Skywatcher Esprit PRO Triplet Refractors

[FLO]

Skywatcher have today reduced the price of their Skywatcher Esprit PRO Triplet 120mm and Esprit PRO Triplet 150mm Refractors.

The prices have dropped roughly 15% making Esprit 120 PRO £2095 for the OTA and the Esprit 150 PRO £4250.

These premium triplet refractors from Skywatcher offer performance every bit as good as the posh brands, at a lower price.

Skywatcher Esprit 120 Review SkyNews Magazine

"The Esprit 120 has a triplet objective with one element made of prized Ohara S-FPL53 glass. I compared its performance with high-end Officina Stellare and Astro-Physics 105mm and 130mm apos employing similar premium glass. Even at high magnifica- tion with a 3mm eyepiece, star images appeared just as sharp, aberration-free and colourless as the best. I was impressed.

On subzero (°C) nights once the telescope cooled down (after 30 to 45 minutes), it exhibited none of the aberration oddities I’ve seen in some test telescopes, effects created by cold temperatures pinching optics. This is evidence of the Esprit’s excellent lens cell design, the area where aspiring apos sometimes fall short."

Review of Skywatcher Esprit-150 Astronomy Now magazine

"... the Esprit 150ED is an overall great performer offering excellent results. A price tag of £5,499 [now available for significantly less] is not insignificant but is reasonable considering the premier optics and aperture and offers strong competition to the established refractors from Takahashi and TEC. The optics feature a high level of correction across the field and star images through all filters were tight and consistent thanks to its superb colour correction. The relatively lightweight construction means it will be suitable for use with all mid-range mounts and is certainly portable enough to carry out to darker skies."

[jezhughes]

any news on the new version?..

[FLO]

any news on the new version?..

I'm intrigued. What have you heard?

If there is an update planned it would be a mechanical update, a new focuser or finder perhaps. The 120 and 150mm optics are superb and availability is good so I doubt they will change.

[PNJ]

Hi

I have just bought the Esprit 120mm, which supposed to include the M48 doublet field flattener, the reason skywatcher have reduced the price, is because it does not include the field flattener now, updated since i got mine, as there having production problems or thats what i have been told.

Im a bit gutted actually as this telescope needs a flattener for ccd imaging, as i tested it out last night. My concern is what 3rd party flattener is out there that will work with this telescope and will it be tuned to the optics.

The telescope itself is a beast, but has nice optics, but im unsure what to do now, my dealer is trying to source a 3rd party flattener that might work, but it has to screw on to the linear focuser.

So dont be mislead by a reduction, its because they cannot supply a field flattener.

Paul j

[FLO]

I have just bought the Esprit 120mm,..

Im a bit gutted actually...

Sorry to hear you have been caught the wrong side of this price reduction.

To be fair, you didn't purchase it from us and I don't think you discussed it with us. If you had we would have advised you to wait (we have been offering that advice for at least three months).

So dont be mislead by a reduction, its because they cannot supply a field flattener.

That is a good point but the flattener accounts for only £200. I will do some maths then will post again

Steve

[FLO]

I will do some maths then will post again

Okay, here we go

The following is based on RRP prices. Dealers are free to discount but it is unlikely any can offer more than 5% off RRP because the margins are tight (our price is approx 5% below RRP, but that was the same before the reduction).

The flattener is valued at £210 (that is the price of the flattener currently offered with the Esprit 150).

The original RRP for the Esprit 120 was £2799. If we subtract the cost of the flattener then we have £2589 for the OTA.

The reduced RRP is £2199

The difference between £2589 and £2199 is 15%.

So my 20% figure is misleading, but not intentionally. I'll edit my original post after posting this one

To be fair Paul, your saying there is no reduction, that it is simply because they are not including a flattener, is also misleading. The flattener accounts for only a small part of the reduction.

I really do think you should be discussing this with your supplier.

HTH,

Steve

[FLO]

I have just done the same maths for the Esprit 150 which also results in a 15% reduction for the OTA, not 18%. My original post is now edited.

Apologies for the confusion, I was keen to break the news first so started this thread last night

[jezhughes]

I'm intrigued. What have you heard?

If there is an update planned it would be a mechanical update, a new focuser or finder perhaps. The 120 and 150mm optics are superb and availability is good so I doubt they will change.

I think Martin mentioned a while back there was a new model coming maybe i misunderstood!

[FLO]

I think Martin mentioned a while back there was a new model coming maybe i misunderstood!

