Chris

It is done, lets see what is said

Hi Mark, thanks, I think that's a good suggestion, so I will pass on the link to this thread with a message to Telescope House. I really rate Bresser in general so I hope they take my feedback in the right way I've emailed to ask about returning my scope, so just awaiting a reply.

I see what you're saying, but if this is the case should Bresser mention somewhere that the scope is designed with light weight plastic materials so it can be used with light weight mounts? I don't really get that though? isn't it more length than weight which would make a scope unsuitable for light a mount? I don't think putting metal rings on this long scope would have made that much difference to the weight? so it still would have come in at 3 something kg right?, and it would have been more sturdy with less wobble! I've had this scope on an EQ3 class mount as a 'make do' situation, but I'm not sure I would design a scope this long purposefully for an EQ3 class mount myself, it's interesting if you are right though? Why Exos 2 goto, as apposed to Exos 2, wouldn't that be cheaper? The scope feels like a toy to me unfortunately so it might take a bit of getting used too, I'm not happy with it, is this not a good reason to exchange it for something I'm happy with? Bresser need to put more info about these 'weight saving' features so buyers can be informed. I've bought many Bresser/ES products and have always been very very pleased until now, maybe I just set the bar too high in which case I'll learn from it and not expect as much in future

Oh ermm? what to exchange it with? I could upgrade to the 102/1350 and wait to upgrade my mount head (again), or I could opt for the 102/1000 which my mount would just about cope with as is.

Thanks Rob I really do have a thing for classic refractors, so I had pinned my hopes on these scopes knowing they are rarely mass produced now days. I was really keen to be one of the first to review this scope in the hope that it would encourage others. I can't say it went the way I had hoped, but at least others considering the smaller of the two in the range will know what they are buying into now. I must point out that the larger of the two scopes, the 102/1350 looks to be a much better proposition quality wise with it's metal rings, and focuser. I wished I had a mount that could cope with that one now. Bresser: I'm guessing this was aimed as a first scope so people would not know any better in terms of quality, the optics are good and it is cheap, but please upgrade the spec of the 90mm, it's a very long scope and that plastic clamshell taken from your much shorter 90mm fracs just isn't right for it....how much more would it cost to sort this out? I can't be doing with trying to find third party upgrades so it's going back.

That's bad!

My gut feeling is that it will be a bit too much hassle and cost upgrading the cradle to rings and a dovetail, and the focuser to metal versions. So I'm going to look at upgrading to one of Bresser's better scopes. I might have been wrong to expect the same quality as the AR127L, but I'm hoping Bresser won't mind if I'm returning this scope to upgrade. This scope doesn't feel like it has longevity and that will just really bug me every time I use it....this is despite the optics being good from first impressions. Just too much plastic!!

Yes John, all good there I must say, I enjoyed the views! Hi Stu, I think you've hit the nail on the head! Bresser have clearly put every penny into the lens which is great in one way! Sadly I feel most people with scope experience under their belts would feel that the build is not fit for long term purpose, well, without replacing at least several components. The Bresser AR127L I had was so much better in this respect that this scope shocked me a bit when I unboxed it. I think Bresser should increase the price a bit and at least give the scope metal rings like the 102 version, and a bit more metal on the focuser and lens cell wouldn't go amiss too! Also I know the diagonal they include is only a starter diagonal, but Synta have them beat hands down on it! The Bresser diagonal has a chromed plastic nose piece and the mirror doesn't look that bright/reflective, and the thumb screw was difficult to turn like it was cutting a thread in the plastic.

