cajen2

"Millennium hand and shrimp".... Sorry, literary reference! 😄

Nothing at all... it's just that for many people, a Stellarvue is an aspirational scope....😉

Mike's the only person I know who has a Stellarvue.....and uses it as a finder! 😛

Excellent review, Z. All other reviewers (including me!), please take note - this is how it's done! The only things stopping me from ordering one immediately are that I also have the Hyperflex zoom and will be getting a Baader Hyperion Mk IV shortly, but my biggest problem is eye relief - I can't tolerate very low ER EPs even without my glasses. I also don't really need anything below about 8mm f/l right now. It's great to see that a high-mag zoom will compete with some decent fixed-length EPs at a relatively cheap price point!

I think you'll be very pleased with a 10" dob IF: - you're fit and strong. I'm getting on a bit and find an 8" awkward to shift around, - you have somewhere to store it within easy reach of your viewing area. Don't underestimate how much space it will take up. I got myself one of those small dollies on castors like they use for moving plant pots and screwed a piece of plywood to it and the dob sits on that, making it a doddle to move around inside at least. - you're good at collimation. There's no way you can look through the focuser and adjust the knobs at the same time unless you have arms like a gorilla, so you'll need a laser collimator, Cheshire, etc. Finally, you'll soon get used to nudging the dob without tracking. If your EPs have quite wide fields of view, this helps. I'd recommend using an RDF AND a RACI together for finding targets, especially if you suffer from light pollution. My personal recommendation is for a StellaLyra 10": they're very well made and equipped and have extremely smooth alt/az adjustment.

Don't forget the Heritage has a dovetail so it's easy to attach it to a normal driven mount with tripod.

I have the same scope and find the Baader Morpheus range to be excellent. Pentax XWs are also very good but significantly more expensive, and for me, less involving than the Morphs. Is 76° wide enough for you?

Great bit of work, Mike. 👍

You may be interested in my first light report on the SL 20mil when it was first released. Several months later, I love it more than ever! https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/392135-stellalyra-80°-20mm-2-eyepiece-first-light-report/

Ooh, a Stellarvue! More please, Magnus.

I might be interested in the Baader zoom, plus potentially one or two of the others...😉

More, Neil???😉

The new StellaLyra UFF range might give the ES 68° a run for its money. It's 65° v. 68° but if the 30mm is anything to go by, it should be great and nearly £100 cheaper.

Do go on about the TV Nagler, please Gerry....

Can I join the queue for a peek at Cwmdu? 😉

The 130, like my 150, is excellent optically. In fact, it loses nothing to my StellaLyra 8" dob except needing lower f/l EPs to achieve the same mags. No doubt the 8" hoists in more light but it really isn't noticeable except with the faintest stars / DSOs.

Yes, indeed. Come over for a drink...🍾

Booked! Pitch 26.

Unlucky is my middle name....😉 Nope!

I have the OVL 7-21mil version and I agree: optically, it's excellent. The FOV is rather narrow compared with the fixed-length EPs I normally use, but no serious problem there. My only issue is that the zoom ring is so stiff that I have to use two hands, thus often knocking the scope off target.

For those in the UK, that's the same as the StellaLyra 2" 20mil. Excellent EP.

Can I just ask why the Bresser over the SW? Any advantages?

What I can never understand is that businesses and local councils are always complaining about high costs, yet will leave their lights on all night. I have a street lamp outside my back garden, blocking southerly views, which is on till 4am. It illuminates one tiny corner of a pedestrian path, along with numerous others. You'd have thought the council could switch them off after, say, midnight but no. They're happy enough to raise council tax every year, though...

Yes, I've just checked out my old emails. Astro shop.eu told me that one they were selling had the 51 glass.

Jupiter has umpteen times more gravity. I suppose most of them are asteroid captures, which might have done us a favour in the distant past.....fewer to come near Earth!