TAL 100RS Review

[philsail1]

Dear All,

Well I finally got my dream telescope! The celebrated TAL 100RS refractor!!. From the moment I took it out of its box I was impressed - with its solid build and clean lines. The scope oozes quality. This is one scope I will be hanging onto for the duration. The review I give is only a daylight test, due to all the rain and overcast skies (we've all been suffering).

I bought the scope from "First Light Optics." Steve kindly matched the lowest price I could have bought the scope from elswhere (£180 including P&P). (I wanted to stay with FLO as Steve does give such good advice, service and support. (before and after a sale).

Here goes with the review:-

The scope arrived securely packaged in a double cardboard box. The scope itsself was secured (by its tube rings) to a long thick piece of plywood which fitted the exact measurements of the bottom of the cardboard box, so even though it looked a bit loose inside the box, it could not move an inch.

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As you can see from the photos, I was unpacking the scope after midnight on Saturday 19.01.08 (The scope had arrived in the morning of the previous day. It took a lot of willpower to wait all that time before unpacking! - but as you know, some of us have to answer to a higher authority!).

I checked the contents with what was listed in the instruction manual (and what I'd seen described by all the firms selling the Optical Tube Only version). I was a bit dissapointed in that the 6x30 finder scope wasn't in the box. Also the "Moon" filter was missing. (I telephoned Steve on Saturday morning and had a very nice and reasuring chat with him, which instantly eradicated any feelings of dissapointment). He is going to get the missing bits sent on ASAP. This allowed me to get back to setting it all up later on the Saturday morning! The viewing was conducted on the Sunday - when the weather cleared.

Set the scope up on a Velbon tripod, which is only just suitable for holding the scope to view terrestrial objects in a fairly horizontal plane.

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Took the scope up to bedroom where I have a 20 mile view across the River Dee. Placed the 25mm TAL Super Plossl in the TAL Mirrored Diagonal and looked out. What an amazingly clear, sharp and "coma" free view I was presented with. Looked at some "Lapwings" on the sand about half a mile away, and these were bright, sharply defined, with excellent true colour redition. No Chromatic Aberrations. (The blue fringe around the edges od some things you look at). I turned the scope on a Pylon about a mile away. Again, a bright, clear, sharp and Coma free view. Looked at some houses about 10 miles away. The same excellent views. I was truly impressed. The 25mm eyepiece gave a good wide field of view also. The view is upright, but reversed so any wording on signs appears mirror fashion. I tried a Celestron 25mm eyepiece, and as far as I could see, the TAl eyepiece was the better, giving a slightly sharper and wider field of view. I next tried the 6.3mm TAL Super Plossl. This has a tiny lens and very short eye relief. The view however, was again sharp, but obviously not as bright as the 25mm. I tried a 6.3mm Orthoscopic eyepiece, and again, the Tal eyepiece was better. The TAL Diagonal is a solid heavy piece of equipement, with an air of quality about it. This version is the 1.25". (You can get a 2" one with a 1.25" adapter). I tried my Skywatcher 45 degree Diagonal, and this gave as good a view as the TAL diagonal. (The Skywatcher Diagonal gives an upright, and right way around image so you can read any lettering on signs). I gave the scope a good testing on some signage about half a mile away. I could read the lettering very easily using a 10mm Skywatcher, and Celestron eyepieces I have. (even though there was a little "shimmering" from heat escaping from my open window.

All in all I was very, very impressed with the TAL's Optical Performance. The Rack & Pinion Focuser is very good. Smoother than the basic Skywatcher. I detected a little bit of a "granular" feel in places, but this did not detract in the least from its ability to focus easily and smoothly. The focuser tube has a great 5 and a quarter inch range, so there should not be any problems in using any lens or camera - or perhaps "binoviewers."

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All the little locking knobs feel solid, and are easy to grip and turn. The actual focusing tube is rock solid from the start right out to its limit. There is no "sag" or side to side movement at all. This was another thing that impressed me as I will want to mount my digi camera and bracket on to take some astro shots.

The 100mm Objective lens is again an impressive piece of glass to look at - and look through. I could see inside the telescope tube, (using a torch as it's so black down there!) that there are three substancial "baffles." I could not detect any light getting past the focuser at the end of the tube. Neither were there any reflections off the front edge of the focuser tube. Another mark of quality of build and attention to detail. Sorry I can't show you a picture of the inside of tube.

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Finally I tilted the tube to a steep angle - ensuring the tripods legs were fully extended, and the clamp holding the head was really tight! The distance from eyepiece to the floor was 37 inches, so it would be possible to sit on a chair to look at the night skies. (When the scope is mounted on my HEQ5 tripod, I think it will be a bit higher off the ground).

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The scope has a good long (7 inch) "dewshield." The plastic end cap fits nice, and has a tiny central removable cap which will be useful when viewing the Moon, and the brighter planets. The scope's main tube is 43 and three quarter inches long (with the focuser in), and 49 and a quarter inches with focuser racked fully out. Tube weighe approx 11 pounds. (5 kilos). The white paintwork is finished very well. The finderscope bracket looks solid, and fits easily and smoothly in its holding bracket. Forgot to mention that the scope came with a screw-in "graticule" which seems to fit any 1.25 inch eyepiece. I tried it on the TAL 25mm Plossl and it gave a very glear view. This graticule will come in very handy when aligning the finder scope with the main scope. There was also a circular screw in adaptor, which I assume screws into the back of the focuser. I'm not yet sure what this is for.(Could be a camera adaptor, or an eyepiece adaptor).