That is a different model with a different optic. It will have a smaller aperture and a different f-ratio so is not a replacement for the 120 or 150 models discussed here. Last we heard it was still in development, I think one model is currently with a beta-tester.

HTH

[PNJ]

hi Guys

i know i did not buy from first light optics, i now wish i had.

i payed the original price which included the flattener, which was 2650 , so in my maths thats a difference of £450

All the traders were selling around that price, including first light,

however, i now left with a telescope and no flattener, can anyone suggest one, the dealer i got mine from have been helpful and are trying to source a 3rd party flattener.

paul

[FLO]

i know i did not buy from first light optics, i now wish i had.

Thank-you

i payed the original price which included the flattener, which was 2650

All the traders were selling around that price, including first light,

So if we value the flattener at £200 (the price we currently charge for Esprit 150 flattener) then our OTA price was effectively £2450, which makes our current £2095 price 14.5% less, which fits quite closely with my earlier maths based on RRP.

Hopefully your supplier will be able to help.

Steve

[PNJ]

Hi

Just to update my post, i had a telephone call from my dealer, and they have bent over backwards to try and resolve the issue of the Flattener, but the reason for this post is i think OVL could have stated the issues in there advertisement , and informed dealers of the problems and as Steve mentioned earlier they known about it for a few months. also the reviews on OVL web site stated that the flattener came with the telescope. Looking at the new adverts for the telescope, it still does not state that the telescope needs a flattener for imaging use.

i hope that all dealers will point this out to potential buyers, as so they wont have the headaches im getting

paul J

[FLO]

... the reason for this post is i think OVL could have stated the issues in there advertisement , and informed dealers of the problems...

I am not aware of any problems or issues associated with the Esprit 120

... and as Steve mentioned earlier they known about it for a few months.

You must be referring to the price reduction. That isn't what I said. We at FLO have been predicting a price drop for several months but we have not received an official notification. Our prediction was based only on our retail experience.

also the reviews on OVL web site stated that the flattener came with the telescope.

Back when the reviews were written they 'did' include a flattener but there were a number of enquiries from people wanting to to buy it without the flattener, for visual use only.

Looking at the new adverts for the telescope, it still does not state that the telescope needs a flattener for imaging use.

i hope that all dealers will point this out to potential buyers, as so they wont have the headaches im getting

It is normal for a triplet to need a flattener when used for imaging with a large sensor. Specialist astro retailers will know this and should advise anyone buying one for use with a large sensor. We do

This is the second time in only a few days OVL have been held accountable here on SGL for something that is the dealer's responsibility. I think we need to be clear here. When you buy a Skywatcher telescope you are not buying it from OVL. You have a contract and relationship with the retailer, not the retailer's supplier.

Manufacturers manufacture, distributors distribute and retailers retail. That is how it should be.

HTH

[jezhughes]

That is a different model with a different optic. It will have a smaller aperture and a different f-ratio so is not a replacement for the 120 or 150 models discussed here. Last we heard it was still in development, I think one model is currently with a beta-tester.

HTH

Ah i see! I thought it was for the whole range.. My bad

[Tim]

I was all set to pull the trigger on one of these a few weeks back too! My plans have changed somewhat now but I am grateful for the "hang fire" advice given at the time of asking Thanks again FLO!

[melsky]

Hi

I sent a message to FLO on the 11th Dec enquiring about the availability of the Skywatcher Esprit 80mm F5 ED 3 element refractor which I'd seen in a post on Cloudy Nights, any news of that one yet?

Mel

[FLO]

I sent a message to FLO on the 11th Dec

Are you sure Mel? We don't appear to have received a communication from you at our helpdesk since 19th June when you enquired about the GTF81. And the last PM I received from you arrived 2nd June.

... enquiring about the availability of the Skywatcher Esprit 80mm F5 ED 3 element refractor which I'd seen in a post on Cloudy Nights, any news of that one yet?

Now here's the thing. We are aware of smaller aperture triplet refractors in the pipeline but are not allowed to discuss them. It is frustrating because details, and even a photo, are posted on this and other forums. But, you can discuss them so please feel free to post whatever you know

Steve

[PNJ]

If OVL are saying thats its not there responsibility , i understand that and the dealer should give correct advice, however why has OVL still got the reviews saying it comes with a field flattener, it should be removed, i have fallen into the trap reading the review on OVL web site expecting the field flattener to be included, and to be fair so was my supplier, so i dis-agree that OVL has no responsibility. By nature of the reviews on there site they are now misleading readers.

paul J

[FLO]

I don't think I had better comment further Paul, you didn't buy it from us so I cannot offer you a solution. It is something you need to discuss with your supplier

[melsky]

Are you sure Mel? We don't appear to have received a communication from you at our helpdesk since 19th June when you enquired about the GTF81. And the last PM I received from you arrived 2nd June.

