Apogee 5-inch

HOME

REVIEW ARCHIVES

Refractors
Eq. Reflectors
Dob. Reflectors
Catadioptric

Binoculars

Mounts

Eyepieces

Barlow Lenses
Books
Software
Filters
CCD-Film Photography
Finderscopes

Miscellaneous

LINKS

Links Page

FAVORITE LINKS

NASA
Astronomy Links.com
Cincinnati Observatory
Scopereviews.com
Excelsis Reviews
Cloudy Nights

Astronomy Magazine
Sky and Telescope



 



 
Date: NA
Price: $375.00 (blem) - regular $480.00
Design: 5-inch (127mm) achromatic refractor at f/9 with a focal length of 1143mm
Description: Large 127mm refractor that ships with 7x50 finder and bracket.  Also includes a two inch focuser.

The Review

I just purchased an Apogee Inc. 5" f9 achromatic refractor OTA which comes with a 2" focuser, a 7x50 finder with bracket, and tube rings.  I bought the blem for $375 + $15 shipping.  The regular price is $480 + shipping.  It was mounted on a CG-5 for initial observations (adequate, but no more, for this scope).  The excuse was the need for a decent, but relatively inexpensive and rugged scope for heavy public use at star parties.

Not extensively tested, but my brief observations left me very impressed.  Mostly observed Jupiter, Saturn, and the moon.  Very nice planetary detail at 240x (4.8mm Nagler) and 300x (Parks gold plossl). Jupiter showed at least 4 bands and Saturn showed some surface detail as well as a very clear Cassini's division.  Only double I tried was Castor, which was cleanly split at 70x.  I thought lunar detail was quite impressive as well.

Of course, color fringing was obvious on bright stars and Venus, and a star test showed some astigmatism. Clearly, this scope is not in the same league as my 6" AP, but having
literally owned dozens of scopes over the past 30 years, I have to say that this may have been the best bargain of any telescope I've bought. The performance to price ratio is just outstanding, and for someone looking in this price range I would recommend this telescope without hesitation.

Submitted by Steve Cooper

Hit Counter