House of Optics and the off-spring of Dmitri Maksutov.

Ylena, STF/Mirage, LOMO, Intes-Micro and Intes. 

Maksutov Cassegrains and Maksutov Newtonians.

  Since the original introduction of the Celestron and Meade SCT's several decades ago, it became clear that compact catadioptrics would become market leaders in mass-produced serious astronomical telescopes. The modern mass-produced Schmidt Cassegrain offers some advantages over the equivalent aperture refractor or Newtonian. It is more compact than either, offers certain practical photographic advantages over the Newtonian, exhibits no chromatic aberration seen in achromatic refractors, is generally far less expensive than the similar aperture APO refractor, does not suffer the same problems with tube currents seen in Newtonians, does not exhibit coma like a short f/ Newtonian, generally has a flatter field than a short f/ achromatic refractor, or Newtonian and is more portable and transportable than either.

  The areas where mass-produced SCT's do not match well made Newtonians or refractors are image contrast, aberration correction and optical consistency due to production methods and these are arguably the most important areas of all. After all, what use is a telescope if it does not provide images that are stimulating.

  To enjoy the benefits of a compact catadioptric as well as the optical quality normally associated with apochromatic refractors and high performance Newtonians, requires the use of the Cassegrain system corrected by the Maksutov meniscus. Earlier Maksutov Cassegrain designs employed a silvered central spot on the inside of the Meniscus that served as the secondary mirror. This design popularised by John Gregory is still in use in some well known Maksutovs. These Maksutovs use all spherical optical surfaces.

  One variation of the Maksutov Cassegrain has become known as the Rumak (Rutten Maksutov), although its correct name should be Separate Secondary Maksutov (SSmak) as the design was used many times before Harrie Rutten's use of this design. This configuration uses a separate secondary mirror, giving the designer freedom to calculate a surface that provides a flatter photographic field than a Gregory, with more aberration correction. The spot size and diffraction limited field size for photography is also notably superior to that of the SCT. Astrophotographers report superior results with SSmaks, and visually these instruments are notably better, with improved low level contrast and greater usable magnifications than any of the similar aperture SCTs. The central obstruction (although not as large as the f/10 SCT's) is typically around 33% for an f/10 or f/12 SSmak. f/15 SSmaks can reach secondary diameters down to 23%, and f/8 Maksutov Newtonians as low as 13%. These instruments can match and beat for contrast and resolution, the world's best apochromatic refractors, as they can be made to much larger sizes, and still within the budget of some of the more enthusiastic 'contrast junky' astronomers.

  Originating in Russia during the 1940s, the Maksutov-Cassegrain was popularised commercially first by Questar, then Quantum, followed a couple of decades later by Celestron (C90), later by Meade (ETX series) and more recently by TEC, the AstroPhysics 10"  and Synta et. al. Questar was the first to demonstrate that commercially manufactured Maks could be made to a high standard, and although many of the Maks that followed were not to the same optical and mechanical standards, those Maks that have their roots in Russia or the former Soviet countries still outperform all-comers.

  Currently in Russia there are a small number of highly skilled opticians and engineers, working in very small companies producing hand built Maksutovs. The factories from the old Soviet regime are still used, and the manufacturing culture that still exists in Russia, results in telescopes that have the attention to detail paid to the important areas of production, optical quality and mechanical stability. The gloss of aesthetic appearance overriding the intrinsic quality of a product, increasingly seen in many products we have become used to in the West, has yet to infect the culture of Russian telescope manufacturers. Long may it stay that way.

  House of Optics stocks or has stocked every Maksutov product from Russia. Large 16" SSmaks, down to 5" SSmaks from Intes-Micro, 70mm SSmaks from Best Optics , 85mm and 150mm Gregory Maks (Ylena ) from Best Optics, the current choice of the Mak enthusiasts - the Mirage 7" and 8" Maks from STF, 6", 7" and 9" SSmaks from Intes, LOMO fork mounted Gregory Maks of 133mm to 200mm, LOMO mini-Maks from the Astele 65 Gregorian, to the 10X30 Maksutov Monocular, APO beating Maksutov-Newtonians from 12" down to the new 5" f/8 from Intes-Micro, and many others. The worlds armed forces, surveillance organisations, police forces and security companies all prefer the Maksutov in its many variations as the high resolution instrument of choice. There is simply nothing to compare with it for performance, usability, compact size and cost.

  The House of Optics office in Moscow ensures a direct daily link with Mirage, Intes-Micro, LZOS and others. This allows our New Product Development team to meet and discuss new products on a regular basis. It also means that direct communication of ideas from end users can reach the manufacturers, something that has not happened before. We now proudly boast the closest direct links with the suppliers of high performance optics within the entire world market. We can now offer at least 85 models of high performance Maksutov-Cassegrains and Maksutov-Newtonians, from Questar-beating Maksutov spotting scopes to large aperture Mak-Newts with unapproached planetary and high contrast deep-sky performance.

  There has never been a better time to take advantage of current cutting edge optical technology. Choosing a Maksutov from House of Optics guarantees ownership of one of the finest catadioptrics in the world, originally conceived, designed and manufactured in the oldest and finest optical producing nation of them all.