Vixen telescopes

Hello,
Looking at the Vixen R130SF w porta mount II. Please give opinions. I am a bino observer.

Hi Taurus

Actually it is very much a scope and mount that I would choose for myself.

5 inches is large enough to do some nice deep sky work and see fine detail on planets. Sizewise, it is what I would regard as "serious" entry level and light years better than the typical small 60mm refractor that gave some of us our start. I also like the fact that you are getting a parabolic mirror with the R130, instead of a spherical mirror and relay lens as is often found in reflectors in this category as a cost saving measure. That means no relay lens to get in the way when you want to collimate. Pure Newtonian, all the way and that is a good thing.

I am a manual mount type of astronomer, too, though I have no criticism of computerized mounts. I just enjoy finding objects on my own with a good star atlas. As for manual mounts, I, myself, am more comfortable with an alt-az like the Porta II than equatorial mounts and, as alt-az mounts go, the Porta is about as sweet as it gets.

I also like Vixen quality. Overall, it tends to be a cut above most other brands in the same class and the folks at Vixen are about as nice as it gets helping their customers.