Moonlit Knight

This forum really isn’t the place it was a decade ago. It’s gotten to the point where it’s becoming the Takahashi owner’s lounge where the price of membership is a £3000 plus telescope. I don’t believe I have ever seen anything even near Tak bashing, how could there be? What I have seen is a weariness of every thread turning into an opportunity to talk about Taks to the point where other people are excluded. Why would anyone bother posting anything about anything other than this particular brand of telescope when the thread is hijacked within a couple of hours. I am sure that I will receive a response or two for posting this but it is getting out of hand now. I don’t have the answer as to how this can or even should be managed but there is starting to be damaged caused, it’s alienating to be honest and turning people off. 

Sorry folks, I like it here, I have learned a lot and really really don’t want to offend or upset anyone but it is becoming a rather exclusive club.

 It is such a shame 

Just now, Alan White said:

Can I just check with Starfield owners…..

Are your scopes China made or Taiwan made? I think the latter.

Not a political point, more an are we all making correct comments folks?

Well again, and this appears to be just conjecture, but around the camp fires the rumour is the tubes are made in Taiwan, the glass is Japanese and the polish and the scope assembled in China. 
 

7 hours ago, jetstream said:

Rumour around the campfire is the Chinese optics are well figured, but possibly rushed a bit in the polishing process, affecting smoothness potentially. Opticians will slowly take the optic to a point where improvements either stop or go backwards. If it inadvertently goes far enough backwards they have to start all over. I'm not so sure they ^^ do that- or just release it if it meets their minimum standard whatever that is. IMHO.

Rumour is confirmation bias is rampant on astronomy forums, and just about everywhere else. We ALL choose to believe what we want to believe 

14 hours ago, paulastro said:

'Empty Magnification' used to be the expression  used to descibe using magnifications so high that the image deteriorated to such a degree that the image became unusable.

While a 100mm fluorite doublet refractor still being sharp on planets at x500 plus is impressive, it doesn't mean it is necessarily a good image.  That depends on  the observer according to their age, experience, observing skill and what they perceive as being a good image.  Everyone will have a different opinion.

I'm a very experienced observer, and by no means the worst or best, and also fast approaching  68 years old. And, aging in all of us affects what we see.

To me a 100mm doublet fluorite image on any planet at much over x250, though still sharp, will be very pale, fairly colourless and being bombarded by numerous floaters.  A good example of 'empty magnification'.

At x250 in my 8inch Dob the image will be as sharp (when the seeing allows), much brighter, far better saturated colours and floater-free.  A good example of 'useful magnification'.

 

 

What he said…

If I go above  x 150 the floaters start to take over and ruin the view, so there’s little point really. 
 

Many thanks for posting, in someways a brave thing to do, so thank you again, much appreciated. In response to your excellent comparison your results are pretty much as most of us suspected I would imagine. They (TS/Altair/Technosky/Starfield) are just good scopes. Those of you who have owned horses will know what we mean when I suggest they are honest, they really are very honest telescopes and a very safe telescope to purchase. There are no nasty surprises, everything just works and is compatible with the the rest of the astronomy world. 
 

Anyway whatever you decide to use just use and enjoy it.

Clear skies to you all. 
 

ES build quality is also superior Nirvana 

I am a big fan of Explore Scientific eyepieces. I own the 14 mm and have owned the 16mm. Both excellent eyepieces. It all depends on your scope I guess, but I love the 82 degree series and heartily recommend them. The 4.7 and 6.7 are staggeringly good planetary eyepieces. 

Well it’s definitely more cloudy than it used to be, and we can expect that to get worse. That said I have had a good season, got out loads of times, twice this week. I work from home and so can get my gear set up early and grab an hour early doors, which opens up lots of opportunities. I have one scope, 4 inch doublet with no cool down time to speak of, so that increases opportunities too. I sold my last dob because of all the issues you expect, cool time being a major consideration. I got sick of a clear sky becoming cloudy while waiting for everything to cool down and then bringing everything inside again. With my current outfit I manage around 50 sessions a year.

I love refractors 🔭 

I use a 2 inch diagonal so the 1.25 adapter is not something I used really. I pop in a descent after I have finished, the scope doesn’t go in the case with the 1.25 adapter and descant on at the same time.

 I use a push fit Baader in 2inch to 1.25 for use with a Hershel Wedge, but nothing more. Quiet frankly if that’s the weakest point on the scope that is pretty good, especially considering the poor focusers on some high end brands 

FLO has just 8 of these out of the original 50 they stocked. Altair have been out of stock for nearly a year now. The Technosky version is now 12 quid under 1K. 899 is ridiculously cheap for a scope of this calibre. I can’t imagine how much longer they will remain at this price. I notice SW have just put their prices up again.

