Explore Scientific AR127 Refractor Review

[@stevejohnson1167]

Got a new one this week. The focuser now has markings. Works very well.

[@billducas]

I understand the issue with Explore Scientific customer service. You used to be able to talk to a representive on the phone. Now you can't. And forget replacement parts on a scope that is only one and a half years old. This is like how Orion started treating their customers before that went out of business. Orion used to have the best customer service around. It was E.S.'s owner Scott that talked me into getting a refractor at N.E.A.F. 2023. I only had reflectors, MCT's, and SCT's before. I bought an Explore Scientific AR102 telescope, a Twilight 1 mount, and 6 premium eyepieces from them. I offered to pay what ever it takes to get the part that I needed. They now say that none of their telescopes have that part, even though several members in our club have the same scope and all have the same part. It's frustrating.

[@kennethshaw8388]

Good overview. Thanks. I have two ES scopes the AR102 and the ED127. Both are nice scopes for the price with good optics. Sorry you had such angst over the finder base. Scopestuff has an ES to Synta-style adapter for $29 that would have saved you a ton of negotiations with ES customer support. Also mounting a finder base to the handle is simple.

[@AllanHall]

I am often using the handle to mount a camera so that didn't work and when I tried to find an adapter years ago when I bought the scope, I could not find on. In fact the suppliers that ES sent me to in an attempt to source such a thing told me they didn't think one existed. Nice that they have them now however I like not having to use an adapter when I can.

[@Tony67032]

Kenneth Shaw , hello I read your comment about the adapter for the finder scope base from the es to synta-style , by anychange do you hae the part number of it. thanks

[@kennethshaw8388]

The adapter is sold by ScopeStuff # S2ES for $29.99.

[@ericmartin6142]

Good video. Did you find a way to rotate the focuser? And what are those two differently-sized screws underneath it? ES has no documentation or videos on this scope :(

[@bobbya8622]

Thanks. I always enjoy your reviews! I am getting an 8” 208mm reflector (Bresser) that I have ordered from ExploreScientific, and I have had to contact their customer service a few times regarding the order, or should I say that I’ve tried to contact their customer service. Most of the time the phone just rings and rings without anyone answering. The more I learn about the telescope, and ExploreScientific in general, the more concern I am developing about that telescope. I haven’t gotten it yet. If you happen to notice this comment from 5 years in the future (😊), would you by any chance have any positives about the Bresser 8” 208mm that they currently sell in 2021 that can help alleviate my concerns?

[@AllanHall]

Honestly their equipment isn’t bad, but their customer service is horrible. I am personally much happier with people that treat me well, even if I have to pay more. I wont ever purchase anything explore scientific again probably, 100% due to being treated more like an annoyance than a customer. Sorry you are having issues, but I am not at all surprised.

[@bobbya8622]

@@AllanHall thanks for responding to my question. It is appreciated!

[@alphaphotoandvideo]

Nice video.... please help me: this telescope or Celestron SE6 ???

[@AllanHall]

The SE6 includes a mount whereas this one does not. If you are wanting to get up and running fast and easy, the SE6 might be a solution. The AR127 would technically be a "better" scope if you are looking for quality of views. It would also accept 2" eyepieces whereas the SE6 does not without some new accessories (and even then, that is not a real good idea due to small internal baffles). Overall, the SE6 is more of a beginner scope and the AR127 is more intermediate.

[@Janet_Airlines802]

Can you see deepsky objects like nebula and galaxies with it? Looking for a telescope to mainly look through the viewfinder at planets and deepsky objects.

[@AllanHall]

It will give you good views of the larger deep sky objects and the moon. The vast majority of the Messier objects will look great!

[@Janet_Airlines802]

Allan Hall I ended up getting the Celestron 6se as my first telescope. Waiting for it to arrive today. Luckily I have clear skies tonight to try it out.

[@AllanHall]

mike burns Nothing wrong with the 6SE. The views wont be as nice as a 127mm refractor, but you will get to see a lot more because of the goto that the 6SE offers. That 6SE is also a lot easier to lug around. Hope you get a lot of enjoyment out of it! Clear skies!

[@W4rcrafter]

Would you recommend the 127 ED for astrophotography ? Thanks for the nice and simple video of the product !

[@3dfxvoodoocards6]

I would really like to buy one but there are none in Europe. I cannot find them in Europe.

[@VijayJadhav-ng8hm]

I want to know how much his weight without finder scope, Diagonal and holding ring and dove tale plate. I have iOptron Smart EQ pro+ mount i want to know can i go for this telescope coz mount has the 5Kg paylode capacity and i read in spec. Some web site showing me 4.7kg and some web site said 5.2 kg including all Accessories....can you pleas guid me...🙏🙏🙏 . . 🔭Thank you🔭

[@mmurray571]

I have looked at the First Light version of this AR127. It has an f/9.4 w/1200mm focal length. My question is how bad would the chromatic abberation be in this scope?