Sorry guys, work intervened but I'm back now so will continue and answer comments after So, first light was last night! I didn't have my EQ3 mount head setup on the more heavy duty tripod and pier extension so grabbed the EQ3 with the ali tripod as was. I knew it would be wobbly but I was kind of curious so went with it. The tube is very light indeed owing to all the plastic so it was easy to balance the scope with a small counter weight. I left the scope to cool for ten or so minutes, attached the plastic finder, inserted the chromed plastic barrel of the diagonal into the plastic focuser (but at least the drawer tube was metal), then set about observing Jupiter whilst I waited for the Moon to clear the neighbours house. The scope comes with a nice looking 26mm Plossl, but I left that in the packaging and instead opted for my 25mm plossl to initially aid with aligning the finder and finding Jupiter. I then switched to the 15mm Plossl giving me an initial 80x to work with. Focus was easy enough despite the mount wobbles, I think the scope being f/13.3 both helped create the wobbles then made focus easier depsite the wobbles! The focuser is smooth and with only a small amount of backlash and slop, I was quite impressed with it in that respect! I needed to rack the focuser way out maybe 5-6" to achieve focus which added to the already very long scope. I would say the focuser is only suitable for the lightest of eyepieces owing to the the drawer tube needing to be racked out far, and the general build and materials used for focuser. The observing conditions weren't great with Jupiter being low down and veiled in a transparent layer of cloud, so I thought whatever I see I know the scope will be capable of more. At 80 times I was presented with a well defined Jovian disc with some prominent banding, 3 Moons strung out to one side and one far out on the other side. All of this was contained in the field of view, and the Moons remained as sharp little orbs close to the edge of the eyepiece. I would therefore guess spherical aberration was low and not a problem with this scope. There was not any chromatic aberration to speak of at 80x that I remember and I'm quite sensitive to this. I switched to my 12mm Plossl giving me 100x, I thought about using the 9mm but just felt that the conditions were just too poor even for 134x. The disc remained nice and sharp at 100x, but the seeing was sometimes giving slight blurring, not enough to kill the detail as I could constantly see 5 separate belts stretching pole to pole. I didn't have enough mag/aperture/resolution? to see any barges or festoons etc, but what I could see was fairly constant, I should have probably tried the 9mm but instead moved onto the Moon as it cleared the adjacent house! The Moon was shining nearly full through thin cloud like in a Werewolf movie so I wasn't expecting much other than a good bright test of chromatic aberration! I started off back with the 25mm Plossl giving 48x, and a nice bright Moon filled the field of view. Really nice crispy detail despite the conditions, and only the odd flicker of purple on one side of the Moon that seemed to come and go. Moving upto the 12mm and centering the eyepiece on the limb to really look for chromatic aberration I could still only see a small amount that would appear to come and go. I would say CA was very well controlled for an achromat. At this point I really needed to call it a night and pack everything away. Not a thorough test by any means. I probably should have hunted down one or two doubles then cranked up the mag a bit, but I was always aware that the conditions just wouldn't allow a fair test. Still, I'm very impressed optically considering the conditions. I'm very very conflicted about this scope. The build quality really isn't there, it kind of feels a bit 'department store' like with all the plastic components - Most of the focuser and the finder are plastic, as is all of the diagonal, the lens cell looks to be plastic, and unbelievably the clam shell clamp securing this very long scope to a mount seems to be plastic! The only bits that I can confirm that are metal are the OTA tube, dew shield, and the focuser drawer tube....what else....err, oh yeah some of the finder tube I think? Then on the flip side this very cheap feeling scope has already put up good views in poor conditions! Here's some pics while I go sleep on what to do with this scope? Probably not the best scope with an Herschel wedge, bit's might melt! I'll read and reply to comments in the morning, thanks.

Yes John, I did see this on the pics before buying and accepted it, but I wouldn't have guessed it would be a plastic clamp. A scope this long should really be sold with metal rings if you ask me. Bresser if you're listening stick metal rings on it and just ad the cost to the scope, no one want's a plastic clamp on a scope this long do they!?

Hi Stu, yes I'm sure they are there, just that I'm not used to not being able to see them....still it makes it look even more classic!

Now, I'm not going to lie I'm a bit disapointed in the build quality, there is plastic everywhere! I just assumed after owning Bresser's AR127L that these new scopes would use a metal focuser and metal tube rings etc but unfortunately this doesn't appear to be the case. I can live with the plastic focuser and finder bracket etc but the most alarming thing to me is that this 1200mm focal length scope is expected to be held on a mount with a plastic clam shell. I have looked at it very carefully and have even emailed Bresser to ask, but I do believe it is actually plastic and not metal, it feels warm and when you tap it it sounds like plastic, and it feels like plastic, so I'm guessing I'm not wrong. No reply from Bresser yet to 100% confirm. I fear for the OTA long term, plastic perishes! Also it flexes and this is a looong tube!