Well, that's the end of my review, and I will just end by repeating myself in saying that I am very, very impressed with the TAL 100RS. It does live up to everything I heard and read about this telescope. I'm yet to test it on astronomical objects, but I am confident I will be pleasantly surprised. I will give a short update on this ASAP.

Thanks for reading.

Reagrds,

philsail1

[John]

Thanks for the write up philsail1

TAL 100's are lovely scopes - I owned one of the very early ones (1999) and it was built like a tank and had great optics - really well corrected for an F10 achromat.

Mine had a metal dew shield, shorter than yours, but matt black and with machined ribs on the inside to remove reflections - that's the only mod I might think about with your scope - flocking the inside of the dew cap. The focusser on your scope looks much better than the one I had on my old one which was smooth enough but had only about 2 inches of travel.

Sky & Telescope magazine tested the TAL100 around 2001 I think - they found it excellent as well.

Looking forward to a report of how it performs under the stars

John

[philsail1]

Thanks for your kind comments John. Yes, I think I will "flock" the inside of the dewshield - it does look like it might reflect some light.

Regards,

phil.

[barkis]

Russian lenses are excellent, so you need fear not on that score.

Sounds as though you are impressed Phil, it certainly looks good.

I would be interested to hear how you find it on double stars when you find the time.

Enjoy it mate.

Ron.

[philsail1]

Thanks Ron,

I'll let you know how it goes on the double stars - when (or if!) we ever get some clear skies again!

Regards.

phil.

[peeceeTal2M]

I was bidding on a 100r on ebay over the weekend, and lost my broadband connection 5mins before auction end....guess what.. i lost by £2...someone got a bargain 100r for £82 i am gutted...even more so now i've read this review. Thanks Tiscali!

phill

[philsail1]

That was a bit of bad luck Phill. You did miss a bargain!

Regards,

philsail1

[SteelRat]

Congrats on the new arrival Phil 8)

Can't wait tilll I can use my Tal100r setup again - love it t'bits.

[philsail1]

Thanks "Steelrat." Your TAL set up looks the goods with the tripod. I have heard that wooden tripods are very steady and vibration absorbant.

I can't wait to set mine up outside and get some serious viewing in!

Regards,

philsail1

[Stardust]

nice review of a scope I wouldn't mind myself, look forward to the follow up if the clouds ever clear.

I was watching one on ebay recently and it didn't go for a whole lot less than a new one.

DAve

[Whippy]

Nice one Phil, looking forward to what you think under a dark, CLEAR sky (not that I've seen one for a while now....), I'm sure you'll be pretty impressed .

nice review of a scope I wouldn't mind myself, look forward to the follow up if the clouds ever clear.

I was watching one on ebay recently and it didn't go for a whole lot less than a new one.

DAve

They're funny ones the TAL100's Dave. I also had my beadies on the one PeeCeeTal2M was watching and did wince when it went for only £82 complete with mount and all the rest boxed! :shock:, then 24 hours later an OTA only went for over £150. Oddness.

Tony..

[lunator]

Phil

Looks a great scope. I hope you get a decent first light very soon.

Cheers

Ian

[philsail1]

Thanks Stardust, Whiplash & Lunator - I did manage a quick peek at Saturn with the 25mm lens I'd left on the scope (through the double glazed window of my bedroom) this morning at 5.55am - just getting up for work! I was very pleasantly surprised how stunningly sharp the image was (did have some "ghosting" from the double glazed window), but on that basis, I think I will be suitably impressed when I get the scope set up outside - if as you say we get a clear night (on a Friday or Saturday night when I don't have work the next day!).

Regards,

philsail1

[dweller25]

Welcome to the Tal club ....

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[Kaptain Klevtsov]

Nice review Phil. If the finder's the same as the 200K one you'll be impressed agin with that.

The screw on doodah is an M42 to T thread adapter for prime focus stuff I think. The camera T ring screws onto it and then it screws onto the 'scope. Very useful bit of kit.

Kaptain Klevtsov

[Andrew*]

the Tal's seem to be in a different game altogether than your usual kit. I admire their functionality. They seem to be perfect set-ups to take a first-time beginner into more advanced astronomy.

Thanks for the great review. Please don't forget to come back and tell us the "first night" report!

Cheers

Andrew

[philsail1]

Thanks for the kind words fellas! All your replies are making me frantic with anticipation to get this scope outside! I'm going outside every half an hour after work to see if the skies are clear!!

That looks a lovely TAL 125RS "dweller25" I like the shape at the front end. It sort of brings the TAL into the 21st Century. I did think of going for the 125 but my funds wouldn't stretch that far! I would imagine the extra 1" diameter objective does make a heck of difference in light gathering and magnification. Is than a HEQ5 tripod too? (I'm going to set mine up on my HEQ5 mount).

Thanks for the explanation of the threaded ring "Kaptain Klevstov." I don't know if I'll ever use it to connect a "film" camera as I intend to just connect my digital and do some "afocal" photography for the time being. Yes, I'm eagerly awaiting the 6x30 finderscope - I'd heard that the TAL ones are pretty good.

Thanks "Astrophethean" - I will be more than happy to give an in depth report on the TAL's "nocturnal" performance. All I've managed to do is look at distant lights at night (and that tantalising glimpse of saturn through my double glazed window!) and they appear sharp and "coma" free. I've strained and looked at the very edges of the field of view, but cannot detect any fringe colour as yet. The true test of course will be a clear night (words not heard very often for a while now! - I hope "global warming" hasn't ended it all for us astronomers?). Looking at the forecast, we may be lucky this week end?

Regards.

phil.