Star Gazing on the Park

Galileo Visions Telescopes - A Detailed Look (continued)

Dust Caps
Galileo included dust caps for both sides of the tube and the lens cap.  I strongly recommend placing these tightly fit caps on the scope when not in use as it will definitely protect the mirrors and internal tube.  I'm very pleased to have seen Galileo include these as standard and not optional like their competition.  I'll be the first to tell you that dust will settle on the optics and degrade performance and cleaning them is not easy.  It requires disassembling the mirror mounts, and special care while cleaning as even hairline scratches can ruin the mirrors.  I typically clean my mirrors every 6-months using only high pressure air, without EVER touching the polished and silver plated surface.  You should remember that these are front surfaced mirrors that will indeed scratch if mishandled.

Accessories

It's nice to see that Galileo Visions also offers a variety of accessories and products including a carrying case, golf scopes, binoculars and more.  I've heard that they will also be selling products that will capture the planet enthusiasts attention.  We'll keep you posted as to when these new products will be ready for purchase.  As Galileo Visions continues to grow their product line, they may should consider offering optional eyepiece upgrades.  We understand building and selling a telescope of this quality and price is challenging, but where I believe Galileo falls a bit short is with regard to the very poor quality standard eyepieces which are included with their scopes.

Eyepieces
Both telescopes came equipped with two different focal length lenses and a 3x barlow. The FS-135DX even came with an optional 2" diameter eyepiece. At first I thought such an eyepiece would be overkill for a mirror under 6" in diameter, that was until I tried it. Everyone who looked at the moon through this eyepiece was blown away. It seemed surreal and more like a 3-dimensional photo than it did a view through a scope.

But the remaining 1 1/4" diameter eyepieces that came with the scopes were not as dramatic. The FS-135DX came equipped with a 25mm eyepiece and 6.8mm to 18mm variable zoom eyepiece while the FS-102 had a 20mm eyepiece and a 6.8mm to 16mm variable zoom eyepiece.  The variable zoom eyepieces are quite unique because in one quick turn they provided between 100x and 150x power.  But the standard eyepieces do little justice for what these scopes are truly capable of providing.  Although given the price range and the fact that good eyepieces can cost as much or more than the scope itself, it's understandable.  For most backyard viewers, these eyepieces are adequate if you keep in mind the following:

1)  Eye Relief - Being that the lenses are only single or double elements, they had a very short eye relief thereby requiring you to have to go right up to the lenses when viewing.

2)  Coating - It seemed that these lenses had little to no antireflective (AR) coating.  This is easily determined in two ways.  The first is to shine a focused light into the lenses and see how bright the optics inside look.  Brighter means reflections which will degrade image quality.  Second method is to view bright objects such as planets and the moon.  When doing so, once again reflections inside should be minimal.  With the standard eyepieces provided by Galileo Visions, reflections were very noticeable so it's best to get far away from any local lights such as street lights, as they will reflect in the lenses. 

3)  Number of Elements (Lenses) - More lenses typically means greater loss, but several lenses within an eyepiece is very common.  The additional lenses, or elements, are used to correct distortions which is known as edge correction, that results when magnifying objects.  The lenses provided with the Galileo scopes were most likely single or double element lenses, and therefore our viewing confirmed some edge distortions.  This really only becomes an issue with peripheral vision of objects outside the center, and even that, only deep sky objects that are as large as the field of view.  It's best to keep the image you are viewing as centered in the field of view as possible to minimize any distortions.

But once again, understanding the price bracket for these telescopes makes this much more forgivable. However, if you are going to do more serious viewing and want to achieve the best view out of these scopes, then I'd recommend saving up your money and purchasing new eyepieces such as the Mead Super Plossl's ($80+ each), as they will significantly improve your viewing pleasure and maximize the potential for these terrific scopes.  When doing so, consider a long focal length such as a 25mm eyepiece (around 50x) which will be delightful for views of the moon and deep sky objects, and a 15mm eyepiece (around 100x) for great views of the planets.  Pushing these (or any scopes under 6" diameter, especially with a short focal length) above 150x will only result in an unhappy viewing as there is too much atmospheric turbulence and rapid motion where the objects will be quickly out of the field of view.

