13 replies to this topic

[Planethunter80]

Hi everyone,hope you all are doing well. 

 

I am getting ready to pull the trigger on a new scope(or new to me)and want to make sure I research everything as well as I can.

Since I feel as if Lunar and Planetary observing will be the area I concentrate the most I have a question or 2(or 100...lol). 

 

I have seen the Vixen VMC-110l and I think it is absolutely awe inspiring. Now what I want to know is are the optics as amazing as the scope looks. Especially for planetary use. Thanks Everyone. 

[Jaimo!]

You may want to look for some on-line reviews...  I have not looked through one, but I have not yet heard any raving reviews. 

 

In that price range there are a host of 127ish mm traditional Maksutovs that may be better suited.

 

Jaimo!

[Jaimo!]

You may want to start on this thread...  It is a recent thread on 127mm Maks.

 

Are most of the 127mm Maks pretty much the same?

 

Good luck,

Jaimo!

[Planethunter80]

You may want to look for some on-line reviews...  I have not looked through one, but I have not yet heard any raving reviews. 

 

In that price range there are a host of 127ish mm traditional Maksutovs that may be better suited.

 

Jaimo!

Thanks indeed for the reply. 

I have done some searching and have not been able to find many reviews(nor many threads)that are about this scope and its smaller brother(VMC-95).

I like the idea of there being no corrector plate for quicker cool downs. However I have a great deal to learn and I have to begin to recognize what is just advertising hype. 

[Jaimo!]

I did a search here in the Cats and Casses forum on "Vixen VMC 110"

 

https://www.cloudyni...10#entry6870098

 

https://www.cloudyni...7-vixen-vmc110/

 

https://www.cloudyni...10#entry5717104

 

You can also use Google and target Cloudy Nights, Ice in Space and Stargazers Lounge, those are some of the better on-line chat rooms.

 

Jaimo!

[Planethunter80]

I did a search here in the Cats and Casses forum on "Vixen VMC 110"

 

https://www.cloudyni...10#entry6870098

 

https://www.cloudyni...7-vixen-vmc110/

 

https://www.cloudyni...10#entry5717104

 

You can also use Google and target Cloudy Nights, Ice in Space and Stargazers Lounge, those are some of the better on-line chat rooms.

 

Jaimo!

Indeed thank you .

I cant wait until I learn my way around the forum to find these items.

 

Your kindness is appreciated and I see with the staff and members of this forum why it is so higly respected and thought of.  

[chris charen]

Hi yes I have one.

I acquired a as new VMC 100 Vixen about 2 months ago.

I was going to get the Celestron C90 but this came up and for great price and I thought the extra 20 mm aperture would greatly help.

I had is out last night and compared it to some other similar sized scopes I have, a Vixen 100 ED [Synta] and my modified Terabeam Meade 125 ETX. [I like collecting / selling scopes.]

It summary, I like the little Vixen 110, it is a well-built all metal scope with good but not excellent optics. [ Yes, it’s a ‘compromise’ scope which Catadioptric scopes are.]

On the brighter planets it gives good sharpish images, it makes an excellent lunar scope, but is limited on DSOs. [Naturally]. It does make a nice day time spotting scope.

Some reviewers as you have read do give it mixed results and collimation can be difficult but this one is well collimated.

Cool  down is around 30 minutes. The FOV is slightly wider being an F/9 compared to other MC designs at F/14 or so but don't expect wide image views. 

Maximum magnification is around the 200x mark, best range is 100x – 160x, after that the image softens.

I have it generally on a  Vixen Porta 11 Mount so it is an easy grap and go scope. I do not use the flip mirror. There is no mirror flop which some SCT's appear to have.

On planets the Vixen 100 ED wins and beats the Meade 125 Terabeam in ultimate sharpness. The Meade is slightly brighter however. The little Vixen 110 came in a reasonably close third but was going to be beaten any way. The Vixen is half the weight of the 125 Meade and certainly far more portable.

The Vixen is good scope, it gives good images and is reasonably user friendly, however, [there is always a but], you also need to look at many of the  80 mm doublets available also as an option.

An 80  mm doublet ED, [I have had several doublets and triplets ], will give you sharper planetary images esp. at higher mags and with a similar brightness as to the Vixen 110. The light transmission of the Vixen 110 is about the same as a 90 mm refractor. [ CO and other factors like excessively thick vanes.] A used 80  APO doublet should be available as the same price as a new 110 Vixen. Remember that is you specifically want to observe planets only a 80 mm ED may be the way to go. [Then of course  a 100 mm ED would be even better !]

Still, I do recommend the little Vixen VMC 110 scope it is well made, easy to use, it gives a good images and is highly portable.

 

Chris

Edited by chris charen, 25 October 2017 - 12:14 AM.

[Planethunter80]

Hi yes I have one.

I acquired a as new VMC 100 Vixen about 2 months ago.

I was going to get the Celestron C90 but this came up and for great price and I thought the extra 20 mm aperture would greatly help.

