Acquiring a TAK120

[seiko]

Whilst I'm waiting for a CPC1100 HD deluxe to arrive in stock I started to look at a high quality refractor. With a 4k budget in mind and that needs to include a nice mount I liked the look of the Tak120 and TRex mount. Alas, that would be over 5k if I paid UK prices for the TAK?

So whats the best place/method to acquire a Tak? Are the UK dealers worth it or is it better to go to source and ship direct etc?

Lastly, just what would this combo provide for the visual astronomer compared with the CPC1100 deluxe?

[DirkSteele]

I own a C11 and two 4" class triplet Apos so find myself in a similar position as you would, should you purchase a Tak or similar instrument. They are complementary instruments for sure, the refractors providing much wider fields of view for viewing star clusters and sweeping up the star fields of the Milky Way but performance generally does not match that of the C11 on deepsky or planetary (though they do produce tighter stars which many, including me, find more pleasing when viewing star clusters). The increase in aperture is too much for better light transmission and optical quality to overcome (my C11 is optically very good, the refractors are unparalleled). The other great benefit of the smaller instruments is portability. My C11 is used far less often as it is not in a permanent observatory, and for quick viewing sessions, taking out a smaller refractor is far easier (as is transporting to a dark site).

[seiko]

Thanks Matthew, yes I'd imagine the 11 is simply going to show more (seeing permitting) but I wonder how many times the refractor offers more 'pleasing' views?

p

[DirkSteele]

Star Clusters (the brighter, larger ones). I will give you a real world example. The Double Cluster in Perseus will not fit in the maximum field possible with a C11 with any sky around it (so the field is just a mass of stars without any context of the sky around it). In my APM 105, a 10mm Delos provides a 1.1 degree field of view and comfortably fits both components and some sky. Combined with tighter stars, I would say that is a good example of a more pleasing view.

Another would be M45. There would be no hope of squeezing that one into the max field of a C11, but it more than fits into the field of a lower power EP in my refractors. It takes on a whole different view when you can see the whole cluster at once. From the desert in Oman last year, I was able to glimpse the associated nebulosity associated with M45 in my 105. The sky was as dark as you could imagine (I could see 13/14 stars in M45 with the naked eye).

[seiko]

Thanks, any idea where the best place would be to acquire a Tak?

[DirkSteele]

I have never really considered a Takahashi so I do not know. The usual suspects come up on the European dealer list.

http://www.takahashi-europe.com/en/takahashieurope.dealers.php

Perhaps some Tak owning SGL members can offer some advice?

[giorgio_ne]

I think Nick Hudson at Tru-Tek offers a great value on Takahashi gear.

I just purchased an EM-200 Temma mount from him. The mount arrived via courier and it was packaged with so much care I've never seen anything like it.

[seiko]

I think Nick Hudson at Tru-Tek offers a great value on Takahashi gear.

I just purchased an EM-200 Temma mount from him. The mount arrived via courier and it was packaged with so much care I've never seen anything like it.

thanks, id like good value though.

[Naemeth]

There's a TAK120 here: http://www.iankingimaging.com/show_product.php?id=1322