Performance - Using Different Eyepieces (not provided by Galileo)
Switching to my Mead Super Plossl eyepieces quickly brought the thrill of viewing back into play. I started with my 26-mm lens which equated to about 50x. First glimpse of the full moon was most impressive as the details that were viewable were unlike any I've seen with a scope this size. I then went on to my 15mm lens which equated to about 100x, and cut a left turn toward Jupiter. We could clearly see the cloud bands and at least 4 of Jupiter's satellites. The edges of the planet were extremely detailed and crisp, even in my light polluted neighborhood. Given the light conditions, I doubted boosting the power beyond about 150x. The brightness of the lights would most certainly shadow any detail, so I thought. I added in my 9.7mm lens, pointed away to Jupiter, and once again, it looked awesome. I then backed down to the 25mm eyepiece for hunting deep sky objects, such as the Orion Nebula and the Andromeda Galaxy, along with the Beehive Cluster. I quickly took note of the detailed image that was found using both the FS-135DX and FS 102DX. As light gathering capability is most important (along with low power) for deep sky objects, the FS 102DX stayed within the laws of physics with a less intense view of the these objects. But for backyard viewers looking for a small, simple to operate and inexpensive scope, this is the ideal size. Moving up to the FS 135DX definitely improved the brightness of these deep sky objects we viewed that evening. It was so impressive that we even decided to go back to our 2" Diameter eyepiece which came with the FS 135DX. Switching between the 1 ¼" and 2" was as easy as turning a set screw and removing a plate. When we viewed the Orion Nebula with the 2" eyepiece, it was easy to determine that the internal optics of this lens weren't the best, but very adequate for the price. It was perfect for viewing the moon however, as it offered the best image I've ever seen in a scope.  This was primarily due to the very large field of view.

Conclusion
If you're looking for an inexpensive, well built telescope that has many useful features and is easy to use, then Galileo Telescopes has several different models to offer. The build quality and pre alignment of these scopes are not typical in an industry filled with high price, mass produced products made from lesser materials. While the FS 135DX and FS 105DX lack the sophistication of a motorized computer controlled mount, it doesn't lack the metal tubing, and metal mirror mounts, along with great mirrors, a quality tripod and at least some form of eyepieces. But to maximize your viewing pleasure, we suggest that you save up your money and invest in two really nice ones around the sizes of 25mm and 15mm. When I built my telescope, my three Mead Super Plossl eyepieces cost almost as much as my entire parts list for the scope itself. But that's typical as even the big name scope makers provide economical  eyepieces as their standard.   In time, you can even purchase a 9.7mm eyepiece for 150x viewing on nights that are very clear and humidity free, in areas with little light pollution.  Remember, power isn't everything and the law of physics demands that for every benefit (magnification) there is a loss (brightness).  So cranking these scopes (or any 6" diameter or less) to higher powers than 150x is not worth it for most backyard enthusiasts.   On that note, investing in a good 2x or 3x barlow is not really worth it as having the three recommended eyepieces will provide more than enough great viewing with these scopes.

If you're kids have been bugging you about their science projects and they have never seen Jupiter or Saturn, then you should really consider purchasing something that will satisfy everyone in the family, from the budget minded parents to the never satisfied kids, or even appeal to the kid in you. Galileo Vision has taking the Telescope Market by storm with their current product offerings and have many new items on market soon.

To purchase Galileo Visions Products contact them directly at:

Galileo Visions, Inc.

12395 S.W. 130th Street, # 106
Miami, Florida 33186
305-234-0202

E-mail:  disciplinemarketing@inetmail.att.net

For more information on Telescopes, check out telescope2.com and also stay tuned for my upcoming article on my designed and built telescope.

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