First views with 120mm refractor

[MAN or ASTROMAN]

Really enjoying this post Tim,and your enthiusiasm is contageous!

 So,after a week of wind and rain,I eventually got to get out with my new ST80 on a Ravelli tripod,as my 'Grab and Go'.

  I used the stock 10MM and 25 mm E.P.s supplied,plus a Celestron 32mm and 8mm.

   Not impressed by my initial views.

     A bit underwhelmed (Meh!)-especially after the good reviews that I've read recently,from the likes of Neil English-and I wasn't expecting anything stupendous from a £100 F5 80mm Frac.

  Need to  try again,next time with my TAL diagonal and EP's,and see if there's any improvement.

[Knighty2112]

Nice report. The SW120 ST is a good scope, I had one for a while and the only reaosn I sold it was my little ED70 was getting more use.

Look at upgrading the diagonal and the two stock EP's and it will give even better views.

Thanks. Yeah, managed to get a very brief 10 minute slot to look at the crescent moon yesterday evening, which looked nice and sharp in the scope. I have some extra EP's already, all Celestron Omni EP's at 32, 12 & 6mm. Have a new Skywatcher 15mm Plossl arriving at some point today too. Plan on getting a new 2" diagonal with a 1.25" adapter with it too in February/March time next year, closly followed by a 2" EP to utilise it fully in April/May time. Not sure on what size to get, perhaps maybe a 20mm or something maybe to take over from my stock EP.

Cheers!

[Knighty2112]

Really enjoying this post Tim,and your enthiusiasm is contageous!

So,after a week of wind and rain,I eventually got to get out with my new ST80 on a Ravelli tripod,as my 'Grab and Go'.

I used the stock 10MM and 25 mm E.P.s supplied,plus a Celestron 32mm and 8mm.

Not impressed by my initial views.

A bit underwhelmed (Meh!)-especially after the good reviews that I've read recently,from the likes of Neil English-and I wasn't expecting anything stupendous from a £100 F5 80mm Frac.

Need to try again,next time with my TAL diagonal and EP's,and see if there's any improvement.

Sorry to hear you are not liking the ST80 views just yet. I originally was going to go for the ST102, but after a botched order from Amazon where they sent me out an ST80 instead of the ST102, I changed my mind, got the refund and splashed out a little more money just for the ST120 OTA. Used my Celestron 130EQ stand with the scope initially, but managed to get a new AZ3 stand, along with another 70mm refractor for just £50 last Friday (new store 1st day opening offer), and now have the ST120mm scope sat on the AZ3 mount.

So far I am liking the views through it. Need to test it out still on some planets to see what views I get there. Was going to get up this morning at 4am, but stayed in bed alas after the alarm went off. Hope your scope works out for you and you get some better views?

Cheers!

BTW: it's Gus, not Tim!

[happy-kat]

My ST80 performs really nicely and I do particularly rate better quality eyepieces the higher the magnification you go. With mine I use a 90 diagonal. Jupiter resolves really nicely and can make out the two bands and the CA is hideous with the supplied 10mm but is acceptable with my own WO 6mm. Stars are pin point so much nicer than in my 130p.

I did pimp it following Dion's guide.

[John]

I guess we need to remember that these short refractors are relatively low cost F/5 achromats. F/5 is going to show up lower cost eyepieces and especially low cost wide fields. Also, these scopes are designed for low to medium power viewing. You can use them at higher powers of course but the optical figure of the lens plus the inevitable chromatic abberration (false colour) will take it's toll on contrast and resolution. These issues increase with aperture. An F/5 achromat is not going to be able to compete with an ED doublet of the same aperture at high powers.

They are very good at what they were designed for though

[Knighty2112]

I guess we need to remember that these short refractors are relatively low cost F/5 achromats. F/5 is going to show up lower cost eyepieces and especially low cost wide fields. Also, these scopes are designed for low to medium power viewing. You can use them at higher powers of course but the optical figure of the lens plus the inevitable chromatic abberration (false colour) will take it's toll on contrast and resolution. These issues increase with aperture. An F/5 achromat is not going to be able to compete with an ED doublet of the same aperture at high powers.

