What is it about the Vixen Optics 39955 4.7-Inch Telescope (also coded as VMC110L) that makes it so attractive? Well, first of all it’s the mount and tripod, which are so stable that it’s almost worth buying the Vixen Optics 39955 4.7-Inch Telescope only to use them for other telescopes you may own. The quality of Vixen Optics telescopes is also well-known, making this scope an attractive optical tool. For most astronomers, be they beginners or intermediate to professional, a light, portable, grab-and-go telescope is the best piece of equipment they can rely on. When such telescope comes with a sturdy tripod, plenty of accessories and revolutionary features for astrophotography as well, well, they are the happiest people on this planet. Today we will focus on the Vixen Optics 39955 4.7-Inch Telescope, advertised as one of those high performance telescopes which are also affordable and can bring the outer space closer to the user’s home. Let’s see together if this product is as performing as it is advertised.
What is the Vixen Optics 39955 4.7-Inch Telescope?
Vixen Optics usually makes high performance telescopes and some of the best mid-range telescopes on the market. This Vixen Optics 39955 4.7-Inch Telescope review will focus on the tech specs of the product, emphasizing that this one is dedicated to the beginners who love the great outdoors and wish for a grab-and-go tool for brilliant night sky gazing. It’s suitable to astronomy and as a nature scope (sitting scope) for bird-watching as such, as well. So let’s see those tech specs and decide if this telescope is good for you.
(Click image to see more pictures on Amazon)
One of the features that really capture the user’s attention is the aperture (110 mm) – quite an impressive number considering beginner telescopes revolve around 70 – 80 mm in aperture. Next, we have 1035 mm in focal length, with f/9.4 in focal ratio and 184x light gathering power, which is higher than almost anything else featured by similar products in the same price range. This is a Maksutov telescope, which says a lot when it comes to the quality featured optics – keep in mind that we also have a PL25 mm eyepiece on our hands. Things are looking great so far!
What can you see with this pick-and-go telescope? This is something all amateur astronomers want to find out when it comes to using good telescopes for beginners. Given the tech specs we’ve seen so far, you can easily look at the Moon and many of its craters, Jupiter and some of its moons, Saturn and its rings. Will you see other deep space celestial bodies, such as nebulas and star clusters? Depending on how you use the telescope, the answer should be “yes”, as light gathering power and the aperture should allow you such viewings.
Let’s talk about the Vixen Optics 39955 4.7-Inch Telescope Alt-Azimuth mount. Granted, the Vixen Optics 39955 4.7-Inch Telescope reviews are quite mixed when it comes to the optics and performances, but when it comes to the mount, there is only one opinion that rules them all: this is perhaps the best Alt-Az mount ever sold on the market, a piece of equipment which beats even the semi-professional and professional telescopes mounts. The Vixen Porta II mount and tripod are so good people use them for other models of telescopes as well. They fit and match almost anything and they are so easy to carry, so portable and so easy to control and manage, they probably make the best features of this telescope. The Porta II mount comes with a removable head (allowing you to put it on other tripods), with locking extension legs, flexible handles for smooth control and an accessory tray. It is stable and sturdy as a rock, but light as a father.
What you should know also is that the telescope comes with a built-in flip mirror, a red dot finder and a dovetail plate. The flip mirror in the back is quite a novelty, as it allows the user to switch rapidly between the eyepiece and a camera (if you’re thinking about astrophotography). This little perk makes the overall assemble to compete in the niche of good telescopes for astrophotography.
The tube is a modified Cassegrain f9.4 assembley, modified in order to reach that impressive 110 mm (4.33 inch) aperture. The quality of the mount contributes to giving the Vixen Optics 39955 4.7-Inch Telescope a significantly reduced level of noise and vibration, compared to less advanced telescopes, so the images you’ll obtain with that huge aperture will be crystal clear and wonderfully impressive.
