Category Archives: Review

Review: From the ZEQ25 to the iOptron CEM25P

January 29, 2017 // by ecuador

If you have read my review for the iOptron ZEQ25, you might remember that I was very happy with the mount. You might also remember I had mentioned there was an updated version called the CEM25, which was the same mechanically, but had updated electronics & stepper instead of servo motors. Well, a month ago I gave in […]

Review: Inexpensive Solomark 50mm Guide Scopes (same as Orion, Starguider, TS etc)

December 18, 2016 // by ecuador

A popular guiding solution is the 50mm guide scope, often by converting an existing 9×50 finder scope. It has the advantage that it is light, it can fit on your existing finder shoe, it is very fast giving you many stars at low exposures and it can be quite effective at short and medium focal lengths. […]

Review: iOptron ZEQ25 (CEM25)

April 12, 2016 // by ecuador

Update: See how the ZEQ25 compares to the CEM25P update in my latest review. A couple of years ago I got one of the most popular Equatorial mounts for small to medium OTAs, the Skywatcher HEQ5 (known as the Orion Atlas outside Europe). I got along pretty well with it, it was paired mostly with […]

Celestron f/6.3 reducer/corrector with DSLR on C9.25

March 31, 2016 // by ecuador

Although I got my C9.25 mainly for planets, the fact that my tiny iOptron ZEQ25 mount seems to handle it for longer exposures made me look into using it for DSOs as well. The problem of course is that it is quite slow at f/10, has a very demanding 2350mm focal length and has quite […]

Starguider 2″ Field Flattener (TSFlat2) on SkyWatcher Equinox 80 ED

March 2, 2016 // by ecuador

I’ve already tried this refractor Field Flattener on a SkyWatcher Evostar 80ED in a previous post. To sum it up, it did perform well on the Evostar and the best value was the Starguider 2″ Field Flattener sold by Sky’s the Limit on ebay.co.uk, which is identical to the TSFlat2 from TS (but the TSFlat2 […]

Review: Celestron Vibration Suppression Pads

April 30, 2015 // by ecuador

My first telescope returning to astronomy after many, many years was a Celestron NexStar 127SLT Maksutov-Cassegrain with an alt-azimuth goto mount. I have to admit that I was not  very happy with the mount. The biggest problem was that it would vibrate very easily and the vibration would take 5-6 seconds to subside. It made even […]

Starguider 2″ Field Flattener (TSFlat2) on SkyWatcher Evostar 80ED

February 19, 2015 // by ecuador

The lowest cost field flattener / corrector that I could find for my SW 80ED refractor was the Starguider 2″ Field Flattener sold by Sky’s the Limit on ebay.co.uk. They have a £124 buy it now price currently. According to the seller (who is well-trusted in the UK) this is the same as the TS […]