Zambuto Mirrors?

This is really showing my ignorance of modern equipment, but I keep seeing references to the high quality of Zamuto mirrors. I think that these are in Starmaster scopes, but what other brands contain these? Do any other companies sell mirrors of comparable quality, or are Zambuto's the best? Do they make these in 8"?

Gary

Starmaster, Starsplitter, Teleport and Portaball are the only telescope makers carrying Zambuto mirrors. I think that Starsplitter and Portaball have 8" versions, but don't quote me on that. You can't buy a Zambuto mirror for an ATM project unless you can find someone who is selling one on their own, and that is not likely!

Carl makes mirrors that are *consistently* excellent, but I think that there are other mirror makers that are capable of making mirrors that are every bit as good. Every Pegasus mirror I have looked through were also of the same caliber, as were mirrors from Steve Swayze. I have also heard wonderful things about R.F. Royce, Mark Harry, and Mike Spooner. The point is, there are several mirror makers out there that are putting out some amazingly good optics, as long as you are willing to pay the price. Take a look at some of the specs and guaranteed minimum standards that some of these guys are putting on their mirrors and you will see what I am talking about. Can you tell the difference between .98 and .99 Strehl? I can say for certain that I can not.

I have owned two Zambutos, one Pegasus and a Swayze during my time in the hobby and I would be hard pressed to say which one was a hands down winner, though my current 11" F/5.4 Starmaster w/Zambuto would come mighty close!

Doug
Midway, FL

Every Zambuto mirror that I've ever experienced, probably several dozen by now, has been superb. (Some of my very best planetary views have been through Starmasters.) IIRC, part of reason that a Zambuto mirror performs so well is the remarkable smoothness of its surface.

Dave Mitsky

I have both 8" and a 12.5" Portaballs, both with Carl Zambuto mirrors. My experiences have been very similar to those described by others; the Zambuto mirrors offer beautiful, contrasty views due to the fine figuring and smoothness that Carl is justifiably famous for. On clear nights with steady seeing, I've had near religious experiences with my Zambuto mirrors.

If you spend a significant amount of time looking at the skies through telescopes equipped with these mirrors, you'll become spoiled. This is NOT a bad thing!