jetstream

Excellent and don't forget one of these https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p7951_Baader-2--BBHS-Sitall-Diagonal-Mirror-with-1-10-lambda-surface.html

I find that after many collimations of any of my newts that things can kind of get out of whack, adjuster wise. This method has always worked for me and am glad it worked for you..

@JeremyS @Deadlake "However, the Baader Zeiss 2" prism diagonal still slightly less scatter than the BBHS." "the nebulosity of M42 extended notably further when observed through the BBHS or Zeiss prism than through the Astro-Physics dielectric. The Zeiss prism showed the furthest extent of the nebulosity, but it was only very slightly more." https://www.cloudynights.com/articles/cat/user-reviews/the-baader-bbhs-sitall-silver-diagonal-r3038

Nice images Pete, what filters did you use?

Just tighten them all up snug, not really tight. Back them all off a turn equally- this will put you near the middle of travel and allow some nice primary tweaking.IMHO

Yes buying used seems a good way to bypass the VAT over there! Maybe the OP is really forward thinking- I paid $118.00 (roughly) for the 24mm ES 68 and now they list at 189.00 USD. Televues prices are escalating as well and I think they will continue to do so. Personally, a flurry of purchases were made when our exchange rate was friendly and the items were on sale which gives a very nice buffer.

Can't really answer this but I will tell you a certainty- if I felt hindered in any way by this prism I would already have the BBHS... even on extremely faint objects the prism works well in the TSA120.Barnards Loop, California, Pleiades Bubble, Flaming Star etc etc no filter. Works well on galaxies too. I want a BBHS for one reason- I have a weakness for owning good glass. And who knows-maybe I'll own a TEC 140 one day! and need another diag.

My feeling is that it can in the right scope.In the 120ED on Jupiter it splits off "red" a tiny bit out of focus. The APO triplets are not affected like that.

I'm off with rangefinder in hand, a marble and lots of enthusiasm lol! We'll check the 3 fracs

The obstruction impacts things uniquely. It does not alter the fine detail you can see ie the spacial frequency range. For sure cool down will impact the views in a big way. I would not expect a smaller refractor to give you more detail- but the improved cooling and smaller aperture (seeing friendly) might improve the views. One thing- my 90mm APO triplet has better optics than my SW120ED- and the 120mm shows more of everything on the moon and planets. My advice- get as quality refractor as big as you can- the 120mm range is a sweet spot for me.Just don't be surprised when your 180mm shows more...

Ok, I know very little about imaging. If I want to do lunar imaging how important does the quality of the lenses matter? ie Strehl etc. My feeling is quite a bit. Maybe not as important in imaging DSO?

I can say that my TSA120 hold its sharpness at high mag, eventhough detail is limited by aperture. My very best lunar /planetary views are with the 15" dob and there are very few images that match my low power views through the binoviewer on the moon. I personally don't crank up the mag excessively most of the time.

Thanks guys... now I want a Baader BBHS lol!

A very interesting thing about the prism... it kills DSO in the SW120ED, OK I can understand this- the doublet ED at f7.5 deal but what puzzles me is the effect on my nice Stellarvue 90mm APO flp53 triplet. It also dampens the DSO views, but lunar/planetary is great. The SW120ED really doesn't like the prism at all. For an unknown reason it does not hinder the TSA120 in any way. I purchased this scope after researching spot size and also reports of it giving "cool" or neutral tones, which in my limited experience could mean true APO colour correction and or high transmission. The TSA120 shows IFN and much much more with the prism- I live in dark skies of rural northern Ontario. Is the prism equal to or better than the BBHS? I have no idea. This prism was said to be old stock of Zeiss glass that Baader had years ago, its 5 years old or older. Jeremy this prism has excellent glass but all scopes don't seem to like it, my TSA120 does.

No I just have a Skywatcher mirror diag, but it is actually good. I did compare straight through to the Zeiss diag and could detect no difference to my eyes. Do you have the BBHS Jeremy? Rumors say it is very good. APO triplets seem to like the prism diag, my 90mm APO does as well but my SW120ED does not.

I guess I shouldn't mention how my 15" dob handles this combination...😀 These are my 2 best telescopes, but the 24" eclipses the 15" on DSO eventhough it only goes about 500x on the moon.

Congrats for a fine eyepiece! It doesn't matter a few pounds (or dollars) either way IMHO, you'll have a very good piece of glass to look through.

I can hardly believe how good this scope is! Its got great transmission- shows Barnards Loop no filter and goes higher than I ever expected on lunar. I use a 2" Zeiss/Baader prism diagonal which this scope loves, no scatter.

This is a very good image Vlaiv.

Your welcome Craig, and thanks for the info- it will be used down the road once I get some concepts pounded in the old noggin. Keep the images coming!

Excellent image Craig and I prefer the first, sharpest one which I don't find harsh. So critical sampling - where were you at for this image and set up if you don't mind me asking?Did you barlow for the blue?

There were a couple of reasons I bought 2 of each Circle T- one for binoviewing and the other for deep sky very faint galaxy viewing. After buying a super 7mm KK ortho I bought a 5mm KK Fuji- and while good its not excellent. So after testing and sorting through my Circle T's I have some that equal the 7mm KKs performance on faint galaxies. These high transmission copies also happen to be very sharp lunar eyepieces. I'm glad I have them all!

I find barlowing the Vixen 2.4mm HR interesting too. I used my VIP so not exactly sure of the mag-I think it was 1.5x- and my TSA120 gave razor sharp views of the moon at a suspected 600x. It might have been more...

I have had very good luck ordering internationally.

Glad you like the Circle T's, I love mine as well and have a mostly complete set, with many doubles.Missing the 25mm, if they made them.