I had is out last night and compared it to some other similar sized scopes I have, a Vixen 100 ED [Synta] and my modified Terabeam Meade 125 ETX. [I like collecting / selling scopes.]

It summary, I like the little Vixen 110, it is a well-built all metal scope with good but not excellent optics. [ Yes, it’s a ‘compromise’ scope which Catadioptric scopes are.]

On the brighter planets it gives good sharpish images, it makes an excellent lunar scope, but is limited on DSOs. [Naturally]. It does make a nice day time spotting scope.

Some reviewers as you have read do give it mixed results and collimation can be difficult but this one is well collimated.

Cool  down is around 30 minutes. The FOV is slightly wider being an F/9 compared to other MC designs at F/14 or so but don't expect wide image views. 

Maximum magnification is around the 200x mark, best range is 100x – 160x, after that the image softens.

I have it generally on a  Vixen Porta 11 Mount so it is an easy grap and go scope. I do not use the flip mirror. There is no mirror flop which some SCT's appear to have.

On planets the Vixen 100 ED wins and beats the Meade 125 Terabeam in ultimate sharpness. The Meade is slightly brighter however. The little Vixen 110 came in a reasonably close third but was going to be beaten any way. The Vixen is half the weight of the 125 Meade and certainly far more portable.

The Vixen is good scope, it gives good images and is reasonably user friendly, however, [there is always a but], you also need to look at many of the  80 mm doublets available also as an option.

An 80  mm doublet ED, [I have had several doublets and triplets ], will give you sharper planetary images esp. at higher mags and with a similar brightness as to the Vixen 110. The light transmission of the Vixen 110 is about the same as a 90 mm refractor. [ CO and other factors like excessively thick vanes.] A used 80  APO doublet should be available as the same price as a new 110 Vixen. Remember that is you specifically want to observe planets only a 80 mm ED may be the way to go. [Then of course  a 100 mm ED would be even better !]

Still, I do recommend the little Vixen VMC 110 scope it is well made, easy to use, it gives a good images and is highly portable.

 

Chris

Chris may I say thank you whole heartedly for your kind reply. 

It does sound as if it is good at many things but not great at any one in particular.

 

I will continue my research into this(and other scopes)to see what will be the greatest fit for my viewing habits. However that word(collimation)scares me as a newer scope user.

Again Thank You Sincerely. 

[Tropobob]

I had one, never liked its images and sold it off cheaply. It looked great though, but was a very disappointing scope.

IMHO, its OK for terrestrial viewing only.

[Planethunter80]

I had one, never liked its images and sold it off cheaply. It looked great though, but was a very disappointing scope.

IMHO, its OK for terrestrial viewing only.

Thanks for the info Tropobob. 

It is a good looking scope. However if its not a good performer then perhaps I need to steer clear of it.

 

I was hoping to use it for lunar and planetary work(especially with Mars approaching).

[Planethunter80]

Now that I see that most people aren't too fond of the astronomical views provided by the Vixen VMC 110L, it's a scope I will most likely steer clear of. However I do wonder what people think of the Vixen VMC-95L(the 110's little brother).

 

Even though it shares the same design does it perform any better because of the smaller mirrors.

[mwr]

Hello Viking 1,

 

I'm a new member and I just stumbled over this topic. I'm using the VMC 110L since last year as an "allrounder" telescope for planetary and deep sky imaging. However, I'm an astrophtotography beginner but I'm quite happy with its performance. You can see some sample images in my gallery.

 

Best regards

 

Matthias

[Eddgie]

 I do wonder what people think of the Vixen VMC-95L(the 110's little brother).

 

Even though it shares the same design does it perform any better because of the smaller mirrors.

My advice is to avoid these small cats completely.  They just are not very good at anything other than being very small.  A good 80mm ED doublet would be a far better scope for planets and everything else and would not be much bigger than the VMC 95 (and I would take it over the VMC 110 too).

 

Now I have not owned either of these scopes, but I have owned cats of similar aperture and they were very underwhelming to use as compared to something like a 100mm f/9 ED refractor which would do a much better job for Mars but would be far from my top choice.

 

If Mars is the target of your dreams, I would try for a bigger scope like an 8" f/6 dob. 

 

The main problem with these small scopes is that by the time you get the magnification up there so that Mars will be big enough to see the Polar Caps or any surface detail as something other than being hinted at, the view will be so dim that you will probably have problems with floaters or with a grainy image.   

 

An 8" f/6 dob is a very capable planetary scope.  A far better choice for seeing Mars because these others will just show you a small, blotchy ball.

 

Not that you can't do planetary observing with a small scope. Heck, you can see Jupiter's moons in a pair of binoculars.  The difference is that one way, you see them, and the other way, you get to observe detail on them. 

If it must be a small Cat, shoot for a C6. If you are lucky and it has excellent optics (not something I would count on) it might do a bit better than a 100mm f/9 ED.  A C8 would be better than that, and the 8" f/6 Newt will be better still. 

[Traveler]

"My advice is to avoid these small cats completely..."

 

This is an excellent advice.