INED 70 - Visual first light - I think I may have broken the new scope curse!!

[DoctorD]

Hi

Just back from a few days working away and there's a big parcel waiting for me...

To cut a long story short, I have just sold my motor bike that had been sitting in the garage unused for the past 12 years since the kids were born and MrsD said I should spend the money on something for my self

I've never owed a quality refractor and have been looking at the INED 70 as a travel scope and possibly for use with my video camera, so an order went off to the guys at Teleskop Express in Germany on Monday for an INED 70 and a 2" Diagonal (not that I have any 2" eye pieces yet!) and the parcel arrived whilst I was away.

Opening the box and getting the OTA out was like Christmas when I was a kid - compared to the ST80 and the Celestron Travel scope I have been using this is clearly in a different league from a build quality perspective. There is something very satisfying using well engineered equipment.

I looked out the window and could not believe my luck - a large clear patch in the clouds, due south - Orion high in the sky with Jupiter and the seven sisters out there waiting for me.

I popped the scope on my grab and go tripod - a photo tripod with an Astro Engineering AZ head and fitted the diagonal. Although the diagonal is their budget 2" one, it still appeared very well made with compression rings on both the 2" and 1.25" adapter and is all metal construction. The only downside was that I had forgotten that the AE head clamp is a bit rough and marked the dovetail slightly.

Bear in mind that I do not own any premium or even mid range eyepieces yet, I was not sure what to expect.

I popped in my 32mm GSO Plossl and lined up on the Pleiades, one of my favourite binocular targets, and adjusted the focus, enjoying the smoothness and control that the Crayford dual speed focuser offered. The stars were sharp points of light - I was seeing the Seven Sisters as I had never seen them before! I spent quite a while simply marvelling at this spectacle before moving on.

Moved round to M42 and had a good view of the nebula, popped in the Seben Zoom and was impressed with how well this performed in a quality scope - zooming in at the 8mm end clearly showed the trapezium as 4 tiny pinpricks of light surrounded by the great nebula. This is a very different view for the one I get with my little MAK - greater filed of view but with even tighter stars, perhaps that central obstruction does make a difference.

Finally I turned the scope towards Jupiter not knowing what to expect given the mixed reviews of the INED 70 on bright objects (and they do not come much brighter than Jupiter). It took a while to get optimum focus and at first I thought I was seeing some minor chromatic aberration but suddenly I must have found the ideal focus as the very feint purple halo disappeared and I could clearly see 4 tiny moons and the north and south equatorial belts as red bands across the planet and I think I could just make out the great red spot.

All in all a great first light and I cannot wait to try the INED 70 with the Hyperion Zoom I have ordered along with the iOptron Minitower which should arrive Friday - yes that's all the motor bike money spent!

Let's hope that tomorrow night has a few breaks in the clouds too - could be the first time out for the Minitower with the old C8 on one side (which has also been sitting in the garage unused for a long time) and the INED 70 on the other.

Clear skies

Paul

[Andyfx]

Nice one! I own this scope too and think it's great. If you're looking for a red dot finder, this one fits perfectly.

http://www.365astronomy.com/multi-reticle-red-dot-finderscope-for-refractors-with-metal-body-p-1692.html

[DoctorD]

Hi Andy

Great, I was just wondering what I'd do for a finder. How does it fix to the scope?

Paul

[Marki]

Nice report Paul - hope you get clear skies for when your minitower arrives!

[Andyfx]

Sorry, just noticed your reply as I've been working on my little F4 newt project. You should have two grub screws on the top of your focuser (one on each side), simply unscrew one of these, plop the RDF base on top and screw in the fixing bolt. Simples

Here's a pic of mine. I now have the RDF on the left side and on the right I have a nice 9x50 finder in William Optics rings for guiding.

[DoctorD]

Thanks - I'll be ordering one soon!

Paul

[Andyfx]

Is a good buy, robust and well made and also much cheaper than the William Optics alternative.

[Nibor]

I like the look of this INED 70 scope and am considering a purchase of one for "grab and go" and holiday travel purposes.

