Timebandit

Must be a new Range Televue have released, look forward to the reviews on these 😁 Only pulling your leg Sweep, welcome to SGL 👍

That's it Mike, scratch that itch . At least you will know through your own eyes if this eyepiece suits your own individual needs and requirements. And if its been purchased used then its not going to break the bank.

To get the best out of limited aperture scopes , then you must get to a true dark site. The darkness of the Sky's can make a dramatic difference on the DSO visual situation. I also recommend you get the book "Turn left at Orion " to get you started on your DSO observation . Have fun 👍

No point looking for Psychiatric help on SGL. We will just make your condition worse 😀 Sometimes if you have an Itch for something, then you just need to buy it and try it for yourself , only way to find out is with your own eyes.

They missed a bit of a marketing exercise there. Should of put "Turbo" on them 😀

If your main purpose is to use the 100Ed for Luna and planetary(also great for splitting double stars). Then I would say go for it . A quality Ed is hard to beat for visual on these type of targets. In my opinion you get more of a sharper and cleaner image through a refractor compared to the reflector on these type of targets. And the SW 100ed has been proven to be a great refractor for very sensible money.

Hello and welcome to SGL For around £150 you are on a tight budget , so I would not buy new and look on the second hand market. The best bang for buck out there in my opinion is a 200mm reflector. I would therefore keep a eye on the SGL for sale section for a SW 200 dob I hope this helps

Hello. And welcome to SGL If you are looking for a first "proper" scope around your budget . Then I would recommend a reflector of 200mm in aperture. These scopes are great for Luna , planets and DSO and the SW make some very competitive price and quality in this range. So for bang for buck then a good 200mm reflector is best IMO for your cash to be spent on. I hope this helps

Lots of debate on this one. Personally unless it is really bad then I would leave it alone. I did read an article some years ago about the surface of the primary can get very fine scratching on it even if you go very very carefully with your cleaning. So I would leave well alone.

Hello . Despite "Better eyepiece's" in regards to field of view and eye relief. I do have a sentimental attachment to my set of BGO . probably because these are no longer available new, and it took me a couple of years hunting these down individually to build a complete set. They may be an old design but in the frac very usable and as sharp as a tak on views , will give much more expensive modern eyepiece's a run for their money.

The OOuk are not cheap purchased new John granted , but the later models do seem to be well put together when it comes to build quality and mirrors. I personally would not buy one new, but are great value second hand . And if you want a quality life long reflector then a OOuk used is certainty a top choice IMO.

I know Orion Optics UK get a bit of stick for their delivery time with people. But I must say I have found my Dob to hold its collimation so well . Even when moved seems to be great for holding collimation. Hardly ever needs adjustment. And the mirrors are such quality also.

Hello. From the pic then its difficult to say . Try putting a quality eyepiece in the scope and doing visual as a comparison. You may well find the image through an eyepiece is so much better, If so then maybe you should look into your imaging gear/ processing and not the scope. Hope this helps

Hello and welcome to SGL In my opinion when it comes to planets , then light pollution is not such a factor as DSO. The main factors in planetary viewing is location of the planets in the sky. To low then you have more atmosphere to cut through. Then the seeing conditions of the sky , good transparency of Sky's are critical to be able to view planets at there best. Then equipment to get the best out of planetary viewing, you really do need quality optics in both the scope and eyepieces, a scope is only as good as its weakest link. Hope this helps

All things being equal , then more aperture has the ability to gather more photons. I think BrendanC you are trying to talk yourself out of aperture fever and trying to stick with your 130mm aperture and not upgrade to a 200mm aperture 😀 Give into the aperture fever a good 200mm is a great scope and will give you years of great visual images , especially at Dark sites then fainter DSO will pop to the eyes

I am not surprised you are confused 🤔 . I am still trying to make sense of that answer 🤔 I don't think you will go far wrong with those upgrades in eyepieces. 👍

Hello . If I was you I would not get the Barlow , but a couple of decent eyepieces. Certainly a step up in quality from your supplied eyepieces, Would be some BST Starguiders . lots of people have used these on SGL with good feedback and they are sensible money. And even better value purchased used . I hope this helps

If you are looking for a "proper " first scope that is very capable on Luna, planets , DSO then I would be looking at a 200mm reflector. Something like a SW 200 Dob, will not only be a good starter scope on a reasonable budget , but will last year years without the need to upgrade IMO for some considerable time. These scopes do come up at very sensible money used on the SGL sales site, so maybe worth keeping an eye out for one. I hope this helps

Hello . Your F/8.3 is quite forgiving on eyepiece's and the Starguider will perform well in these slower ratio scopes. But if you put these in a fast scope then you will start to see the detrimental effect that fast scopes have on views. I know myself I have been surprised that how good a views you can get with cheaper eyepiece's in very slow scopes. But put the same eyepiece's in a fast scope and its a completely different story and the views suffer considerably. Well done looking at a ED scope for your birthday. It is a market increase in viewing performance when you can get a good ED doublet. The CA is Sooo controlled and Luna is such a pleasure in a quality ED

Hello and welcome to SGL and finding the hobby again👍 You scope is relatively at F/4.5 therefore does need a well corrected eyepiece at these faster ratios. Therefore as you seem to be hinting that you need something in the 18 to 24 range. If your scope has a 2" focuser then i would opt and suggest the Nagler 20mm T5 ,this can be used with fast scopes such as yours, it has lots of eye relief and 82d fov and optics are very sharp . These I understand are no longer available new ,but can be picked up used at around your budget. I own one of these and is very good in my fast reflector Dob as well as my refractor. I hope this helps

Hello . The SW ED 80 gets really good result's on the AP side of things. And second hand should be within your budget. But obviously the mount needs to be up to the task when it comes to AP so this would be extra. If your just getting into AP then you should get the book " Every Photon Counts"

For many years now I have used my SW Equinox 120Ed with an AZ4 without any real problems. It is on a 2" leg tripod , and a slight vibration at times on very high powers is noticeable for a few seconds(even though with the tripod sitting on the grass the vibration seem dampened considerably). But overall nothing that offends me. Seems to handle the weight of the 120ED fully loaded with 2" TV diagonal and some large 2" eyepiece's without a problem. I have heard that the AZ4 supposedly is not up to a 120 size refractor scope. But from my experience all is good and a very sensible priced and. effective mount it is too.

Hello. If I was in your shoes and did not want a toy but a "proper" refractor at sensible money. I would up your budget a bit, and keep an eye on the SGL sales section. And wait for a used SW 100ed to come up for sales, and then I would keep a look out for a used AZ4 to mount it on. You would have a quality refractor set up that would give cracking views and last you many years. Hope this helps

You can always find something better . But at what cost. If you do not mind paying many many thousands of pounds more for something that maybe a fraction better. Then that is the option with an unlimited budget. But if you are like me and want Tak performance but on sensible money then the Top quality SW scopes like the Esprit really do take some beating. If its the last scope you want to buy then look at a used TEC 140 .

I have not read any negatives regarding the Esprit 120 . Actually they seem to get so many positive comments regarding being a top notch refractor at very sensible money. But from your write up it sound that you have already answered the question yourself. As you seem to prefer the images of those taken with the Esprit when compared to other refractor images in your short list. Go for what images you already like , the Esprit