badhex

That was quick! APM 24mm 68° UFF to replace my MaxVision 24mm 68° SWA. Ordered yesterday from Widescreen Centre and arrived today, very well packed in no-frills packaging. Whilst the fancy packaging of the ultra premium EPs is very nice, ultimately I'll take a premium EP in less fancy packaging if it knocks a few quid off.

Thinking about it, presumably you have to keep the eyecup screwed fully down then?

Back in the UK for a bit so time to stock up on small bits and bobs from FLO. An astro essentials EQ6-R Pro ⅜" tripod adaptor, a super short baader eyepiece holder, 2x dessicant caps and the smaller ADM saddle for the AZ-GTi (with the new style cover plate).

Definitely. I don't have the MaxVision with me right now for a direct comparison and I only have access to a tiny Celestron Travelscope, but I'm hoping it will work out nicely even in that, if the weather allows! It should give me 3.96 deg of TFOV at 17x and the skies here should be dark enough for decent contrast hopefully.

I really like it actually. It's pretty good in both my ZS73 and TS102 F7, very lightweight as you said and it's had more use than the Panoptic 41mm for a number of reasons, mostly that the Panoptic is too big to travel with and I often can't be bothered to take it out with me. It's also so big that the (any!) scope needs completely rebalancing just for that one EP. On the other hand, the TS is about the same size and weight as most of my other A-team EPs.

Well, the irony is that I'm normally based in Germany so availability of APM stuff should be easy, but at the very moment I have decided to try and pick one up I'm actually in the UK for some weeks, so the APMs are a bit thin on the ground! I'm not really a fan of the green Altair version, and the Celestron is inexplicably and significantly more expensive than the APM, but after some searching I've managed to get the APM at a decent price. I actually very nearly snagged the Celestron version from a UK supplier at an even better price than the APM, but it turned out to be an old stock price (and, was no longer in stock anyway).

Well, I think it's decided - I'm going to replace the MaxVision 24mm SWA. This thread got me thinking about what I enjoy in my current 'A-team' of newer EPs which have over the last couple of years replaced others I own; as well as better build quality and optical performance, invariably the answer is the large eye lens of the Morpheus and Pentax XW etc. Those additions have made the view through the MaxVision 24mm feel very tight despite technically showing the max field for a 1.25", so after some discussion on alternatives in another thread, I'm going to get an APM 24mm UFF to replace the MaxVision, as it's pretty much the only contender with a large eye lens, and generally gets good feedback (unless you're a glasses wearer, due to the recessed eye lens).

Don't worry Olli, that's what the thread's for 🙂 I could have missed it earlier in the thread, but might be worth detailing step by step what you are doing from the start, and at what point you start to run into problems. If you have a photo of your setup that would also help?

Thanks for the link! Will keep that one bookmarked. As well as your helpful input I've been reading up a bit on the few EPs in the max 1.25" field category and on overall performance it sounds like there's not huge amounts in it, each having their pros and cons; "swings and roundabouts" as us Brits would say. The biggest attraction for me of the APM and cousins is the large eye lens, and I can probably forgive the possibly indistinct fieldstop in trade. Of the few in that class it's also one of the least expensive which is another plus!

One more thing: in the course of my investigations, I came across this article from S@N in 2019, which covers "six of the best" 2" diagonals, two or three of which appear to be clones (Skywatcher, Omegon, perhaps the WO Durabright) and zero mention of clear aperture, only a note that the first two of the those three seem to be less contrasty which would possibly make sense. Poor show. https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/reviews/six-of-the-best-2-inch-dielectric-diagonals-99-200/

Thanks wookie, this matches my findings as well. Seems that these (synta?) designs are to be avoided for those who want the full aperture of their largest EPs!

Yes, seems there are a few brands using this GSO design which is good news. Looks like I'll be able to pick one up from TS for about €145 which is certainly more reasonable than the Baader at 2-3 times that. I do like the clicklock, though. Oh BTW, the quartz version of this is also available from TS, and is about €15 more expensive.

