A fabulous telescope and a real step up from anything 100mm or smaller. I wasn't sure whether to go for the PDS but I bought the electronic focusser upgrade instead and it works perfectly.

After a year of use I thought it worth chipping in to agree with the positive reviews for this very reasonably priced telescope. One star knocked off for minor quibbles:
(1) that the single speed focuser is hard to use because you tend to jiggle the whole array. I have fitted a ZWO Electronic Automatic Focuser - and yes you can bolt it on quite simply, as described in the very clear instructions by a French guy on YouTube! This is ultra precise.
(2) collimation is a faff, although not as daunting as it first seems. I added some extended bolts to the secondary mirror holder which helps a lot, though the design of this isn't great.
IMPORTANTLY don't believe what some say: you can indeed attach a DSLR directly onto the draw tube with the usual T adapter and achieve focus, with about 1cm to spare. I have been using my Nikon D750 like this quite merrily ... the drawback being that the coma on the edges of a full frame camera like mine can be quite chronic, but that's a separate issue.
I hope that helps someone.

I'm an amateur astronomer and a beginner Astrophotographer and I can say that this telescope is perfect for its money to size ratio, it took few nights and some YouTube tutorials to understand how to assemble and observe the night sky but it was 100% worth it to buy this telescope.

for planetary observation this telescope as it is capable of seeing good enough details of gas giants such as Jupiter and Saturn, Mars is a bit challenging to observe due to its small size but when the atmosphere is very calm and its dark enough outside you can a see a bit of its ice caps. and of course the moon's details are even seen with our naked eyes so observing with this telescope is just amazing, many small craters are very detailed with many other surface landmarks.

for planetary photography the telescope is fine for the job but you will need some tracking device or a GO-TO unit installed on your equatorial mount to take proper pictures as well with a dedicated planetary camera or a DSRL making it more expensive to buy when your main goal is photography.
the main problem for planetary photography its telescope sizes, getting more details of the planets requires more aperture and focal length hence a larger telescope you will need.

for Star and other DSO object visual astronomy and astrophotography, it all comes down to the weather and light pollution because most of those objects are dim so the more darker skies are and the more calmer is the atmosphere the brighter the object will be, Dso's are lightyears across so even a smaller telescope will do the job, for astrophotography, of course you will need some tracking device or a GO-TO unit as well with a camera that will capture as much light as possible.

overall this telescope is a must for newcomers to this hobby as well for more experienced astronomers, for newcomers, this telescope will inspire and will make this hobby more enjoyable, for experienced astronomers it will surprise them how this quite small telescope compared to more professional ones does the job.

the telescope quality is great and quite easy to adjust and maintain it, it comes with 25mm and 10mm eyepiece as well with x2 Barlow lens, these are a good for both visual astronomy and a bit of astrophotography,
personally I would instead choose the Sky-Watcher 200P because its larger aperture but it will require a more expensive mount that the usual EQ-3 or EQ-5 that can handle its weight, and speaking of weight, the Sky-Watcher 150p is more portable and a better option for grab and go.

I also want to thank the FLO amazing staff, they will advise and help you with choosing the right equipment for you and explain everything you will ask them.

The scope arrived quickly and in A1 condition. A few minutes with my home made Cheshire collimator revealed spot on alignment. A quick check of focus, however, on a distant TV aerial failed as none of my eyepieces would reach focus. I sent an email to Alex at FLO and he couldn't have been more helpful. Turns out the distant object wasn't nearly distant enough. Under the mediocre moorland skies here the little Newtonian performed admirably and all but two of my eyepieces achieved focus. They now have 5mm Astro Essentials parfocal spacers, dead cheap and highly recommended. The relatively small 31% secondary obstruction meant high contrast views of Jupiter and the Pleiades were pinpoints almost to the edge of the two degree field, indicating an excellent parabola. So don't dismiss this scope as old fashioned, it provides a really cheap alternative to that exotic apochromat!

