mikeDnight

I've resolved to never again read any review by Bill P, because whenever I do it causes great pain to my wallet!

I'm like a 7 year old in a sweet shop looking at this beautiful collection. Even the filter set is is mouthwatering.

Thanks for your kind comments chaps! The sketches were quick in the sense I didn't concentrate on the fine detail in the crater terracing or the mountainous terrain around the Alpine Vally, which was quite a terrifying prospect to get to grips with. I'm a coward by nature, and tend to steer away from anything that makes my hobby a chore! That's not to say I won't give it a go one day!! ☺

I've been too busy getting to know my scope to settle down and draw in detail, but I have attempted three quick sketches over the last couple of observing sessions. Not overly detailed but good fun to do.

The only thing that comes to mind is a flock of birds that may give the mottled appearance from a distance. I've seen many fireballs and thousands of meteors, but nothing that shows a mottled rock like appearance.

All my binoviewer pairs, are 5 element japanese super plossl's (with the exception of a pair of "cheap" 16.8mm Kson Super Abbe Orthoscopic's), are relatively cheap to buy, yet their performance in the binoviewer is truly top end. And i can use longer focal length eyepieces that are more comfortable to view through for high power observations of the Moon & planets. Observing the Moon last night at 32X and seeing its entire globe hanging in 3D and with razor sharp detail, leaves me almost speechless. While simply adding a 2X barlow, turning 32X to 128X, and seeing the spectacular Appenine mountain range with its sheer cliff faces standing out from the lunar surface is something I never cease being amazed by. Changing to 10mm eyepieces in my scope gives 320X, and those cliff faces become terrifying! Below is my cheap Revelation binoviewer that's served up jaw dropping views since I bought it in 2008. 😊

Welcome to the club Doug. If you can get along with Binoviewers I think they are probably the best accessory a visual observer can buy, and have a greater impact on the viewing experience than any high end eyepice purchase. Good quality plossl's or orthoscopics are all you'll need to get jaw dropping views of the Moon & planets. Jupiter, Saturn and Mars take on a whole new persona, and you could easily convince yourself you're looking through a much larger telescope.

Ooo! Posh!!

I agree completely! A few years ago i was reading about how different eyepieces can be used to enhance certain planetary detail. It was claimed, probably quite rightly, that Televue plossl's were good for observing Jupiter because of their warm tone. Where as RKE's were better for Saturn because of their cool clarity. The draw back of course is that it can become very expensive, not to mention cumbersome, if we need to carry around case loads of specific designs for specific uses. I'm not sure my owner will approve!

I find Jupiter, and Saturn too for that matter, to be at it's best between 170X and 200X. Much beyond these powers the view becomes soft and the intricate belt or ring detail loses definition and contrast. In my mind this is due to the type of detail being observed. With Jupiter and Saturn, the detail being studied is not merely albedo differences, but very real, dynamic, ultra fine and intricate and colourful. Mars on the other hand is a mass of shades. Mars is also usually quite small and bright, so the higher mags not only enlarge the disc but also dim the view which can benefit the trained eye by allowing subtle differences to be detected. E. E.Barnard prefered 180X for his planetary observing even with a 40" frac. I find the Moon on the other hand to be plenty bright enough to allow high powers, even in small scopes, without the image becoming too dim or too soft, providing the seeing and the scope allows. And as regards floaters, I have them in abundance. Looking straight down into the eyepiece from above, they seem to settle right in front of the target I'm Looking at. Turning the diagonal to the side helps a little as the floaters drift across the field but tend not to block the view. Binoviewing the Moon and planets helps a great deal with both floaters and in reducing the effects of turbulence, so like paulastro, I'll try to use a binoviewer in preference to a single eyepice. Although lately I'm having a lot of fun using Vixen s high resolution eyepieces.