As can be seen from the first objective lens pic, the optics appeared to be stopped down! I had to have a closer look and remove the dew shield to see they were not, it must just be an optical illusion with the dew shield in place! The objective is listed as being multi coated but the coatings must be thin, I can't really see them can anyone else?? Not a biggy though, the old classic refractors of the day were either non coated or single coated, so maybe not being able to detect the coatings just ads to the classic charm I'll assume that the coatings are there and that I just can't see them. As can be seen as well, it's pretty dark in that tube which can only be a good thing for contrast!

Bresser announced a new mini range of two classic long focus achromatic refractors in 2016, a 90/1200 and a 102/1350, so both in the F/13 range which is something not often seen now days. So as an appreciator of the classic refractor I've kept my ear to the ground awaiting their release until they appeared on the Bresser site for sale last week. The two scopes are priced at 159 and 259 Euros respectively. I have previously owned Bresser's AR127L, a 5" f/9.4 refractor which was excellent both in build and optical quality, so I was excited about this new line of scopes which could potentially result in ED glass performance owing to the long focal length, at a fraction of the price..... and with good build quality and classic looks! I did try for about a day not to buy one, but of course soon gave in and chose the 90/1200. I considered the 102/1350 but I don't have a mount suitable. I currently have an EQ3 which I can beef up with an EQ5 steel tripod and pier extension but this is still a 'make do' mount for the smaller of the two 90/1200. I placed my order and the scope was shipped the same day and arrived 4/5 days later, so very pleased with the service by Bresser. Here are some unboxing pictures to begin with:

Thanks Jules, I think the EQ3 with it's little mods should do fine It would be great if the Bresser outperformed the f/16. I'm not expecting it to do so when it comes to correction, but I think it will be a good compromise with the extra aperture.

I don't think we know we're born now days We live in quite remarkable times when it comes to astro kit. The ying to that yang of course is the light pollution, weather and generally poor UK seeing! I think you're right though, there is a limit to what's really useful unless you're willing to travel to dark skies!

Well, I've reconfigured the EQ3 ready for it

I think that's sensible, Jules, and if I hadn't just sold my ED100 I would have hopefully drawn the same conclusion. I'm only justifying the 90mm f13 as I've sold the ED100 and will sell my classic 76mm f/16. I'm hoping it will be a good compromise in aperture and optical correction at about a third the price I let the ED100 go for. Also a good chance to test a new scope on the scene. I'm hoping it will be good, but will need to be frank if it isn't and not biased by ownership. Might be interesting to compare to my 6" Dob with them both being 1200mm focal length! Anyway, good serviceby Bresser so far, ordered this morning and shipped by the afternoon

Ah believe me I'm skint too mate, total lack of willpower will just mean digging more stuff out to sell Will be waving good bye to my lovely 76mm f/16.4 for starters.

I've really liked Bresser fracs since the 127/1200 I had. Lovely build and optics, I say go for it and report back

Sleeping on it didn't help, Bresser 90mm f13.3 ordered

Just looked at the current exchange rates and the (likely very well corrected indeed and great looking) 90mm refractor is just 136quid! Carrot, dangle, my nose. I'm talking myself into this, I've just got a thing about long fracs and they haven't been widely and cheaply on the scene like this in how long? Probably never? I really want to beta test one! Down side is that I haven't the ideal mount for it nor the financial situation. Erm, I'd better put the computer away, have a wee glass of wine, then go to bed before something terrible happens involving a big buy button

Now that's a connoisseur! Wow! how wonderful it is that there are people out there doing this kind of thing in their gardens..amazing!

Your right John, the 90/1200 is almost as long as my vintage 76/1250. Quite surprising what level of mount they supplied for this tube length back in the day!...mine does get the wobbles if you catch it, but isn't too bad in the wind owing to being so thin. I'm excited for who ever gets to try these? I was about to ask if your were tempted John, then quickly remembered what fracs you have..unless you fancy some rustic charm?

I don't believe it! You've beat me too it John, I've just spotted these myself and thought I must put the heads up on SGL I was wondering about these since seeing pics of them at NEAF 2016 I think, so regularly pop onto the Bresser site to see what's going on That 90mm f/13.3 is keenly priced! I bet it's a wonderful poor seeing with cheap EP's scope! I personally experience both of those conditions. Would it kill my incoming EQ3? I think I know the answer sadly unless the withdraw the sale of my eq5/heq5 tripod. Doesn't stop me having thoughts of selling my 76mm f/16 to put towards one to beta test, hmmm?