bomberbaz

Clouds incoming

Not really sure John, "possibly slightly better" being the key but just felt it was slightly more contrasty and this was possibly down to lower light pull of the 80 over 100 helping lift the detail out. I shifted from one EP to the other several times and just preferred the 80mm over the 100ED. (both were superb) As I said further down the thread, I will explore this further when the skies permit.

I agree to a point, however try viewing at zenith with 45 degree versions from a yoke type mount and your quickly going to have a very stiff neck. Also you possibly end up raising and lowering the height to help gain a comfortable position to view, parallelograms have the flexibility to change height easily which is why I am thinking of one. I have looked at the yoke mounts and they are also more expensive than a parallelogram. Matter of choice and taste here methinks Peter.

I have recently acquired a scopetech STL 80 F12.5 and I wanted to compare it with my SW 100ED frac. Set both up on the Sky Tee mount as well as the TS finderscope. Gave me opportunity to check all were collimated as one, inc the RDF. ( There is about a 1/2 degree of mis-collimation between the two OTA's in the AZ movement) This setup works a dream and finding objects is getting much easier for me. I digress, weather didn't play ball, I can hear the rain outside as I type this. Good job I got the rig in as soon as i did. As mentioned, weather didn't play ball so didn't manage too many objects, I got Jupiter, the Moon, Vega and Albireo. I was just getting onto the dumbell when the cloud came over. Both OTA's had 25mm Vixen NPL in them scopetech x 40 and SW ED x 36. I had planned to slap OVL zooms in them later with the aim of trying to match exit pupil rather than magnification. Jupiter didn't really give me that much to think about, too low down really and a bit mushy in both OTA's. The Moon however was a different story. First the ED, lovely clear, crisp, well contrasted view, sharp detail along the terminator, the NPL eyepieces really are a gem. Switch OTA now. At first I thought the scopetech was giving some colour fringing until I centred it properly in the EP (Collimation issue as mentioned) and bang, the view was equally as good as the ED or possibly slightly better. It was a little dimmer due to the reduced aperture which just made it ever so slightly better, a little sharper. If you didn't have them both side by side, you wouldn't notice it. The actual difference was negligible and certainly nothing to be concerned about. On Vega and Albireo both provided identical views, I couldn't tell any difference. I would like to have another shoot out and this time get onto some clusters, small bright nebula and more difficult doubles. Also I want to push the magnification up on both to see how far I can take them. The scopetech was bought on a whim as my buddy has a penchant for long F ratio fracs so wanted to see why, I can see the reason now. Lovely and light, very sleek and incredible views for something that is relatively low costing. Quick picture of the rig, I can (just) manage to carry it outdoors fully setup.

I would be getting a paralellogram peter, that changes the game a lot with big bins, zenith viewing no longer becomes a contortionist nightmare. The supplied glass is APM UFF 18mm, very nice eyepieces. I already have 2 25mm Vixen NPL Plossls which give a lovely and crisp view. I would probably also add 2 8.8mm ES 82 degree eps to it as well and see how i got on from there. Thanks to @ScouseSpaceCadet my quality concerns are dealt with, it's just pushing the button which will be done after my visit to optician next week.

can't male my mind up, T.Exp confirmed them as built in china, but there is the consideration that they have ED glass and a pair of very good ep's thrown in with them. I realise I will have import duty but that doesn't bother me, it's the quality that I am interested in.

Ok so I asked the question of Teleskop Express as to what the EP's are that come with it, turns out it is 2 APM UFF 18mm. wow! I was all but set on a Vixen BT 81S which are achromat bins, largely swayed on the japanese build but now I am leaning towards these. Anyone know where these TS bins will be built? Can't seem to find out!

