Hi Daniel, and thanks for the good question. The instrument is fully collimatable via thee black 120 degree spaced Phillips type screws on the rear outer bulkhead - they can be seen in the video at 36:34. The primary mirror support tube, and focus assembly are all mounted on a steel backplate and this plate is controlled by the three adjustment screws. Where the screws meet the backplate they have a medium strength 'Loctite-like' compound on them, but this is easily 'cracked' on adjustment. It's nicely done. KR RJD A&NTV
@@RocketPlanet Is there any note in the product's documentation that covers the subject of collimation? I wonder if the fact that they have painted the screws with Loctite might imply that the user shouldn't really need to collimate, or that the factory collimation is adequate for the life of the instrument. Your thoughts?
Hi again Daniel. No, the instructions have no reference to collimation. But this is not unusual of course, plenty of larger commercial Maks have mighty thin documentation equally silent on this important subject as well. I think the manufacturer, like most, is just doing what they can to ensure the product has a reasonable service lifetime more or less in line with customer expectations. Primarily they'll wish to have a product that survives the warranty period by a safe margin. I think, in this case, they have probably exceeded that factor by a good number of years, depending on how the user treats the instrument. This does not mean an instrument selected, as it were, at random, will not require now, or at some point in the future, collimation adjustment to achieve the standard of performance achieved by good factory alignment. Nor indeed, does it eliminate the possibility that the instrument may benefit from collimation to promote its performance beyond this standard. And this all speaks to it being a properly constructed instrument. One that risks failure by striving for the highest standards of performance achievable with the limited technical and economic metrics, rather than play 'safe' with near fixed mediocre to poor performance we see in so many small aperture low-cost reflectors (e.g., of the Jones-Bird type). Ask Synta (the OEM of this and many other popular Maks by Celestron, Orion, and Skywatcher etc) if they think the users of their Maksutov instruments will ever need to collimate them: you can spread the silence on bread it's so thick. Just my thoughts. KR RJD A&NTV
@@RocketPlanet Thank you for your thoroughness in answering. I have learned so much from your videos. I am new to this hobby at the age of 63. You've helped me feel like a kid again as I learn.
@@RocketPlanet Damn, that's an incredibly thorough, and incredibly careful, response. You must have been a lawyer in a past life ;) I'm very glad you are now doing telescopes. Your vids are **fantastic**.
This is impressive. This fellow is one of the best I've encountered on RUclips. I'm an ex radio and television announcer and very picky and grumpy. The pace, the diction, the delivery, and the thoughtful exploration of this telescope are great. 5-stars, Like, props, and highly recommend this fellow (and I'm gonna get this product based on this review also). Thanks.
This review convinced me to buy this as my first telescope. So far I've taken some fantastic pictures of birds and the moon just using my phone. It also opened the research doors into Astrophotography and techniques and equipment and free software that has me embracing the hobby. Thank you so much for making this review video and inspiring new people to get their first telescope and see the world/sky in a different way.
Thanks for taking the time to cover a great entry level telescope! Similar to Amateur radio we should all work to help new people (kids or not) to gain an interest in the hobby. Having good reasonably priced options helps. LCARA Ham Radio
I love that you can open the tube and actually look inside. Its not everyday that you can look inside the tube of a maksutov. Just gotta be careful to not get any dust in. Overall It seems like the perfect telescope to teach kids and beginneers overall.
It doesn’t matter about the subject Rob describes or explains about astronomy equipment, whatever it costs, he just increases my beginners enthusiasm! Truely excellent quality presentation every time 👍
I'm glad you're still making videos. This is my favorite channel by far. It looks like these would make great telescopes for middle school. You can teach basic science lessons on space and optics and show them off with that clever "bonnet." Hopefully a few kids will start an after school astronomy club. I'm a big fan of clever engineering and there is nothing wrong with plastics, the industry has made great strides in their development. I know videos aren't easy to make but if you're looking for suggestions, I'd love to see a short length series (~10 minute segments should help get more viewers) on the basics of using telescopes. It's quite overwhelming when you're new to the hobby! Maybe record a typical viewing session of (pick object here) using (pick different types of telescopes) from how to set up, find your target manually and track it through the night sky. It's actually hard to find videos as competently put together as yours. I'm a big fan from across the pond. Sorry for the long post and keep up the good work!
Purchased one on account of your review and love it. Very clear image and it feels like a quality tool, if it were not for your review I would have dismissed it as a toy. Other than the optics, just the decorative/educational value was worth the money (is displayed on top of a bookshelf in my home office). Thank you for the great videos and greetings from Texas, USA.
I bought this telescope per your recommendation. As my very first telescope I’m really impressed! When I was choosing my first telescope, I was staying away from anything that was less than $400. Of course I’ll upgrade after I learn how do use it a bit more and reach its limits
As always, a brilliant communicator, and though he goes off tangent, he is master of off tangent waffle! Thank you for yet another enjoyable product talk and glad to see this channel still delivering super content.
I purchased one of these after watching your review a couple of years ago and it's been a reliable, fun and quality little telescope. Thank you for your perspective and wisdom. Even as a newbie, I would have dismissed it and missed out on a worthwhile piece of equipment.
Robert, With the creation of this video, and the fact that I respect your opinion so much, you have convinced me to try this wonderful piece of modern engineering, despite its toy-ish appearance. I found a variation of this item with a full size tripod and a finder scope, which addresses two of your negative concerns. Just placed my order today. Thanks for bringing this telescope to light for us and for such a thorough review. I very much appreciate you and this channel.
I just found your channel yesterday and I’m hooked! The thorough research and presentation are second to none! I’ve been in the market to buy a telescope, but have been told by several people that if you get a cheap one, you’ll regret it, and quickly realize that money would have been better spent towards a more expensive model. I’m really impressed with this one!
