cajen2

Oh, FLO have only a few ATM. Also available in black.

I'm certainly very happy with it so far. Perhaps I'll be able to do a first light report tonight.

I read on the 'other place' that Sightron owns the patent and sued Scopetech for copying it with the Zero (which is presumably why the Zero is no longer available). I must stress that this is hearsay....

Just arrived: A Sightron Japan Alt-Azimuth mount. I wanted a light mount with a reasonable payload for G&G and this doesn't disappoint. Looks suspiciously similar to the Scopetech Zero. Weight is only 1.45kg but payload is up to 7kg. Apparently it can be used in EQ mode (with a wedge) or for fork mounting but I just needed common or garden alt/az. It even has slow-mo controls. Thanks to @FLO for their usual whiz delivery! Here it is with my Starfield 102ED and Berlebach Report tripod: I can now pick up and carry the whole shooting match one handed. Happy bunny....

I already have a Pentax XW 5mil, plus a Morph 6.5, so it would have been a bit of a waste of money. The SL came up at an excellent price at just the right time and loses nothing to the other ranges.

Never used one (couldn't afford one! 😆) so can't compare.

Oops, yes. It's the Barlow FOR the zoom! 😂

It didn't come out well in the photo (awful cheap phone) but the little one is the Hyperion 2.25x zoom.

Little and large....

That was the idea in ordering it - that plus the fact that it was £££ cheaper from @FLO as a return! 😜 I've always had a problem getting an ideal view from low f/l EPs: good ones like TOEs and Baader BCOs are often compromised by narrow fields of view, poor eye relief or both. The SL has an 80° AFOV and 20mm of eye relief, so I'm very glad I like it (so far!).

Firstly, apologies for this being a very brief test, for reasons I'll explain. I've recently bought one or two bits and pieces: - a SW extension for my AZ GTiX mount - a StellaLyra 4mm 1.25" LER/UWA EP (the 80° range) - a Baader Hyperion 2.2x Barlow (designed for my Hyperion zoom but fits all 1.25" EPs with a filter thread) The first is easily dealt with: the extension was wonderful, bringing my tripod / mount up to the perfect height. Disclaimers. My back garden is heavily light polluted, so no chance of any DSOs. I decided on the moon and Jupiter as they were adjacent but had to hurry as they were headed for nearby roofs and trees, so no wooden tray/spreader for my Berlebach Report and no power for my mount - strictly manual. Warning: the AZ GTiX does NOT make a good manual mount! 😂 I ran through some different EPs on the moon: Vixen NPL 30mm as a finder, Morpheus 17.5 and 6.5 and then the SL 4mm. I have the 2" 20mm from the same range and it's one of my favourite EPs, so I had high hopes for the 4mil. It was extremely competent. Eye placement and focus are often iffy with low f/l EPs but the SL was fine. It's often said that this range suffers from edge of field brightening but this doesn't manifest itself on either of my two. If it ever existed, it's clearly been corrected. So, a sharp clear image that didn't deteriorate right up to the edge and gave me c179x mag in my Starfield 102ED. The terminator of the moon was sharp despite the wobbly seeing near house roofs and Jupiter showed clear banding though no sign of the GRS. One warning, though: the SL is huge! Larger than some of my 2" EPs but not overly heavy. The Baader 2.2x Barlow is quite the opposite - tiny. I tried it first on what it was designed for: the Hyperion zoom. It did a great job and there was little deterioration of the image. The zoom is not parfocal - I always have to twiddle focus as I change mags, and of course the Barlow needs more changes of focus. Nevertheless, the zoom and its Barlow make a great G&G setup: a range of f/lengths from 3.6 to 24mm. I tried the Barlow on a different EP - the 6.5mil Morpheus and it was equally as good. My two targets duly disappeared behind the trees and I didn't want to hunt for any more and came in. A proper extended test will have to wait for Astrocamp and dark skies ....

True, that.....I did it tonight, if only for about 5 seconds till it registered!

Just arrived: A StellaLyra 80° LER/UWA 4mm. I wanted a short-focal-length EP for planetary / lunar stuff; it'll give me about 179x mag on my Starfield 102. I have a 2" 20mm one in the same range and it's excellent. I'll do a quick review one day if these clouds ever disappear....

8", Mike? I thought it was 10? Maybe you're just being modest.....😂

Wales is great for dark sky spots but of course not famous for its clear skies....😆. Events like Astrocamp are usually a great success there: even if it rains all weekend, it's a good social event.

Hi there and a warm welcome to SGL. If we can be of any help, just ask.

Fordingbridge is very small - the nearest other source of LP is Ringwood, which isn't much larger so hopefully it'd be quite dark.

You're quite right. I got a bit confused by SL nomenclature. The 68° and 80° range are both actually called LER/WA. Either way, both are very good.

Yes, the SL 80° series (= UFF) is very good. I have the 20mil and I can't fault it. The 18mm is from the 68° series and is also good, though obviously with a narrower AFOV.

It'll be good to meet you, Tony. I might come and pick your brains about go-to stuff - I've just bought my first go-to mount after some years of strictly dobs.

I did see an 'extra moon' some while ago through my 8" dob. Obviously a field star, but it was on exactly the same plane as the usual four.

Hi and a warm welcome to the Lounge.

A second hand Google Pixel is pretty good: especially using the included astrophotography setting. Mine's an old Pixel 3.

Ok, Mick, will do.

I'm quite happy to swap with another nearby if it's a problem for you.