Startravel 102

[steviebee]

Just bought myself a new to me SW Startravel 102, at a very silly price. I Really want it for using here in the UK as my other scope is in France and too big to keep bringing back and forth. It needs an erecting prism, and I am undecided whether to go for a 1.25" or the 2". I was told where i got it to go for the 2" for Asrophotography, but all my lens etc are 1.25". I dont ming getting 2" bits for it (T adaptor and a couple of lenses for normal viewing), but would it be beneficial for the extra expence?

Thanks in advance.

Steve.

[r3i]

Just to clarify: when you say "erecting prism", is that exactly what you're after (e.g. so you can use the scope for terrestrial applications such as bird watching) or do you mean a star diagonal?

You might as well go for a 2" diagonal as they usually come with a 2" to 1.25" adaptor so that your existing eyepieces will be compatible, and you're good to go if you ever get any 2" ones.

I had an ST102 for a time a few years ago - it gives nice views and makes a reasonably compact travel scope.  Just a cautionary note on the use of the ST102 for astrophotography.  Being an achromatic design, they do suffer from chromatic aberration which causes a violet halo around stars.

Also, when doing astrophotography, you would not usually have a diagonal included within the image train (as they may impair image quality).  Instead you'd have the camera directly fitted into the focuser in a 'straight through' configuration.

[steviebee]

Hi Mike, thanks for that yes I ment a star diagonal. again thanks for pointing that out. I am getting an Erecting Prism as well fot trrestrial viewing and was thinking about that as well when I wrote the post (hard shift at work last night , thats my excuse anyway). Right off shopping/surfing now for a 2" star diagonal

Regards.

Steve.