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Skywatcher Esprit 100 ED 5-element

AlistairHowie
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laser_jock99

laser_jock99

Posted
Posted (edited)

I'm not sure where in the market the Esprit scopes are meant to pitch at?

They're not exactly cheap and there are a selection of perhaps better known brands at similar price levels with proven quality.

Edited by laser_jock99
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AlistairHowie

AlistairHowie

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Well, there was a review here ... http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/141149-first-light-skywatcher-esprit-100-ed-quad/page__p__1430636#entry1430636 ... and also here ... http://www.progressiveastroimaging.com/viewtopic.php?p=50970&sid=da2fa4d6f6746238d0d03ff151f768ff

Both showing serious problems, but there are from a few months ago now ...

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Black Knight

Black Knight

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Ah yes, I remember seeing that first one now. Seems to have gone a bit quiet lately on the Esprit front :)

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SamAndrew

SamAndrew

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I'm not sure where in the market the Esprit scopes are meant to pitch at?

They're not exactly cheap and there are a selection of perhaps better known brands at similar price levels with proven quality.

As said in the first review posted above, it's similar to the FSQ-106 at half the price, so if they get it sorted, it could well be a hit, I know I'm interested :D

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E621Keith

E621Keith

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To be honest, given the available sample images and price, I can't understand why anyone would choose the SW Esprit 100 over a Borg 101ED with F4 super reducer which cost just £30 more. For £1k less you can get the slightly slower Altair 115 EDT, which have produced some incredible images.

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DirkSteele

DirkSteele

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I have recently attempted to contact a couple of dealers about this scope and they were both suspiciously quiet, i.e. no response at all, which when considering one of them was mid conversation (about 3 emails sent and replied to) might suggest the issues are still to be resolved.

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Interested

Interested

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Posted (edited)

To be honest, given the available sample images and price, I can't understand why anyone would choose the SW Esprit 100 over a Borg 101ED with F4 super reducer which cost just £30 more. For £1k less you can get the slightly slower Altair 115 EDT, which have produced some incredible images.

Well, The first review was mine. I bought the Esprit because I wanted a scope where I could plug in my 383L+ & filterwheel , focus, and 'away I go'. Fed up fiddling with spacings between chip & lens! The in-built flattener would allow easy use of 2" filters as well (I still get vignetting with 1.25" filters). The T Thread system is ok for the 314L+ but, in my opinion, M 48 would be better for the 383L+. The Esprit seemed like a neat solution for both cameras. The problem with the scope is that it is not collimatable - this has to be carried out at the factory.

I had ordered a GTF81 from Ian King but was informed today that of the 6 scopes he took delivery of, a few were not good enough to sell to customers so he could not fill my order. I'm not sure if this is isolated or not. Apparently, Williams Optics only made 100 GTF's for world wide sale, so a bit like the GT - going to be difficult to get hold of (not sure why WO bought out the GT flattener when you can't buy the scope?).

I'm now looking at a Takahashi FSQ 85ED.

P.S. The images I took with the scope were fairly short exposures under the light polluted skies of Bristol and were just taken to show the problem with the Esprit - I am sure that, if the Esprit had been collimated and images were taken over a few hours under dark skies they would have been very good. The Esprit is a nice looking scope and balanced well on my mount. It is a shame I had problems and if I could be sure they were sorted, I would buy the scope again. It is a shame that most suppliers can only sell you a scope - they don't have the facilities to check out the scope before they mail it to you!

Regards,

Edited by Interested
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E621Keith

E621Keith

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Well, The first review was mine. I bought the Esprit because I wanted a scope where I could plug in my 383L+ & filterwheel , focus, and 'away I go'. Fed up fiddling with spacings between chip & lens! The in-built flattener would allow easy use of 2" filters as well (I still get vignetting with 1.25" filters). The T Thread system is ok for the 314L+ but, in my opinion, M 48 would be better for the 383L+. The Esprit seemed like a neat solution for both cameras. The problem with the scope is that it is not collimatable - this has to be carried out at the factory.

I had ordered a GTF81 from Ian King but was informed today that of the 6 scopes he took delivery of, a few were not good enough to sell to customers so he could not fill my order. I'm not sure if this is isolated or not. Apparently, Williams Optics only made 100 GTF's for world wide sale, so a bit like the GT - going to be difficult to get hold of (not sure why WO bought out the GT flattener when you can't buy the scope?).

