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Sky-Watcher Evostar-100ED / HEQ5 Pro mount
The dazzling champagne and white livery of the new Sky-Watcher Pro series from Taiwanese optical giant Synta Technology Corporation is certainly arresting. The new colour scheme gives the 100ED a distinctive, quality aura, but how did eld testing measure up to Syntas assertion that the Pro series represents a step-up in quality and performance? The 100ED Pros tube assembly is a manageable 88cm (35 inches) long without the star diagonal in place. The gorgeous deep green multi-coatings applied to all four surfaces of the air-spaced objective lens are evenly applied and blemish-free, while the inside of the tube and drawtube has no less than six internal bafes to ward off scattered light and enhance contrast. A laser collimator revealed that the alignment of this instruments components was ne.

Viewing subtle details

think of them as Pro series oculars. The lighter of the two Go-To German equatorials offered in the Pro series range, the HEQ5 Pro SkyScan mount, handled the 100ED with aplomb, damping vibrations in about a second on grass with the tripod legs retracted. Synta appears to have addressed most of the engineering issues associated with its former non-computerised incarnation and implemented a quiet, reliable and accurate Go-To system that has some very well thought out features. I was most impressed with its performance. To read more about the SkyScan hand controllers capabilities and alignment procedures, see the SkyMax-150 MaksutovCassegrain Plus EQ6 Pro review over the page and How we Tested on page 90.

VITAL STATS

> PRICE 1,599 > OPTICAL DESIGN ED refractor > APERTURE 100mm > FOCAL LENGTH 900mm, f/9 > GO-TO MOUNT German equatorial > GROSS WEIGHT 35kg > MANUFACTURER Sky-Watcher (Synta) > TEL > WEB www.opticalvision.co.uk > FOR Good optics, excellent mount > AGAINST Eyepieces could be better
Employing a lens with one element crafted from an extra-low dispersion (ED) glass, the 100ED does deliver high-contrast views and gives very good correction at visual wavelengths. The colour delity is almost as good as its smaller sibling, the legendary 80ED. Bright star Vega showed a hint of false colour, but the views were an order of magnitude better than those delivered by a good f/12 achromat of the same aperture. Jupiter displayed subtle detail in its cloud belts when seeing permitted, while the celebrated double-double star epsilon () Lyrae clearly showed dark sky between both component pairs. The supplied 9x50 nder and bracket is excellent, and anyone wishing to exploit the wide-eld capabilities of the instrument will welcome the 2-inch (50.8mm) mirror star diagonal with 1.25-inch (31.7mm) adaptor. The adjustable Crayford focuser is buttery smooth and very precise. For those who enjoy viewing in the straight through conguration, the 21cm (8-inch) drawtube will permit you to focus without the star diagonal. The supplied multi-coated 9 and 25mm focal length long eye-relief eyepieces with twist-up eyecups may look reminiscent of a premium Pentax range, but their performance is only comparable to an average Plssl; do not

VERDICT

VALUE FOR MONEY OPTICS EASE OF USE BUILD QUALITY MOUNT & DRIVES OVERALL

88% 90% 87% 91% 89%

BBC Sky at Night September 2005

July 2009 GROUP TEST: 8-inch newtonian telescopes from 429
Sky-Watcher Explorer-200P (EQ5)

vital stats

> Price 429 > Aperture 200mm > Focal length 1,000mm (f/5) > Eyepieces supplied 25mm, 10mm, 2x Barlow (1.25-inch fit) > Finder 9x50mm, straight-through > Mount EQ5 equatorial > Weight 24kg > Supplier Optical Vision Ltd > Tel > www.opticalvision.co.uk
pushing the magnification with the 10mm and 2x Barlow we got a great view of its four stars, with dark sky between the closer components. Saturn was also very good with the 10mm eyepiece and Barlow. The Ringed Planet showed a belt and sharp rings across its pale disc, and we spotted five of its moons. Turning to our own Moon revealed craters crisp with detail.

Galactic greatness

With several upgrade options it will be a useful instrument for many years to come, making it an ideal first or second telescope.

Verdict

Assembly Build quality Ease of use Features Optics Overall

90% 93% 96% 92% 93%

FOR Good on all types of object AGAINST Tripod a bit too tall
The Sky-Watcher Explorer-200P is quite striking with its blue tube, EQ5 mount and sturdy tripod with stainless steel tubular legs. The mount doesnt have a polar scope, but for basic alignment you can use the hollow tube for the polar scope in the mount. The polar scope, motor drives and Go-To can be purchased separately to update the telescope as your needs progress. What is included is a 9x50 straightthrough finder, 25mm and 10mm eyepieces plus a 2x Barlow to which you can attach a camera. First impressions were that the whole setup seemed quite tall. However, the eyepiece could still be placed in a comfortable viewing position by rotating the tube in the tube rings. The mount was the most stable in the test, with no flexing at all. We also found that the slow-motion axis controls were very smooth to use, with the least amount of play. We checked the field of view on the star Arcturus using the supplied 25mm eyepiece. It was pin-sharp across 75 per cent of the view, trailing off only slightly towards the edges: the best of the group in this respect. Epsilon Lyrae, the Double Double, was a lovely view at low magnification, showing two main stars. On
Deep-sky views were also impressive. Using the 25mm eyepiece, the Whirlpool Galaxy had a large disc that seemed to overlap its smaller companion. The 10mm brought out subtle mottling on its disc, hinting at detail just on the edge of being resolved. It was pleasing to see strong mottling along the length of the galaxy M82, which we see almost edge-on, and on our way to the globular cluster M13 we picked out the faint galaxy NGC 6207 with both 25mm and 10mm eyepieces. The globular started out as a mass of cotton wool, which became a swarm of stars at higher magnification with a hint of the dark propeller shape many observers comment on seeing with larger instruments. Nebulae looked good, with the Ring Nebula showing as a small hollow ring at low powers, then revealing a small smattering of stars around its ring-like structure at higher magnifications. We also enjoyed the view of open cluster M39 and the Beehive Cluster with the 25mm; these filled the view with sparkling stars. The Explorer-200P passed all our tests with flying colours and was a delight to use optically and mechanically. Considering it is the cheapest on test, you get great views for a modest outlay, which helps to compensate for the lack of motor drives and polar scope.

TEST GROUP ER WINN

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