The Telescope Man

Every review

168 telescopes, mounts, cameras, filters, accessories and software, each tested by Damon Scotting.

• 365 Solar Telescope Cover review: flaked until it had holes
• 365 Telescope Cover review: the TeleGizmos all-year cover
• Adobe Photoshop review: the slickest editor, on a subscription
• Altair 1.25 inch Mini Solar Wedge review: white-light Sun
• Altair 60EDF review: a 60 mm FPL53 doublet for a first rig
• Altair AAF review: a £139 motor focuser with sensor and remote
• Altair Ha OIII 4nm dual-band filter review: my three-filter test
• Altair HSO 6.5nm/7nm narrowband set review: five-set Ha test
• Altair Hypercam 585C review: fan-cooled IMX585 colour camera
• Altair Hypercam 585MM review: TEC-cooled mono IMX585 camera
• Altair LRGB review: the ColourPRO 2 inch LRGB filter set
• Altair Solar Contrast Booster review: 1.25 inch, 540 nm
• Antlia 2.5nm HSO review: the premium narrowband set, tested
• ASI 4400MC review: the Goldilocks full-frame colour camera
• ASIAIR 256GB review: the ASIAIR Plus with a microSD slot
• ASIAIR app review: running the whole rig from your phone
• ASIAIR Mini review: the smallest ASIAIR, with limits
• ASIAIR Plus 256GB review: brilliant, but ZWO cameras only
• ASIStudio review: ZWO's free suite for capture and stacking
• Askar 103APO review: a £999 triplet, but skip the 0.6x reducer
• Askar 140APO review: a 140 mm triplet tested on full frame
• Askar 185APO review: best images, too big for its own good
• Askar 50P review: a 190 mm f/3.8 quadruplet astrograph
• Askar 60F review: a tiny but mighty quadruplet astrograph
• Askar 71F review: a $599 flat-field quadruplet refractor
• Askar 80ED review: the light, affordable 80 mm ED doublet
• Askar 91F review: a print-worthy quadruplet under $1,000
• Askar SQA106 review: the SQA85's bigger brother at $3,395
• Askar SQA130 review: the most powerful setup I have owned
• Askar SQA55 review: the go-to telescope of the 50 mm range
• Askar SQA60 Pro review: the only SQA with six elements
• Askar SQA85 review: f/4.8 speed, pinpoint stars to the corners
• BlurXTerminator review: astro's biggest game changer
• Celestron 114 LCM review: GoTo tracking, small aperture
• Celestron 3x Barlow review: X-Cel LX, three times the power
• Celestron 63ED review: the unlisted 63 mm ED refractor tested
• Celestron 8-24mm Zoom Eyepiece review: 8 to 24 mm in one twist
• Celestron 8″ EdgeHD review: planets and deep sky at 2,032 mm
• Celestron 94303 Eyepiece and Filter Kit review: 14 pieces
• Celestron AstroMaster LT 76 review: go bigger than 3 inches
• Celestron C11 EdgeHD review: an 11-inch beast for narrowband
• Celestron C5 review: the five-inch SCT that nailed the planets
• Celestron CG5 review: a cheap second-hand GoTo mount
• Celestron CGX review: 25 kg payload, 38.6 kg to carry
• Celestron Cometron 60 review: a tabletop reflector for your phone
• Celestron EdgeHD 1100 0.7x Reducer review: f/7 on my C11
• Celestron EdgeHD 800 0.7x Reducer review: f/7 on my 8 inch
• Celestron f/6.3 Reducer-Corrector review: my first reducer
• Celestron NexStar 6SE review: quick, assured GoTo views
• Celestron RASA 8 review: deep sky in minutes at f/2
• Celestron Stereo Binocular Viewer review: both eyes on the sky
• Celestron X-Cel LX 2x Barlow review: from my EdgeHD bundle
• ClearSky ST17 Mini review: guiding in my seven-mount test
• ClearSky ST25 review: the harmonic mount that won my showdown
