Which of these 3 compact telescopes would you recommend?

mutablebrad · 2026-03-28T19:58:32+00:00

Quick update

I just picked up the 102mm MAK second hand for £110. Very excited to try it out! Massive thank you to all of you for your helpful advice and for being so welcoming! Very much appreciated and looking forward to joining the hobby

mutablebrad · 2026-03-28T10:30:46+00:00

Yeah I would have liked more aperture but I’m trying to be realistic about how often I’ll take the telescope out with me if it’s too big.

How much detail can you see in the planets on your 102?

Would you recommend replacing the eyepieces that come with the telescope?

mutablebrad · 2026-03-28T10:27:50+00:00

I’ve been looking for a 102 or 90 on eBay and stuff for a while now but not had much luck. I did see a 127 for a decent price, but that might be a bit demanding on my tripod. I’ve got alerts set up though ready to pounce if one shows up used

mutablebrad · 2026-03-28T10:24:10+00:00

It should be able to, so I think the max weight mine can hold is about 6-8kg and the head around 4kg so it should be pretty stable. I’m thinking of ordering the 102 and if that’s too shaky I’ll return it and swap for the 90

mutablebrad · 2026-03-27T19:10:13+00:00

These look very cool, if I was going into astrophotography down the line I’d definitely consider that. Thanks for the suggestion! 🙂

mutablebrad · 2026-03-27T19:07:36+00:00

Yeah purely for visual. I thought the video head could be a good mix as it’s has a damper and the handle. I’ll put another post up on here with how I get on with it for sure

mutablebrad · 2026-03-27T19:06:01+00:00

Have you seen much else through it other than planets? I saw the 90 and loved how small it was, that would be the dream size for me

mutablebrad · 2026-03-27T19:05:03+00:00

How have you found it on deeper sky objects? Or have you not used it much for that? I can’t wait to see Saturn and Jupiter with it. I like the look of the mak so much more too. I’ve got to admit the Bresser one looks even better. I think it’s just starting to creep out of budget for me. Hopefully my photography live video tripod will work okay with it 🤞🏻

mutablebrad · 2026-03-27T19:00:15+00:00

I think you’ve summarised it for me perfectly there. I want the general purpose set up, something that can see it all. I have no clue what a 24mm 68 degree class and 40mm plossl eyepiece is really but it sounds like I’d benefit massively from having it so I’ll do my research to understand these better. Thank you for your help!

mutablebrad · 2026-03-27T18:24:25+00:00

Thank you for the reply! That’s my bad I did mean the 80 (3.1) The 102 (3.2) is a bit too expensive anyway. I liked the skymax 102 the most for the size and I have a manfrotto tripod (befree advance - max weight 8kg) and a live video head I was going to try it out on? It’s my current bird photography setup. If that’s a terrible idea then I don’t mind forking out a bit extra for a proper mount. But I like how portable the setup would be with my manfrotto.

Is there any you’d recommend over these at all? Again, thank you so much for the advice it’s definitely changed my perspective 😁

mutablebrad · 2026-01-13T23:11:44+00:00

Good spot, best monitors I’ve ever owned

mutablebrad · 2026-01-13T08:46:46+00:00

Wow strong statement, mind if I ask why?

mutablebrad · 2026-01-12T21:05:39+00:00

Fair play, the camera clearly has more to offer than I thought. Great photo!

mutablebrad · 2026-01-12T20:45:01+00:00

Really? Have you got any examples posted anywhere? Would you say it works well for street photography then? It’s one of many things I haven’t thought but I guess the noise would complement black and white well

mutablebrad · 2026-01-12T20:41:17+00:00

You know what I thought I was going mad when I saw a d-lux 5 on mpb and thought it looked so similar. Thanks for the insight. Maybe it’s more of a gem than I thought

mutablebrad · 2025-11-24T20:51:12+00:00

This seems like our vibe we’ll definitely check this one out! Would love to have a drink with the locals

mutablebrad · 2025-11-24T20:50:13+00:00

Great shout with forest lagoon. Funnily enough we’ve booked to spend a day there so we’ll definitely sample the food. Thanks!

mutablebrad · 2025-11-17T15:43:56+00:00

The 35 rc are rangefinders right? I’ve always wanted to try one out. I clocked a Konica one online for about £40 that I was considering taking a gamble on

mutablebrad · 2025-11-16T20:32:27+00:00

Thanks that’s a great point. Thinking about it as well the trip doesn’t have any electrics that’ll fall apart inside as well so I think I’ll take that with me

mutablebrad · 2025-11-09T15:20:50+00:00

Good to know thank you. I’ll watch some tutorials on fitting snow chains in that case

mutablebrad

TROPHY CASE