deal with. I owned one of his 150 series mounts and liked it a lot. Anytime I had a question or needed something done, he was right there and handled things quickly. His D-Ks are a little heavy which complicates things, I prefer Bob Royce's open truss design but if Bob is not making them...

Another intriguing D-K, very minimalist but plenty expensive:

http://www.alpineastro.com/LAZZAROTTI/Lazzarotti_Home.htm

Hope this helps!

Larry

I know of one scope that is extremely portable, easy to use and delivers fantastic views of the planets. It's advertised here in the catadioptric section as: Vega 6"F/4 Mak/Newt.

Paul,

I have a 200mm f/20 classical Cassegrain mirror set made by Catalin and Tavi at CFF and they are wonderful. Contrast and detail are every bit as good as the photos on the Lazzarotti website referred to by another poster. One spring night in 2014, just after Saturn reached opposition, I was lucky enough to be observing during what had to be the best seeing conditions in the history of the Gulf Coast and was able to view Saturn at 560x from town. You can search my username here for forum posts about the scope I built for these mirrors. I'm pretty sure I posted about that Saturn observation, too.