I got myself this Macsy and it is amazing. I have it on a photo tripod, and it surely could use a serious mount (and a pointer), but the scope itself is excellent. I also got a solar filter and had a go at the sun too. Thank you, great advice!
Thank you for this amazing review! I ordered this little gem of a telescope yesterday. Regarding the dew shield I have used black foam sheets for arts and crafts. They come in different thicknesses and are perfect for this purpose. My Nexstar 5SE has one and it works perfectly well. You can put it together with hot glue.
So after 7 months of purchasing this telescope, how do you think it is ? Let’s know if you were able to see Jupiter and Saturn 🪐 with it… have you taken photo of these planets ? If yes then where can we see those pics ? Thanks in advance 🙏
No, there's no "too much information" when it comes to the quality of an optical instrument! This was very, very good info on this telescope. Exactly what I was after!
Thanks for such a comprehensive review. I am a newbie/slash beginner/geriatric of 75, and I needed a perceived confident, and truthful assessment on a practical beginners telescope. Based on your extensive assessment I purchased the Sar blue Mak60 from Amazon Canada. I must be lucky, mine has a sturdy metal full length tripod, and a cross hair finder scope. Also Amazon increased the price by about 20% a few days after I firm ordered. Initial viewing was in hazy conditions, yet what I could see came in clear as could be expected in the conditions. As at this I am well pleased, and look forward to better climatic conditions. Thanks for the terrific review. I shall now attempt to review all your telescope related posts.
Thanks so much for posting this excellent information. After recently viewing Jupiter and Saturn through my old 6 inch reflector and equatorial mount following a lot of faffing about I am attracted to such a simple alternative for having a quick look. And after watching your video I noted the Acuter Maksy 60 is available from ebay here in Australia for $169. I,'ve just placed an order for one. 🙂 Thanks again and cheers!
Very detailed and not rushed with some good design points clearly explained. Thanks for an excellent, well-produced video. Edit: in the USA this scope appears to be available for $110.
Thank you. Great video! Pretty impressive little telescope. Matsutov Cassegrain is an amazing design. My sister loves birds and has a bunch of feeders in her back yard. She I think, would love this telescope for recording close-ups of her birds with her iPhone.😊
Ty for actually showing us pics and videos of you using it lol.. for some reason no one wants to do that with any yt videos about telescopes I am interested in.. 🤦🏻♀️ So thank you for taking the time from your life to make this video demonstration I very much appreciate you ❤
Great presentation. Keep it up :). An idea for a video: An up-to-date review of what oculars to go for (as the amount of options are staggering) at different price brackets, with focus on the amateur.
60mm maksutov is rare, and this one has been tested for planet photography too. It's sharp enough to do so. Much better than omegon mightymak 60 and PICO-6. It's also fee telescopes that were truly made for education.
I like that focuser. You probably get a super-fine focus. Yeah, a cheap camera tripod is better than that lil thing. I have bigger scopes but Im gonna try and get one o these. Thanks for the review. I just checked and they have a Dobsonian mount for $20 more. They move really smooth but if ya bump em.....
This is very impressive, i wish you had shown other things through this telescope, other then the biggest brightest and easiest to see object in the sky! Incredible review, very detailed
Excellent review as always! Good tips for those who already have it, and those that don't yet but will. I just bought one of these with portability in mind and it is very impressive on the Moon and Saturn so far. Jupiter will be a big test for it. I bought the version with the "full size tripod", and while not great, it does the job. Mine also has a finder - it's so bad I don't know why they bothered. I stopped trying to use it after an hour in a two hour first session. It's fine without the finder on the Moon and planets, but so far I've found it difficult to get to brighter stars. I wish they would have provided a way to add a standard finder shoe. I'd stick a Telrad on this but it's too big for this tiny Mak! I'm going to just use it as a portable planetary 'scope but it would be nice to split some doubles with this. I have a small stable of telescopes (including a 127 Mak) but a recent move has made it difficult for me to use them since I have to observe in a city park nearby, so lately I've been sticking with binoculars. But the Sarblue it so portable and so quick to set up and acclimate to ambient temperaturess I"m bringing it along on my binocular sessions as well. So glad you're still doing videos on this channel, Robert. Your videos helped me tremendously when I got started in 2019 and they will continue to help beginners for years to come!
Very interesting! I would guess (especially considering how much thought went into the eyepiece) that the small opening in the back plate means you cannot have a larger AFOV or longer focal length than that of the supplied eyepiece without severe vignetting. And on the other side (shorter focal length), you're limited by aperture. So my guess is that you can only really use a second eyepiece with this scope, perhaps with a 12.5 mm focal length. In practice, the scope would then offer two useful magnifications, x37.5 and x75. Which is plenty for such a small scope...
Excellent review Robert! With almost 50 years of amateur astronomy on my shoulders I must say I totally agree with your points of view on several topics! It's very unusual to find such level of good common sense in instrumental and observational astronomy in today's presentations (almost everywhere) and "astronomers" (almost everyone) with no common sense and experience at all! Kudos for you! Well done! 🔭🔭🔭🔭👏👏👏👍👍
Happy 2021! Another great video, packed full of information that's well explained as always. Great Scope for outreach and science education it seems. Don't fancy doing a video on that big Newtonian at the start do you? 😊
I’m a member of an online club for amateur astronomers that appreciate 60mm telescopes, The60mmTelescopeClub@groups.Io. We have members all over the world. I shared your video review of the Sarblue 60mm Mak and so far there are four of us I know of that have already received, or ordered the little Mak. It’s really quite fun sharing ideas for modifying the loudly colorful scopes. I’ve already substituted a .965mm Takahashi diagonal along with some Takahashi orthos that have greatly improved the images. I know someone else that I believe was doing the same with Celestron products. I had the chance to try it out one evening with an astronomy professor from the small university in our town that was very impressed too! Really appreciate that you are putting out such quality videos on our hobby! Sarblue should be giving you a commission!
