What's Up? Webcast: Starlux 190 Overview

What's Up? Webcast: Starlux 190 Overview
(Episode 167)
The Starlux 190 is the online Maksutov-Newtonian currently in the Sky-Watcher line up. We take a close look what what this unquiet telescope has to offer from both a visual and imaging perspective. You maybe surprised to see just how good these telescopes are!
What's Up? webcast take place right here on the Sky-Watcher USA KZbin channel every Friday from 10am to 11am Pacific.
For more information on Sky-Watcher products please visit www.skywatcherusa.com

[@testboga5991]

Great that a company that sells so affordable scopes also makes such great videos!

[@larrychristianson2244]

Thanks for the detailed review. I've been considering this one for a while, but there's been limited info on-line that I could find. I have called a couple of dealers, but they've never had one on hand. I'm returning to the hobby after a 40 year hiatus. It's astounding the amount, variety and capability of equipment available now. I made all of my previous scopes, about a dozen of them ranging from 4.25 to 12.5". My favorites were the faster scopes and their wide fields. It's amusing that people are afraid of collomation; it was just something you did, no big deal. Initially I think I'll focus (pun) on visual while I get my sky orientation back, photography options now are amazing (tri-x push processed anyone?). I'm in a suburban area. On the best of nights I can glimpse the milky way. Unfortunately, no clubs nearby for advice and try-outs.

[@deepdiver0101]

These are great, but take care not to collimate only like a newtonian. The field stop is at the corrector meniscus, rather than the primary mirror. While a newt can be perfectly collimated by aligning the secondary mechanically and optically with the primary and the focuser, it can be done where that right angle relationship is not aligned with the optical axis down the centre of the tube. In that case, your illumination is slightly offset (corrected by flats) but the newt is still collimated. In a Mak-Newt, the primary and meniscus must be perfectly square to each other, and both of those and the focuser must be arranged so that the optical axis matches the mechanical axis straight down the centre of the tube. This is not needed for a standard newt, but mak-newt will have weird stars unless the primary and meniscus are parallel and perfectly square, and when they are, that their relationship to the focuser is perfectly parallel to the OTA. TL;DR - use secondary rotation and movement of the focuser (up and down the tube that mak-newts allow, you'll see the allowance on the focuser that you wont see on any other design) to do the collimation and don't touch the primary. they are great optical designs.

[@Guido_XL]

The Sky-Watcher Mak-Newt 190/1000 has been my largest telescope since 2020, when I bought it from First Light Optics in England. It is an amazingly good telescope, albeit a handful. The weight is not the issue though. I have no trouble mounting it onto the Celestron CGEM, holding it with both arms, resting it partly on my chest, whilst my hands tighten the CGEM's fixture knobs behind it. Lately, I have been using it to take video-captures from Mars, Venus, Saturn and Jupiter. It certainly does not outperform the larger Mak-Cass and Schmidt-Cass competitors, but it comes really close to them, which is quite a feat for a Newt. The downside may be the 1000 mm, as this does not offer opportunities to photograph the larger celestial objects out there. But for that purpose, a smaller APO is more appropriate anyway. Needless to say that I will never give up on my SW 190/1000 Mak-Newt. In wintertime, I wrap it inside a piece of yoga mat, which helps to prevent its premature cooling. I also added aftermarket car-seat heaters underneath the yoga mat, which prevents cooling under really frosty conditions (the corrector plate is obviously most susceptible to condensation), I use a yoga mat to act as a passive dew cap, which suffices when it's not too cold yet. It amazes me every time again as how quickly during the night, the air becomes saturated with moisture, even in midst summer. The Mak-Newt is prone to suffer from dew on its corrector plate, but once you know how to handle this, it's not a real problem anymore.

[@Mark-MensHealthandPT]

They're not coma free or completely flat field, they are well corrected for C sized sensors. Coma in a maksutov Newtonian is generally 1/2 of a same focal ratio Schmidt Newtonian, and 1/4 of a same focal ratio standard Newtonian. It is however suppressed below visual threshold and suppressed to well corrected on an aps C sensor.

[@AA-vs9kh]

Thanks for an awesome overview. Can an aftermarket RnP focuser be added?

[@SkyWatcherUSA]

Moonlite is the only third party focuser we have seen customers successfully switch out to. Just make sure you pay very close attention that you do not mess with the optics.

[@j.s.3407]

listed as best for APS-C or smaller, but what would it look like if I used a IMX455 (ASI6200mm) camera?

[@SkyWatcherUSA]

You will get light fall off towards the edges. A flat will help with that but the 455 is pushing it a little.

