Hioptic
6" Maksutov Cassegrain NMC1900x152
HiOptic
152 > Viewfinder
THE RETICLE VIEWFINDER
UNPACKING
The first thing noticed about the viewfinder when unpacking it was how
dirty it was. The picture below shows how it arrived with what only can
be described as the bottom of someone's pocket attached to the eye cup.
However after being cleaned up the viewfinder it turned out to be one
of the best this reviewer had ever used. It's like a small 8 x 50
refractor telescope in it's own right, if only it had interchangeable
eyepieces, it could almost double up as a guide scope.
The glass in it seem to have a blue anti-reflective coating similar to
other parts of the scope. The front of the tube unscrews to provide
access to the inside.
It was a nice surprise to find it contained baffles inside which help
stop
stray light
reaching the eye. The rubber on the rear eyepiece can be removed which
might allow the attachment of a guide camera but it is a weird size of
28mm/1.1". The eyepiece can also be removed by unscrewing it but
anything you replace it with will require a 28mm/1.1" thread.
TERRESTRIAL VIEWS
Looking through the view finder presents a nice sniper gun sight type
of view (reticle). There was a little colour fringing in the image but
not
enough for a 2 mega-pixel camera, as used in the image below, to really
pick up on.
ASTRO VIEWS
The view finder has a curious stalk protruding from it. This houses a
red light projector that illuminates the gun site (reticle). A dial on
the end
allows the user to vary the strength of the
red light.
The picture above shows how large the moon appears in this in this
8 x 50 viewfinder.
SUMMARY
An excellent finder scope that this reviewer would hesitate to
recommend to anyone. It's much better than what gets provided with it's
competitor, the Skywatch 150 Pro.
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