Great telescope - Vixen VMC110L 110mm Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope w/ Porta II Mount and Tripod

Let me start off by saying that I am by no means an expert when it comes to telescopes, but I did do my homework before buying one. After a couple of months of looking at telescopes and reading countless reviews, I finally decided on the VMC (Vixen Matsukov Cassegrain) 110L because of the high recommendations. My original plan was to buy a telescope ($300-$600) with an electronic mount; however, these scopes seemed to be compensating optics for electronics in order to make an affordable electronic scope. When I looked for scope with better optics and no electronics I was disappointed by the quality of tripod that came with it (which can be a deal breaker!). I also noticed that many of these other scopes are made of plastic and receive complaints regarding their structural integrity in general. This is precisely why I chose a Vixen. From the metal tube, beautiful optics, and point-and-view design, they resemble high-quality cameras. The tripod was so durable and alleviated my previous concerns that I have seen and experienced with other, cheaper tripods. Tripod quality seems very underestimated but the best scope in the world is useless if it wont stay still. This tripod and mount will not disappoint. As far as collimation and set-up are concerned; it took a total of 10 minutes to put together and I was able to view Jupiter and the Moon my first night with no collimation problems. I am absolutely pleased with my purchase and highly recommend this product to anyone able to afford it. I also recommend doing your own research as well so that you get the best bang for your buck. Though this seems to be one of the simpler and lower-end packages that Vixen has to offer I cannot see any lack of effort in quality by the company; not to mention this is one sexy telescope with the white frame and mount with the red Vixen logo. It is just designed and built the way it should be.
Pros: Solid construction, great optics, easy to set-up and use.
Cons: Slow motion controls are stiff and should just be knobs.

This review was written in the old system and had content requirements that are different than reviews written today.