“Turning towards the stars later in the evening, the scope’s wide field of view became obvious”

clusters and galaxies more suited to the telescope’s wider field.

It’s with imaging that one of the 60 EDF’s more novel characteristics comes into play, namely the Camera Angle Adjuster (CAA) at the back end of the telescope. This allows your camera to rotate to better frame your target on the imaging sensor, resulting in more picturesque images.

It’s particularly handy for imaging planets, since refractors produce upside-down images that turn south up and north down on planets. The CAA lets you negate this by simply turning the camera around. Triple-locking thumbscrews make sure that your camera is held in place securely.

As with all Altair Astro telescopes, its lovely white-and-black livery with a splash of red on the focuser, lens cap and around the rim of the dew shield, which when extended gives the scope a length of 30cm, looks rather pretty, and what you get in such a small package is admirable.

Be warned, despite its small size the 60 EDF is not a beginner’s package. For one, it doesn’t come with any eyepieces or a diagonal, so a purchaser either has to buy them separately or use ones they already own, which a beginner is unlikely to have. The visual views through a 60mm aperture also limit the observer in what they can see – imagers will get far more out of the ‘scope. But the crystalclear views through the optics and ease of use make the 60 EDF a winner in our eyes.