Very well done! I especially appreciate a small quality instrument where extra detail, as you point out, is found that makes the scope perform as well as possible. I wonder if a non-erecting prism or mirror star diagonal will provide better images when using a higher power eyepiece. As a rule of thumb, the erecting diagonals fall slightly short of their non-erecting cousins for astronomical detail. I also wonder if the three apparent ‘adjustment’ screws on the back housing are for collimation of the optics. A Maksutov must be carefully collimated to yield the best images possible. Just a small out of collimation condition will have a large effect on image quality. That being said, if they are collimation adjustment screws, they should NOT be touched except by someone very, very familiar with the process. But having the ability to collimate the instrument is always a good thing with catadioptric systems. Thanks for a very well done presentation!!
Hi JD and thanks for your comments. The three screws you refer to are indeed full collimation adjustment screws. The primary mirror support tube and focus assembly are all mounted on a steel backplate and this plate is controlled by the three black screws you can see on the outside of the rear bulkhead. The screws have a medium strength 'Loctite-like' compound on them, but this is easily 'cracked' on adjustment. It's nicely done. KR RJD A&NTV
Excellent review very informative. This is a very impressive small scope, I think I might just get one put a planetary camera on it, and have some fun, I know my grands will love it
After a bit of digging it seems they are made by these guys en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synta_Technology_Corporation_of_Taiwan , they also own and manufacture Celestron telescopes along with a wide variety of high quality spotting scopes
This telescope got me started. I now have 2 dobsonians, a 102 mak, Orion Short Tube 80 and a 40mm solar scope. I still have my little blue scope. I wonder how a Rigel Quickfinder would work with this.
Excellent review, I'm on the brink of ordering one! However as far as I have seen, the bonnet is not only for viewing, but you can get a hood with a guide scope you can swap for the plain original hatch! How cool is that!
Hi! I'm a total newbie and am looking to purchase the sarblue mak 60 after reading your review. While searching on amazon, I saw that they have two new upgraded models, one with tripod + finderscope, and another with dobsonian mount + finderscope. Would you recommend getting the upgraded version, and if so, which one?
How. Or was it How? I can hear the tom-toms like it was yesterday! Ah, they don't make television like that anymore - thank the LBW rule! Hi Ian - thanks, but dear old Jack will need stronger glasses - he's been stone cold dead for nearly 30 years (but ITV are still employing him I bet). We are well, bordering on atrocious - and, like everyone else, trying to see and accentuate the nano-positives of Covid whilst trying to keep out from under the juggernaut of negatives - with limited success. We should catch up soon. Kind Regards Rob
Until today I didn't know it was possible, till today, to talk for nearly 45 minutes about an entry level 60mm Mak. About 17 years ago I was at an event where someone had brought his ETX 60mm out for first light. He set up next to my C14. That was probably a poor choice of where to set up on his part. The are many virtues of small scopes but often times one must see the sky in larger apertures to one day develop a taste for smaller aperture views. Today I really like the view of the Ring Nebula as a tiny dot at 15x. But I would have been very impatient with the view in a 60mm when I was starting out. (I think 100 to 150mm is probably a better place, and of course the internet consensus is a 200mm Dobsonian).
very good educational telescope indeed thanks for sharing this. I sold my telscopes one a masutov 127mm x 1500mm skywatcher and a orion 6'' tube . made good videos of the moon.
Sarblue came out with a 70 mak. Based on your highly informative review, I am hopeful the quality is similar. I am interested in buying the 70. Will you do a review of the 70 mak?
I Know Its A 2 Y/O Video,But What A Nice Little Scope,My Grab and Go Is A Celestron Mak90..Great Video,Watched The Whole Thing..God Bless,and Clear Skies🙏🏼❤️🔭✨🌏
Great video with lots of details. Curious other than the moon, did you get a chance to view any other big M, IC or NGC objects? I know you can't photograph them with that mount, but if so how well did the scope perform on those DSO's? Thanks! My first ever scope (Apertura 8D8) is set to arrive tomorrow, I'm so excited, but you have me intrigued with this little gadget as well
The difficulty with the C90 is that it's a lot bigger and heavier (still small by the standards of a telescope, though). You're going to need some kind of half decent mount to use it.
Not that small 60mm I often use my 25mm Pocket Borg refractor as it's quick and easy to set up.in fact I was looking at the Moon through it yesterday and the day before had it up to 21x.the matte black inside is very well though out for such a cheap scope considering that Zeiss leave the inside of their monoculars gray which means significant light lose when you are dealing with an already tiny telescope like their Zeiss Mini Quick 5x10 Monocular.
Thank you for explaining the additional focal length due to the curvature of the Meniscus lens. I've been wondering about that lately, when trying to justify the advertised focal length of assorted Maks vs their tube lengths.
The explanation was not really correct. The focal length is determined by the focal length of the primary mirror which is generally about F/2 (120mm) and the magnifying effect of the convex secondary mirror, these are generally about 5x. The pass from the meniscus is not part of the equation because it provides spherical correction but not magnification.
@@jonisaacs5176 I think Christopher was perhaps paraphrasing something I said - for convenience. As I'm sure you know, on most commercially available Maks, the secondary mirror is intimately related to the meniscus profile because the evaporated aluminium has been vacuum deposited directly on the surface of the meniscus. Thus the secondary mirror's figure and that of the central portion of the meniscus are one and the same. However, this instrument breaks that trend and the secondary is a separate glass element UV glued to the centre of the corrector - with the aluminium coating on the obverse face. But the meniscus is a lens, usually negative in this type of instrument. I meant exactly what I said in the video - the light is bent by the corrector. Thanks for posting and encouraging clarification of these points. KR RJD A&NTV
Just received one of these for Christmas. Turned the focal knob from as far as it would go both ways slowly but can't loose the black spot in the center. Instructions not much help.