From the product description it seems to be a bit of an allrounder with very little, if any, CA which should make it a pleasing scope for both widefield and planetary viewing. Has this been the experience of currrent owners??

Also any advice on which finderscope shoe would be best for Skywatcher type fitting finderscopes??

Any other comments on its use for visual would also be appreciated. EPs / binoviewers etc.

[Andyfx]

Hi Nibor, you probably saw my post above but I never found the type of fittng you are looking for. To my knowledge the one I mentioned above is the only one tat fits, other than the more expensive William Optics RDF.

[lensman57]

Hi Paul,

I have been looking at this one at the 365 Astronomy site and a Williams Optic ed 70 from FLO and an ed 80 from OpticStar, mainly as an introduction to astro imaging using the SynScan AZ mount that i have with my 127 SW MAK.

Look forward to reading more of your reports and thanks for posting.

Regards,

A.G

[cs1cjc]

I have the same scope under a different name. It presents a good image, though there is chromatic aberration which can filtered out by a Baader fringe killer.

Regards

[DoctorD]

Hi

I cannot see any CA on Jupiter - as long as you have the focus spot on, slightly off either side and there's a tiny amount.

I use a Hyperion 8-24mm Zoom - fits nicely in the supplied case along with a 2" Diagonal.

Ultimate grab and go on a sturdy photo tripod and AZ head.

I'll post pictures when I get a chance.

Paul

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Congrats on your new scope. This kind of scope is great for wide-field objects. I use the Naglers I have in the 80mm F/6 I have and the views are just awesome. I can get the North America Nebula and the Pelican, or the entire Veil in one FOV. The Andromeda galaxy is also brilliant. Have fun!

[Andyfx]

Please note, the only decent way of gettng a full flat field on the INED70 with a dlsr, is by using the TeleVue TRF2008 (£250). I sent a lot of time and money on this and I now have a fully corrected FOV. Scope is now running at F4.9 - 336FL.

[lensman57]

Please note, the only decent way of gettng a full flat field on the INED70 with a dlsr, is by using the TeleVue TRF2008 (£250). I sent a lot of time and money on this and I now have a fully corrected FOV. Scope is now running at F4.9 - 336FL.

Hi,

I read on the 365 site that a field corrector and camera adapter combined is on the way for about £180.00. If this is correct then the combined price of this scope will be around £490.00 which puts it up against the new WO ed70 2013. I would be grateful for any input as I would like to get a ed scope of about 70 to 80 mm aperture. BTW what mount do you recommend for this?

Regards,

A.G

[cs1cjc]

...

I cannot see any CA on Jupiter - as long as you have the focus spot on, slightly off either side and there's a tiny amount.

CA is certainly there on mine, and on the one in this independent test of this class of refractors here: http://translate.goo...1cc_WvMpmUC4ZIA

[Andyfx]

Just don't buy the TS flattener for use with the INED70 and dslr, it doesn't fully correct no matter what spacing, introduces vignetting, and colour correction is poor. TRF2008 for £250 is the only option if you have a dslr and expect to use the whole FOV for imaging.

[Nibor]

CA is certainly there on mine, and on the one in this independent test of this class of refractors here: http://translate.goo...1cc_WvMpmUC4ZIA

cs1cjc,

Thanks for independent test link - but reading through it gave me a megraine!!

There is obviously a great deal of science in the design, manufacture and testing of telescopes most of which is beyond me!! But as a simple observer all I am seeking is a relatively versatile travel scope which has minimum CA even at the higher ends of the travel scope's magnification limits - and I can't afford Tak and Borg style prices!!

Various optical tests aside and if I have read the article and posts correctly - the conclusion of the thread seems to be that differences in manufacture may play as much a part in the final optical characterists as anything else. I imagine at the higher price end manufacturers do more to ensure consistently high quality and, of course, you pay for it.

I wonder then if the CA - or not (DoctorD vs cs1cjc) in the INED 70 is more down to slight differences in build quality than anything else.

Other than the Tak and the Borg if I am looking for a reasonably respectable APO travel scope around £300 to £350 is the INED 70 worth the money - if not is there anyone who can interpret the tests on this report and suggest an alternative??

In the meantime it seems that more research is required!!

