Catadioptric telescopes
A complete Maksutov, or a tube to put on something you have?
Both fold a long focal length into a short tube. One arrives on an EQ3 mount with an eyepiece and a prism; the other is a tube with a dovetail, a finder shoe and a T-2 thread, meant to go on whatever mount is already there — and it does not publish its focal length.
| Compared on | FirstLight 100/1400 Maksutov | MightyMak 80 |
|---|---|---|
| Aperture | 100 mm (maker’s bullet) | 80 mm (from the model name and bullets) |
| Folded focal length and ratio | 1400 mm, f/14 — the quotient of the two figures above | The listing does not carry it |
| Corrector design | Maksutov-Cassegrain | Maksutov-Cassegrain, coated against reflections as the maker states it |
| Obstruction | Not published by the maker. | Not published by the maker. |
| Back focus | Not published by the maker. | T-2 thread with a buffer ring, per the maker |
| Cool-down guidance | Not published by the maker. | Not published by the maker. |
| Mount supplied | EQ3 equatorial with slow motion on both axes | GP dovetail — fits photo tripods and GP-profile mounts |
A tick means one listing published something the other did not, or published a better figure. It does not mean the product is better, and the column is not a score out of anything: a maker who says less loses lines here without losing a comparison. The two verdicts below are where the page is settled.
The complete instrument, and the longer focal ratio. One hundred millimetres at f/14 is a planetary configuration, and it comes on an equatorial mount with slow motion on both axes, an eyepiece and a prism. Nothing about the obstruction or the cool-down appears, which on a closed tube are the two things that decide the first half-hour.
The one that bolts onto what you already own. A GP dovetail fits photo tripods and standard mounts, a finder shoe is fitted, and a T-2 thread takes a camera directly. Its focal length is nowhere in the listing, so no magnification can be worked out for it before it arrives.
A long focal ratio gives high magnification with ordinary eyepieces and usually goes with a smaller central obstruction, which helps contrast. It also gives a narrow field, which is why these are poor deep-sky instruments.
A spacer that sets the distance between the thread and the camera’s sensor. On a folded telescope that distance changes the focus position, which is why the maker naming it is worth something.
Longer than an open tube of the same size, because the corrector and the mirror are enclosed. Neither of these listings offers guidance, and until the tube reaches the outside temperature the image will not settle.
100 mm aperture · 1400 mm focal length
A 100/1400 Maksutov on an EQ3 equatorial mount with slow-motion controls on both axes, supplied with a 25 mm Plössl, an erecting prism and a phone holder.
Best for: A compact planetary telescope that also works on landscapes
≈ £341 / €336
80 mm Maksutov · T-2 thread and dovetail
A compact 80 mm Maksutov with a coated front lens, a T-2 thread with buffer ring, a finder shoe and a GP dovetail that fits photo tripods and standard mounts.
Best for: A travel optic that doubles as a long lens on a photo tripod
≈ €166
Any figure written into the body of this page was true on the day it was written. The amount shown next to each instrument is requested from the retailer as the page loads, and it is that amount, not the text, that stands.