Cute but good luck finding things that aren't the Moon. A newbie I know started out with a 70mm Celestron Mak. She never could even find the Moon! Now she has a C6 SCT and is well on her way. The real use for this thing is as an ultra-lightweight guide scope.
The price these are being sold at (£228 to £307), you can buy the Skywatcher Heritage 150P or a 100mm with a mount. When you said that astronomers would dismiss this is not because its small, a 60mm refractor can show plenty but a 60mm Newtonian telescope with a large central obstruction, include the loss of light transmission from the mirrors then you are talking a considerably reduced light loss. When we were in lockdown, i tested telescopes from 76mm Newtonian - 70mm and 80mm and 90mm refractors plus aperture masks - 130mm and 8inch Newtonian, plus a pair of 50mm broken binoculars where the front lens cell screwed off, i added a zoom eyepiece to it. To cut months and months of comparisons between telescopes to one simple paragraph, the 76mm Orion Spaceprobe || Newtonian was the equivalent of the 43mm opening of the 80mm Startravel 80 (ST80), i didn't go any lower than the 43mm opening. Its not the size of the telescope that's the issue with some telescopes but their price to performance ratio and these are overpriced for what they have to offer those new to astronomy and may turn them away in disappointment.
Yes, I can see these are being offered for sale on Amazon UK at the moment for the prices you mention. When we presented this instrument they were selling for 100 USD in the US and about 100 GBP in the UK - the review should be understood only in terms of these initial price points. The inflated prices seem to be the work of a few individuals, who are Amazon Market place traders rather than Amazon themselves and are trying to take advantage of the supply chain interruptions caused by the popularity of the instrument. It is selling in the US currently for 130 USD (about 102 GBP today plus P&P and import fees) and as such is still the optical bargain we presented. Just look carefully at who you are buying from. KR RJD A&NTV
@@RocketPlanet The thing is, there are other, cheaper options. Svbony SV41 Spotting Scope Maksutov 20-75x70 would work just as well and is only £86. Ok, its a spotting scope but the optics are not going to be worse, more aperture , very compact, light and waterproof. Some would say "but it has a 45 degree diagonal", some peoples opinions are over-blown when it comes to 45 degree diagonal's, 90 or a 45 degree diagonal isn't going to make any difference on a tripod with a scope this tiny and many of us use straight through binoculars that are arguably worse for looking up without issue. You can't use 1.25inch eyepieces but i don't see that as an issue, not for a tiny Maksutov and with these low aperture numbers, i wouldn't want to push them too high anyways. The Sarblue is not value for money, even at its original UK price and with people being stretched financially, i would rather they get the most for what they can afford.
Great videos, but could you set them up so that we get closed captions? It's quite simple. I just set my own videos up to provide "auto-generated English." That would be most helpful.
I should think if it was put on a proper mount and a higher power eyepiece two cloudbelts should be visible under good conditions,although with no great detail.
Hi Gerald, I had a look at Mars with a 10mm eyepiece and managed to convince myself I could see a distinct phase shape and a hint of shading in the southern hemisphere. But I was in a bit of a hurry to cut the observing sesh. short as it was about minus 12C, and although I'm not the kind of sissy that minds losing a few fingers and toes to frostbite for the glory of astronomy, it's the gas gangrene that sets in afterwards I frown on. We'll have to be patient and wait for big Jupe and Saturn to come round again. Thanks for posting. KR RJD A&NTV
What is the story on collimation of the instrument?
Hi Daniel, and thanks for the good question. The instrument is fully collimatable via thee black 120 degree spaced Phillips type screws on the rear outer bulkhead - they can be seen in the video at 36:34. The primary mirror support tube, and focus assembly are all mounted on a steel backplate and this plate is controlled by the three adjustment screws. Where the screws meet the backplate they have a medium strength 'Loctite-like' compound on them, but this is easily 'cracked' on adjustment. It's nicely done. KR RJD A&NTV
@@RocketPlanet Is there any note in the product's documentation that covers the subject of collimation? I wonder if the fact that they have painted the screws with Loctite might imply that the user shouldn't really need to collimate, or that the factory collimation is adequate for the life of the instrument. Your thoughts?
Hi again Daniel. No, the instructions have no reference to collimation. But this is not unusual of course, plenty of larger commercial Maks have mighty thin documentation equally silent on this important subject as well. I think the manufacturer, like most, is just doing what they can to ensure the product has a reasonable service lifetime more or less in line with customer expectations. Primarily they'll wish to have a product that survives the warranty period by a safe margin. I think, in this case, they have probably exceeded that factor by a good number of years, depending on how the user treats the instrument. This does not mean an instrument selected, as it were, at random, will not require now, or at some point in the future, collimation adjustment to achieve the standard of performance achieved by good factory alignment. Nor indeed, does it eliminate the possibility that the instrument may benefit from collimation to promote its performance beyond this standard. And this all speaks to it being a properly constructed instrument. One that risks failure by striving for the highest standards of performance achievable with the limited technical and economic metrics, rather than play 'safe' with near fixed mediocre to poor performance we see in so many small aperture low-cost reflectors (e.g., of the Jones-Bird type). Ask Synta (the OEM of this and many other popular Maks by Celestron, Orion, and Skywatcher etc) if they think the users of their Maksutov instruments will ever need to collimate them: you can spread the silence on bread it's so thick. Just my thoughts. KR RJD A&NTV
@@RocketPlanet Thank you for your thoroughness in answering. I have learned so much from your videos. I am new to this hobby at the age of 63. You've helped me feel like a kid again as I learn.
@@RocketPlanet Damn, that's an incredibly thorough, and incredibly careful, response. You must have been a lawyer in a past life ;) I'm very glad you are now doing telescopes. Your vids are **fantastic**.
