This is a mixed review on both the scope and the service. I was initially thrilled the Mak 127 made it to Israel in two days, and proceeded unbox and insulate it for immediate testing. That’s when i noticed the wobble on the focuser and the very shoddy drilling at the back - raised scalloped edges sharp enough to cut your hand on. Contacted flo, who might have been busy or tired at the end of the day and didn’t quite follow, then loosened a little the focuser micro screws to try adjust its position. Thats when the metal shaft just fell in - it wasn’t fixed ay all- never to be seen again. From the little i could focus before that, collimation seemed imperfect. I thought i might exchange the scope for an in- store tested one (although with such bad qc, maybe staying away from the brand would be best?) but FLO proceeded to tell me first that they were not offering an exchange only a return (even though the return paperwork said returned for repair not for refund!), then came a second email requesting that i stopped buying at FLO at all. The reason? Ten returns. Which never happened - in reality there were two, both faulty items, but they added to the count the enclosed small accessories such as an (also faulty) rigel, dewshield etc. Turns out FLO is ok with sending overseas imperfect equipment and having me pay taxes here, as long as i do not return them! That’s taking a loss on shipping! So my suggestion to them is, begin charging a small fee for double checking the equipment before shipping to overseas customers. Other good suppliers do just that and it saves their customers all the headache and money loss. Needless to say, I will not order from here again.

This telescope is marvel to move around, its light enough for the aperture size. Scope arrived in perfect collimation and star tested very good at max high power with an artificial star; looked very similar with star patterns both sides of focus, smooth clean diffractions. Clear, crisp high contrast views of the Moon on several nights of observation. Little minor issues with some chromatic aberration in the outer last 10-15% of FOV (field of view) - as tested with many eyepieces, but this was very minor and the rest of the field was sharp and clear with no other dicernable aberrations. Small arcing light flares were noticed on bright objects that were just outside the FOV not too distracting and a minor thing to note. Highly recommended and would consider this as an excellent purchase at a great price! Thanks FLO the scope arrived super fast and secure to Canada.

I’ve only had the opportunity to use this a handful of times so far with the weather we’ve had, but I’m really pleased so far.
I found the red dot finder a little tricky to get aligned - I find I lose sight of the object behind the dot, which in comparison to the field of view is quite large.

So far most of the planets have been too low on the horizon for me to get any views, but I have had a some great views of Jupiter and several of its moons - surprisingly good considering this was one of my first attempts and the conditions were not ideal (low angle, bright and quite turbulent seeing).

Really looking forward to getting out again with this!

This is a fine optical instrument. Really clear, bright views of Jupiter, Saturn and Venus. Not really had a chance to properly use it yet as mostly cloudy with intermittent clear patches. I would highly recommend FLO. Speedy delivery and excellent customer service.

I've had this for a few years now and it never disappoints. This has to be one of the best purchases I've done here. Even with the eyepieces in the box I can easily spot Saturn's rings. Recommended!

Sky watchers colour scheme has changed recently and the green anodised dovetail bar and lining really lift the scope above the ordinary as far as appearance goes. As I unboxed the 'scope and looked at it in the polythene bag the first thought I had was "that is a handsome looking telescope". I mounted it on a heavy duty camera tripod and took a look at the upside down world around me and in particular my favourite test target, an electricity pylon about 400 or so yards away, to spot the female companion to the sparrow hawk that hunts in my garden, taking a rest on top of it. The image was sharply defined and clear and very pleasing. Unfortunately the nights were cloudy and it was not until about ten days later I had an opportunity to test it under the cold November sky.
I started with a look at the moon and was blown away by how sharp and clear everything was. Then a quick peek at Saturn which was not well placed in the evening sky and the rings showed up nice and sharp. Later in the evening when Orion came over the horizon I focused on M42 and found it with no problem even though it was surrounded by light pollution. I then star hopped my way to M31 and again found a beautiful sight filling the eyepiece.
I bought this 'scope as a grab and go 'scope to mount on an EQ5 that I am awaiting parts for and I have not been disappointed. It performs as well as it looks.
Thanks also to FLO for their trademark speedy service.

I bought one of these with the EQ3 mount. For planetary and lunar work it is spectacularly good. It seems to occupy that sweet spot of having a decent aperture but still being incredibly compact and at 3.5kg fits on a huge range of mounts. Also performs very well on brighter messiers - especially globular clusters. Can just about resolve outer stars on M13, easily see the centre of M57, can see the swan in the swan nebula. But really excels at planetary - mars polar ice caps and Jupiter’s GRS easily achievable. However - narrow field of view makes finding targets a challenge and also these scopes must must must have some sort of dew shield as they are dew magnets!

Had 3 of these on my time ..all optically EXCELLENT..
RED SPOT on Jupiter and thw HOLLOW it sits in NO problem ..likes about 220x on a good night. ..However, MARS and Saturn easily take 400x same nights.
Partially esolves a lot of globs
and good on Clusters witj a 30mm Vixen PLOSSL..
Came in a nice protective bag super fast to Oz at a great price.
Well dfone First Light Optics

This is a nice instrument at a great price from FLO. Very sharp across most of the field of view. It fit well on my AZ4 mount. There are some stray reflections visible from bright object just outside the field of view but it is minimal. Highly recommended

I bought a Mak 127 specifically for viewing the moon and planets from central London.

The quality of the optics is exquisite and probably only surpassed by APO refractors of similar diameter at more than twice the price.

The Skywatcher Dob 200 is better value, but if you live in a small flat like me and want a dinky little scope that you can hide in a corner, then get a Mak.