Pros and Cons to Using the Vixen Optics 39955 4.7-Inch Telescope
PROS:
- Great aperture, focal length and light gathering power for a beginner’s telescope in this price range;
- The optics make the telescope revolve around the semi-professional niche, as the Plossl 25 mm lens and the eyepiece allow for high quality Vixen Optics 39955 4.7-Inch Telescope images of the usual celestial objects;
- It features interesting tech specs such as the internal flip mirror, the red dot finder and the universal dovetail plate allowing a lot of flexibility when it comes to sky and land viewings and even astrophotography;
- The Alt-Azimuth Vixen Porta II mount is state-of-the-art, as it matches all modern telescopes and tripods, it can be smoothly operated, lightweight and easy to use – the slow motion controls and the flexible handles, together with the sturdy observation platform makes this mount a piece of equipment that even pros would love to have;
- The telescope is easy to assemble and especially easy to carry around and transport, being one of the best grab-and-go telescopes on the market in terms of portability (it can fit into a backpack);
- Even if it is lightweight and very small, it is also compact, sturdy and well built;
- The Vixen Optics 39955 4.7-Inch Telescope price is quite affordable given its tech specs;
CONS:
- The red dot finder doesn’t work as well as advertised and many Vixen Optics telescopes reviews related to this product confirm that users replaced the red dot finder with other finders sold by other brands;
- The mirrors flex a bit too much for good focusing and you might get frustrated soon, as the focus flexibility seems to depend on so many known and unknown variables. You may replace the focus as well after a while;
- The Vixen Optics 39955 4.7-Inch Telescope manual is not as clear and comprehensive as others delivered by other brands and it is hard to find.
(Click image to see more pictures on Amazon)
Where to Find the Vixen Optics 39955 4.7-Inch Telescope?
You will find the Vixen Optics 39955 4.7-Inch Telescope for sale on Amazon at the best price of $534.15, which you may not consider cheap. However, being among the best Vixen Optics telescopes, this price speaks about the overall quality of the scope and especially of its versatility. The aperture and light gathering power are amazing – while the mount and tripod are probably the best money can buy, just as many different Vixen Optics 39955 4.7-Inch Telescope reviews agreed upon already.
Extra Info:
Maintenance Advice
The telescope is stable and sturdy, so it will be quite safe from accidents. However, you should keep it away from dusty areas and humidity and clean the lenses with microfiber cloths.
Telescope Accessories
There are plenty of other eyepieces available for the telescope, together with many matching red dot finders, mirrors and other accessories, should you want to upgrade and enhance the telescope’s performances. The Porta II mount can also match almost all modern tripods on the market, but the tripod shouldn’t be replaced, as it is of the highest quality.
Warranty and Guarantee Information
Vixen offers a 1-year warranty for all the products starting with the day of the purchase.
Our Recommendation
Our Vixen Optics 39955 4.7-Inch Telescope rating mostly matches the Amazon reviewers’ ratings, granting this product an almost 4-stars review, with the amendment that there are some minor flaws in its optical performance, according to consumer reports for telescopes. The eyepiece is excellent, but the red dot finder is not. Also, collimation should work better and other small details in poor building (the telescope’s plastic objective cover is too tight) and poor performances (focus and aiming are not constantly optimal, not constantly poor) should be taken into consideration before purchasing the product. We also recommend you to look for Vixen Optics 39955 4.7-Inch Telescope YouTube videos, to get a closer look at the product and its specs.
However, this telescope has three incredible features that recommend it for beginner astronomers with a real passion who already know they will move towards more professional instruments: the eyepiece, the flexible mirror and the mount and tripod (the last two being the reason this telescope is so highly rated and for good reasons). The price is affordable for the tech specs featured by the scope, but there are other similar products boasting better prices. We recommend it for a first grab-and-go scope which needs a few adjustments. Keep in mind you can use the eyepiece, mount and tripod with your future scope, so this actually saves you quite a lot of money in the future.
(See more product details and prices on Amazon)
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