19 hours ago, John said:

From what I've read, the Vixen HR's are very close to the best planetary eyepieces that you can get and in the same league as the Zeiss ZAO's, TMB Supermonocentric's, Pentax XO's.

The Takahashi TOE's and Tele Vue Delite's are excellent but just a step down in terms of outright planetary performance. The Vixen SLV's (which I have used and reported on) a small step down again. Still very competent though.

The very best mentioned above are out of production and practically impossible to acquire now at any price. The Vixen HR could well be in a similar situation soon so picking one or two up while they can be got and at a reasonable cost makes sense if you are looking for that type of eyepiece.

 

 

I've gone for the 3.4 mm HR planetary, hopefully I'll be able to get hold of one. Thanks for the advice.

I’ve got on order a Vixen 4 mm SLV, however the delivery time has gone out to 30-40 days the same as a HR planetary 3.4 mm. One reason to go with the SLV was 20 mm eye relief and deliver of 7 days.

Other options are 4 mm versions of:

Tele Vue Delite 62º Eyepieces

Takahashi TOE Eyepieces

Is the planetary HR that much better then the others, worth the wait? This I imagine is the last opportunity to aquire them new?

Clearing the history etc would help the most...

This link has a list of what needs to be deleted:

https://beebom.com/safari-running-slow-macos-catalina-update-fix/

Also how full is your file system, even on SSD this can slow down.

On 03/08/2020 at 20:49, John said:

Mine is F/6.5. Vixen didn't reveal the glass type used back then but the ED element is widely thought to be FPL-53. The colour correction would suggest that.

The objective cell, tube rings and focuser design have not changed as far as I can tell.

 

 

Why do you keep it when you have the Talk 100? Presume it cannot cope with as high magnification?

Anyone know how the 2.5 mm SLV and 2.4 mm HR Planetary compare, when looking at planets (Jupiter excluded) or bright doubles?

I’m presuming better colour correction on the HR planetary due to the higher Strehl ratio. Does it give any flexibility with the scope it’s being used with, the SLV I presume would decrease sharpness as having a lower Strehl ratio? The SLV Strehl ratio is about 10 % less then the HR planetary.

At the same time the HR planetary was designed to work with the AX103S, does it add that much as no point getting any HR planetary’s if using a SD103S? Both would have a theoretical useable magnification of 217, 2.4 mm HR would deliver a magnification or around 341.

Does anyone know what the correct adapter is for a Vixen SX & GP HAL-130 tripod to 3/8 thread?

I have a Astro Essential EQ5 adapter, which will not accept the locking bolt, here:

Would the EQ6 adapter work or should I just spend the extra and get the Vixen Camera Platform Adapter for HAL Tripod?

I do not want to follow this approach...
 

1 hour ago, John said:

I have one on my Vixen ED102SS which is now around 20 years old. The handle is a little younger though

 

Apart from the lettering you can hardly tell the difference, inside different glass and baffles (to give imaging circle of 44 mm). Wonder what they would look like side by side?

Is it a Takahashi thing the lack of handles when new? 😀. See handle provided fresh from the box below.

  

The vixen SD81S is not turning up to September, all sold out. However Vixen SD103S are available, from the YouTube video I’m presume SD103S will behave like the Tak-100 as far as balance, etc...

Thanks for clearing up around the clutches. I’ll give the ScopeTech Zero a go.

2 minutes ago, John said:

Do you have a link to that ?

I'd be interested to see it

I don't own / use a Vixen Porta II which is why I used the "?"

What scope are you intending to put on your Scopetech Zero ?

I think this has been linked elsewhere, but gives a good overview. In Japanese, but subtitles in English.

A Vixen SD81S, I suspect the Porta II would do, however any heavier...

33 minutes ago, John said:

Vixen Porta II ?

https://www.vixenoptics.co.uk/Pages/porta_II_mount.htm

 

 

 

 

Defeated by wobble/nudge test, certainly takes longer to recover in review on YouTube pitted against Scopetech Zero.

23 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Wonder what the Artesky Alt-azimuth Mount is like? 

Weight of the mount 1.6 kg - load capacity up to 15 kg

https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p11387_Artesky-Alt-azimuth-Mount-with-fine-adjustment-for-instruments-up-to-15-kg.html

 

From the site: "Unclamp the axes and you can reach any point on earth or in the sky with fast pans. As soon as you have set the target, fix the axes with the knurled screws." Looks like a clutch... But yes, looks good...

6 hours ago, HollyHound said:

You’re right, it’s not cheap, but it is well made and very smooth in operation.

The slow motion handles are £20 and it can be used on any tripod with a 3/8” head, doesn’t have to be Gitzo or Berlebach.

Still cheaper than my iPhone and likely outlast it by a good number of years, but I agree that there are cheaper and arguably better value mounts out there 👍

I have a Scopetech Zero on order. The only other mount I could find without clutches and with slow motion controls was the Vixen APZ around £530. Vixen APZ is 2 kg heavier but can take 1 kg more payload, so Scopetech Zero weighing 2 kg less won. 

Any other mounts with those features?