Orion SkyView Deluxe 90mm

HOME

REVIEW ARCHIVES

Refractors
Eq. Reflectors
Dob. Reflectors
Catadioptric

Binoculars

Mounts

Eyepieces

Barlow Lenses
Books
Software
Filters
CCD-Film Photography
Finderscopes

Miscellaneous

LINKS

Links Page

FAVORITE LINKS

NASA
Astronomy Links.com
Cincinnati Observatory
Scopereviews.com
Excelsis Reviews
Cloudy Nights
Astronomy Magazine
Sky and Telescope

The Review

I came by my Orion SkyView Deluxe 90 refractor while waiting for delivery of the Discovery PDHQ 12.5" Dobsonian I ordered in November.  It was understood that delivery of that scope would take more than 90 days and my wife wanted to know what I wanted from Santa for Christmas.
    

I made a list.  Next to Crutchfield, Orion's Catalogue is my absolute favorite.  It was easy to find several astronomical items in that catalogue to list. The SkyView 90 Deluxe was high on the list, and that is what Santa delivered.
    

The 90 Deluxe is desirable for several reasons.  Foremost, it is a complete equatorial system with a substantial mount, polar scope and what not.  Part of the motivation of getting an EQ mount is the learning experience of using it.  One will never learn right ascension and declination, or the proper use of setting circles from the efforts necessitated by a Dobsonian or other Alt-Az mount.  The 90 Deluxe is a complete scientific instrument.
    

The mount is denominated, curiously, the SkyView Deluxe EQ.  It is ample to support the 90mm scope, and I understand from investigation (i.e. bothering informed individuals at the other end of 800 numbers) that this mount is every bit the equal of the Celestron CG-5 that comes with their 102 HD.  The SkyView Deluxe mount will hold a larger scope than the 90, which is good for the future, and it works smoothly, solidly and is attractive.  I'm very pleased.
    

The 90 mm size is a good choice for a refractor.  It's at the limit of easy portability and is affordable.  The f/11 is just right.  A 102 does not have substantially more aperture, in my opinion. I'd get a reflector for that. But with the 90 I get a real refractor system and planetary scope for $399.
    

A big plus is that by getting this scope, one gets to deal with Orion Telescopes & Binoculars, rather than with Meade or Celestron.  A BIG plus.  Orion has been right there for me ever since. Technical assistance? Ask for Jack.
    

As with all introductory or intermediate scopes I've run into, the finder scope is de minimus.  This is primarily because they are not available as right angle or 45 degree angle scopes.  I sent Orion a letter suggesting they market such a creature and they promptly replied that they were going to consider the idea.  It made me feel important. I also sent Orion my focuser tube assembly which I had damaged.  They promised to make it better than new.  They will. I replaced my finder scope with the 8 X 50 right angle erect image that Apogee sells.  In order to mount it, I had to drill and tap two holes.  I did.
    

The eyepieces supplied were Plossls but were not so hot.  I replaced my 6.3mm Plossl, which could not split Alpha Geminorum, with University Optic's 6mm Abbe Orthoscopic which does.
All in all, I'm delighted with my 90.  It is superior in every respect to the Meade DS 114EC I had prior.  I'm really delighted with Orion, too.

Submitted by Jay Mack - Zedoc@techheadnet.com - Twin Lakes, Wisconsin

The Review

I purchased this telescope about 14 months ago, and returned to shop.

The mount as stated by the previous reviewer is solid (Orion's equivalent to Celestron's CG4). The motors for the mount have little torque so counter-balancing the telescope is more critical than the stronger drives. The aluminum tripod actually had less play than the CG5 tripod legs (that was why I replaced them with wood).

Beautiful telescope with decent color correction except that my sample placed a halo around all objects down to the 3rd magnitude. Jupiter was wild looking.

I took it back to the shop and they cordially replaced it with a Celestron C102HD.

I still feel that this is an excellent choice for a telescope. I was just unlucky. The telescope has some of the best color correction short of a semi-APO.

Submitted by Al Misiuk - amisiuk@wescospec.com - Seattle, Washington

The Review

I live in south Florida. Seeing conditions here stink to say the least. For this reason I decided to stay small on the aperture. After much searching a svd-90 from Orion seemed a good choice. I was lucky and found one on Orion's seconds list. The price was $230.00 as opposed to $399.00.

I have been impressed with optics. There is great contrast even in a milky sky. The star test seems good.

Also, there is very little false color. Previously I had what I believe was a junker, the observer 80mm eq ultra. There is no comparison!! Planetary detail was impressive with the svd-90. I have even been able to do some DSO from my back yard.

I have read much negative criticism of the SVD mount but unless one wishes to shell out $700.00+ for a GP it serves my purposes nicely. Even at 200x it remained quite stable.
Finally Orion's service is second to none. My second turned out to have a focuser that would not hold focus near the zenith. A new focuser was sent no questions asked. It is very smooth and has no problems. I am satisfied.

Submitted by marcus - marcus@peganet.com - Florida