Skywatcher ST 120mm.

[Guest]

Over the last fews weeks I have posted a couple of threads relating to telescopes that I have previously owned.

I am now wondering why a couple of years ago I sold an ST 120 to a friend.In dark sky sites it gave fantastic low power wide field views.Just faint fuzzy objects every where it seemed,or was this my imagination?I realise that it had its limitations.But for what it was,it did "do a job" as it were.

There are quite a few telescopes that I have owned previously and have fond memories of,but I do miss the ST 120mm.So much so that I will look for another.The one I have was painted with the blus finish.

What are other owners experiences with this telescope?

[nightfisher]

I thought you had owned one before, nothing wrong with going back to some thing that did a good job

[Alfian]

I've often looked at the ST120 and thought it an attractive package and as ever there are the yeas and nays to be read and weighed up. They seem to come up fairly regularly on buy/sell too - it  will be interesting to know what you make of  the ST120 second time around. I have a pair of Pentax 20x60s and I've read somewhere of someone having owned three of them over the years, so maybe a good thing has to be "tasted"  more than once!

[philj]

A helios st120 got me back into astronomy in the late 90s. I really liked it and still sing its praises for anyone looking for a decent apeture portable scope. I even fitted a crayford to mine I thought it worth it. This scope showed me the Horsehead neb for the first time, admitedly I had a Mintron in it :-)

[Alkaid]

I want one for camping holidays. Decent aperture (for a frac) and short enough to go on the boot parcel shelf. 3ish degree wide field views. Just what I want for sky sweeping. Reckon the Virgo galaxy cluster would be a treat in this at a dark site.

[nightfisher]

I have toyed with getting one of these for use on my SE mount but it may be a tad to big

[spoty1]

i have the same "problem"... about a year ago i sold my st120 and bought an 8", i miss the 120ST 3+ degrees fov and its portability (compared to the 8"), i miss him... i think its was a mistake to think that a single scope can do evrithing, if you want to go wide (fov)  & low (low power) - the 120 is the best way to go.

[Fish]

Hope you can remember the ca as well :-) , not that it bothers me I love my st120 . Purchased a fringe killer for it but not had chance to try it yet. It is one of my grab and go scopes but its just too heavy for my tripod head so need to look for a solution to that. The wide field and its ability to cruize the milky way from my dark site probably means it will be kicking my evostar out into the cold.... Still thinking about that one though. I dont think you will regret buying another one , the stock focuser on mine is nice and smooth and surprises me with reasonable views of the moon and planets. But wide field is where its meant to be.

[Alkaid]

I have toyed with getting one of these for use on my SE mount but it may be a tad to big

Is it the 6/8se mount? Should be OK for the load, no? Or is it the length? Think the ST is about 60cm long.

[JG777]

I owned a ST120 for a while and it was a very handy grab n go scope. Good for wide field work, in fact very good for that and not as shabby on planets and the moon as I expected it to be, but do expect CA and in some instances on very bright objects some might find this objectionable.

The focuser was nothing special but it functioned OK. Build quality was decent enough and no issue on the one I had. Mine came on an AZ3 and to be fair this was a poor combination as the mount never really felt matched to the scope, on my now retired AZ4 it was a different story.  

I liked it but never loved it because every time I used it I wondered what the difference would be in my 100 ED Pro and ultimately the 100 pro is a much nicer visual all round experience which ticks more boxes than the 120 regardless of aperture.

It reminded me of the lesson that aperture is king but the higher law is the one about the scope you use the most. So in a realignment ( no pun intended! ) of gear I let the ST120 go to a new owner.

So not a great deal not to like about the ST120, but I guess it is as ever a personal choice

[Moonshane]

I only sold mine to help fund a 120ed. great little scope.

[A McEwan]

Yes, my brother has one which he fitted a GSO Crayford to. Nice scope and great views as long as its limitations are respected.

I think he's selling it now as he's got an Evostar 120 which he finds more of a workhorse.

I had the 102mm model years ago and really enjoyed using it.

Ant

[Guest]

Nightfisher,I used mine on an AZ4 mount with a height extender.It might be a little too long tube wish for the se mount.Is that Queensbury in north west London?

[nightfisher]

Nightfisher,I used mine on an AZ4 mount with a height extender.It might be a little too long tube wish for the se mount.Is that Queensbury in north west London?

no its Queensbury bradford, i figure it would be to long.......do we know the length of the 120

[Guest]

Tube length is 660mm and 3.9 Kgs.

[Alkaid]

I have a question please. At low power, were stars shown in their normal colours? Any visible CA at low power on star fields? I was thinking of mating the ST120 with an Xcel 25mm for x24 power and also an Xcel 9mm for a bit more on globs at around x65 ish. Won't be pushing it anymore.

[damnut]

Hi Martin,

I love my ST120, goes everywhere, back seat, roof box or boot. Impervious to snow sand and dog slobber. Little ca, yes!, Great apperture and on an az4 its a cracker. I just would not have taken an apo on hols. With a widefield ep its almost used like a giant finder on my Skytee II.. Sits in the middle of a 150mm mak and 152mm Frac.

[Sirius Starwatcher]

Had my 120 a week now see post 11 above. Matched to my BST eye pieces I am more than happy with it .Only managed a couple of hours around Orion and Pliedes but really good views. I also purchased a solar filter and now that has opened up a whole new ball game. I have matched my 120 to a AZ4 mount on steel legs. It will be my go to and holiday scope and I have decided that if I visit friends and family it's going in the boot with me each time.The CA at low power was nothing to worry about indeed I don't recall seeing any. Managed to get Jupiter in with four moons, Using my WO eye piece 6mm giving me 100% magnification Jupiter was as sharp and clear as I have ever seen her, again I did not notice the CA. I have ordered a fringe killer and await delivery.

[Starlight 1]

ST120 nice for looking at  the Sun( with Sun filler on) just the right size with a DSLR as well . For Stars the CA is to much for me so I made a ring to take it down to 100mm that cover a lot of it up.

[damnut]

Glad you got the new scope Garry, if the fringe killer does not work try a semi apo. I must admit though I don't bother using either.

[Sirius Starwatcher]

Thanks Damian, but as you can imagine what with the cloud ( new scope syndrome ) And the six nations in progress I am having trouble getting outside. I've resorted to setting the alarm at 0400 just to see if it's clear outside.

[damnut]

I know what you mean, the last match was the first one in a long time not watched from behind the sofa  . Will be in Llanfair over Easter, i'll bring a semi apo just in case!

Hwyl!

[JG777]

When I had mine I looked into getting a fringe killer but most views on this were they were not much to write home about, and probably a waste of money. Might be an idea to find someone who has one and give it a try. The fact is you cannot turn an achro into an apo, but it would be nice if it were possible!