Space Hopper

A sorry tale indeed, and what a shower some of these courier / parcel carriers are. Disgraceful. Did you ever get to the bottom of what the 'blue haze' on the mirror actually was ??

Not a 'disaster' !! (I always have a feeling of trepidation reading a headline like this, expecting smashed up optics) Just a few teething problems with new gear. But you'll soon get into the swing of things, and some nice views await. Have you looked on YouTube for some setup advice......??

Thanks for the translation 👍

Sorry @Chandra You'll have to help me here. My Spanish is not very good. However, i get the drift, and the graphics are nice.

Nervous for my feet as well.......😃

By the way, at 438g (15.45 oz) its quite a bit lighter than i was expecting.

We had 'our summer heatwave' last week Louis. All 3 days of it. We hit 40ºC !! (i believe thats 104ºF in old money) Its currently cloudy, windy and warm with the odd shower, quite muggy and threatening to be a bit stormy (not like Texas of course thankfully !)

First look with the new Superzoom. I'm impressed with it for sure. It feels nice in the hand ; a good solid build with quality materials. APM stuff is nice. The eyecup is nice and soft and its comfortable to use, not unlike my Docter 12.5mm in that regard. I really like the clickstops ; they feel positive, and there are 9 positions - 7.7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, & 15.4mm Its perhaps not as 'slick' as i would like between clickstops but its not bad. Hopefully it will 'break in' a bit. No problems focusing with it in my 140mm refractor through the zoom range, and thats with and without a 2x Powermate. Daylight tests on a distant tree branch show it is to me, pretty much parfocal, with maybe only a tiny bit of fine refocusing needed at opposite ends of the zoom range. I do have 55 yr old eyes however..... Following Dons advice above, i was careful inserting it into my 2" diagonal, (in 2" position) but theres about 10mm of clearance above the mirror on it, with the Powermate being about the same, so no issues there. Shift work and a lack of clear skys this last week have stopped me getting out with it under the stars, but hopefully by the weekend, which i have free, I can try it out on Lunar and a few planets and doubles. A few piccies. It arrived well packaged in a nice box, like any premium eyepiece. Eyecup & lens Size comparison with an APM ultra flat 15mm, Docter 12.5mm, APM Superzoom in the middle, Tv 2" Powermate 2x, Panoptic 35mm. Daylight testing on some distant trees and cars The clickstops are nicely separated and the rubberised section that you twist has a good ergonomic feel to it. With the 2" Powermate in situ. I had to drag the rig inside at this point as it decided to rain on me ! (Normal UK conditions !!) I'll report back once i've had it out properly. I'm hoping to split some nice doubles with it in real time !

What a fabulous place to live (hurricanes aside) and do astronomy. I'd retire and spend the rest of my days there in a heartbeat if i could. Good luck with your future purchases and new hobby ; i'm sure some great views await.

@Louis D : Yes its arrived safe and sound, but i've been away and not had a chance to try it out just yet. Will post some pics and first impressions soon 🙂

Yikes : never realised the Esprit 150 was 17kg with rings, dovetail etc. That is a hefty old beast.

Just the moon transiting or will its shadow be visible at some point as well ? If the shadow is visible, i may be in with a chance of spotting it....

Looking at the current crop of these new mounts, one can only assume it won't be too long before the mainstream jump on the bandwagon ? ie Sky Watcher, Celestron, Vixen ?

My Canon 15x50's are my oldest astro purchase. I brought them for the 2004 Venus transit. Now 18 yrs old and have never missed a beat. I've not hammered them though, they are well looked after, and only get intermittent use. I've not had an issue with the rubberised outer becoming degraded either. I also have a pair of 2014 10x30's that i actually prefer in a way. Much lighter with great optics. I mainly use them for terrestrial stuff like nature, birds and to cricket matches. I can recommend them, although like alot of things, they are crazy expensive now.

Finally an email from UPS to tell me my long awaited zoom is on its way, to be delivered by Friday. I'm used to long waits for scopes and mounts, but not eyepieces till now. Lets hope its worth the wait. @johninderby you've contributed to this thread quite a bit, and shown some interest. As you are local, if you'd like to borrow it and try it out, and put it through it paces, you'd be welcome. Drop me a PM sometime 🙂

Depends on the focal length of your scope really. My APM 15's give me 170x magnification, which is generally more than enough for most nights under grotty UK sky's. I've never used the Baader classic ortho's as i already use 19mm Pans which are ideal. I'm sure the Baader classics are great though, although i'd find the 52º fov a bit narrow. I like 65º fov best for two eyed viewing : its a 'Goldilocks' type thing : its just right 😀

Nice set up. Looks like a Gitzo tripod you have there ? I'm interested to know how you've fitted the AZ75 on to it ? Do you have any special adaptation ??

I can highly recommend the APM 15mm ultra flats. Good value and they compliment the 19mm / 24mm Panoptics very nicely. Agree with MalcolmM : smaller glass is generally better suited for binoviewing. As said, a 1 to 1.5kg load can get rather unwieldy and will cause balancing issues as well as asking questions of your focuser.

Generally any refractor that is optimised for imaging with a big, large travel focuser will work ok. With Baader viewers for example, the focusing distance focusing with no gpc, to focusing with the 1.25x, 1.7x and 2.6 gpc's in situ is a little under 70mm.

Some American hardware for you, and there's not too many of them in the UK. My 2014 DiscMounts DM-6 (+ 8" riser) on BB Planet + Nexus DSC with a Baader Skysurfer V (mounted on the mounts altitude axis, rather than on the scope) Simple and efficient to use and easy to manually track even at high powers.

Eventually, yes, i think you do. I've not really brought much for the last 3 years, but instead have sold unused bits on. My one time desire for big aperture has now gone. Advancing years and declining eyesight have played their part here. Happy just to use a good refractor on an easy to use alt-az mount and just enjoy what i have. If its not visible in my Bortle 7 lightshow, i don't worry so much anymore. If the seeing cooperates though, with some nice planetary views, i go in happy.

I'm hearing Rupert at Astrograph has managed to source a few of these new APM zooms. I'm still waiting for mine..... https://astrograph.net/epages/www_astrograph_net.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/www_astrograph_net/Products/APMZOOM Edit: Sorry, i didn't spot the link a couple of posts up. But at least they are starting to arrive 'in the shops' 🙂

Yes, its that and also refers to one of the Greek islands - Delos, and that Paul had Greek heritage. He was a pioneer in his field, and enriched our hobby. The eyepieces he designed are in my mind exceptional. He leaves behind a great legacy at Televue, and will be sadly missed.

Sorry to hear this news. I believe he also designed the 24mm Panoptics, my favourite eyepieces.

It will make some difference i would think. Probably 10-15mm or so ? Not totally sure. As an example i use the Baader multipliers ; the 1.25x 1.7x (closer to 1.5x so it seems) and the 2.6x The focusing range with no gpc* to using the 2.6x gpc multiplier for higher powers takes up around 66mm of focuser travel. *Theres not too many off the shelf refractors that will focus a binoviewer without a gpc (glass path compensator, multiplier, optical corrector system ; call it what you like) but some will : usually a refractor that is optimised for imaging and has a large focusing range and a lot of back focus to work with cameras, filter-wheels etc.