I purchased the "AZ" version (no mention of XLT on it), thinking it would be a good "grab and go" for visual observations. What I found within the next few days was that:
The OTA was way out of collimation (much worse than any other refractor I've seen) and the lens cell was not adjustable. There was more CA than I expected (possibly due to the lack of collimation?). The focuser felt pretty good for a R&P, although a bit "sticky" (probably because of the gluey grease manufacturers seem to love using). Between this and the shakiness of the tripod, fine focus adjustments were difficult and quite annoying. The dovetail bar was either improperly placed or too short to allow balancing (or both).
The included eyepieces, diagonal mirror and finder looked and felt like they needed to be replaced right away. Personal preference plays a role here, as I am not a fan of plastic red dot finders or diagonal mirrors that have a plastic housing.
The aluminum tripod was shaky. It did have a decent set of stabilizing braces, but the the way the accessory tray attached to them (via a single screw placed in the center) did not help much (if at all) with the stabilizing aspect. The "traditional" design (triangular shaped tray attached with 3 screws placed in the corners) looks much better to me in this sense.
The mount looked nice in theory. It was one of the decision factors when I made the purchase, as I like the idea of slip clutches + "limitless" slow motion adjustments. Unfortunately, due to the improper balancing, the altitude control did not work evenly in both directions (and better / heavier eyepieces would most likely make the clutch slip). Changing direction on a slo-mo control involved about half a turn before the scope started moving; also, every time I adjusted the altitude, the first thing that happened was a visible shift in azimuth. Probably too much play in the gears / bearings and/or plastic parts? If adjustments were available, they were hidden under a couple of plastic caps that did not seem to be made to withstand removing and reattaching.
I see good reviews here; it could be that some of these scopes are made better than others and I was out of luck that day.
Edited by Watch&Learn, 22 February 2021 - 08:29 AM.
