jetstream

With respect to imaging, I thinks its more of "perfect data in, perfect data out" deal, figuratively speaking.

An excellent refractor, of any make, will run out of light before the limit of the optics is reached. IMHO. Your observations at very high mags confirm this, again just my opinion. Funny how we share the same observations on some things though. My TSA120 goes up there and runs out of light too, before the optics break down.

Awesome!!

These are vg eyepieces 👍 Yeah my yoga days are becoming fewer and farther between.

I see @Littleguy80 has just purchased the super Leica zoom. Years ago YKSE and @Piero did some researching on the use of the Baader VIP with these eyepieces. They came up with Baader # 2458199 to delete the intrusive nosepiece. Its a must have IMHO. @John just re posted the Leica config barlow effect with the VIP. My own image of the Zeiss zoom/VIP shows how to get it to work in most diagonals. These are excellent, top tier eyepieces but Neil just might need even more mag with that new Tak... 👍

Great question. Very interested to hear opinions. To me sharp means "sharply defined" ie a measure of visual definition and opposite to "soft" . Most optics have a magnification limit that once exceeded the visual image will lose definition and start to go "soft" . Of course this is all relative IMHO. It is very hard to rate telescopes without viewing them together and under excellent seeing. The 15" I have with Ostahowski mirrors will take 760x with the 2.4 HR and Ive barlowed it over 900x... with no loss of definition. This is between 50x and 60x aperture in inches and is typical for a mirror of this size from a well known glass pusher. Lockwood is also at the top of his game, IMHO Gerry

Thanks for re posting this John, I forgot where the FS was for this EP. Sure too bad Yong, YKSE dropped out. I use the Baader Lego set VIP a lot.

Yes it certainly does. I jump in the lake when the ice is gone and this also reminds us we are alive lol I built the sauna using the Finlanders from Thunder Bay -huge Finn population- reflective foil vapour barrier with the cedar properly furred out for the needed airgap. It heats in less than 30 min in sub -30c. I also bought a nice Harvia glass doored stove- they bring in piles of them into T Bay on the ocean freighters. It is a fantastic stove.

I shouldnt have compared one 120mm to the other last night on Tycho Jeremy 😐 Can you please offer me some marketing advice?

Excellent! This statement shows the "power" of great optics. I respect your note on false colour, many wont mention anything like this- it could also be eyepiece related as many including TV will "blue fringe" at the field stop, even in reflectors. Others will fringe in orange etc. I always include a yoga like "straight through" observation in my tests of things. I had a poor diagonal many years ago and found it this way. Congrats for a very fine optic that will take extremely high mag! What eyepieces do you use? Gerry

No, just the Zeiss zoom. The results would be the same however.

We were blessed with another great evening with vg seeing for about an hour after sunset. I had the SW120ED and the TSA 120 out and cooled for a long time. The temps were fairly stable and we not dropping rapidly tonight. I chose Tycho as a test bed for both scopes because of its placement near the terminator and also because of the size variation of its features and sharp tiered edges. I used a Zeiss 25.1-6.7mm zoom and VIP barlowed to 2x roughly. The Zeiss has a virtual field stop and I forget the exact virtual placement of it so the 2x effect is conservative but not too far off. I really enjoy observing and do so a lot, but I dislike these types of comparisons because someone might feel let down when there is a clear winner. Tycho in the TSA120 was extremely sharp and contrasted showing the craterlets on the variegated ledge toward the terminator. These were distinct, sharp and showed easily with a couple very fine ones showing, they were possibly just indents in there. Tychos floor showed some slight "waves" to it, really light structure but easily seen. On the right side opposite the sharply defined central hill there is an small outcrop of rock. On the other side of the central feature is a larger, small boulder like filled outcrop cascading just into the crater. The tiered edges were very very sharply and finely defined and lightly snaked along its edge on the side toward the terminator. All views were highly contrasted but the seeing Tychos floor with subtle but distinct features were a great sight. The SW120ED did not show the mentioned features the same way. Had I not had the TSA120 the view would have been perceived as "great" and it was. The views were sharp but not in comparison to the Tak. The edge of the crater toward the terminator showed one tier very well defined but the others were "smoothed" out melding together somewhat, still there but not clearly defined. On that mentioned ledge toward the terminator, it showed much softer and the small very fine craterlets (possibly indents) did not show at all. The ledges structure was blurred together compared to the Tak. The central hill was sharply defined and very good, the mentioned boulders intruding on the right showed a bit, not sharply defined as the Tak. Over on the left side of the central hill same thing. Tychos floor showed nothing in the SW120ED, just smooth. So thats my comparison and anyone who knows me knows that I just report things as I see them, regardless if its popular or not or if its the in thing to say. The SW120ED is a sharp scope and I chose Tycho because I knew it would reveal differences between the scopes. If you had the 120ED and observed with it you would see it as nicely sharp and on some features as sharp as the TSA120. Its only when directly compared to eachother, under excellent seeing and with a top tier eyepiece do the differences show easily. Lesser eyepieces will make the scopes look closer together as will poorer seeing. Of course this observation was with my eyes, under my sky and with my equipment. Had the SW120ED been the winner I would have gladly reported it, no question. I could continue doing comparisons but I dont think I will - Im just going to observe. Gerry

