SkyWatcher Telescope Page

O'Neil Photo & Optical Inc.

If you have any questions, e-mail me by clicking here.

I sell the entire SkyWatcher line, these are just my recommendations. This page is quite long, on a dial up modem, it may take 2-3 minutes to load.

Shipping: How much does shipping cost? That's a loaded question, but by Canada Post (mail that is), your average 4" refractor or 6" reflector can cost around $40 to $50 Cdn by parcel post or ground mail to most places in Canada and the USA. Xpress post is almost double. Yukon and Alaska are double regular ground mail rates. Overseas to Europe and Asia, on average, $100.00 Cdn for surface mail, up to $300.00 Cdn by Air Mail. The 6" (150mm) refractor costs a king's ransom to ship anywhere by any method.

How long does shipping take? That's a REALLY loaded question. My famous example is one day I mailed two packages, one to Portugal by air mail, one to Michigan (in the USA, a two hour drive for me). Portugal took 9 days, Michigan took 22 days. This past year a telescope shipped to me from California via three day guranteed express service took 12 days, while a telescope sent in the mail from the same factgory, left Tuesday afternoon and arrived Friday morning of the same week. I give up anymore. Horrorscopes are more accurate than delivery dates.

On average, Xpress post is 2-3 days Canada, 5-7 days USA. Expedited Post, a week to 12 days in Canada, 3-4 weeks to the USA. Surface mail overseas - up to 3 months, air mail, usually a month, but I have had packages to Portugal and the Middle East arrive in under 10 days. That's the exception.

VISA / MASTERCARD / AMEX: Sales: I cannot charge in US dollars on Visa sales - Visa/MC/Amex saves that privlidge for themselves. On CC sales only, I have to charge in Canadian dollars, and then Visa does thier own conversion on your monthly statement. If you wish to pay by personal cheque or money order, then the amount in US dollars is true and correct as shown below. I have no problems what so ever clearing personal US cheques.

PRO Series SkyWatchers on EQ6 and HEQ5

• SK ED 100 - EQ6: ............$3,199
• SK 150 MAK - EQ6:..........$2,799
• SK 80 ED - HEQ5:................TBA
• SK 100 ED - HEQ5:..............TBA
• SK 150 MAK- HEQ5:............TBA

ED Refractors

80mm ED OTA

$590 Cdn

100mm ED OTA

$990 Cdn

• 90mm Mak - OTA .......................... $290
• 90mm Mak tabel top EQ1 mount .. $350
• 102mm MAK - OTA ....................... $325
• 102mm MAK - EQ2 mount ............ $450
• 127mm Mak - OTA ........................ $460
• 127mm Mak - EQ3 ........................ $660
• 150mm Mak - OTA .......................... Call
  

ACHROMATIC REFRACTORS

Not a bad scope. Not great, but not bad. It is a 4.5" (114mm) F5 reflector. Now what is really neat - it has a parabolic mirror. Up until this model, 99% of all your 4.5 newtonains had spherical mirrors and long tubes becasue under F8 to F9, sphereical mirrors are not that good. This telescope is quite compact and isn't half bad at all. Now you will notice it is $150 Cdn less than the 130/EQ2. Why? Well aside from the fact it is smaller by 16mm, there are a couple of other reasons.

First, this telescope comes with the EQ1, not EQ2 mount. The EQ1 mount does hold it as the scope is very compact and you are unlikely to be using it at powers above 150X. Secondly it has a red dot finder instead of a glass 30mm finderscope - but I actually like the red dot finder better myself. Finally it comes with two kellners (SuperSet) eyepieces, not plossls like the 130 (seen below). Overall however it is a good telescope for somebody on a budget or for a high school student or for somebody who says to you "I want a telescope for Christmas/Birthday/etc", but you are not 100% sure how serious they are. This little scope will do a fair bit without breaking the bank.

If there is such a thing as a "best beginner telescope" the dobsonian is it. Maximum size for minimum price. No motor drives to freeze up in winter or burn out in summer. Very simple to use, and I find dobsonians are very intuitive to use. As a best, first telescope, or even for advanced amateurs, the 8 inch dobsonsian is it. Why? First, it is not to large to haul around, and i have been able to fit one in a car as small as a Dodge Neon - the tube takes up the entire back seat and the base sits on the passenger seat, but otherwise, you just make it in. Secondly, when seated in your average lawn chair, the height of the eyepiece is just right. Finally if something ever does go wrong with them (I once dropped my dobsonian down a flight of stairs ), they are the easiest of all telescopes to repair and collimate, in my opinion. For the money, the 8" dobsonian is the best bang for the buck in amateur astronomy.

These eyepieces are not perfect, but I like them. I find them comfortable on the eye, with very little eye strain. Now contrast is not as good as the Antares Japanese orthos I sell for $95 Cdn, so if you are a planetary fanatic, ask me about the orthos. But for all around use, they are quite good. Also, apparent FOV is a bit narrower than a regular plossl, but about a degree or two I find. The 2 and 5mm versions have a 45 degree FOV while the rest are 50 degree. Eye relief is a constant 20mm on all sizes. Some people have asked if these are the same as Orion Epics, and they are not. The two are very different. The Orion Epic EDs strike me as a poor man's clone of Radians while these are more of a poor man's clone of the regular Vixen lanthanums.

So how good are they really? Well, as a practical joke, late one night, I handed a friend the 2mm version to stick in his 20 inch Obsession dobsonian, without telling him what it was. At 1,250 power on M13, in a 45 degree apparent FOV, the stars wizzed by like a replay of the Indy 500. However, it did hold together. Now, I do not reccomend such a thing, but I can say, it was done at least once.

My favourite is the 9mm, followed by the 15mm. Dunno why, but the 9mm just strikes my eye in a "sweet spot". As usual, your milage will vary.

Of all the eyepieces made by Synta, these are my favourites. Why? Well, they are not perfect, but like an old sweater that fits you just right, these are comfortable to use. First off, the field of view is very pleasant. Secondly, the contrast is good due to the multi-coating. I would say these are better contrast than the LE series, but not as good as an ortho or ultima. Third the eye releif is comfortable. Kinda tight if you have to wear eyeglasses, in which case the LE series is better, but "just right" for non-eyeglass observing. Yes, they are soft on the edge in fast scopes - F6 is where it becomes really noticable I think, but even then, they are not that bad. Not great, but at the price, the feedback I am getting is people are ahppy with them.