Teleskop Service 70mm ED APO

[DeejayP999]

I’ve always wanted a decent travel scope. I try go away at least once a year, often ending up in dark sky areas of rural Spain or France. On such occasions, I always end up wishing that I’d brought a telescope with me and this year I finally resolved to buy an appropriate instrument. Obviously, the first requirement for a travel scope are compact dimensions and the ability to fit onto a lightweight photo tripod.

I initially considered a 90mm Mak but crossed that off the list due to the relatively narrow FOV. I also considered the ubiquitous ST80 refractor but a quick look through one revealed an unacceptable level of CA for my taste. I quickly concluded that only a fast APO was likely to provide the required colour correction together with a wide (ish) FOV and the necessary small size.

A quick search of the usual providers turned up this scope on the Teleskop Service site. I was particularly drawn to this one due to it’s claimed length of just over 30cm, with the dew shield retracted - ideal for a travel scope.

I’ve bought a few things from TS over the years, so I had no hesitation in ordering from them. There was also the unexpected bonus that due to the current exchange rate the scope turned out to be usefully cheaper than I’d anticipated.

The scope arrived via UPS within 3 days and first impressions were favourable: This is a very compact scope and with it’s carbon fibre tube looks extremely classy. The overall fit and finish are excellent and the scope has a surprising heft for it’s size, feeling very solidly built. Everything about it suggests quality: The two speed Crayford focuser is super smooth and even the lens cap is a screw-on metal item. The objective itself has a deep magenta coating and bears the legend: “ED Doublet” on the outer ring. The glass is apparently “FK61” which I’ve never heard of but which I’d imagine is some kind of FPL51 equivalent.

The scope also comes in a reasonable travel case with cut outs in the foam for the OTA and a few accessories (not included). The only downside of the case is that the diagonal needs to come off to put the OTA into it, although this is a minor gripe.

The small size of the INED 70mm makes it an ideal spotting scope and my first target was the usual “TV aerial check”

The first thing that struck me about the optics is that it has that trademark “Snap” focus that seems to be the hallmark of decent APOs. There’s absolutely no ambiguity around the focus point: You turn the focuser and “Bam” there it is – you know exactly when it’s in focus. To an extent, this makes the fine focus wheel almost redundant. In focus, there’s also zero Chromatic Aberration that I could see. Inside and outside of focus, a small amount of CA becomes evident.

There’s a similar lack of CA on astronomical objects. The Moon looks stunning in this scope and if you throw the focus very slightly a thin yellow line of CA appears on the lunar limb. In focus, this is again totally absent.

With it’s wide FOV, the Pleiades are probably the best advert for this type of instrument and were brilliantly framed in a 17mm Plossl. It’s a view that I could (and did!) spend a long time looking at.

Faint fuzzies are obviously not going to be the forte of a 70mm objective, although the Orion Nebula shows up surprisingly well with the nebulosity readily apparent and with the trapezium stars shown up as tiny pin points. Indeed, on objects like this the scope seems to punch somewhat above it’s aperture.

The biggest surprise, however, was Jupiter. My shortest fl eyepiece is a 5mm BST Explorer giving 84x mag which is rather on the small side for planetary viewing. However, even at this relative modest power, several bands were clearly visible with the moons rendered as tiny globes.

Overall, I’m very happy with this scope. It’s the epitome of "grab and go", sits happily on a photo tripod and the fit and finish are impeccable. It is also very versatile providing wide field views as well as a CA free high power views. It is exactly what I wanted – and you can’t really ask for more than that!

[mfrissen]

Nice write-up, thanks! Looks like a winner. I only hope my (still in transit) WO 70mm ED gives similar results :-)

[Capricorn]

FK61 is an equivalent tp FPL-51. Made, it said somewhere, by Schott but seems to be CDGM Glass Co.

Oddly it is advertised as Eco-Friendly.

CDGM Glass Company USA - The World's Largest Supplier of Optical Glass

[Magnum]

Looks identical to my Ian King Ikharos 70 ED, except yours has a carbon fibre tube.

Lee

[Macavity]

Nice looking thing. Having upgraded my other scopes with "decent" focussers, one realises the benefits of, seemingly "minor" things - Like better construction (collimation) etc. <G> Maybe one day, my wide-field "refractor" will catch up!

[r3i]

Looks identical to my Ian King Ikharos 70 ED, except yours has a carbon fibre tube.

Lee

Lee,

I think you're correct there. I've found mine to be a very good value and versatile little scope. Not sure if Ian King are still selling their version (I couldn't find it on their website anymore). Apparently they were selling them at AstroFest for £150 - some folks got very lucky there.

[DeejayP999]

Looks identical to my Ian King Ikharos 70 ED, except yours has a carbon fibre tube.

Lee

Yep - it appears to be identical to a number of scopes sold under different names.

Anyone getting the Ian King one for £150 will have had an absolute bargain!

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Identical scopes get sold under all sorts of names. My APM 80mm F/6 Triplet, which I bought for much the same reasons as the 70mm F/6 described here, was also sold by TS. APM just had the handier combo deal with field flattener at the time. They all come out of the same plant in China.

These F/6 APO refractors are really nice as rich field scopes (apart from their potential as imaging scopes). The build quality of the APM I have is excellent.

[cs1cjc]

That is a nice review. I am very happy with mine, an IKI version which is now a couple of years old. I take it away in cabin baggage (along with a shortened Porta mini) and it gives fine views at a dark site. It has some CA but I now have a Baader Fringe Killer fitted in the diagonal. The crayford focuser is not metal on metal but metal on paint and the paint on the focus tube has inevitably sufferd, but the action remains quite smooth.

[Astroegg]

I see you are selling this!

[alan potts]

I have been looking at this scope for well over a year, I fancy turning it into a finder. I have a Baader Vario Finder but it is horrible. I think I will get one of these now, thanks for the well writen review.

Alan.

[Astroegg]

I have been looking at this scope for well over a year, I fancy turning it into a finder. I have a Baader Vario Finder but it is horrible. I think I will get one of these now, thanks for the well writen review.

Alan.

Too late to get Deejay's scope for a bargain price - just been sold on Ebay!

I was looking to buy the Baader Vario Finder with a view to using it as a (very miniature) travel scope with the possibility of also using it as a solarscope with a suitable (pricey) etalon. What's wrong with the Vario finder then?

I'm beginning to think I should go for the 70mm APO refractor as it gives much more versatility - especially for imaging. It would make a great finder/guide/imaging scope mounted om my CPC1100, and the travel possibility and solar uses could complete my astronomy equipment perfectly. Deejay's fab review has nearly swayed me. P)erhaps I should book my Astrofest tickets for next year and try to pick up a bargain.

I am almost convinced, although the Baader Vario finder would be cheaper - especially with a 60mm solar etalon rather than a 70mm one. Maybe those lottery numbers will come up soon?

[Chris]

nicely written review, I love how versatile those small Apo fracs are, I use my WO 66 for wide field imaging, and for a grab and go visual scope on a camera tripod like yourself. I also like how easy it is to just pick the whole frac and tripod up and use it like a pair of bino's, and the tripod acts like a basic image stabiliser as a bonus:)

[Ags]

Sounds a nice scope - I'll add it to my fantasy shopping list.