Brainfreeze - help cannot make mind up

[mcut]

i decided that i wanted some binoculars for my christmas present - that i am paying for on my card and not my partners!! Hmm

looked at some bressers around £60. decided, with help from Steve FLO that i did not want them and considered, again with help from him today, a pair of Opticron Imagic instead at double the price.

i have some binoculars, my missus can also use them cos they are small. but i am actually wondering whether i should forget spending £130 on bino's and get a Zenithstar SD doublet instead from Steve.

you may say, well you haven't told us what you want. you would be right. i would like you to make my mind up for me.

i have a Skymax 127 on EQ-3 at moment and i like it a lot. i also like camping and would probably take the Mak with me, when the clouds part in the year never, but it might be nicer just to pack a 66 doublet instead.

at some point i was going to buy a second scope and although "aperture is king" i have read good reviews for the WO Zenithstar 66 SD and am now thinking why buy more bino's when i could get my second scope for just under twice what i was going to pay for the Opticrons. if steve reads this then don't worry, i will be buying something.

My main questions relating to the ZS are:-

at some point in the distant future i am thinking of having a go at imaging - obviously this scope is only 66mm but....?

i have 1.25" eyepieces. i think i can use these with the zenithstar. i believe there is an adapter with the ZS to use 1.25" or is the adapter to use 2"?

any views woudl be greatly appreciated - help me spend for christmas. buying your own present is a disgrace!!

[Helen]

Well the ZS66 is a fantastic little scope For imaging its brilliant - see the images SteveL and MartinB have come up with using it. For grab and go and travel its great too - bought mine to go to Africa last year and never regretted it. It takes 1.25 eyepieces as standard, with a diagonal, you'll actually need an adapter to use 2". So for a small scope it would be hard to do better.

Whether you should buy a small scope or binoculars is really a question of convenience. You don't need a tripod for binos, you do need a stable one for the scope (lightweight camera ones wobble like mad and make the scope unusable). So its much quicker to grab and go binos. And you get to use 2 eyes... but you get variable magnification with a scope...

over to you....

Helen

[Milamber]

Maybe take a peek at the Telescope House bins?

http://www.telescopehouse.com/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Binoculars_23.html

Arthur

[mcut]

thanks HUsher.

will it fit straight onto the eq3-2?

[Helen]

thanks HUsher.

will it fit straight onto the eq3-2?

Not sure as I haven't seen an eq3-2, but its got a foot which will fit into my vixen dovetail holder, and the foot has camera tripod threaded holes which would allow fixing to a dovetail if neceassary

Helen

[FLO]

... looked at some bressers around £60. decided, with help from Steve FLO that i did not want them and considered, again with help from him today, a pair of Opticron Imagic instead at double the price.

Regarding binoculars:

The question asked was "Are the Opticron Imagic TGA porroprisms noticeably better?". Which of course they are. Whether they are worth the extra is down to the individual. Generally, the quality is reflected in the price (of course) and from £60 up to around £200 you see a clear and steady improvement as the cost rises. After £200(ish) it becomes difficult/expensive to improve on what is already a very good optic so you need to spend around double to see a noticeable improvement. (Good binoculars start at around £60, which is the only reason FLO dosn't stock anything costing less).

[iancandler]

If your EQ3-2 has a dovetail clamp then the new models should fit it.

I recently picked up a ZS66ED and have to admit I'm mightily immpressed.

You can also pick up reasonably priced packages at present that include the 1.25" WO diagonal and the WO tripod designed for the scope, Im not sure if Steve at FLO has them, but Ian king does, and if he has them steve should be able to get you one.

Imaging wise The ZS is an ideal little refractor, add the Focal reducer later and you have a world class imaging platform, just check out some of the images in the gallery on iankings website or on here..

[SteveL]

at some point in the distant future i am thinking of having a go at imaging - obviously this scope is only 66mm but....?

For imaging, the ZS66SD kicks butt! Seriously... check out the widefield images on my blog (link in my sig below or **HERE**)

i have 1.25" eyepieces. i think i can use these with the zenithstar. i believe there is an adapter with the ZS to use 1.25" or is the adapter to use 2"?

Depends if you get it with a diagonal or not. Mine came with one, and its 1.25" ready.

[peeceeTal2M]

Live life to the full, get the scope and bino's, it is xmas after all

Phill