Im not sure. I know my DC dewshield didn't extend far beyond the front of the lens cell. The FC's lens cell is quite chunky and occupies a significant amount of the dew shield. I'd imaging the DC and DF are the same. The DZ shield extends 80mm beyond the front edge of the lens cell despite the shade looking quite long. This was my FC100DC dew shield showing how much the room cell occupies. It's probably the same as the DZ.

Its a guy thing! Instruction manuals are usually only of any use when all else fails. When i was younger i spent three days building a sliding door fitted wardrobe, and at the end of it I finished up with an MFI bedroom shed; proving that sometimes its best to ignor instructions. But as regards your DL, you may find out you've been looking through the wrong end all this time John!

You're probably right John. In the user manual to the DZ, Tak do say that 200X is the limit for this aperture. But then they go on to say that the DZ is a high power instrument that will go well beyond the generally accepted 200X when the seeing conditions allow. They steer clear of stating a high power limit. I remember my old FS128 user manual claimed 100X to 120X per inch on a good night. I suspect they got some flack from some owners when their local seeing wouldn't allow that power to be used. I once used mine at 800X while observing Uranus. It was empty magnification of course, but the image did remain nice and sharp. I think it must be magic!

Nope! I've walked right past her with scope in arms and she hasn't noticed. Looks like I've got away with this one. I did spend a couple of hours last night observing the Moon and just getting to know the scope. I did look at Venus a couple of times too, but didn't make any sketches. Last night started off milky, but as the night went on it became clear and sharp. The Moon was awesome towards the end, though the seeing didn't allow me to exceed 333X without softening the view. I did manage to hold my phone camera to the eyepiece to take a few snaps, but they don't do the view through the scope justice. Visually it was so much sharper. A milky start but it got better! (Hand held iPhone pic's)

I know, it shocked me too Stu! Not sure I'd ever throw money at it. My phone's a bit old and the camera a bit rubbish, but I got it given so can't complain. I might one day buy a phone holder though for my eyepiece to see if I can improve the shots, as some are a bit wonky.

I spent a couple of hours last night playing with my new TakFC100DZ, and thought I'd grab a few shots of the Moon. The iPhone was hand held at the eyepiece, so apologies for the amateurish approach. The sky was milky to begin with but it cleared as the night went on. There was mild turbulence too. Images were taken at 128X using a Parks Gold super plossl, and also at 235X using a Vixen 3.4mm HR eyepiece.

I'll still talk to you Jon. That's actually a fantastic deal. I bought a 120mm F8.3 achromat back in 1999 and loved it. Mine came under the Helios brand name. The very first night was clear with a crescent Moon in the sky. As I set the scope up, a fellow astronomer who'd heard the news that I'd bought a 120mm Chinese achromat turned up on the scene along with his treasured 6" SCT. He plonked his scope right next to mine, which irritated me no end. He then aimed his scope at the Moon and said "There you go, take a look at that"! I first soaked up the view through my new 120mm before stepping aside to look through his 6" SCT. He took his position at my eyepiece and remained silent. I looked into the SCT and remained silent too. The 120mm achromat was so much sharper, and where was that appalling chromatic halo I was expecting? The Archo was a beautiful scope. My friend got all flustered by the dismally soft image produced by his SCT and rapidly bundled it back into his car, and off he drove. I loved that achromat. It had a good lens with a good figure, and although it did have .CA, it wasn't destructive. I hope you enjoy yours as much as I did mine.

It was turbulent seeing on Monday evening, but as it was first light with a new scope I attempted the following sketches. The first two were of Venus around an hour apart and set against a bright sky background. The first, where the magnification was at its maximum for the seeing, did reveal a good level of detail but I had to grab sharp views between lengthy turbulent bursts. The second Venus sketch was a more pleasurable experience as the turbulence had settled down, but clouds had started rolling in. Yet I was able to push the magnification up high and still maintain good sharpness. The detail was remarkably easy and the sketch was made without reference to the previous sketch in my pocket sketch book. The third sketch was of the crater Piccolomini, which was full of shadow. I chose this as the sky was rapidly clouding over and it looked reasonably easy to draw rapidly. Again the increasing cloud and turbulence spoiled the view, but over all it was a pleasant first light observation. VENUS 27/4/2020 PICCOLOMINI CRATER

I've never had chance to use a Bresser, but I get the feeling they have following have quite a following on SGL. It sounds like a serious wide field scope and it looks good too!

