n.b. Dedicated to the reddit.com/r/BuyItForLife and reddit.com/r/telescopes community – and those of us around who still care.
What has gone wrong?
Old telescope catalogues (particularly from Japan and the USA), and even the DIY (make your own telescope scenes) are a real joy to look though. Likely you would have been impressed by the quality of the scopes that were made.
Manufacturers often took genuine pride in the planning, and putting together each element.
Those quality telescopes depended on two things. Good engineering and good optics. Let’s clarify what “BuyItForLife” used to look like in a telescope by taking a trip to the past.
Where did it all go so wrong?
So where did it all go wrong? What happened to these old school manufacturers? Two factors.
Firstly, a lot of them got too good at what they did, and ended up getting different types of contracts. GOTO Japan used to make exceptional 100mm telescopes (for the teachers), and students had a smaller model (80mm) which you can still find with difficulty in Japan. Takahashi gave them a run for business and they ended up with Planetarium systems, ending an era. They certainly don’t make telescopes for the average user any longer. TAL Optics or the Novosibirsk Optical Factory ended up with military optical instruments. When these companies change direction, there is simply no one to manufacture what they used to make and they retain the patents that worked so well, so no one else can pick up and remanufacture those old scopes.
Secondly, “improved” (cheaper!) manufacturing methods were developed, and companies noticed they could make far more profit selling a sub-quality product at a far lower price than making high-quality ones. It’s hard to ask a manufacturer to improve the quality (and cost) of a product when there isn’t a corresponding increase in profits.
Have a look at Dave Trott walking us through a terrific scope - and to learn just how far we have fallen.
The GOTO series Telescope are a classic telescope design from Japan – and came from a golden age of telescope manufacturing. Watch the video to get a feel for the care and love that went into each one of these telescopes.
* You can also make your own ‘BIFL’ (really MIFL – Make it for life!) Dobsonian if you want to get in deep! Get instructed by John Dobson yourself!
Is it time to reverse the trend? Can it be done?
It might be. Consider – is THIS really what you want and what I want?
Many people are ignorant (and its not entirely their fault) about basic telescope optics and have no idea why one telescope might be better than another, or even what to look for. That means that people can tell them almost anything and they may well believe it.
A lot of attention is paid to features that mislead (misdirect – that is, direct attention to things that are not important, while avoiding showing or drawing attention to things that are) as to what the telescope is capable of. Typical of the sorts of products peddled are dreadful mounts, touting basic things (such as “multi-coating”) as advanced features, truly nasty SR grade eyepieces, wobbly mounts and worse (see the cheat sheet below).
Another factor is a lack of patience and willingness to learn. On the one hand, rubbish scopes are supplied where no amount of patience will help your experience get any better, and on the other, in an age of instant gratification, some people are not prepared to invest the time needed to get the most out of what is truly an amazing experience.
A counter-factor is that in an age of lies, misinformation and a flood of spammers offering deals too good to be true, why would you even trust anyone, or even find anyone selling proper BIFL scopes? I have had customers on the phone, patiently explaining why particular scopes are better than others, and they struggled to believe me. Honest people will not lie – so they are not going to make claims that look as good as others, who are prepared to say “whatever it takes” to get the deal.
The "BIFL" Elimination Cheat Sheet
Depending on where you are in the world, various telescopes may or may not be available to you. We are in Australia, while you may be in the US, India or South Africa or Europe and face vastly different choices. What I have decided to do is share with you some shonky tactics to look out for, as well as some signs of a quality scope. You can use the principles to evaluate any telescope on the market.
While I do recommend Kson, exactly what you get depends on the Kson dealer – we make extra demands on Kson when we order, so even if you get a Kson in another country, check the specifics. I do favor visual scopes, as opposed to astrophotography systems that can run into thousands and require extensive setup and a great deal of expertise.
Does the Telescope you are considering feature ANY of these issues?
What is "Buy it for Life" when it comes to a telescope?
There are four criteria that I will have for a BIFL instrument.
Quality – the instrument must be of a quality (function) that you would actually want to keep it for life. Grandfather’s Dobsonian may still be around, but if the optics are terrible and it takes three men to drag it out, it really doesn’t have that quality. Basically, it needs to be a very good telescope in its own right – one you want to have last.
Longevity – it must be able to be maintained over a long period. Instruments which, when they fall out of alignment (optical placement issue) or have wear and tear, they should be able to be repaired or at the very least, maintained so the rate of decay is slowed. Components that are likely to break or deteriorate shouldn’t be there in the first place.
Affordability – If a product is so expensive that it is particularly difficult to afford, I have my doubts about recommending it as a BIFL product. Yes, you want it a BIFL, but not at a silly price. If you have the cash, Takahashi, Televue, Astro-Physics brand are certainly BIFL, but most of us can’t afford that and want BIFL for substantially less!
