Discontinued
Orion Apex 127: discontinued — what to buy instead
A 127mm Maksutov-Cassegrain OTA that was a popular planetary scope. Orion ceased operations in July 2024 — here are the live equivalents.
Status: no longer manufactured. We checked retailer stock feeds directly —
across the shops we track there are 102 Orion/Meade/Coronado listings and none in
stock. Any listing you find is likely a stale page or a reseller.
Closest alternatives in stock
Same optical type and within 60 mm of the Orion Apex 127's 127 mm aperture, ranked by $/mm — lower is more telescope per dollar.
| Telescope | Aperture | Price | $/mm | Mount | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Explore Scientific FirstLight 127mm Mak-Cassegrain with EXOS Nano EQ3 MountAmazon | 127 mm | $279 | $2.2 | Equatorial | Amazon ↗ |
| Explore Scientific Firstlight MAK100mm White Tube Maksutov Cassegrain with Twi-NanoAmazon | 100 mm | $399 | $4.0 | Unknown | Amazon ↗ |
| Celestron NexStar 127SLT Computerized TelescopeAmazon | 127 mm | $659 | $5.2 | GoTo | Amazon ↗ |
| Celestron Nexstar 4SE GoTo TelescopeAmazon | 102 mm | $649 | $6.36 | GoTo | Amazon ↗ |
| Sky-Watcher Skymax 102 AZ-GTi f/12.7 Maksutov Cassegrain Catadioptric TelescopeAmazon | 102 mm | $649 | $6.36 | GoTo | Amazon ↗ |
| Sky-Watcher Skymax 127 AZ-GTi f/12.1 Maksutov Cassegrain Catadioptric TelescopeAmazon | 127 mm | $839 | $6.61 | GoTo | Amazon ↗ |
Buying a used one instead
Dobsonians age well — the mirror is the expensive part and it doesn't wear out. A used Orion Apex 127 in good condition is still a sound buy; the astronomy classifieds and auction sites are where they change hands. Check the mirror coating and that the focuser holds position. We don't track used listings, so the prices above are for new equivalents only.