Vixen VMC110L, any good?

[M.]

I was just having a peek on FLO for a second scope and I like the look and price of this vixen.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/vixen/vixen-vmc110l.html

I was just curious to see what you peeps thought?

[BAZ]

I have the slightly smaller VMC95L, which I bought for £90 second hand at Kelling. A bargain I thought and I have been using it as a grab & go.

 

It has pin sharp views, but a narrow field of view due to the long focal length. For the Moon it is superb, and can be cranked up to 200X quite happily. It can see banding on Jupiter, but doesn't have enough light grasp to really tackle it properly. They don't have a corrector plate at the front, this is done by a meniscus corrector lens in front of the secondary. The benefit of this is quite a quick cool down period, and isn't too bad straight out of the house.

 

If you can pick one up, then they are well worth the money. Bear in mind the red dot finder is £80's  worth and other than the top end Baader's, one of the better one's on the market.

 

Have a squint here, it will let you see what's what.

 

http://scopeviews.co.uk/VixenVMC95.htm

Edited July 19, 2015 by BAZ
Added link.

[Doc]

Why do you need a another SCT. You are not gaining nothing over your C8

 

If I was you and I needed a second scope to compliment your C8 I would look at a Dob or a refractor.

 

Then you have your C8 for double stars and planets , and a dob for deep sky stuff.

[M.]

Thanks.

It ticks all the boxes as we were thinking moon obversing and the dual port allows for a camera (I'm a total noob on photography)

Also, I kinda like the aesthetics and the cool down was a real,issue the other night with my C8!

It was the first time I'd noticed a struggle in focus and I soon realised it was perhaps the coldest night for me using the scope too.

[M.]

Why do you need a another SCT. You are not gaining nothing over your C8

 

If I was you and I needed a second scope to compliment your C8 I would look at a Dob or a refractor.

 

Then you have your C8 for double stars and planets , and a dob for deep sky stuff.

I thought I'd try a more modern scope out and the missus likes the moon. If I buy this, I get my C8 all to myself lol

[BAZ]

It won't beat the C8 on the Moon. But as a grab & go it's a good scope and punches well above it's weight.

 

I reckon you need to have a look through some scopes before you commit to buying another one. The reason I say this is don't fall into the hole I dug for myself with my first scope. (Meade ETX 80. Great optics, but the GoTo mount was made by a tractor manufacturer). This had two Quasars and a Black Hole in the GoTo menu.

 

If you are going down the astrophotography route, then the mount is the crucial bit of this. This is for stability and accurate tracking, stick a ED80 on top and you are on the way.

For deep sky objects then you need light grasp. The cost effective way down this road is a Dob. It's a basic Alt/Az mount with the majority of the money going into the optics. A decent Refractor will cover a lot of bases, but again some are better for visual and others for imaging.

It's a minefield out there, just be careful with your money. 

[M.]

It won't beat the C8 on the Moon. But as a grab & go it's a good scope and punches well above it's weight.

 

I reckon you need to have a look through some scopes before you commit to buying another one. The reason I say this is don't fall into the hole I dug for myself with my first scope. (Meade ETX 80. Great optics, but the GoTo mount was made by a tractor manufacturer). This had two Quasars and a Black Hole in the GoTo menu.

 

If you are going down the astrophotography route, then the mount is the crucial bit of this. This is for stability and accurate tracking, stick a ED80 on top and you are on the way.

For deep sky objects then you need light grasp. The cost effective way down this road is a Dob. It's a basic Alt/Az mount with the majority of the money going into the optics. A decent Refractor will cover a lot of bases, but again some are better for visual and others for imaging.

It's a minefield out there, just be careful with your money.

I've come to learn very quickly that this hobby is full of choices

I can see why a lot of us stargazers have more than one scope now.