I have been doing astronomy (mostly visual) for over 5 decades. I have used pretty much every type of instrument - including big binoculars in the 120mm (APM120-45SDs from David!) class range.
I got this scope initially to do outreach with the Winnipeg RASC when we had events, but I later retrofitted it with a better focuser, added an RDF (picatinny-style, rifle reflex mount) and added a AZ5 on a Manfrotto 028 tripod.
This scope amazes me. I have some very high end refractors as well (triplet TMB and Stellarvue Apos, etc.) - however, this slick offering form Skaywatcher is, IMO, a REAL bargain, and worthy of some serious consideration, for those wanting a very versatile instrument!
I can do lunar, solar and planetary (daytime and evening!), and then switch to wide field views of DSOs. Now, I will be honest here - the optics on my sample is VERY sharp. These are well made achromats! However, this scope DOES suffer from chromatic aberration, with an unfiltered vew showing bluish rings around the brightest objects.
I use a Baader Fringe Killer filter (2", on my diagonals) and sometimes add a Neodymium Moon and Skyglow if needed to color balance the image better. I have also used successfully the IDAS P2 Sky filter and it also works well (esp. if doing photography wide field).
Using the Fringe Killer alone, I have succesfully observed the sun to between 47-90X with good chromatic control (some chroma, but minimized) - with Baader AS film filters.
Planetary to 150X can be handled well with SHARP details on Saturn and Jupiter (seeing limited, have gone to 190X but rarely in this scope yet). Daytime planetary to 90X routinely on Jupiter, which is a lot of fun!
Widefield swaths with a good widefield eyepiece like a Baader 31mm Hyperion Aspheric, or even using the Hyperion Zoom 8-24mm is a lot of fun as well. Naglers, APM, and Baader eyepieces handle things VERY well.
Explore Scientific LER series seem to do a superb job in this scope as well: Have used the 4.5mm (133X), 6.5mm (93X), and 8.5mm (71X) 82-degree LERs work nicely on the moon and planets, and so does the 26mm, 62-degree LER (23X at about 2.7 degrees) - REALLY nice for wider fields. One can go wider as well, but that is a nice sombination.
Stars with a quality mirror diagonal are crisp across the field, with minimal issues in good, well-corrected eyepieces. High power star tests show clean Airy patterns, and double stars split beautifully.
Is it the perfect telescope? No such thing, but for a combination of reasonable high power images, and wide/rich-field observing, it is hard to beat for both price, and performance, in my opinion.
I would highly recommend this OTA/tube assembly on a AZ5 for almost the ideal "grab and go" system - no frills, just a lot of fun!
So, whether you are a novice, or even a more seasoned amateur astronomer, I think that you cannot go too far wrong with this instrument. Just pair it up with a good quality diagonal and eyepieces, and away you go! (David can assist in selecting good options for you!)
Happy Star-Gazing! - I rate 5 stars for both the "fun" factor, and build quality/value.
DH, Edmonton AB.