[@AllanHall]

I have never used one of the First Light scopes but I can offer a semi-educated guess: Since the FL 127mm scope including a alt-az mount costs less than just the AR127 I will venture to guess it is not as well corrected and probably uses cheaper glass which would result in an inferior image. Take that with quite a bit of salt since I have never used the FL version. If you are on a budget the Celestron refractors I have seen are very good for the money. Not as good as the AR127, but cheaper and still pretty good. The Celestron Omni XLT 120mm is around $650 with an EQ mount.

[@ohwell2790]

Put the red dot finder as far forward on a refactor as possible and then they work fine and figure it out.

[@Leinadcpr]

Hello Allan: Great video. I ordered an Explore Scientific FirstLight MAK100mm to start watching the sky but unfortunately is in back order and the store told me that it will be shipped around August (that makes my cry when I see Jupiter and Saturn every night). I'm considering doing astrophotography eventually and for that reason, I'm considering canceling the MAK100mm for an AR102 to start making visual until I can afford a DSLR or CCD camera. What do you think? Thanks in advance.

[@calypsopiter]

What's the weight of it more less (in real)?

[@TheAlicalm]

Thanks for the review. Could you recommend a telescope for astrophotography with $500 budget?

[@AllanHall]

It all depends on what you want to do. Astrophotography can cover a huge amount of territory. Do you have anything? Are you looking for just the scope, or also for a mount etc?

[@TheAlicalm]

@@AllanHall I'd like to take photos of nebulas :) I have a Canon EOS Ra, a tripad and start-watcher. So I guess the best option is an Apo-refractor OTA ~80mm. Right?

[@eliavedri7876]

Will the AR 152 be better for AstroPhotography? Or do you recommend a different one? lets say up to 1000$ mabe a bit more

[@AllanHall]

The AR152 is not really an astrophotography scope although you certainly could use it as such. You are likely to run into some serious false color issues around bright stars and planets. You might could address some of this with careful stretching or a filter such as the Baader Semi APO amzn.to/2GynoSd. Note that the filter and stretching carefully might help, they will not remove all the issues caused by using a non-APO scope for astrophotography. As for a different scope, what you really want is something like the Orion 115 APO amzn.to/2GzF3sM but it is around $1500. Remember that in astrophotography you do not want or need a large scope as it would require too large of a mount. This 115mm APO is the closest they have to the one I use for all my AP work (mine is a much older model). The Orion ED80T triplet amzn.to/2GBN7cn is a really nice scope for widefield work and larger targets at around $900. If you are on a tight budget you could look at the Orion 80mm APO amzn.to/2N2MBpe for around $450. This would also be an excellent scope to use while you saved up for the bigger $1500 version.

[@eliavedri7876]

@@AllanHall Thanks for the detailed answer, I was thinking about the Explore Scientific ed102 i will need to buy in addition a finder scope And of course a mount. The Celestron Advanced VX is a good one, Plus there are all kinds of accessories and lenses etc ... I'm not going to exceed the budget of 2k$ in the first purchase.

[@AllanHall]

@vertex2100 True enough, but you trade CA for coma, longer cool down times and higher wind loads. Unfortunately there is no free lunch :-)

[@ignatprokhoropchyuck4652]

APO 152 mm will be the best for AstroPhotography!

[@fernandomartin8147]

Hi Allan, if i want to do DSO photography with which telescope should i go. Refractor or Reflector (i was considering Skywatcher 150/750 on a EQ5) thanks for your advice

[@AllanHall]

That's a dangerous question :-) I am a refractor guy so my answer will almost always be "buy the refractor" however the reflector does gather more light. Most of the serious AP guys I know all have refractors so that may tell you something.

[@GaryMCurran]

The day that someone designs and builds the 'perfect telescope' is the day all the other manufacturers go out of business. There is no perfect scope, for visual or for AP. My recommendation is to start with Stellarium, the planetarium software. In that program, you can model telescopes. That will give you an approximation of what you might expect to see. Along with the telescope, you can also model eyepieces, but more importantly, camera sensors. The combination of camera sensors and telescopes will have a huge effect on what your final image looks like. Personally, I would start out with a 70-80mm refractor. A triplet would be my choice, and Explore Scientific makes a nice ED scope. telescopes.net/store/telescopes/explore-scientific-ed80mm-f-6-classic-white-essential-series-air-spaced-triplet-refractor-17607.html Coupled with a ZWO 294 camera telescopes.net/store/imaging/zwo-asi294mc-pro-imx294-color-cmos-camera.html you should be able to fit the Andromeda Galaxy in edge to edge on the sensor. Both the Heart and Soul Nebulae would also fit on this sensor, if you use a 0.8x reducer/flattener. That's for the larger objects, but if you want to do something like M81/M82, you can easily fit both in the image, but still have plenty of room left over. If you wanted to use the AR127, you could just fit M81, M82 and the Garland Galaxy into the same image. telescopes.net/store/telescopes/explore-scientific-ed127-classic-white-air-spaced-triplet-refractor.html Finally, after buying those two scopes, I would go for a catadioptric scope, telescopes.net/store/telescopes/tpo-6-f-9-ritchey-chretien-steel-astrograph-with-2-focuser.html Of course, your question was two years ago, and the prices have gone up since then, but then, as now, you should expect to spend over $3,000, now, closer to $4,000 to get into a halfway decent AP rig. I haven't even touched on the mount yet, either. Here's a good mount with enough payload capacity to carry everything I've listed, with room for growth. telescopes.net/store/mounts-tripods/ioptron-cem40-center-balance-equatorial-mount-with-2-inch-tripod-7402.html So, AP isn't inexpensive, if you want the good stuff. You can substitute achromats for both the refractor telescopes and realize a large saving, and something like the Baader Fringe killer should help reduce CA to some extent, but it's a trade-off in the end. If not for you, I hope this reply helps someone else in the future.

