ascension 127ed triplet

[seanpius]

Hi all,

does anyone have any experience with the ascension 127ed triplet carbon fibre,im torn between this scope and the skywatcher espirit 120ed triplet,i will be doing imaging and visual.I cant seem to get much info about the ascension scope or who makes it,this is the most info i have got so far about the ascension(Also the Ascension scopes come guaranteed to Strehl 0.90 or 0.95. The Esprit are guaranteed to be diffraction limited, i.e. Strehl 0.82 or better).

I will be imaging with a modded 1100d.

Any help would be welcome.

Sean.

[paulastro]

I have never heard of ascension and I've been around a bit! I would be very wary of going with a make which is either unknown and/or you can't get any information about on the web. A friend of mine bought an unknown 132mm triplet which was badly out of collimation. I put him in touch with one of the few people who could fix it and it's now ok - though the fit and finish of it is terrible. I'd go with a known make with a reputation to protect and a known history.

[Mark at Beaufort]

Ascension fracs are stocked by Opticstar from Sale near Manchester. The guys in the showroom are friendly and knowledgeable so if you can visit that might be helpful. That apart there is a useful thread on affordable triplet fracs started by FLO - here is a link -

The discussion on quality normally goes around the details of the glass with FPL51 and FPL53 being the main topic. I have never heard of FCD1 but I am sure that someone on the forum can provide some information.

I suppose for visual the scope will be good but for imaging it might be a different ball game.

Mark

[ollypenrice]

The issue of flatteners is often central, too.

Olly

[John]

FCD1 is a Hoya glass type I believe. It's similar in properties to Ohara FPL51. What really matters though are the mating elements used, the figure and polish and the coating and lens cell quality. These latter factors are more critical than the ED glass type used I reckon.