Incidentally it’s still for sale, now £200 more expensive than it was in the first place for some reason. 
 

Anyway I saw sense, it’s a scope for someone else’s collection 

I have used one of these scopes for the past 3 years. I use exclusively Explore Scientific eyepieces mostly 82 degree series. 4.7 and 6.7 cover planetary observation, which is my main interest along with white light solar, but here I switch to Baader Orthos. The drift time is perfect for me and these two have proven to be by far the best planetary eps I have owned (previously TV plossls, Radians and Naglar). I also have a 11 and 14 mm in the 82 series and a 20 and 28 mm in the 68 degree series. I find them all absolutely sharp to the edge of field and, with this scope cannot find any undesirable characteristics. Everything just works together beautifully and with this outfit (and I stress with this outfit) changing anything would be an expensive folly which is unlikely to improve my enjoyment of the views. 
 

I don’t know why ES are not as popular in the UK as they are in the states. They are often tested against TV, the difference is often tiny and like most things astronomy gear wise, very subjective. 

Anyway….

Clear skies folks 

Why does every thread about refractors always end up turning into a conversation about about Takahashi’s. Seriously folks, what is the point of any one posting about any other brand of refractor when always heads in one absolutely predictable direction, it’s getting to be a waste of time. 
 

Nevermind…

Anyway I am still thinking about it, sorry it’s not a Takahashi chaps. 

12 hours ago, RobertI said:

You just want a telescope with the name “Genesis” in the title. 😉

It hadn’t escaped me. I also have a Gibraltar HD4 to put it on.

incidentally have you seen the prices of these recently? £1,600, I could not believe it. There is absolutely no justification for that price. I paid 600 second hand and I thought that was a stretch. Nice mount mind, I would never get rid off it.

1 hour ago, jetstream said:

Have you considered a Tak?

If you can find me one for 800 quid I might think about it, otherwise no. 
 

I don’t know what people on here do for a living, but not everyone can afford to pay a couple of thousand pounds plus for a telescope. 

Thank you, but I can’t afford to own both of them, as much as I would like to. To be honest I couldn’t afford the Starwave/Starfield either but I am so glad I did. It was an expensive (to me) gamble that paid off, but really I can’t afford to gamble on astronomy gear or afford to own multiple scopes I am afraid.

I’m coming to the conclusion that it would indeed be a nostalgic nonsense to go down this route after spending some time researching. I think my current scope dare I say might  be better than the Genesis.

Very happy to be corrected, but it seems fluorite or not, it performs like an achromatic 

I am sure a few of you have clocked a recently advertised TeleVue Genesis. I am interested I have to say. I own a Gibraltar mount which it would obviously sit well on. I also have a thing for classic refractors. 
 

Anyone any experience of these scopes or am I am to embark on a journey of romantic nonsense.

 I currently own a Starfield which would then be up for sale.

So first thanks again for the replies. I’m now thinking Baader and TV plossl. What else do I need to consider, a Barlow I am guessing, anything else? 
 

At the moment I am using 82 degree series 6.7 and 4.7 for planetary sessions. I use a manual AZ mount, I very much enjoy the long drift times. How much difference do we think binos will plossls will make to drift/nudge time 

Absolutely, it’s when I feel safest, happiest, most comfortable and content. It’s in towns and cities where I feel least comfortable. I am from the Peak District, I spent most of my childhood playing on the moors, sometimes at night, even in the snow. 

I use exactly the same scope as you and the same bolts, but with a Losmandy. They are absolutely sound, you have nothing to worry about, your scope isn’t going to come crashing down anywhere. I have had no issues in 3 years 

In a hard case under the bed in the spare room. Tripod lives in a Geoptic case under the same bed, as do my eyepieces. I live in a tiny 300 year old cottage. Space is limited, the shed is full of gardening tools

On 27/02/2023 at 15:25, John said:

🙄

😁

😟

I think I'll leave until another time the polls I was intending to start on:

Is your attention span a) similar to a ferret, or b) similar to a goldfish ?

😁

 

 

Goldfish have a memory problem, they can attend to anything extremely well, just for only a few seconds at a time. Ferrets however, no matter where they are, always want to somewhere else.

I think most of us could spend a little more time at the eyepiece, we rush around enough as it is. 

I had a full set of TV plasma once, perhaps a decade ago, always liked them.