osbourne one-nil

Oh that's lovely! It's one of Ed Ting's "collectable" scopes. Any idea on age? I think mine is about 15yrs old but the coatings look to have lasted well and I keep being thrilled with the images I get through it (I've never actually "looked" through it....yet). Now you're happy with collimation, it really shouldn't need much tweaking providing you've tightened things down really well. My initial frustrations came from the previous owner fitting Bob's Knobs which, while easy to adjust, mean more adjustment is necessary as you can't tighten things down enough by hand. A pair of pliers later, and I can go out night after night and everything stays bob-on (no pun intended).

Here’s my new dedicated SD103S visual scope…with my SD81SII on top for scale. The reduced price was too good to miss. I’ve had one before but I’d forgotten how big they were (compared to a 3” scope).

I wouldn't dare criticise the Royal Mail, in case they know where I live.

Here’s a vixen scope, mount and tripod. Happy da…nights.

I wish I could be more help, but I've not tried the other brands. They're all horribly expensive though!

Well I've got the Ecoflow River 2 and it charges so quickly, has loads of outputs and obviously a huge capacity. It's the quick charging which really impresses me, and after two years and lots of very cold nights, I've not noticed any degradation at all.

Ah - so it's purely the aperture which improves things, not the f ratio. So my 8" SCT should be as effective in theory? I guess it then comes down to collimation and optical quality? Yes - that makes perfect sense. You've done well; it's not easy making me understand something!

Thanks - that's what my brain was telling me, but then I started to doubt when you said This isn't a criticism by the way! It's a genuine insight into why I went to a polytechnic.

I have no self respect to lose, so let me ask what might be a stupid question. If I use my 8" Newt and its dedicated coma corrector, with my ASI2600 camera, it gives me a resolution of 1.02" per pixel. If I was to use 100mm refractor with a similar focal length, and therefore a similar pixel scale, would the bigger aperture of the Newtonian give me any benefit? My brain is struggling.

I'm quite happy with the results I get from that setup.

https://www.bresseruk.com/Astronomy/Telescopes/Vixen-SD103S-apochromatic-Refractor.html Back to full price - exactly the same as the newer model. I can't imagine there's a production cost difference but if they're looking to shift old stock, it seems a very odd approach.

Even with VAT added, it's still a great price. I might go for it myself but I've just spent my pennies on a new mount....

Oh! I could never work out why the owner of Fullerscopes was presenting Film 94. Now it makes sense. The Vixen aesthetics appeal to me too. I know it shouldn't matter, but it does, to the extent that I could never buy a Founder Optics scope.

I didn't know Barry Norman was into astronomy! I've seen Bresser reduce the price of scopes before. The reductions never last long. I'm VERY tempted.

I don't look through a telescope unless I'm wearing a lab coat. This stuff matters!

I might check with them then. Currently it says it's unavailable. I wonder if they have too many of the older version in stock still?

Is the new model available? I couldn’t find it.

I did - good I did - good memory! The tax man came calling though and off it went. I've just been collimating my R200SS for a potential clear night and I might have threaded a hole in the lens cell. It must be a sign!

So jealous! I'd love one of these. I already have the SD81SII which I adore, but I also have the flattener/reducer which would work with both of its bigger siblings. I've also got an R200SS so logically it would make no sense whatsoever for imaging, but when did logic ever come in to gear? I noticed the Italian one, but am put off by the import duty and VAT which would be added on, making it almost as cheap to import a brand new one from Japan. I hope you're very happy together.

I have two lovely scopes for deep sky photography. The trouble is, of course, the weather is so bad that both are very under utilised. However, it's dawned on me that lunar (and I suppose planetary) imaging allows short clear spells to be utilised and inspired largely by some incredible lunar images here and on Astrobin, and remembering how the Moon fascinated me as a child, I'd love to get into some serious imaging of it. Despite reading endlessly on here, CN and watching YouTube, I have two main questions. They revolve around whether I can simply use what I have, or should I get a dedicated scope/camera, and also whether I stick with my EQ mount or would an alt-az actually be simpler? 1. Stick with what I have? I'll discount my 81mm refractor, as I do know that aperture is very important in terms of resolution, but I do have an 8" f/4 Newtonian. I also have an ASI290MM Mini. If i used a x4 Barlow, that would bring me up to f/16 which is about x5 the pixel size of the camera. Would that extra aperture be of benefit compared to something like a Skymax 180 at its native f/15? I suspect I'd get a camera with a bigger sensor, but for the sake of comparison, let's go with what I have. If I did use the Newt, should I still run with a coma corrector or is the narrow field of view enough to minimise any distortions? I have a Corrector PH which actually reduces by x0.95, and an Extender PH which increases focal length by x1.4. Both might actually preclude using a barlow as their optics are quite close to the sensor. 2. Alt-az vs EQ I have dabbled in a bit of lunar before but actually found using my EQ mount very awkward. I'd polar aligned using the internal polar-scope rather than the ASIair Polar Align function as I was in a rush) but once I did get the Moon into the field of view, my brain could never quite work out which button on the handset was up, down, left or right. An alt-az mount seems more intuitive in that sense. But an EQ mount doesn't have to deal with image rotation and perhaps with a compound scope, it's easier to figure which way things go rather than with a Newt where the camera is on the side? Thank you for any advice!

Have you ever watched Thomas Heaton on Youtube? He has a converted camper van for photography trips. I often dream about doing something similar, but at night!

Yeah, I've got one - it's beautiful!

I bought the SXD2 for visual; I still think it's the best manifestation of goto there's ever been, including using apps and ipads etc. The one thing I don't like about astro-photography is the Starbook aspect of the mount is effectively wasted!

Maybe not in Europe but I think in Japan (which is a sizeable market in itself) they'll be pretty secure as I get the impression Vixen gear is the Ford Focus of astro stuff over there. I do think my SXD2 mount was the single best astro purchase I've ever made. I'd even call it value for money. I wonder if the newer stuff isn't being made available in Europe until the older stock has gone? I did enquire about an SD115S II a while back and was told it was doubtful any would become available while the older model was still in stock.

Worst astronomy purchase? My house. It's in the wrong place.