I think its safe to say that this set-up isn't going to blow away in the wind! Great looking mount!

You just know it will happen eventually! I've still got both kidney's, but possibly not for much longer!! I could of course start dipping into my kid's inheritance. 🇯🇵

I know you won't believe a word of it John, but this is going to be my last refractor.

Hi Chris, This one is F8 rather than F7.4, which from an observer's point of view makes virtually no discernable difference. The F7.4 version is simply fantastic. I just suffer from an insatiable curiosity, that so far has cost me a lot, but for very little difference in actual performance other than a cooler tone. I have only had three hours at the eyepiece so far though, so its early days. And the three hours I had last night were far from perfect, being very turbulent. Wharever the future performance of the DZ proves to be, I very much doubt the difference between any of the FC100D series will be wider than a hairs breadth! Time will tell, and when the planet's are better placed I'll be in a better position to discern the advantages of the DZ, if any, over the others. I needed to sell my DC to fund the purchase of the DZ, so I'll include a pic of it for old times sake. I can still do a compare though, as a friend owns a DC. The FC100DC. A truly superb refractor by any standard. 💔

Here's the latest incarnation of the stunning Takahashi FC100D series of apochromatic refractors - my newly acquired FC100DZ. Probably the most highly corrected fluorite doublet apo in the world! 🍺

First light last night was not what I'd hoped, but that was because the seeing had deteriorated dramatically. It was quite a turbulent night with fast moving but widely spaced cloud. Plus I had that Daffy Duck cloud - you know the sort - they stand still right in front of your telescope while all the other clouds are racing across the sky. Anyhow, I thought if I ignor it it will get fed-up and go away. It did! The Sun had just dropped below the high tree line to my west, so I quickly looked for Venus, aimed the scope and saw a beautiful silver/white crescent at 128X. The seeing wasnt too steady, so I turned to the crescent Moon, but because of the bright sky background, lacked contrast. So I thought I'd remove the 71L extension and use my binoviewer without a barlow. Unsung the 25mm Parks Gold plossl's the 3D globe of the Moon just hanging in a blue sky was a joy to behold, and full of detail. I'm not sure how long I admired the Moon, but when my attention was next drawn to Venus, it had moved quite a way from its original position. So I aimed the scope back at Venus, ad dad the 71L extension and a barlow, and at 160X noticed the seeing had greatly improved. Dusky markings were visible and so i made a sketch of what I thought I could see. I later made a second sketch of the planet, but this time I really wanted to see how the DZ would handle stupidly high magnification. I fit my Vixen 1.6mm HR into the diagonal and brought Venus to a sharp crisp focus.Immediately the dusky markings were visible. I made a second sketch. I'd to be patient with the second sketch as clouds were moving in and kept blocking my view, but as the DZ was on a tracking mount I'd no need to get stressed. While there were still some large sucker holes, I found a couple of stars that were turning on their lights and aimed the scope. Takahashi in their users hand book that accompanied the scope state that the DZ is a very high power telescope, so I wanted to find out how it would handle a star image at 500X. The stars I looked at appeared textbook perfect, displaying a perfect Airy disc. By this time clouds had almost covered the sky and I'd spent 3 hours playing with my new scope. After seeing Venus and two perfect star images, I carried my new scope back into the house feeling pretty content. Importantly though, what I saw last night wasn't much different from what I'd been seeing in my FC100DC for the last five years. The DZ does appear slightly cooler in tone, but its going to take a first class night to really put this scope through its paces and see where the dividing line is between the DZ and the DC. Jupiter may be the planet on which I could be able to tell a difference, but it will unquestionably be a very subtle difference.