A long focal length folded into a short tube · review
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.
The bottom line A long-ratio compact optic on a proper equatorial mount, waiting for a second eyepiece to show what it can do.
One hundred millimetres of aperture and fourteen hundred millimetres of focal length — f/14. Everything follows from that. Magnification comes easily, simple eyepieces work well, the field is narrow, and the instrument is at its best on the Moon, the planets and close double stars.
The EQ3 has slow-motion controls on both axes, which at f/14 is not a luxury: at high magnification the sky crosses the field quickly, and a cable in the hand is far steadier than a push on the tube.
A 25 mm Plössl gives 56x. That is a fine finding power and it is nowhere near what this optic will deliver on a good night. A shorter eyepiece — or a Barlow — is the purchase that unlocks the design.
Dimensions and weight are printed with nothing after them. That is a gap rather than a claim, and the figures do not appear anywhere else in the advertisement.
German, French, Italian and Spanish Amazon stores ran from 336 € to 391 € on the day of the survey.
British Amazon store lists it in local currency, which the euro range above sets aside.
American Amazon catalogue holds a record for it that nobody is selling.
Figures as Keepa reported them on the day this page was last updated. Stock and pricing shift without warning.
Prices quoted in this text were read on 17 September 2026. The live price is at the top of the page.
| Aperture | 100 mm (maker’s bullet) |
|---|---|
| Folded focal length and ratio | 1400 mm (maker’s bullet) · f/14, the quotient of the two figures above |
| Corrector design | Maksutov-Cassegrain |
| Obstruction | Not published by the maker. |
| Back focus | Not published by the maker. |
| Cool-down guidance | Not published by the maker. |
| Tube weight | Not published by the maker. |
| Mount supplied | EQ3 equatorial with slow motion on both axes |
| Amazon reference | B0967Z38C8 (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces) |
| EAN | 4007922071671 |
Fourteen hundred divided by twenty-five is 56x, which is the figure the maker quotes. A second, shorter eyepiece is the obvious first purchase for planetary work.
The image is formed by a mirror, and mirrors reflect all wavelengths to the same focus. The front corrector is a meniscus lens with very little power, so it contributes almost none of the colour error a refractor objective would.
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
8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain · computerised GoTo fork
An eight-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain on a single-arm computerised fork mount, with a 40 000-object database and the maker’s SkyAlign alignment routine.
Best for: An observer who wants serious aperture that still fits in a car boot
≈ $1499 / £1500 / €1537
127 mm Maksutov · 1500 mm focal length
A 127/1500 Maksutov-Cassegrain on the AZ-GTi Wi-Fi GoTo mount, controlled from a phone rather than a handset.
Best for: Lunar, planetary and double-star observing from a small or awkward site
≈ £649 / €784