I'm now looking at a Takahashi FSQ 85ED.

P.S. The images I took with the scope were fairly short exposures under the light polluted skies of Bristol and were just taken to show the problem with the Esprit - I am sure that, if the Esprit had been collimated and images were taken over a few hours under dark skies they would have been very good. The Esprit is a nice looking scope and balanced well on my mount. It is a shame I had problems and if I could be sure they were sorted, I would buy the scope again. It is a shame that most suppliers can only sell you a scope - they don't have the facilities to check out the scope before they mail it to you!

Regards,

This is a surprise, even WO had QC problem on their 5 elements GTF. I guess this means 4+ elements Chinese APO is a no go zone for now. First the TS APO65Q quadruplet, then the SW Esprit, and finally the WO GTF ...

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alan potts

alan potts

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Posted

I'm not sure where in the market the Esprit scopes are meant to pitch at?

They're not exactly cheap and there are a selection of perhaps better known brands at similar price levels with proven quality.

The 120 version of this is about the same a my APM Lzos 115mm and being a brand snob I know which I would rather have.

Alan.

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Michael_A

Michael_A

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Posted

Hello,

to replace my old TeleVue Genesis 100/500, I recently bought a SW Esprit 100ED from "teleskop-spezialisten" (Munich), www.teleskop-spezialisten.de. I was aware of the problems these scopes have and asked Mr. Kloss, owner of "teleskop-spezialisten", about it. He told me, the Esprit 100 often arrives misaligned and it takes him several hours to collimate it, using an iterative process to get rid of coma and astigmatism. But, he said, some residual aberations, like a very little amount of astigmatism, would remain.....although nearly undiscernible.

Well, the Esprit 100 he sent me works fine. It has a good color correction (much better than the Genesis - at first I made some pictures of a nearby industrial area with many HP-Hg-lamps ...: - ), no vignetting and the edges of an image are as sharp as the center. Visually, it "snaps" into focus. 2 weeks ago I was able to make a photo of NGC 7000 with a QHY 10 CCD-camera (despite the short nights), which is

not perfect due to field-rotation caused by a slightly misaligned mount, but o.k.

The scope does not seem to be temperature-sensitive....when I arrived at the oberving site, it was about 20 centigrades degree. It took about 20 minutes to get ready, then I focused and started a serie of 6 x 15 minutes. Meanwhile the temperature dropped down to 8 centigrades degree, but to my surprise (and relief) there was no focus shift.

If someone needs the image in full resolution or other test images, please send a mail (MichaelAlbertz@gmx.de)

Best regards

Michael

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CeeDee

CeeDee

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Posted (edited)

As Ian King has discovered and other SGL members here, when you start adding more elements into the optical train thae likelyhood of miscolimation is multiplied. I would rather stick with a reputable, tried and trusted triplet and add the field flattener et al to it.

My two penn'th worth anyuway.

Edited by CeeDee
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DirkSteele

DirkSteele

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As Ian King has discovered and other SGL members here, when you start adding more elements into the optical train thae likelyhood of miscolimation is multiplied. I would rather stick with a reputable, tried and trusted triplet and add the field flattener et al to it.

My two penn'th worth anyuway.

Very much agree with your "two penn'th worth"

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  • 1 year later...
DaveS

DaveS

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Posted

Good lord, over a year between last posts.

Never mind, that's a rather tasty image, sharp stars into the corners. I'm assuming that's with the 550D?

Have to mildly disagree with adding diffraction spikes to a refractor image, but each to their own I suppose.

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paulastro

paulastro

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Posted

Yes, I feel it's asking a lot to obtain a first class image with four lenses or more in the system. I only recently was brave enough to move up to a triplet (TSA-102), and that was only because the person I bought it off and has years of using top quality refractors. I also think the point someone made about why people would 'take a chance' on paying nearly as much for an Espirit when there are other more established performers around is well made. I hasten to add, I'm not anti-Skywatcher, in fact the reverse. The 120ED Equinox/Evostar is an exceptional optic for the price and compares well with much more expensive optics - though being a doublet there is not so much to go wrong, which is perhaps why they are so consistent.

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  • 5 years later...
henry b

henry b

Posted
Posted

I have recently obtained a 5 element Esprit 100 with a 3 inch FT focuser attached by a previous owner, a gamble that has surprised me ........The scope has now replaced my FSQ106!  I am a retired brand snob that has been reminded i am idiot and should not believe everything one reads.......Henry b.

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