[DoctorD]

Hi Nibor

This is a difficult question to answer - the report suggests that there may be variations in the manufacturing proces that affect the performance.

I choose the INED 70 as I wanted a compact scope suitable to take camping with better performance than the ST80 and Travel Scope 70 I have used previously. In this regard the INED 70 meets all my expectations and is a pleasure to use. I do not claim to be an expert or to have actually seen through any high end refractors (this is my first quality refractor) and I have only used it at x52 (8mm end of zoom eye piece).

For visual use I would no hesitate to recommend the INED 70 based on my experience so far.

I bought mine from Telescop Service in Germany as a package with their 2" diagonal for £327 but the price you pay will depend upon the exchange rate.

Here are some photos of my setup.

INED 70

Hyperion Zoom 24-8mm

2" TS Diagonal

KSON Rticule red bot finder

Astro Engineering AZ head

Photo Tripod

Hope this helps.

Paul

[cs1cjc]

...

I wonder then if the CA - or not (DoctorD vs cs1cjc) in the INED 70 is more down to slight differences in build quality than anything else.

...

I think not. This is a very decent scope, particularly for the price, but the CA is pretty much what you would expect of a doublet ED refractor with a FPL-51 (or equivalent) ED element and a standard crown glass mate. The CA can be seen at high magnification as a violet splash around any bright object. The CA is a lot (perhaps 4 times) less than a standard achromat of the same size, but only about twice as good as an F/12 achromat of the same aperture.

Apologies in advance if it makes your head hurt, but there is further reading here: http://www.telescope-optics.net/refractor.htm

[Nibor]

Paul,

Many thanks for the feedback and for the photos - looks like you have a nasty looking street lamp in the background!! - I hope it doesn't spoil your observing. I have just checked out some of the other scopes in the report and the INED70 is still coming out favourite in the affordable stakes.

Good luck weatherwise tonight if you are hoping to catch the asteroid!!

Robin

[DoctorD]

Hi Robin

Light pollution at my home is terrible, but you take what opportunities you can!

Skies are clearing here might just see the asteroid a little later on.

As Chris points out, CA shows itself at high magnifications and I have not really pushed the INED 70 far - but I got it primarily as a wide filed scope for when I'm away from light pollution and occasional planetary viewing albeit within the limitation of the magnification possible with the eyepieces I have.

I might try a much shorter focal length eyepiece in the future, but this is not why I bought the scope, I was simply impressed by what I could see with the kit I have.

Clear skies and happy asteroid hunting.

Paul

[DoctorD]

Hi Chris

Thanks for the link - a little easier to read than the Google translated report!

Clear Skies

Paul

[cs1cjc]

...

I might try a much shorter focal length eyepiece in the future, but this is not why I bought the scope, I was simply impressed by what I could see with the kit I have.

...

For planets I generally use a 4mm TMB Planetary giving 105x which does not stretch my eyes too much, with adequate eye relief and exit pupil just under 0.7mm.

I am certainly impressed by mine and I travel it mine whenever I can. When flying, I have a setup that will go in cabin baggage, which include a cut down Vixen Porta Mini. I carry a 1.25" diagonal, 24mm ES68 which gives a wide enough view that I need no finder, a Pentax XF 8.5mm and the TMB 4mm. It is amazing what a difference a truly dark sky (bright with objects) makes!

[Nibor]

For planets I generally use a 4mm TMB Planetary giving 105x which does not stretch my eyes too much, with adequate eye relief and exit pupil just under 0.7mm.

I am certainly impressed by mine and I travel it mine whenever I can. When flying, I have a setup that will go in cabin baggage, which include a cut down Vixen Porta Mini. I carry a 1.25" diagonal, 24mm ES68 which gives a wide enough view that I need no finder, a Pentax XF 8.5mm and the TMB 4mm. It is amazing what a difference a truly dark sky (bright with objects) makes!

Chris,

Just wondering.... at 105x are you getting any CA - if so how much would you say? I am just trying to get a handle on when it cuts in. 105x would seem a reasonably decent mag.

Paul,

Many thanks for your comments - did you catch the asteroid? I didn't!!

Cheers

Robin