[@MrMa1981]

Is - generally - a better choice buy a scope that support 2" lens instead 1.25? Even if a couple of them costs 200 dollars?

[@AllanHall]

Generally, yes, I would prefer a scope that will use 2" eyepieces since I have several 2" eyepieces. If however you are a beginner and are purchasing an inexpensive telescope then it may not be an issue. You can get a wide range of beginner eyepieces in the 1.25" format.

[@MrMa1981]

@@AllanHall Thanks. Yes, I'm a truly beginner. I even don't have a real scope or real mount, just a tripod and an old (well, my dad has) Nikkor ED 400mm 5.6 camera lens with a 2x teleconverter plus - I think - a 10x converter as ocular; it works great honestly... Moon's details are great but I saw only Venus last week; right now weather sucks) but, if it works like in machining, and I think so, if you buy cheap stuff, you'll spend the money twice. Thanks again from Italy.

[@codemowa]

Hello Allan. Can you help me urgently, please? I could get a BRESSER MESSIER AR-127S / 635 EXOS-2 GOTO around 700 ,. Can you make deep sky shots with this mount? M42, M31, M33, etc., they have many different opinions. The mount looks very good as new and is little needed. If you could help me quickly please, I would be very happy for your opinion. Greetings from Tyrol Walter

[@ohwell2790]

Ever heard of a ruler to measure the distance needed ????

[@RaysAstrophotography]

Pretty good review

[@samh4232]

Can you put their rack and pinion focused on this scope, I think it's the $150 one?

[@AllanHall]

Honestly I do not know, and even if you should, why would you want to go RP when you have a crayford already there?

[@samh4232]

Allan Hall I think the one I am referring to is a crayford, it's just much more robust and chunkier. Yes would be a bad idea to go backwards to a true rack and pinion from a a crayford! It's a 10:1 or 11:1 gear ration as well

[@Dr.Pepper001]

When my mother-in-law comes to visit, I turn this scope around and look at her through the main objective...

[@karuneshkaimal]

How bad is CA ?

[@AllanHall]

For the price, CA is very tolerable. No, you are not going to want to do AP with it. There are "fringe killer" filters out there that might help but for visual use I am perfectly happy with it.

[@dankahraman354]

Get a fringe killer filter from Baader. CA issue solved. Cheaply!>>>www.nexstarsite.com/Reviews/BaaderFringeKiller.htm

[@karuneshkaimal]

@@dankahraman354 was a good purchase , thanks

[@3dfxvoodoocards6]

2:10 - now it’s 750 $ usd

[@uriahheep8470]

Thanks for the no nonsense review.

[@dankahraman354]

Use a Baader Planetarium Semi APO filter and you will get much better views.

[@ohwell2790]

In other words get a fringe killer UV filter, duh

[@skyprop]

Now remind us that the $500 is for the telescope only and Not including the mount.

[@spatialfrance]

Thank you.

[@ohwell2790]

All focusers gave back lash so that is a non issue.

[@lornaz1975]

I have found Explore Scientific's customer service lets say hit and miss. A lot better than B&H Photo who ripped me off for several hundred dollars.

[@XPFTP]

bending a wrench isnt a big deal... thats what cheap tools are for..

[@ohwell2790]

Good comment ,making things work takes some thinking. I cut slots in the finder mounts so I can use radiator clamps to put them where ever I want to, why drill holes in the scope?. Like, why do they put the finder scope mount in the way of the eye piece. I put mine side by side so the eye piece and finder scope diagonal are at the same level . Mount my red dot finder as far forward on the telescope as possible using the same method, but on the opposite side so I can look up the telescope without anything in the way and do not have to get on my knees to see through it. Make the telescope easy to use and you will use it more often. My right eye is the eye I use use so everything is mounted so nothing gets in the way. Good seeing and you are right, figure it out and use it.

[@davidbrandenburg8029]

they did those bolts that way so you cant maintain your telescope yourself

[@AllanHall]

Considering the attitude I saw with their customer service reps and sales people, I would not doubt that for a minute. That's why I have stayed away from them for my personal gear, I don't need the aggravation.

[@MarkMphonoman]

That refractor is too big for me. Need a grab and go. Like my Televue TV-85 for quick views.

[@xsauce3858]

This scope cost $600

[@jimmcfarland3446]

Astrofertografy

[@randycunningham1221]

Surprised a guy of you skill would buy such a poor telescope. Seems more research could have been done but thanks for the review. Check out Woodland Hills Doctor D reviews very different point of view.