[@stevenhanson2546]

I have one of these and found that I had to use an off-axis guider due to some flexure in the system. I'm assuming the movement was in the focuser. Is there a better, more sturdy, focuser that can be fitted to this scope so I can use a guide scope and tracking camera? Using the OAG limits what can be installed between the focuser and the camera and in some areas of the sky, limits the tracking stars available due to the 1,000 mm focal length. I really like the images I get from this scope.

[@SkyWatcherUSA]

Flexure is common with all newtonians. Many customers have switched the focuser out on this telescope with a motorized Moonlite focuser. That seems to be the most popular option.

[@pedrobento5821]

Hello. Apart of the difraction spikes, is there a realy advantage on this telescopes, in therms of general image quality, comparing with a tradicional newtonian with a good coma corrector?

[@SkyWatcherUSA]

Flat field and coma free without any accessories or expenses basically.

[@Berlyn1979]

Even if you move the secundary and mess with the offset, there are methods to correct this value, so if you have to do it, you could still colimate well using methods seen in Cloudy Nights by users. Mine came a little off from the factory.

[@Mark-MensHealthandPT]

Collimating it is a different activity to changing the offset. Changing the offset which some people tried in order to install early version moonlite focusers, screwed up the optics. As Kevin has said in various videos, it's no more complex than collimating a standard Newtonian, and the secondary offset position should never be touched.

[@Berlyn1979]

What i said is that even if you change the secundary offset position, you can still get it back to the correct position using non traditional methods of collimating found in Cloudy Night forum. So if you lost the position, the tube could be fix, just with a little more effort.@@Mark-MensHealthandPT

[@marcusa3177]

...any chance SkyWatcher would make a smaller brother of this? Like, scale everything down - shorter FL, smaller mirror, maybe even a slightly lower F-ratio, etc. - such that it's still competitive with similarly-sized refractors but we still get the benefits of this design?

[@dominickzaucha]

That would be awesome, ES used to make something like that. David Levy Comet Hunter

[@SkyWatcherUSA]

We asked the factory to do a 140mm years ago but it never went anywhere.

[@dominickzaucha]

@@SkyWatcherUSA that would have been an awesome system, competing with the best refractors

[@kellytaylor3915]

Make 254mm in either F/ 15 MakCass or the Mak Newtonian.

[@MrKA1961]

For a 254 mm the meniscus will make it very large and heavy, people won't like it, it would have a 3-4 hours cooling time.

[@mattysastropics]

Just got this scope. No manual - nothing online or in the box. Watching this video, there are all these "things you should never do" or you will screw this up. Why not some diagrams and instructions, especially for collimation? It's almost like SW has given up supporting this system, but you're still selling it. My Quattro 200P came with a 13-page manual and it sounds infinitely simpler to maintain than this scope. Then there is the focuser. I don't understand why companies market telescopes as "astrographs," but put cheap components that need replacing. Same thing with the spider on the Quattro scopes - those things are pretty bad. Flimsy metal and the nuts on the end are held together with tiny little pop rivet. Why not charge a bit more money and make sure all the critical components are of high quality? We're astrophotographers - we pay $100 for stupid adapter plates and rings. We'll pay a few hundred more bucks for something that comes from the factory without needing to be modded in order to support bigger cameras and/or mono setups with filter wheels and OAGs. I love Sky-Watcher products; your optics, tubes, baffles are great. I just wish you would do better knowing your customers and delivering products that match their needs off the shelf. I hope I can make the stock focuser work - I couldn't on my Quattro. It just won't support the weight of my mono kit when an EAF was installed (making the focus locking screw unusable. Sounds like if it can't, I have to take an extraordinarily high risk in replacing the focuser or give up on automation of the rig.

[@cemoguz2786]

you guys really should add a manuel for people who masses their adjustmets even knowing what is what is almost imposible. I have no choice but mass up more or just give up my scope after alot of frustrating nights. I do not mind serching info for my hobies I even do with my free time but this become obligation and frustration. You have some manuels for newtonians why not put a extra one for this scope. I love the scope do not get me wrong but one misshap and you are done and can not even find info. I sould be rely the company not read endless pages about SkyWatcher 190 secondry miror. I am not trying to be rude or blame anyone but I thing there should be some info for people how their stuff works. This is why people just gets refractor and does not want to deal with any mirors. instead of just do not touch it you can give some info about funcunalty it is 53 minute video you guys have time. What about people who want to change focuser do you want them to send it to you or just sell the scope all together. I am sorry I am a bit frustrated about industry assumes eveyone expert at everything.

[@SkyWatcherUSA]

We are working on it.

[@MrKA1961]

Unfortunately this one has a frustratingly large central obstruction...This is why I didn't buy it.

[@SkyWatcherUSA]

Its made for imaging so it needs to have the larger secondary. If you want a Mak-Newt with a small secondary look at a used Intes or better yet, Ceravolo 145.