souls33k3r

Cheers Andy, that's super super helpful mate. Really do appreciate that. Good shout on the extension tube between scope and flattener

lol sorry that shoe comment was half said (little one threw a tantrum that she wanted a new writing book so go distracted ) what i meant was that the locking rings makes no sense and neither does having a shoe as a base for a scope of 80mm size. Design issue in my eyes. Not sure how much does the shoe raises the scope because like i said with my star 71, i had to rotate the scope within it's rings so that the focuser was on the top rather than at the bottom because it would hit the Dec puck.

Yes you're absolutely correct, i only wanted to rotate the camera and not the whole focuser. Makes no sense to give the user the option to rotate the entire focuser, and the shoe. Sorry this thread all of a sudden has become an Esprit 80 thread for which i do apologise

Ah makes so much more sense. From the YouTube video i mentioned, i got the impression of this (see image below. Apologies FLO for using your image as well) as the locking collar. What is this any way? You're right about that mate, i'm very much in favour of buying it again from FLO. You just can't beat a quality service

Not sure if I can visualise it properly unless I’ve seen the scope but I’ll take that as a yes. So a silly question, would I by any chance when unlocking the ring potentially make things lose within the tube or any of it’s components? Edit: Ok got it, just seen a quick video on YouTube and can see what you mean. This guy also mentioned that people have sort of complained about this rotating collar that it’s not really as good as it should be and could’ve been better lubricated? I hope I don’t make a right mess of it The only last concern I have right now is the potential of the focused hitting the dec puck. With my star 71 I had to rotate the scope within its rings.

One question regarding the Esprit 80, does it have a camera rotator? One thing that I really loved about the star 71 was that there was a means for me to rotate the camera/FW in a position that I wanted. This was very helpful because my scope when pointing vertically would move in one direction and using a rotator moving the FW in the opposite direction would counter balance the scope movement. So does the Esprit 80 have a camera rotator?

Sweet, seems like you and i (potentially) have the exact kit. Can i be a big bug bear and ask, what's the height in CM/MM of the dew shield? The star 71 is 90mm so wanted to confirm how big it is because storing a scope is something i have to consider too. If possible, can i have the exact height please?

I agree with you mate, the WO was supposed to be excellent (still love it to bits) but it was one of them bad ones that just hit the nerve like a cheating ex (not that i've ever had an experience with it :D) I would've loved a TS but i don't like the person who is their supplier because he gets very defensive very quickly and tries to blame you at every turn. So that's out of the window. I have a good relationship with AA and two of their scopes have caught my eye "Altair Wave 80mm Triplet APO" and "Starwave 70 EDQ-R Quad" (yes another quad, just love it because no external reducers and spacers and faffing about). Last scope is an Esprit 80 now. It's just a shame that what i'm looking for FLO don't have them all otherwise FLO is my first choice and you can't deny their dealings with their customers is top notch. I'm not in to mosaics if i'm being honest, just want a perfect FOV for the object and at 350mm FL, everything fits just fine. Cheers mate, I wouldn't mind another WO but unfortunately FLO don't stock this particular version. I would much rather go back with FLO than try someone new. Just coming out of a bad WO scope means i'm a bit traumatised with the experience and can only go with people who i trust will look after me and the scope if anything bad was to happen to it.

Nice one, thanks @Jkulin and @RayD. I do wonder what other options do I have in terms of the scope choice?

Hi Andy, the issue is unfortunately my Star 71 is not capable of holding its collimation even after being checked by ES twice now so i have been given the option for it to be returned and get a refund. So that’s why I’m looking for another scope of similar’ish fov.

Nice one mate, sounds like a plan. Cheers for your help matey. Was the plastic shoe hard to remove though? When you say gently removed it, it sounds like the bit that’s connected to the scope is glued or something? also would you happen to know what the size (Height) of the dew shield is? I ask this because I would like find out if I can utilise the case that I have right now or not. ta mate.

Cheers for your input mate. That’s the only thing I don’t like about the Esprit 80 is that weird finder shoe. Just seen the price for the tube rings from Primulace and they’re £179 ... this scope with the field flattener and the ES Reid check and rings is going just around £1350 now. Worth it? I hope so because it is a contender so far. Not seen any better recommendations so far but will wait. i do have my eye set on the Altair’s starwave 70 EQD-R, just seen not much of that scope anywhere so I don’t know.

Stop showing off Peter my goodness man! that's a cracking image. P.S: Can i have 1% of your imaging brain? I'm sure i'll do wonders

Hahaha was hoping I'd drag out some skeletons from the closet. Just the sort of thing I need to know what NOT to buy. I don't know if I'm wrong in saying this but anything other than a Tak or a Vixen VSD with more than 3 lens is just an ambitious design? Some good scopes come out and some end up in frustration. I ended up one with frustrations so now lookin for an alternative. I took a long time in deciding which one I wanted to buy not wanting ever to change my scope and now here I am yet again This TS offering is really good, perfect FL but isn't this one of those where you have to unscrew the tubes to get the flattener attached or something weird like that?

Cheers mate, I'm not sure if it would be fair to compare 80 with the 100 because they might be giving you not only more glass for the money but also a few extra bits unless someone corrects me on that. The reason why 100mm is not on my options is because of the fov, I've been pampered with my star 71 view and the 80mm comes very close to that. Will. Most certainly be looking at the flattener. The fun has just begun, my wife already knows as I've been glued to my phone literally all day