• Coronado PST review: a one-trick pony that nails its trick
• DayStar Quark Chromosphere review: the Sun in hydrogen alpha
• DeepSkyStacker review: free stacking and pure nostalgia
• DwarfLab DWARF 3 review: 4K and capable, but the mini wins
• DwarfLab DWARF II review: pocket-sized, but now outclassed
• DwarfLab DWARF mini review: tiny, and surprisingly good
• Ecowitt HP2561 weather station review for astrophotography
• EM31 Pro review: the harmonic mount that came before the AM5
• GEMINI EAF review: the budget autofocuser that beat the ZWO EAF
• Gemini Flat Panel Lite 150 mm review: flats for small scopes
• Gemini Flat Panel Lite 300 mm review: flats for wide scopes
• Generic 0.63x Reducer review: the Angeleyes f/6.3 on my C5
• Generic 50mm guide scope review: guiding my RedCat 51 rig
• Generic 60mm guide scope: the SVBONY SV106 60mm f/4
• Generic dew heater: a USB strip for lenses and small scopes
• GraXpert review: free gradient removal in about two minutes
• Green laser pen review: pointing out stars to friends
• JUWEI-14 review: pound-for-pound the best telescope mount
• JUWEI-17 review: AM5 payloads for half the price
• Laida HSO 5nm review: budget 1.25 inch narrowband filters
• MeLE Quieter 4C mini PC review: NINA at the telescope
• MLAstro SAL-33 review: a 15 kg harmonic mount you can service
• Nakoh 60GT review: Japanese SD glass, very accurate colour
• Nikon COOLPIX P1000 review: 3000 mm for the Moon and planets
• NINA review: free software that runs the whole night
• NoiseXTerminator review: the second biggest difference
• Optolong L-eNhance review: a big step up, with a halo problem
• Optolong L-Ultimate review: 3nm dual-band, with and without
• PHD2 review: the free autoguiding that changed my imaging
• PixInsight review: powerful astro processing at a price
• Player One Apollo 428M MAX Pro review: a cooled solar camera
• Player One Apollo-M MAX review: a global shutter solar camera
• Player One Saturn-C review: a square 1 inch IMX533 colour camera
• Player One Uranus-C review: an uncooled IMX585 all-rounder
• PowerMate 5x Barlow review: Tele Vue 5x Powermate, 1.25 inch
• QHY 585C review: the QHY5III585C lipstick camera
• Rechargeable hand warmers review: warm hands at the eyepiece
• Red light headlamp review: hands-free light for stargazing
• RegiStax review: free planetary stacking from 2011
• Scorpio HSO 3nm review: my best-value narrowband filter set
• SharpCap review: live stacking, polar alignment and push-to
• Siril review: the free little brother of PixInsight
• SKY ROVER 2x54 Binoculars review: 36 degrees at 2x
• Sky-Watcher HAC125 review: fast f/2 live views, fussy stars
• Sky-Watcher HAC125DX review: the f/2 scope for live views
• Sky-Watcher Heliostar 76Ha review: expensive, but worth it
• Sky-Watcher Skymax 180 review: 2,700 mm for the planets
• Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i review: a camera-bag tracker
• Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer GTi review: 5 kg GoTo tracker
• Smartphone eyepiece mount review: Celestron NexYZ 3-Axis
• Star Analyser 200 review: star spectra from a 1.25 inch filter
• Starfield Optics 115 Triplet review: my best Andromeda yet
• StarXTerminator review: my own stamp on every target
• Stellarium review: my favourite astronomy app of all time
• SVBONY dew heater: the SV172 USB strip for scopes and lenses
• SVBONY SC571CC review: a cooled APS-C IMX571 camera