The “X-Factor” – Maybe I am being a bit silly, but there needs to be something slightly emotional about the scope. For example, you know it has been hand figured, or it has a particularly nice surface (the pearl feel of some scopes is really nice!) or it comes with some delicious eyepiece that does really well for you, or you just love the extended dew shield, or just something that sets it apart from whatever else your looking at.
So what does a BIFL scope look like? (Mount and OTA Guide)
For an AZ system, get the KM2 for lighter scopes, the Kson AZ4 for up to 9kg scopes. Get the Kson AZ2 for quick setup for less than 5kg. We can ship the AZ4 all over the world pretty cheap, but if you can’t get one locally try for a Saxon or Skywatcher AZ4 or AZ5 for a rough equivalent. You need to check the load to see whether you are really ‘comparing eggs with eggs’.
Tip : Use discernment. Don’t get caught up on ‘AZ2’ or ‘AZ3’ – it’s often just marketing. LOOK at the mount. What weight can it bear? For example, compare the Kson AZ2 with the Saxon AZ3. Which one do you think will do better? Why?
For an EQ Mount System, get the Kson EQ4 or the Saxon EQ3. Both are excellent and the MINIMUM EQ weight system that we can recommend. In many a thread, many experienced observers have commented that all they want in a lifetime scope is a EQ3/4 with a motordrive bundled with a longer focal instrument. Remember, if you decide to get an EQ mount, you have decided that before watching, you will align the unit with the celestial pole (do you know where that is?). An EQ mount is NOT suitable for viewing targets that are on land, so if you intend to use it for general daytime observing, you should get a good AZ mount.
Why a good refractor stands the test of time
Type – We recommend a refractor. Yes, even above a dobsonian. A refractor can usually outlast even a good dob. A Dob will naturally fall out of alignment and require collimation. With exposed mirrors, it will be more subject to dust and fungus even more than a well kept and stored refractor for the simple reason that it is difficult to properly protect a large Dob not to mention, it’s heavy.
Aperture and Focal Length – A BIFL refractor should have between 80 and 102mm. The focal length should be between f/7 and f/12 to be a truly good quality visual instrument while still being affordable.
Achro or ED? – There are truly outstanding Achro BIFL scopes such as the discontinued GOTO’s and Russian TAL scopes. If you can afford it, go an ED Doublet, knowing that you will never regret it and cry once. If however, you are going to f/12, even an Achro will be so good, you certainly won’t feel disappointed.
We ARE trying to bring back BIFL guys!
Could we make it work again? I’ll share out story. We are a young company – When we found our main supplier back in 2018, Kson Electronics, they were torn, we feel, in two directions. On the one hand, they wanted to stand out, and make quality products but on the other hand, they were also being driven to manufacturer based on demand – and much of it was for – you guessed it, cheap telescopes. Could that change? We thought so.
We tried our best to change that. A few years ago, we worked with Kson to improve the quality of various components, starting with those that made the biggest difference. We then started encouraging minor adjustments that were not expensive but offered more value to the customer – and most importantly, we put our money where our mouth was and paid more – despite getting no real gain from it immediately, as it simply takes time for news of good quality to spread. Here are some of the things we asked for (and got!).
- Vastly improved focusers (we switched from plastic to metal, a single screw to a tri-lock system, and are now in our fourth iteration of dual speed focusers, and they are very good indeed)
- Dew shields (went from mostly fixed plastic shields, to full metal retractable – and we’ve even gone to full length shields (the dew shield, for it to be of any use, should be TRIPLE the aperture – try and find a manufacturer willing to do it other than Kson).
- Eyepiece changes – we never accepted poor eyepieces. Kson went with much larger lenses already, we encouraged that trend, and with our feedback, Kson have improved on and produced some exceptional (yet affordable!) eyepieces. Kson have reinvigorated the Orthoscopic market releasing Ortho eyepieces very close to OHI Japanese manufacturing standards
- Cases – It became clear that if you were to look after a scope you need to be able to put it somewhere. Cases now come as standard accessories with almost all refractors and even the mounts, counterweights and tripods. The only manufacturer to do so as standard.
- Aperture caps – these can be applied to transform the telescope from one suitability to another entirely – you can switch from watching deep space nebula to a planet type scope in seconds. We made it standard. Kson went even further, and created cross-compatibility with solar caps.
- Proper mounts – With Astro Dog, Kson introduced the EQ4 mount, currently in it’s third iteration. Great stability with excellent accessories, including the only clutch driven motor-drive accessory we’ve seen. They used materials designed for Australian conditions.
- Collimatable lens cells – in the past, if a refractor got a good whack, it would be unable to be fixed without sending it back to the manufacturer. Kson introduced collimatable lens cells which allow a user to adjust the lens cell and correct any issues over time themselves.
Edit 6/11/24 – Kson have advised they have taken up our latest suggestion and gone full stainless steel tripods for new series tripods. These will be available in Australia in late 2025, and are available for all international orders from now on.