Yes, lunar imaging is something I want to try at some point- I have a 224MC sitting here but no drive to get imaging as I'm too busy observing. Your image shows what 90mm of aperture can do, great contrast and sharpness! There is more to get for you though! Great image, not much ringing in the craters at all and great detail in the ejecta. Fantastic sharp jagged wall of the mountain. You can get more on the back "slide" of Montes Apinninus ... this image bests many many of larger aperture. Congrats again.

Excellent image!

I wonder if a sag in the MTF curve can affect the angular resolution with respect to aperture and how we see it through a scope? I'm very interested in hearing peoples lunar/planetary reports with respect to spacial frequency, contrast and angular resolution, in any and all telescopes.

For sure! It truly amazes me what the 130mm F5 , $350 Heritage 130 shows with a pocketful of Circle T othos. If a person cant get great views with one of these an examination of why might be in order.IMHO.

Lol yes, Ive tried the "Finnish snow bath" after the sauna, quite refreshing isnt it?

This is an interesting thing, this contrast idea and also how it can show... spoiler alert: can a difference in contrast between telescopes show features in one and not the other regardless of the angular resolution as oft quoted with respect to aperture?

Tonight if clear is the TSA 120 VS the SW120ED. First set of observations show that the TSA has a faster snap focus and will take much more magnification. The SW120ED cools faster and keeps up to rapidly falling temps better. I wanted to use the 120ED repeatedly to get to know it before starting a report comparing the two. Three consecutive nights of top notch seeing has provided a good basis for comparison. Eagerly waiting my own report lol

Its great to hear about this great optical performance for a telescope thats corrected for red?!

After a 400 mile round trip to go out for supper we arrived back home at 10:30 pm. The VX10 was sitting outside in the cold temps, -21c this morning but with a great clear sky. Seeing is vg now. A quick view revealed the excellent seeing conditions and a quick upward cascade in eyepieces had the 2.5XO producing a vg sharp image at 480x. Back to the Zeiss 25.1-6.7 /VIP for a comfortable view and viewed up to around 350X with it. The Montes Apenninus immediately caught my attention and made me stay here to observe. The Mons Wolf has a very sharp jagged nook in it with the whole area over to Mons Ampere full of what looks like boulders, no doubt very large rock. There is a huge , finely detailed "boulder" field "south" of in between these two mountain peaks and is just full of detail. The 10" bring out so much more than my fracs. Whereas the fracs can offer level of a certain type of constrast better than this scope. The Vx10 is vg , but at 25%+ obstruction I feel more could be had in a bit different set up. My 15" has better contrast and is approaching refractor like contrast at 22% plus the focuser baffle. I make sure with the VX10 that the focuser drawtube does not intrude into the light path... I just dont want the extra obstruction here and played around with things to ensure it doesnt happen. That whole area of Montes Apenninus is a fantastic site and the sharp jagged side sure contrasts to the smooth but boulder filled "slide" on the other side. This was a great ending to a fun day here. Gerry

You did a great job and absolutely needed espc at f5. That overlap is of zero concern.

I'm in Canada and hate light blowing around the tube. I also do the focuser drawtube etc. This paint has actual smoke in it and was recommended by a retired chemist who now builds scopes. It works. https://www.krylon.com/en/products/specialty/camouflage-paint#accordion-cee546f66e-item-9b5520e9a3