Disclosure
How this site is funded
Some links on this site earn me a commission, and some of the gear I review was given or lent to me. Neither decides a score, and no company ever sees one before you do.
Last updated 2 October 2026
I earn money when you buy through some links on this site, at no extra cost to you. Some of the products I review were given or lent to me by the company that makes or sells them.
No company has any say in my reviews. No company sees a score before it is published, and no company can pay to change one.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Affiliate links
Some shop links are advertisements. Links marked Ad earn me a commission when you buy through them, at no extra cost to you.
I am an affiliate of some of the shops and makers I link to, including:
- Amazon
- AliExpress
- Agena Astro
- First Light Optics
- ZWO
- and other shops and makers
On every review with paid shop links, a notice beside the shop links says so, and each paid link carries a small Ad label. A shop link without the label earns me nothing.
Here is what that does and does not mean:
- It costs you nothing. The commission comes out of the shop's side of the sale.
- It never changes a score. Scores are set from testing, before and regardless of any link.
- It never decides which products appear. Whether a shop pays commission plays no part in which products I review or which appear on the leaderboard.
- Products with no affiliate link are reviewed the same way, with the same tests, and sit on the same leaderboard.
- Shops are listed in the same order on every review: a UK shop first, a US shop second, then an international option.
Shop links are marked as sponsored links in the page code, so search engines know what they are. If you would rather not use my links, search for the product yourself: the review is the same either way.
Where the gear comes from
The majority of the gear I review I buy with my own money. Some is gifted by brands and some is loaned.
Paid for by me at the normal price, from a normal shop.
Sent by a brand for me to keep. No payment, and no conditions on what I say.
Lent by a brand or a shop for testing.
Every review carries the same statement of this, because the rule is the same for every product: however it arrived, every product goes through the same tests, under the same sky, scored on the same criteria. Accepting a product does not mean I will review it, review it quickly, or say anything good about it. If it is not good, the review says so.
Nobody sees a score first
No company ever sees a score before it is published, or has any influence on a rating.
That is true whether the company gifted the product, lent it, sponsored something of mine, pays me commission, or has never heard of me. No brand or shop reads, checks or approves a review, a score or a video before it goes live.
After publication, anyone, brands included, can point out a factual mistake, such as a wrong specification. I check it, and if I was wrong I correct it (see corrections, below). Opinions, verdicts and scores are mine and are not up for negotiation.
Sponsored content
If a brand pays me to make something, it is labelled "Ad", up front, before you start reading or watching.
A sponsor pays for a video, a post or a page to exist. A sponsor never buys the verdict. Sponsored content is labelled "Ad" at the very start, and on YouTube it also carries YouTube's paid promotion notice.
If a product from a company that has sponsored me appears on the leaderboard, it is tested and scored exactly like everything else. No sponsorship includes seeing a score early or having a say in one.
Awards and badges
No brand pays for an award or a badge.
The tiers on this site, such as "Damon's pick" and "Damon recommends", and the seal that carries the score, come from the score alone. A product earns them by how it tests, and nothing else. They cannot be bought, sponsored or requested.
A score is the score on the date of the review. If a brand quotes one, the review page always has the current figure, and if a product is re-tested and its score changes, older badges are out of date.
Corrections
If I get something wrong, I fix it in the open.
Every review shows the date it was first published and the date it was last updated. When I correct a fact, the updated date moves. When a correction changes a score or a verdict, the review says what changed and why.
Found a mistake? Email [email protected] with the page and what is wrong.
What money cannot change
Every Stars for Your Buck score is my own judgement from testing. No score has ever been bought, and none is for sale.
Bought, gifted or loaned, with an affiliate link or without: tested the same way, on the same leaderboard. The Telescope Man Standard
Prices were checked on the dates shown on each review. Shops change them, so check the shop's own page before you buy.
The rules this follows
In the UK, this page and the labels on the site follow the Advertising Standards Authority's CAP Code and the Competition and Markets Authority's guidance that paid-for, gifted and affiliate content must be obvious to readers. For readers in the United States, it follows the Federal Trade Commission's Endorsement Guides: the plain version at the top of this page is my disclosure, and the same short statement appears on every review.
Commission helps pay for the next review and for the channel. Thank you for using the links if you do.