Re: [APML]: Magazine reviews

[Wil Milan <wmilan@airdigital.com>]

The Astro-Photography Mailing List
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RMOLLISE@aol.com wrote:
> 
> Well, I have to agree that the magazines' (Astronomy as well as S&T) have not
> been known, in recent times for hardhitting product reviews (with some of
> Astronomy's recent 'reviews' being little more than lists of a product's
> features), and this seems to have gotten worse over the last 5 years or so.
> BUT, while I don't have the LX-200 issue of Sky and 'Scope at hand,
> HISTORICALLY S&T has been pretty good about 'anonymously' buying production
> scopes.

That would be both very positive and very unusual in a magazine
like S&T. If they truly do buy all their test products
"off-the-shelf" with the manufacturer and retailer unaware that
the product is being purchased for a test I think they should
mention that; it would lend a greater measure of credibility to
the test.

One of the things that triggered that got me to thinking about
where scopes are procured is the statement in the review that the
test scope showed a perfect star test pattern and planetary
performance that sounded to me to be on par with a good apo
refractor. Having looked through a lot of Meade SCTs and owned a
couple myself, I find that very unusual at best. Not out of the
realm of possibility, because there are certainly some very good
Meade SCTs out there, but at least somewhat unusual. (And no,
Celestrons are not much better; typical production SCTs are just
not that finely tuned. Recent-production Meades and Celestrons
are usually quite good, but not to the degree the test report
seemed to describe. SCTs are so complex and have so many optical
surfaces that if they were all tuned to perfection few people
could afford them.)

Wil M.      
mailto:wmilan@airdigital.com
Astrophoto web site: http://www.airdigital.com/astrophoto.html
---
"When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, 
the moon and the stars which You have set in place, 
what is Man that you are mindful of him, 
or the son of Man that you care for him?"  -- Psalm 8