This is impressive. This fellow is one of the best I've encountered on RUclips. I'm an ex radio and television announcer and very picky and grumpy. The pace, the diction, the delivery, and the thoughtful exploration of this telescope are great. 5-stars, Like, props, and highly recommend this fellow (and I'm gonna get this product based on this review also). Thanks.
This review convinced me to buy this as my first telescope. So far I've taken some fantastic pictures of birds and the moon just using my phone. It also opened the research doors into Astrophotography and techniques and equipment and free software that has me embracing the hobby. Thank you so much for making this review video and inspiring new people to get their first telescope and see the world/sky in a different way.
Try and point it at Jupiter. You should be able to see the orange ball and the 4 jovian moons around it
Thanks for taking the time to cover a great entry level telescope! Similar to Amateur radio we should all work to help new people (kids or not) to gain an interest in the hobby. Having good reasonably priced options helps. LCARA Ham Radio
I love that you can open the tube and actually look inside. Its not everyday that you can look inside the tube of a maksutov. Just gotta be careful to not get any dust in. Overall It seems like the perfect telescope to teach kids and beginneers overall.
It doesn’t matter about the subject Rob describes or explains about astronomy equipment, whatever it costs, he just increases my beginners enthusiasm! Truely excellent quality presentation every time 👍
I'm glad you're still making videos. This is my favorite channel by far.
It looks like these would make great telescopes for middle school. You can teach basic science lessons on space and optics and show them off with that clever "bonnet." Hopefully a few kids will start an after school astronomy club. I'm a big fan of clever engineering and there is nothing wrong with plastics, the industry has made great strides in their development.
I know videos aren't easy to make but if you're looking for suggestions, I'd love to see a short length series (~10 minute segments should help get more viewers) on the basics of using telescopes. It's quite overwhelming when you're new to the hobby!
Maybe record a typical viewing session of (pick object here) using (pick different types of telescopes) from how to set up, find your target manually and track it through the night sky.
It's actually hard to find videos as competently put together as yours. I'm a big fan from across the pond. Sorry for the long post and keep up the good work!
Purchased one on account of your review and love it. Very clear image and it feels like a quality tool, if it were not for your review I would have dismissed it as a toy. Other than the optics, just the decorative/educational value was worth the money (is displayed on top of a bookshelf in my home office). Thank you for the great videos and greetings from Texas, USA.
Hi. I just ordered one after watching this video. Did you order a Barlow lens and/or moon filter? Would like to order from Baltimore, MD.
This is the best telescope in this price range.
Your "child-friendly?" statement at 6:45+ mins should be an anthem. Very well said, sir. Very well said!
I bought this telescope per your recommendation. As my very first telescope I’m really impressed! When I was choosing my first telescope, I was staying away from anything that was less than $400. Of course I’ll upgrade after I learn how do use it a bit more and reach its limits
Wow! Great to see that you guys are still making videos!
Have a great 2021!
Very well done! If the scope is out of collimation can it be adjusted?
As always, a brilliant communicator, and though he goes off tangent, he is master of off tangent waffle! Thank you for yet another enjoyable product talk and glad to see this channel still delivering super content.
I purchased one of these after watching your review a couple of years ago and it's been a reliable, fun and quality little telescope. Thank you for your perspective and wisdom. Even as a newbie, I would have dismissed it and missed out on a worthwhile piece of equipment.
So happy to see you posting again!!! Brilliant!
Robert, With the creation of this video, and the fact that I respect your opinion so much, you have convinced me to try this wonderful piece of modern engineering, despite its toy-ish appearance. I found a variation of this item with a full size tripod and a finder scope, which addresses two of your negative concerns. Just placed my order today. Thanks for bringing this telescope to light for us and for such a thorough review. I very much appreciate you and this channel.
I just found your channel yesterday and I’m hooked! The thorough research and presentation are second to none!
I’ve been in the market to buy a telescope, but have been told by several people that if you get a cheap one, you’ll regret it, and quickly realize that money would have been better spent towards a more expensive model.
I’m really impressed with this one!
Your view on children and telescopes is exactly right. And is expandable to pretty much any tech.
Good insight, mate.
I got myself this Macsy and it is amazing. I have it on a photo tripod, and it surely could use a serious mount (and a pointer), but the scope itself is excellent. I also got a solar filter and had a go at the sun too. Thank you, great advice!
Thank you for this amazing review! I ordered this little gem of a telescope yesterday. Regarding the dew shield I have used black foam sheets for arts and crafts. They come in different thicknesses and are perfect for this purpose. My Nexstar 5SE has one and it works perfectly well. You can put it together with hot glue.
yoga mats also work great
So after 7 months of purchasing this telescope, how do you think it is ? Let’s know if you were able to see Jupiter and Saturn 🪐 with it… have you taken photo of these planets ? If yes then where can we see those pics ?
Thanks in advance 🙏
Pls tell us how key planets are seen ?
The Mighty Mak!! Never underestimate the power of a PLANET KILLER!!!
I ordered this little gem after I watched your review. Thank you for your in depth review.
No, there's no "too much information" when it comes to the quality of an optical instrument! This was very, very good info on this telescope. Exactly what I was after!
Have you purchased this? Can you see planets decent like rings of Saturn?
A couple of dots of glow in the dark paint on the sight bumps make them usable for finder function
Thanks for such a comprehensive review. I am a newbie/slash beginner/geriatric of 75, and I needed a perceived confident, and truthful assessment on a practical beginners telescope. Based on your extensive assessment I purchased the Sar blue Mak60 from Amazon Canada.
I must be lucky, mine has a sturdy metal full length tripod, and a cross hair finder scope. Also Amazon increased the price by about 20% a few days after I firm ordered. Initial viewing was in hazy conditions, yet what I could see came in clear as could be expected in the conditions. As at this I am well pleased, and look forward to better climatic conditions. Thanks for the terrific review. I shall now attempt to review all your telescope related posts.