I was just perusing the web, as you do and came across these on teleskop express website. Teleskop-Express: TS-Optics 82 mm Duplet Binoculars - 1.25" Eyepieces - 45° angled View Now I am no expert in this matter so excuse any misunderstandings of mine up front. However they say they have ED glass and should be free of chromatic aberrations up to about x 60, I realise chromatic aberration is still possible but isn't the ED glass designed to deal with this issue? The other thing is the price tag of similar achromatic astro bins such as explore scientific. Explore Scientific BT-82 SF Giant Binocular With 62° 20mm LER Eyepieces - Rother Valley Optics Ltd Am I missing something here. TIA all Steve

that is superb, well done

I have a site in mind as a potential darksite, keep meaning to go and do a recce. But now this has inspired me to go and have a look, will just take binoculars though for first time. Just need a break in the weather, oh wait! 😅

late to the party on this thread but thanks for the list @MylesGibson . All being well I shall incorporate some of it into my next session. This will be a shootout of two refractors so doubles make ideal targets along with some others cheers

who did you use for the procedure

Astronomers tend to always use a red light which is very dim to help them move around at night etc

pretty much what i am hoping for but not getting my hopes up just yet, cheers

Sorry what I meant was putting the scope details into stellarium incorrectly. Add some screen prints maybe if you like!

Have you got the scope set up correctly and/or not selected a barlow along with it. Simple I know but easily done.

like that dob, lots of extras make it a much better buy. 2 speed Focuser, primary cooling, RACI finder, bargain really. I prefer the finish too

LATEST: Cancelled my appointment. I am not prepared to risk making things worse having read some reviews on an NHS website Ratings and reviews - Optical Express - NHS (www.nhs.uk) I get that some people get great results but there were a lot of negatives on there and it has put me right off. I have seen another optician and they have advised me Toric contact lens (these cure the astigmatism) could be the solution I am looking for, £15 for a consultation and a free trial to see if they work for me.

Thanks for the responses people, some very useful information on here. I have been onto the Royal College of Ophthalmologists website and downloaded some data from there to arm myself prior to the assessment which I will still attend. Whether or not I decide to go ahead or seek alternative solutions is still very much up in the air. I did read on there some additional information regarding possible daily soft lens which although expensive may be something more attractive and obviously non invasive, unlike the surgery.

Yes I have tried and don't get on with CL's This is the part that concerns me the most, along with a shifting eyeball shape. I am not sure about all the mechanics so before I go and have the assessment I will be asking for further detail.

Not sure if this is the right place to put this but as the M1 eyeball is part of the whole setup, I stuck it here. Query regarding vision corrective eye surgery. My story in brief is I have terrible astigmatism, along with short and long sight problems. Basically my mark one eyeballs have seen better days, although they have never been up to much from an early age and I have worn glasses from the age of 8. This plays hell with my viewing and there are times when I curse my poor vision. TV Dioptrix are used with some eyepieces, but although they are a reasonable solution, they are not perfect. All the time I am tied to considering eyepieces with good eye relief but other glasses wearers will already know where I am coming from. So to the point, I am booked in to see a specialist with a view to corrective lens surgery and maybe laser treatment after. Just so you know astronomy is not the only reason for considering this approach but it certainly has a bearing on my thinking. Has anyone ever had such surgery and if so, what results did they have please? I would be grateful for any feedback as it is both expensive and quite daunting to be considering this at the tender age of 58. If anyone would prefer to message rather than post on here, I promise I would be discreet. Thanks in advance to you all. Steve

you wear mascara when viewing don, bit odd!

This is a very good point, the apps will get you quite close, the finder scope will get you the last bit. Something like this below stuck to the OTA Olixar Phone Holder for Car, Windscreen or Dashboard - Car Phone Holder with Flexible Long Arm - Universal Fit for all iPhone, Samsung & More - Black : Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo Sky safari plus is a good app, I really like using it for my dob.

Love the detail but hope you don't mind constructive criticism, to me it looks a little over exposed and the colour isn't quite right to my eyes.

I believe these are along the lines of the Explore scientifics but a little reading has uncovered them to be a very decent eyepiece although that is from other peoples experiences, not mine Opticstar XL 82° Ultra Wide Angle Eyepieces. Personally in your focal length I think the 24mm is best giving a decent eye pupil of 4.8mm, magnification of 27 which is useful and a field of view of just over three degree. That said the 18mm still gives a 2.27 FOV but will have a darker background due to the higher mag x36 and smaller exit eye pupil at 3.6mm. It's all about personal preferences really. EDIT: The 18 mm is also quite a bit cheaper.