Hello,

Want to thank you for your excellent service. We ordered our SkyWatcher 150P OTA Friday and it arrived the following Wednesday, amazing. The scope so far looks like piece of art with an excellent build. I do miss the days when things were made someplace other than China, but this looks like a great piece of equipment. We are anxious to try it out. You guys are awesome. Across the Atlantic in 5 days (including a non-work weekend). Heck, Amazon can't get a book here from New Jersey that fast without paying a premium to join some club.

Thank You,

Christopher

P.S. We intend to do business again.

I'm just an amateur! I've had one of these for around 10 years. Mounted on a EQ5 sized mount. I've often thought about upgrading .. but really, these are such a good size and weight for handling, almost grab and go. Within a few minutes you can be looking at the planets in really great detail (kids are impatient!). My upgrades are a Baader hyperion eye piece 5mm (excellent) and I got a dual speed focuser which transformed the scope and well worth it. Get a collimator, I made one from a laser pointer. They stay in collimation really well but correct collimation improves the images. I recently dismantled mine, cleaned the mirrors and cobwebs, took me 15 minutes to bring it back to perfect collimation, it's not difficult. I often put my DSLR on it, it's just tough enough for that. I use a T2 mount and cheap extension rings off ebay .. £20 in total and you can be eye piece projecting. Mines pointing at Mars right now and I can see the white pole and surface detail in UK. A really nice garden telescope, doesn't break the bank and just the right size to be useful and for quick set up. Focal length is compromise between DS objects but OK for Planetary. Easily transportable ... the 200p I'm sure is excellent but is huge!

Excellent scope great views of the moon Jupiter and Saturn, didn't get a chance to check out DSO's yet because of weather and the moon. I have this Ota on a az5 deluxe with the steel tripod and I find it rock solid, the Ota and tripod and head were purchased from FLO and everything arrived a couple of days later and everything in excellent condition. I had to do a wee bit of tweaking with the collimation probably because of the journey Essex to Dundalk Ireland. I want to thank FLO for there excellent service and also customer support, I couldn't be happier with my purchase

There's a lot to love about this scope and I'm surprised that more people don't get one of these beautiful 6" Newtonians.

First the negative - if you're considering one of these scopes you need a collimation tool to assist you with getting the mirrors lined up correctly. It's an easy job and only takes a minute to do when you know what you're doing.

The focuser is brilliant. It's smooth and very easy to use and holds focus well, even when you're hanging a DSLR, upside down off the back of it. It has plenty of travel and makes focusing a breeze. It's even compatible with the Skywatcher auto focuser (FLO also sell these).

Since the telescope is only 750mm long, it's easy to store. I keep mine on my desk (mirror up). The next model up (the very popular 200P) is 25% taller (1000mm) and 33% thicker (8") and it's also heavier. If you're wanting to perform astrophotography, it helps to have a lighter and smaller telescope so that the mount can track more accurately.

This scope has given me blow-away views of Saturn and the moon and jaw-dropping views of star clusters and other deep space objects, although I primarily use mine for imaging.

If your interest is mostly in the planets and the moon, then I would recommend the also brilliant Skywatcher Maksutov 127 over this telescope. However if your interest is more in a wider field (rather than high power zoom) view of deep space (as well as delivering good views of solar system objects) or astrophotography then this is the scope to get! It will take you plenty of time to outgrow this more than capable, very good value telescope.

The scope is well built, easy to set up and most importantly, brilliant to use!

The tube feels very solid, yet light and manageable at the same time. It's also quite compact, so storage isn't a problem.

Targets like the moon and Saturn are stunning, both showing amounts of detail I wouldn't have thought possible from a scope of this price. The included 25mm eyepiece gives nice, low power views. The 10mm I don't find as good. The 2X Barlow is very good for doubling the power of the eyepiece. Deep sky objects are equally stunning, though harder to locate with the supplied finderscope.

Collimating (lining up the 2 mirrors) is reassuringly easy, especially as this is the first scope I have ever collimated. To do this though you need a collimating eyepiece.

The Crayford focuser is very smooth in operation, and has a convenient focus lock to avoid any small nudges in the focus.

I would highly recommend this scope to anyone, especially those who are just starting out in this amazing hobby.