Delighted to see another video posted - so informative and well presented as always - thanks and looking forward to future videos this year.
Ordered the scope based on your passion for it! Used your link, thanks for all you do!!
Glad your back, I just Got interested in the hobby and was about to see all your last videos
Thanks so much for posting this excellent information. After recently viewing Jupiter and Saturn through my old 6 inch reflector and equatorial mount following a lot of faffing about I am attracted to such a simple alternative for having a quick look. And after watching your video I noted the Acuter Maksy 60 is available from ebay here in Australia for $169.
I,'ve just placed an order for one. 🙂
Thanks again and cheers!
That's a really nice little 'scope, really has much more going for it than the looks will suggest.
Very detailed and not rushed with some good design points clearly explained. Thanks for an excellent, well-produced video. Edit: in the USA this scope appears to be available for $110.
That's what I paid on Amazon, plus tax of course.
@@Randy_Torres Do you like the scope? It’s possibly the lowest cost Mak scope ever produced.
So glad you're back.
ALL your videos are excellent tuition / viewpoints.
Thank you very much.
Excellent review and some well thought out details for such a low price. Love those Maks!
I purchased this scope after watching this video, excellent review Thank you
Excellent video 👍🏼 Looks like a great little grab-and-go scope for overnighters in the mountains etc. Thanks for the in-depth review.
Great to see you guys uploading again!!
This channel is TV worthy! Great job😀
This is my favorite channel. I'm picky --like REALLY picky-- and this hits all the marks I look for. Plus they're very relaxing to watch lol.
I watch it on TV already :))
I found your detail about the eyepiece very interesting
Well done, Robert! Nice to see another video of yours! This might be a nice option as a travelling telescope.
Never too much detail!!! Thank you for your video.
Thank you. Great video! Pretty impressive little telescope. Matsutov Cassegrain is an amazing design. My sister loves birds and has a bunch of feeders in her back yard. She I think, would love this telescope for recording close-ups of her birds with her iPhone.😊
So happy you are releasing another video!
Ty for actually showing us pics and videos of you using it lol.. for some reason no one wants to do that with any yt videos about telescopes I am interested in.. 🤦🏻♀️
So thank you for taking the time from your life to make this video demonstration I very much appreciate you ❤
Among the best reviews I have seen on youtube. Thank you :)
Nice video! I just bought my first Maksutov. Skywatcher Starmax 127/1500.
You are back awesome, my fist 12" Was from Astronomy centre back in the day ! Really glad you are back uploading great content.
Outstanding presentation! Very informative, relevant, and entertaining. I enjoyed it very much! All the best from rural East Texas!
Great presentation. Keep it up :). An idea for a video: An up-to-date review of what oculars to go for (as the amount of options are staggering) at different price brackets, with focus on the amateur.
60mm maksutov is rare, and this one has been tested for planet photography too. It's sharp enough to do so. Much better than omegon mightymak 60 and PICO-6. It's also fee telescopes that were truly made for education.
I like that focuser. You probably get a super-fine focus. Yeah, a cheap camera tripod is better than that lil thing. I have bigger scopes but Im gonna try and get one o these. Thanks for the review. I just checked and they have a Dobsonian mount for $20 more. They move really smooth but if ya bump em.....
This is very impressive, i wish you had shown other things through this telescope, other then the biggest brightest and easiest to see object in the sky! Incredible review, very detailed
Excellent review as always! Good tips for those who already have it, and those that don't yet but will. I just bought one of these with portability in mind and it is very impressive on the Moon and Saturn so far. Jupiter will be a big test for it. I bought the version with the "full size tripod", and while not great, it does the job. Mine also has a finder - it's so bad I don't know why they bothered. I stopped trying to use it after an hour in a two hour first session. It's fine without the finder on the Moon and planets, but so far I've found it difficult to get to brighter stars. I wish they would have provided a way to add a standard finder shoe. I'd stick a Telrad on this but it's too big for this tiny Mak! I'm going to just use it as a portable planetary 'scope but it would be nice to split some doubles with this.
I have a small stable of telescopes (including a 127 Mak) but a recent move has made it difficult for me to use them since I have to observe in a city park nearby, so lately I've been sticking with binoculars. But the Sarblue it so portable and so quick to set up and acclimate to ambient temperaturess I"m bringing it along on my binocular sessions as well.
So glad you're still doing videos on this channel, Robert. Your videos helped me tremendously when I got started in 2019 and they will continue to help beginners for years to come!
Very interesting! I would guess (especially considering how much thought went into the eyepiece) that the small opening in the back plate means you cannot have a larger AFOV or longer focal length than that of the supplied eyepiece without severe vignetting. And on the other side (shorter focal length), you're limited by aperture. So my guess is that you can only really use a second eyepiece with this scope, perhaps with a 12.5 mm focal length. In practice, the scope would then offer two useful magnifications, x37.5 and x75. Which is plenty for such a small scope...
Just ordered this for my 4 year old. I got one with the dobsonian mount, seems more sturdy.
Thank you for your review i am looking for a first occasional telescope and think I've just found it
Wow! What a great little scope. Excellent images of the moon for a small cheap scope!
Excellent review Robert! With almost 50 years of amateur astronomy on my shoulders I must say I totally agree with your points of view on several topics! It's very unusual to find such level of good common sense in instrumental and observational astronomy in today's presentations (almost everywhere) and "astronomers" (almost everyone) with no common sense and experience at all! Kudos for you! Well done! 🔭🔭🔭🔭👏👏👏👍👍
Great to see you back!
I do need to buy an inexpensive yet HQ tele that is highly portable. This is an intriguing entry.
The 2ndary baffle is attached to the corrector, but the 2ndary itself is simply aluminized on the corrector itself
Happy 2021! Another great video, packed full of information that's well explained as always. Great Scope for outreach and science education it seems. Don't fancy doing a video on that big Newtonian at the start do you? 😊
Marvelous video! I really appreciate your attention to detail. Truly. Well done. Greetings from the US!