Thanks for the detail and photos Louis. I had actually been searching for your series of incredibly useful posts with these photos which I've used for reference a number of times, but I couldn't seem to find them. I'll have a look at the APM and optical cousins. I am surprised how much distortion the Panoptic has actually. I have been on a very slow sort of quest to eventually replace some of my older stuff like my MaxVision with "EPs for life" as it were. A 24mm Panoptic might have been on the cards eventually if the eye lens is a decent size (I don't know if it is) but looking at the 27mm's distortion I'm less than convinced, even though it presumably must be a different design. Am I right in thinking that the original Meade/MaxVision SWA and UWA were copies, if not clones, of the Televues?

Looks like there is both an iOptron and TS version of this as well:

Hello all Following up on a recent topic about least favourite EPs, I have found myself idly wondering if there are any better alternatives to my MaxVision 24mm 68°. The large eye lens of the Morpheus (I think it's ~35mm) and Pentax XW etc. are very pleasing, and the MaxVision does tend to feel a bit too snug in comparison so a large eye lens is the first of my criteria. Secondly, it would need to work in 1.25" form factor. I've had a cursory dig around for different options but eye lens measurements are a bit thin on the ground, it seems.

No worries! Have fun with your new mount - if you have any questions etc about the mount or need help getting started, the owners thread is a really good place to ask, loads of knowledgeable folks on there who will be able to help!

Very cool. Glad we could help! I look forward to a first light report 🙂 Re the bag (Thinktank Airport Essentials), again I can highly recommend. It's quite pricey but it's been absolutely worth every penny (same as the scope really!). The two leftmost items in microfibre bags are the AZ-GTi mount itself and a 2" diagonal, so you can actually fit everything you need except a tripod all in the one bag. For travelling I also bought a small carbon fibre tripod which is pretty sturdy for the size and can be strapped to the side. (n.b. not the one in the photo I originally sent, that's the standard AZ-GTi tripod but still pretty portable). Makes for a great little travel setup!

Here you go: wrote this observing report plus a bit on the travel kit setup not long after I first got it. Couple of pics below as well.

I am a visual only observer; I have a ZS73 and I genuinely cannot think of anything bad to say about it. Maybe that the built in temperature gauge is a bit pointless? Optically punches well above its weight, brilliant, crisp widefield views and surprisingly good for planetary despite the relatively short focal length. The build quality is fantastic with a lot of small but important finishing touches that set it apart from some others. The small form factor also means it is very portable and doesn't require a giant mount to keep it steady. I've taken it on holiday to Italy several times, various domestic holidays (I live in Germany), the UK and even island hopping round Greece to Bortle 3 skies. I'll see if I can dig out my first light and post here for you!

Well, if the AZ-GTi is anything to go by we already know it can handle somewhat above the quoted payload so I'm also interested to see how much it can sensibly handle when properly balanced etc.

Plus the AZ-GTi still has a big following and fills a niche for us visual types who don't need the tracking accuracy of an EQ. Also I hope they don't kill it off, an SA GTI won't fit in my astronomy travel kit backpack!

Cheers Lee. Got those two reviews lined up to watch tomorrow!

I reckon that would be a great combo. Prior to the AZ-GTi I was using a very small old manual EQ with a Skymax 102 and never saw the point of Alt-Az until I got one! So much quicker to set up. That said, the Star Adventurer GTi could potentially tempt me back in the future.

Was just chatting with @AstroNebulee in the live chat for the Skywatcher webcast, looks like a great little mount! Obviously focused primarily on imaging so not much use for me but still very cool 🙂

What's the difference between the regular and quartz Louis? BTW regarding manufacturer @Mr Spock, I had been under the impression that the black-bodied one of the two I had posted was Revelation but I've just had a dig through for the order confirmation and it turns out it was actually Opticron. Given that it's almost identical to the SW one I have, I would assume they just got a white label one from Synta as @Louis D said.