Baader zoom...Just Terrible!!! :(

[redjmp]

I have no doubt that the original zoom was a good eyepeice and is the one garnering all the rave reviews.

I however have been shipped a mark iii.
I strongly suspect that in spite of the advertised improvements over the previous model, it really was just window dressing to hide the shoddy workmanship that now goes into the mass production of these.
I mean if they have geared upfor say 10 units a day and all of a sudden they have orders for thousands, well something's gotta give doesn't it?
Either they start working the employees longer hours so that they are more tired and therefore more likely to make a mistake and forget to do something or do it right,
or they hire more new recruits who are not yet well trained and more apt to screw up,
or cut corners so that each one takes less time to build,
or not bother testing them.
And since this is China we are talking about, I can see all 4 things happening at once.
Also there would be a strong push to cut costs and maximize profits if they already had piles of confirmed orders don't you think?

It would just make good business sense wouldn't it?
And that has happened so many times before, even in astronmy as the big C and M took a dive after Halley's.

The downside is that the occaisonal guy like me gets the shaft.
No big deal.

The keeners (sorry!) who's opinion matters all got theirs last year, while they were still well made.

And have gotten to rave about them for almost an eternity to us late comers who have been kept patiently waiting.

Why?

So that Baader can pile up more and more orders before pulling the old bait and switch?

Why mess with a good thing? Mark iii... yeah right...

You know, it wouldn't surprise me one bit to find out my zoom is in fact a Baader knock off! lol

Corruption in China is among the worst on Earth so why wouldn't it spread into the relatively lucrative expensive astro/optic business?

I wonder if I tore mine down piece for piece along with an original, what I would find lol!

Anyways I'm done my rant for now and I am sorry if this seems to have gotten personal.

I'm well within my right to be firing shots at Baader right now as I have been screwed by them!

If you don't want to get hit, don't stand in my line of fire!

[sxinias]

You have some very valid points. I sometimes believe that truth in advertising laws do not apply to telescopes and accessories. How else can some manufacturers get away with the BS they claim about their products ... a two inch refractor at 500X for example and the story goes on and on.
You have said nothing about where you purchased the Baader Zoom. A reputable dealer will exchange it for another. Customs generally have a way to handle this situations .... but can be a hassle. Another possibility is the dealer is not a good dealer. Your Baader could then be a Baader knock-off or one that the QC department at Baader rejected.

[Enig]

I would very much like to see some folks with access to both the original and the "Mark III" get them together and compare them in detail.

[Prometheus]

Your Baader could then be a Baader knock-off or one that the QC department at Baader rejected.

This I feel is probably more likely. Many times I have seen a product be in high demand. No where to be found but some "lucky" dealer has it available. They have a source to get the product when nobody else can. I would say that more often than not the dealer doesn't even realize that this wonderful supplier that offers them a product that no one else can get has actually bought a lot of counterfeit items.

There are some Chinese companies whose whole line of product are knock offs, from purses to jeans to mp3 players. That is what competition is over there, counterfeiting products.

I hate to buy anything made overseas, but it is becoming a hard not to buy products made overseas. I have noticed this is no different in the world of telescopes and accessories. I would love to be able to buy a scope made here in the U.S. like a Discovery, but I can't afford it. Maybe there is a Chinese company that will make me a counterfeit.

[mikenz]

You got a BAD ONE-- return it.

agreed, of all the ep's i picked up early on the baader zoom is the only one that i still have and it works very well for me. it was suggested by a member here but i have also read several reviews online and none had anything bad to say about the piece. like joe said, return it must be a factory dud. best of luck.

[jeditony65]

i have just brought a baader zoom so i have not tryed it yet been raining, but hoping the hype is true

[Zeiss]

I am against zoom lenses in general, and I have not used the baader zoom. But I agree that you probably got a defective one. If some people got a bad one, sounds like yours was baader...
sorry couldnt help myself

[Zeiss]

um... this thread is old....

[Voyager3]

I agree with ibase.

I wasn't halfway through the original post when I said to myself "that has to be a defective unit". I don't own the Baader zoom, but have the Celestron one, so I know a little about zoom performance. When a popular product is so clearly out of whack, the diagnosis is easy: It's defective. (Instead of simply being a bad product).

No one likes to get a lemon, especially after waiting so long, and I can understand the frustration this entails. But sometimes that's just the way the ball bounces. That said, I'm still glad Redjmp posted. This lets everyone know that a highly touted product is having a hard time meeting demand as well as experiencing QC problems.

Wether we like a certain product or had a bad experience with another, I think forums like this are absolutely the best place to voice these opinions as long as these opinions are sincere.
After that, it's as always, caveat emptor.

[Voyager3]

um... this thread is old....

Dang. I got caught in an old thread...again!