A collection of independent reviews and community discussions about AstroReflect mirrors, shared by telescope makers and amateur astronomers from around the world.
“I think a lot of people have never really experienced spectacular seeing. Living in Oregon I never did until I started spending my winters in Mexico. Warm nights next to the ocean, the stars looked like diamonds in the sky, like I was in outer space. I could use 500x magnification night after night on the moon and planets, looking at the moon was like looking out a porthole from low orbit.
This last winter I spent in southern Arizona and had many nights almost that good. I had my 12″ with the Astroreflect mirror with me and I had never known just how good that mirror was until I got it under excellent seeing and it showed its stuff, amazing view of Jupiter and the Moon at super high magnifications. If I had not been able to test it under great seeing I’d never have known.”
Bvillebob – Eugene, Oregon, USA
Original post – Cloudy nights
“I’ve finally had a chance to use it under nearly perfect seeing and can confirm that it is indeed an outstanding mirror. My other 12” scope is a think quartz mirror from Zambuto so I have a decent comparison. The Astroreflect mirrors come with “test data” showing Strehl rations in the 9’s, and my observations suggest to me that they are true numbers.”
Bvillebob – Eugene, Oregon, USA
Original post – Cloudy nights
“Jupiter itself rejoiced with a wealth of detail. And all this at an altitude of only 23°. The Astroreflect mirror is simply razor-sharp.”
Fintel – Germany
Original post – Astrotreff
“I’m using a 10” f/4 mirror from Astroreflect, which I ordered at the beginning of 2020. The mirror arrived in September 2020, simply packaged. The quality is absolutely top-notch. I also run the telescope at f/2.8, and even then, the mirror performs exceptionally well.
I’m a member of the VDS Astrophotography Working Group and have accumulated hundreds of hours of photons with the 10″ telescope.
In any case, the Astroteflect is in no way inferior to a Lomo or Zambuto.”
Lg Peter (Raceskater) – Germany
Original post – Astronomie.de
“Due to lack of time for building the 8” telescope and “other tasks,” first light only occurred a few days ago.
The mirror is absolutely top-notch, and I have no doubts about the accuracy of the interferogram. The image is very sharp, the focus point is crisp (it snaps into place), double stars and planets are excellent. As far as I can tell, there were no anomalies in the star test.
From my perspective (and I hope this applies to more than just this mirror), this is an absolute top recommendation for AstroReflect mirrors.”
Martin (Martin_B) – Germany
Original post – Astronomie.de
“For the Astroreflect mirror I chose a 254/1270 in 25mm and it’s perfect 👍.”
joker0247 – France
Original post – webastro
“Since I had previously had excellent experiences with three mirrors from Astroreflect, it made sense to order another f/4 version.”
“I immediately became aware of the quality of the telescope I possessed! It was the first I had seen anything like it in real life, aperature is not the only important thing but also the quality of the mirror which was about 1/10 lambda!
I had the time of my life! Never in my 30 years of telescope viewing, had I seen anything like it. This just goes to show the awesome job that the guys at Astroreflect did for me! This wonderful telescope was worth every penny!”
Tsvetan Georgiev (tsetsodrums) – Sofia, Bulgaria
Original post – Stellar society
“I’ve been using the Astroreflect 10″ f:4 for astrophotography for several weeks now and I’m thrilled!!!”
“Custom-made mirrors with a certificate of conformity are generally well over 90%, usually over 95%, Strehl ratio. The last few Strehl points are only achieved through constant remeasurement and retouching, with long waiting times in between, which drives up the price. Astroreflect can also be mentioned among the top mirror manufacturers today.”
“I just ordered my 400mm f/4 mirror from Astroreflect last week. I asked Yordan about managing astigmatism during polishing with this 25mm thickness, specifying that it would be a problem for me if he wasn’t skilled enough. I was willing to go for a thicker one, and he said it wasn’t a problem, he knew how to do it…
I would have been more worried, but we received five 250mm mirrors, two 300mm mirrors, and one 355mm mirror, and they are really good and all super-polished. We ran them through a severe phase plate, and we can’t see any roughness, nothing, or almost nothing! It’s easily as good as French craftsmen, so these guys know how to polish. I’d be interested in seeing their workshop.”
yannick78 – France
Original post – webastro
“My 14” Martini Dobsonian telescope is equipped with a 350mm Astroreflect primary mirror and an 18-point mirror cell. The mirror thickness is 25mm, and the mirror material is Borofloat 33.
Together with the smallest possible high-quality secondary mirror and TV eyepieces in combination with a TV-Paracorr coma corrector, the visual image quality of this optical combination is excellent and beyond reproach, even in direct comparison with other high-quality optics.
I haven’t noticed any storage-related optical aberrations in the 14″ Dobsonian with the Astroreflect primary mirror and 18-point mirror cell.”
Hermann (Herfo88) – Germany
Original post – Astronomie.de
“The centerpiece is the primary mirror from Astroreflect.
AR produces extremely high-quality mirrors. All three of my previous AR mirrors are top-notch.
My example has a Strehl ratio of 98.5%.
This precision allowed me, for the first time ever, to visually see the central star in M57 with a 12″ telescope.
I achieved this sighting spontaneously during one of the first test nights, right outside my front door.”
Fintel – Germany
Original post – Astrotreff
“AstroReflect mirrors from Bulgaria impress with their quality (each mirror comes with a certificate) and their moderate weight.
Sure, the mirrors have a delivery time, but they’re definitely worth it.”
Wolfgang Ransburg (TS Wolfi) – Telescop-Service , Germany
Original post – Astrotreff
The mirror from Astroreflect is absolutely flawless.
The mirror makes a big difference.