Now here's the thing. We are aware of smaller aperture triplet refractors in the pipeline but are not allowed to discuss them. It is frustrating because details, and even a photo, are posted on this and other forums. But, you can discuss them so please feel free to post whatever you know

Steve

If you didn't get it it's probably me probably me pressing the wrong buttons again, here's the photo that cropped up in a discusion on CN back in July last year other than this I know nothing I'm afraid.

Thanks again for your advise on the GTF81, do you know if the Esprit 100 ED is having a makeover because nobody seems to have one of those either?

[FLO]

... here's the photo that cropped up in a discusion on CN back in July last year other than this I know nothing I'm afraid.

Ah yes, that's the one

I think that picture first appeared on a Japanese forum, it was posted by the beta-tester. It is good to see it is part of the Esprit family so will be pitched at the premium end of the market. The market is already awash with budget triplets

Thanks again for your advise on the GTF81, do you know if the Esprit 100 ED is having a makeover because nobody seems to have one of those either?

Not sure what is happening with the Esprit 100ED 5-element. It is their most ambitious design and one that has been winking at me. I hope it returns soon because it has a lot of potential.

[PNJ]

Hi FLO

i understand , i know i did not buy from first light, but thought this was a open forum, and was just informing its members of info regarding the telescope.

i apologise if it sems i calling FLO , as i am def not, perhaps i should of directed my sad feelings to Skywatcher then selves ,

regards

Paul

[Fogboundturtle]

Well I heard its coming in March/April, at least in Canada. I heard the price range would be in the ~1200 Canadian dollars but I could be wrong.

[ollypenrice]

Skywatcher have today reduced the price of their Skywatcher Esprit PRO Triplet 120mm and Esprit PRO Triplet 150mm Refractors.

The prices have dropped roughly 15% making Esprit 120 PRO £2095 for the OTA and the Esprit 150 PRO £4250.

These premium triplet refractors from Skywatcher offer performance every bit as good as the posh brands, at a lower price.

Hmmm... Let me offer my thoughts on the terms 'brand' and 'posh' first.

In my view Esprit is a brand and Takahashi and TEC are manufacturers. Does this matter? Paul's experience suggests that it might.

Posh. It's a pejurative term and somewhat dismissive. I think Takahashi deserve it but TEC don't. Takahashi use their (usually but not always justified) reputation to inflate the price of banal bits of hardware which should come with the telescope in the first place. They are hidden add-ons, a nasty way to treat your customers. Tak also exploit their reputation to sell, complacently, products which are past their sell-by date like the Sky 90 and the FS60 or push out mounts with RS232 ports years after these disappeared from computers. Or £90 for a cable!! TEC, however, sell honest premium apos at remarkabley reasonable prices. They even say on their website that the bigger triplets offer a small gain in resolution for a big increase in spending. That is not the kind of thing that posh people say!

As for the performance of the Esprit as compared with TEC and Takahashi, do we know? I certainly hope it will be better than the Sky 90! Two brief magazine reviews don't make the case. I'd say exactly the same if I'd done the review myself. Both the TEC and Tak have premium R and P focusers. (Don't panic, I won't go off on one! But it's quite a claim to say that the performance of a Synta/Esprit Crayford will easily match that of a Feathertouch on a TEC.) Also both TEC and Takahashi have proven field flatteners though, by Gad, they cost a bit more than £200. Presumably Synta/Esprit made some kind of bungle with the flattener. Synta had a similar problem with one of their other brands. If you want to match the premium scopes you have to offer a serious flattener and get it right. To be honest it's hard enough at the eyepiece to tell a big difference between the ED120 and the TEC without doing deliberate out of focus star tests so the Esprit might be fantastic. It is in imaging that the real test comes, hence the crucial importance of the flattener. Esprit are not in the premium apo market without it.

I don't want to talk up or talk down the Esprit brand. I think we should try them and judge them honestly on their performance. This will take a bit of time to trickle through, that's all. I don't see it being all that slow, though, since £4250 is a hell of a good price for a 6 inch triplet.

Olly

[ollypenrice]

PS No 'e' in remarkably. I do know that!!!

Olly