• SVBONY SV165 review: the 30mm f/4 mini guide scope I use
• SVBONY SV220 review: the 3nm dual-band filter that beat halos
• SVBONY SV503 70ED review: a small ED refractor that delivers
• SVBONY SV545 review: a lot of star for your buck
• SVBONY SV555 review: not a bad deal, not an exceptional one
• SVBONY SV705C review: the cheapest IMX585 camera
• Telescope Cover review: a 420D waterproof dust cover
• TeSeek 11 review: the 1.3 kg harmonic mount I grab first
• TeSeek 17 review: bronze in my seven-mount guiding showdown
• TeSeek NanoTracker review: a pocket star tracker with a laser
• ToupTek AAF review: the Type-C focuser on my Askar 71F
• ToupTek AstroStation review: not yet an ASIAIR rival
• ToupTek ATR2600C review: a cooled IMX571 APS-C colour camera
• ToupTek ATR2600MM review: the IMX571 mono camera
• ToupTek ATR533C review: a cooled square IMX533 colour camera
• ToupTek Hope D60 review: five elements, full frame, f/4.66
• ToupTek SkyEye 24AC review: a full-frame taster, two scopes
• ToupTek StellaVita review: one box to power and run the rig
• Unihedron SQM-L review: a sky quality meter with a lens
• Unistellar eVscope 2 review: made for outreach, not photos
• Vaonis Vespera III review: premium design, familiar 4K sensor
• Vaonis Vespera Pro 2 review: top-two images, hefty price tag
• White light solar filter review: sunspots through a lens cap
• William Optics RedCat 51 review: the fan-favourite Petzval
• ZWO 5x1.25″ Filter Wheel review: five 1.25 inch slots, 300 g
• ZWO 7nm HSO narrowband filter set review: my five-set Ha test
• ZWO 7x2″ Filter Wheel review: the 2 inch EFW on my rigs
• ZWO AM3, now discontinued: the 3.9 kg harmonic mount
• ZWO AM3N review: the 4.1 kg harmonic mount
• ZWO AM5 review: 13 kg without a counterweight, from 5 kg
• ZWO AM5N review: a 5.5 kg head for 15 kg of telescope
• ZWO AM7 review: 20 kg without a counterweight, tested
• ZWO ASI120MM Mini review: a light, simple guide camera
• ZWO ASI183MC review: 20 megapixels on a 1 inch sensor
• ZWO ASI220MM Mini review: the SC2210 guide camera I use
• ZWO ASI2600MC Air review: APS-C colour with ASIAIR built in
• ZWO ASI2600MC Duo review: APS-C colour with a guide sensor
• ZWO ASI2600MC Pro review: cooled APS-C IMX571 colour camera
• ZWO ASI2600MM Air review: mono APS-C with ASIAIR built in
• ZWO ASI2600MM Pro review: APS-C mono for narrowband
• ZWO ASI533MC review: a square 9 MP cooled colour camera
• ZWO ASI533MM Pro review: a square, cooled mono camera
• ZWO ASI585MC Air review: camera, guider and ASIAIR in one
• ZWO ASI585MM Air review: the cooled mono all-in-one camera
• ZWO ASI6200MC review: 61 megapixels of full frame
• ZWO ASI6200MM Pro review: 62 megapixels of full-frame mono
• ZWO CAA review: the motorised camera rotator in my imaging train
• ZWO EAF (legacy) review: the USB 2.0 focuser on my FF110
• ZWO EAF review: the Type-C motor focuser on my SQA60 Pro
• ZWO FF110 review: a full frame flat field for $1,499
• ZWO FF80 APO review: a flat-field quadruplet for travel rigs
• ZWO LRGB review: the ZWO 1.25 and 2 inch LRGB filter sets
• ZWO PE200 review: 200 mm of clearance, rated to 50 kg
• ZWO Seestar S30 Pro review: the best value smart telescope
• ZWO Seestar S30 review: the perfect first smart telescope
• ZWO Seestar S50 Pro review: the most detailed Seestar yet
• ZWO Seestar S50 review: the original Seestar, tested since 2023
• ZWO TC40 Tripod review: 2.3 kg carbon legs, 50 kg rated