I’m a member of an online club for amateur astronomers that appreciate 60mm telescopes, The60mmTelescopeClub@groups.Io. We have members all over the world. I shared your video review of the Sarblue 60mm Mak and so far there are four of us I know of that have already received, or ordered the little Mak. It’s really quite fun sharing ideas for modifying the loudly colorful scopes. I’ve already substituted a .965mm Takahashi diagonal along with some Takahashi orthos that have greatly improved the images. I know someone else that I believe was doing the same with Celestron products. I had the chance to try it out one evening with an astronomy professor from the small university in our town that was very impressed too!
Really appreciate that you are putting out such quality videos on our hobby! Sarblue should be giving you a commission!
Hi, do you know if one can use a 45º diagonal with this?
Very well done! I especially appreciate a small quality instrument where extra detail, as you point out, is found that makes the scope perform as well as possible.
I wonder if a non-erecting prism or mirror star diagonal will provide better images when using a higher power eyepiece. As a rule of thumb, the erecting diagonals fall slightly short of their non-erecting cousins for astronomical detail.
I also wonder if the three apparent ‘adjustment’ screws on the back housing are for collimation of the optics. A Maksutov must be carefully collimated to yield the best images possible. Just a small out of collimation condition will have a large effect on image quality. That being said, if they are collimation adjustment screws, they should NOT be touched except by someone very, very familiar with the process. But having the ability to collimate the instrument is always a good thing with catadioptric systems.
Thanks for a very well done presentation!!
Hi JD and thanks for your comments. The three screws you refer to are indeed full collimation adjustment screws. The primary mirror support tube and focus assembly are all mounted on a steel backplate and this plate is controlled by the three black screws you can see on the outside of the rear bulkhead. The screws have a medium strength 'Loctite-like' compound on them, but this is easily 'cracked' on adjustment. It's nicely done. KR RJD A&NTV
Excellent review very informative. This is a very impressive small scope, I think I might just get one put a planetary camera on it, and have some fun, I know my grands will love it
just got my sar blue thanks to you
After a bit of digging it seems they are made by these guys en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synta_Technology_Corporation_of_Taiwan , they also own and manufacture Celestron telescopes along with a wide variety of high quality spotting scopes
This telescope got me started. I now have 2 dobsonians, a 102 mak, Orion Short Tube 80 and a 40mm solar scope. I still have my little blue scope. I wonder how a Rigel Quickfinder would work with this.
Which one do you prefer?
Excellent review, I'm on the brink of ordering one! However as far as I have seen, the bonnet is not only for viewing, but you can get a hood with a guide scope you can swap for the plain original hatch! How cool is that!
Oooh, there are models even on a Dobsonian mount! Which one should I get, the Dobsonian or the Tripod version?
Hi! I'm a total newbie and am looking to purchase the sarblue mak 60 after reading your review. While searching on amazon, I saw that they have two new upgraded models, one with tripod + finderscope, and another with dobsonian mount + finderscope. Would you recommend getting the upgraded version, and if so, which one?
Lovely video, Robert. Jack Heargreaves would certainly recognise the style. I hope you and M are keeping safe and well. Regards, Ian D
How. Or was it How? I can hear the tom-toms like it was yesterday! Ah, they don't make television like that anymore - thank the LBW rule! Hi Ian - thanks, but dear old Jack will need stronger glasses - he's been stone cold dead for nearly 30 years (but ITV are still employing him I bet). We are well, bordering on atrocious - and, like everyone else, trying to see and accentuate the nano-positives of Covid whilst trying to keep out from under the juggernaut of negatives - with limited success. We should catch up soon. Kind Regards Rob
This is why i like the celestron c90. 1250mm optical for a tiny scope.
Until today I didn't know it was possible, till today, to talk for nearly 45 minutes about an entry level 60mm Mak. About 17 years ago I was at an event where someone had brought his ETX 60mm out for first light. He set up next to my C14. That was probably a poor choice of where to set up on his part. The are many virtues of small scopes but often times one must see the sky in larger apertures to one day develop a taste for smaller aperture views. Today I really like the view of the Ring Nebula as a tiny dot at 15x. But I would have been very impatient with the view in a 60mm when I was starting out. (I think 100 to 150mm is probably a better place, and of course the internet consensus is a 200mm Dobsonian).
A most excellent presentation sir! Thank you.
very good educational telescope indeed thanks for sharing this. I sold my telscopes one a masutov 127mm x 1500mm skywatcher and a orion 6'' tube . made good videos of the moon.
Great review, anyone looking for this scope in the EU it goes by the name "acuter maksy 60"
So pleased your back.
Hi Michael, we never went away, we were just resting after a long squawk. KR RJD A&NTV
Sarblue came out with a 70 mak. Based on your highly informative review, I am hopeful the quality is similar. I am interested in buying the 70. Will you do a review of the 70 mak?
Great vid. If only a Jammy Dodger holder was an optional extra.
I Know Its A 2 Y/O Video,But What A Nice Little Scope,My Grab and Go Is A Celestron Mak90..Great Video,Watched The Whole Thing..God Bless,and Clear Skies🙏🏼❤️🔭✨🌏
What is image quality like at magnification of say 100x
Great video with lots of details. Curious other than the moon, did you get a chance to view any other big M, IC or NGC objects? I know you can't photograph them with that mount, but if so how well did the scope perform on those DSO's? Thanks!
My first ever scope (Apertura 8D8) is set to arrive tomorrow, I'm so excited, but you have me intrigued with this little gadget as well
Great little Mak! I have a 'new' Celestron C90 which similarly packs a superb punch for its size.
The difficulty with the C90 is that it's a lot bigger and heavier (still small by the standards of a telescope, though). You're going to need some kind of half decent mount to use it.
