pkentwindsurf

3 minutes ago, mikeDnight said:

The FC's are terrific scopes, not only because they are optically excellent, but also because they are small and light. That means there's no excuses for not using them, and because of this you are likely to see great things through the Tak. The more you're at the eyepiece the more you'll see! They are not however magical, and are limited by their aperture as far as light grasp and resolution goes, but because of their top class objective, they are able to take magnification very well when seeing conditions permit.  A 125mm however will have a noticeable jump in light grasp and will give very good views of solar system targets. Honestly, I think that either scope can be the scope of a lifetime, and both will give high quality views that will not fail to wow you. If your heart was set on the 125, then may be you'll kick yourself for not getting one?

Thanks for the honest opinion. And yes you're so right about size and usage. I also have a 12inch Dob, fantastic scope, but it barely sees the outside of the shed due to its weight.

On 09/03/2024 at 21:47, mikeDnight said:

 I'm another who hasn't yet had chance to look through an SW150ED, but I'm in no rush to do so.  I have however owned three SW120ED's. The first was a standard black diamond 120ED Pro which really was excellent. I exchanged that for the 120ED Equinox version. This second ED was a touch on the red side which told me they are not all alike as regards quality. It was however a truly great scope never the less. I sold it and bought a 100mm ED but that didnt float my boat, so I bought yet another 120 Equinox ED.  I remember my first view through a SW 120 ED and what I thought about it when viewing the Moon. I told my friend who's scope it was, that "It's  very Tak"! That's the best compliment I could ever give any telescope.

 Years went by and Takahashi returned to producing Fluorite refractors, but with a maximum aperture of 100mm currently. I had owned both the 128 and 152 Tak fluorite and so knew what a dream scope they could be, so I placed an order for the FC100DC. When the FC arrived the first night was clear and I set the FC100DC up alongside my excellent 120 Equinox ED. The 120 gave a very nice view of Jupiter, but when I looked through the Takahashi the equatorial belts appeared much more vibrant, and almost looked like they were braided around the planet. Bare in mind that light grasp made no difference and the resolution gain of the 120ED had no observable impact on the detail on show. In fact the 100mm gave the more detailed view on that first night. Successive nights gave the same results, so I had no regrets when I let the 120ED go. I've used the FC100D exclusively for more than 8 years and wanted for nothing. Last year I had chance to reacqire another FS128 which is a bit of a beast, yet I still love my FC100D. The FC rapidly became my most used telescope, because it was virtually effortless to set up and never failed to offer stunning views.

 You mentioned double stars!  Well, the FC100D is a terrific double star scope. Five hundred X on a steady night is entirely doable with a tracking mount. 1000X if the night is exceptional; I know because I've done it! The FC100 is light weight and can be carried on an EQ5 or Vixen GP with ease. The same mount may very well carry a 120ED providing its on a strong tripod. But a 150ED will need a GPDX or Losmandy GM8 to do it justice.

Attached are a few pics. You can measure how good a scope is by the wideness of my grin! 😆

 

Below is the FC100DC and FC100DZ. 

Honestly! I really don't believe you can go wrong with either the 120ED or the Tak 100. Both are great scopes, but which is best for your personal needs is a choice only you can make. 

I'm in the market for a refractor, reading this has now confused me lol. I was set on a stellamira 125, but I'm now wondering about saving a bit more and grabbing a Tak. I've always been one for get as much aperture as you can, but I hear so many good things about Tak100's.

1 hour ago, Elp said:

At this sort of price range and for the crispest views you've got a choice of refractors in no particular order:

Askar 103/120/140 triplets,

Takahashi FC100 doublet,

Starfield 102 doublet (which I've got, it's excellent).

If you're willing to give up some FOV a Celestron Edge HD8. A C6 also works well but I find it's FOV restrictive for DSO, the 100mm refractor is far more comfortable to use.

 

 

I actually hadn't considered a 102, that Starfield one is available at FLO, sounds like a great scope and a great price.

Morning All,

I'm in the market for a scope to fit in between my SW ED80 (f7.5) and a GSO 12 inch Dobsonian (f5).

I've been chatting to FLO and Chris has been hugely helpful. But as this is a bit of an investment I'd appreciate a few more thoughts from a few of you out there.

FLO recommended a StellaMira ed125 which does indeed look like a lovely spec scope and I'm very drawn to this one (I do love the crisp views through my ed80).

I'm purely a visual observer and I enjoy looking at everything from DSO's, Double Stars to Solar system stuff.

I just wondered if others had any suggestions for scopes I may not have looked at and how it fits with my current scopes? Mount I have is an Heq5 pro.

Cheers,

Pete