Not that small 60mm I often use my 25mm Pocket Borg refractor as it's quick and easy to set up.in fact I was looking at the Moon through it yesterday and the day before had it up to 21x.the matte black inside is very well though out for such a cheap scope considering that Zeiss leave the inside of their monoculars gray which means significant light lose when you are dealing with an already tiny telescope like their Zeiss Mini Quick 5x10 Monocular.
Thank you for explaining the additional focal length due to the curvature of the Meniscus lens. I've been wondering about that lately, when trying to justify the advertised focal length of assorted Maks vs their tube lengths.
The explanation was not really correct. The focal length is determined by the focal length of the primary mirror which is generally about F/2 (120mm) and the magnifying effect of the convex secondary mirror, these are generally about 5x. The pass from the meniscus is not part of the equation because it provides spherical correction but not magnification.
@@jonisaacs5176 I think Christopher was perhaps paraphrasing something I said - for convenience. As I'm sure you know, on most commercially available Maks, the secondary mirror is intimately related to the meniscus profile because the evaporated aluminium has been vacuum deposited directly on the surface of the meniscus. Thus the secondary mirror's figure and that of the central portion of the meniscus are one and the same. However, this instrument breaks that trend and the secondary is a separate glass element UV glued to the centre of the corrector - with the aluminium coating on the obverse face. But the meniscus is a lens, usually negative in this type of instrument. I meant exactly what I said in the video - the light is bent by the corrector. Thanks for posting and encouraging clarification of these points. KR RJD A&NTV
Have you tried watching planets with it?
Some *bright* DSO - globular clusters, or open clusters?
Very handy and excellent choice👍👍👍
I saw this little scope for sale, and honestly I kinda want one
Just received one of these for Christmas. Turned the focal knob from as far as it would go both ways slowly but can't loose the black spot in the center. Instructions not much help.
Cute but good luck finding things that aren't the Moon. A newbie I know started out with a 70mm Celestron Mak. She never could even find the Moon! Now she has a C6 SCT and is well on her way. The real use for this thing is as an ultra-lightweight guide scope.
great job thank you!
Thanks so much! Can you use other eyepieces with it?
Yes, as long as they are equipped with the common 1.25" barrel.
Fantastic review with loads of detailed information, are they many stockists in the uk
any info on the blue box please
shipping container door looks fun :)
The price these are being sold at (£228 to £307), you can buy the Skywatcher Heritage 150P or a 100mm with a mount.
When you said that astronomers would dismiss this is not because its small, a 60mm refractor can show plenty but a 60mm Newtonian telescope with a large central obstruction, include the loss of light transmission from the mirrors then you are talking a considerably reduced light loss.
When we were in lockdown, i tested telescopes from 76mm Newtonian - 70mm and 80mm and 90mm refractors plus aperture masks - 130mm and 8inch Newtonian, plus a pair of 50mm broken binoculars where the front lens cell screwed off, i added a zoom eyepiece to it.
To cut months and months of comparisons between telescopes to one simple paragraph, the 76mm Orion Spaceprobe || Newtonian was the equivalent of the 43mm opening of the 80mm Startravel 80 (ST80), i didn't go any lower than the 43mm opening.
Its not the size of the telescope that's the issue with some telescopes but their price to performance ratio and these are overpriced for what they have to offer those new to astronomy and may turn them away in disappointment.
Yes, I can see these are being offered for sale on Amazon UK at the moment for the prices you mention. When we presented this instrument they were selling for 100 USD in the US and about 100 GBP in the UK - the review should be understood only in terms of these initial price points. The inflated prices seem to be the work of a few individuals, who are Amazon Market place traders rather than Amazon themselves and are trying to take advantage of the supply chain interruptions caused by the popularity of the instrument. It is selling in the US currently for 130 USD (about 102 GBP today plus P&P and import fees) and as such is still the optical bargain we presented. Just look carefully at who you are buying from. KR RJD A&NTV
@@RocketPlanet The thing is, there are other, cheaper options. Svbony SV41 Spotting Scope Maksutov 20-75x70 would work just as well and is only £86.
Ok, its a spotting scope but the optics are not going to be worse, more aperture , very compact, light and waterproof.
Some would say "but it has a 45 degree diagonal", some peoples opinions are over-blown when it comes to 45 degree diagonal's, 90 or a 45 degree diagonal isn't going to make any difference on a tripod with a scope this tiny and many of us use straight through binoculars that are arguably worse for looking up without issue.
You can't use 1.25inch eyepieces but i don't see that as an issue, not for a tiny Maksutov and with these low aperture numbers, i wouldn't want to push them too high anyways.
The Sarblue is not value for money, even at its original UK price and with people being stretched financially, i would rather they get the most for what they can afford.
Would this scope go well alongside a 10 inch dobsonion?
Wow! Great Review!
Great videos, but could you set them up so that we get closed captions? It's quite simple. I just set my own videos up to provide "auto-generated English." That would be most helpful.
Probably we could use sandpaper to make inside elements mat of that kernell plossl.
Wondering what, say jupiter might look thru this one
I'd be greatly impressed if it could resolve any detail at all to the naked eye. The moons, yes of course.
I should think if it was put on a proper mount and a higher power eyepiece two cloudbelts should be visible under good conditions,although with no great detail.
Hi Gerald, I had a look at Mars with a 10mm eyepiece and managed to convince myself I could see a distinct phase shape and a hint of shading in the southern hemisphere. But I was in a bit of a hurry to cut the observing sesh. short as it was about minus 12C, and although I'm not the kind of sissy that minds losing a few fingers and toes to frostbite for the glory of astronomy, it's the gas gangrene that sets in afterwards I frown on. We'll have to be patient and wait for big Jupe and Saturn to come round again. Thanks for posting. KR RJD A&NTV