They are very good at what they were designed for though

Whilst I would love an 120mm ED double refractor, at over 6 times the price I paid for the ST120 OTA I can live with the difference. Maybe when the lottery numbers come in! Hehe!

[John]

Whilst I would love an 120mm ED double refractor, at over 6 times the price I paid for the ST120 OTA I can live with the difference. Maybe when the lottery numbers come in! Hehe!

Thats a fair point though I can't recall winning the lottery to get my ED fracs, just saved up a bit and kept an eye on the used market !

[MAN or ASTROMAN]

Sorry to hear you are not liking the ST80 views just yet. I originally was going to go for the ST102, but after a botched order from Amazon where they sent me out an ST80 instead of the ST102, I changed my mind, got the refund and splashed out a little more money just for the ST120 OTA. Used my Celestron 130EQ stand with the scope initially, but managed to get a new AZ3 stand, along with another 70mm refractor for just £50 last Friday (new store 1st day opening offer), and now have the ST120mm scope sat on the AZ3 mount.

So far I am liking the views through it. Need to test it out still on some planets to see what views I get there. Was going to get up this morning at 4am, but stayed in bed alas after the alarm went off. Hope your scope works out for you and you get some better views?

Cheers!

BTW: it's Gus, not Tim!

OOPS,  Sorry Gus!

 and sorry to Tim,too!  

 I was out on a very wet field at 3.30-5am with the SW80.

  My first view was the three belt stars of Orion.

  I didn't even bother with the red dot finder-the 32mm E.P. gives a x12.5 magnification,so it's easy just to sight straight down the OTA.

 Moved down to M42 for a quick gander.The image didn't seem as good as my Helios Apollo bins,though I could split the four main stars of the Trapezium nicely with the 10mm EP.

 M45 was 'o.k.ish',but didn't exactly blow my socks off.

  I've got quite used to the immersive views you get from using both eyes with bins,and of course this just doesn't happen using just the one eye.

 Jupiter showed a disc and three moons,and a halo of CA.

  I reckon that I could make out the phase of Venus with the 25mm.

   I think that the cheap diagonal may be to blame,as the views just weren't as bright as I expected.

   Now I just need to wait for the rain and winds to abate,and try a PROPER 'First Light'.

   And of course,My other Frac is a TAL 100rs at F10!

,

[Moonshane]

I had a 120ST for a while and used it mainly as a white light solar scope with a 1.25" Lunt herschel wedge. It was really an excellent scope for this and provided lovely views. I sold it when I got a used 120ED

[Knighty2112]

OOPS, Sorry Gus!

and sorry to Tim,too!

I was out on a very wet field at 3.30-5am with the SW80.

My first view was the three belt stars of Orion.

I didn't even bother with the red dot finder-the 32mm E.P. gives a x12.5 magnification,so it's easy just to sight straight down the OTA.

Moved down to M42 for a quick gander.The image didn't seem as good as my Helios Apollo bins,though I could split the four main stars of the Trapezium nicely with the 10mm EP.

M45 was 'o.k.ish',but didn't exactly blow my socks off.

I've got quite used to the immersive views you get from using both eyes with bins,and of course this just doesn't happen using just the one eye.

Jupiter showed a disc and three moons,and a halo of CA.

I reckon that I could make out the phase of Venus with the 25mm.

I think that the cheap diagonal may be to blame,as the views just weren't as bright as I expected.

Now I just need to wait for the rain and winds to abate,and try a PROPER 'First Light'.

And of course,My other Frac is a TAL 100rs at F10!

,

I think the thing to remember is that with you 70mm binoculars you are getting two samples of the view going to the brain, which combines both images to make the overall image appear brighter. If you close one eye on the binos then this will give you a better idea for comparison on your ST80 refractor. For wide views at low power then my 15 X 70 binoculars win out too, and I can easily track down quite a few DSO's with them much easier than with any telescope. I am thinking at some point in getting some bino viewers to use with the telescope too, so that might make the views better if you could get one too for your ST80. Either way, you should get the benefit of the scope when you view the moon and the major planets, which will allow much better scrutiny with the extra light grasp that the 80mm lens gives you.

[Tim99]

I got my Explore Scientific ED 80 Triplet Refractor last year for $599.  It was a lot of money for that size scope, I thought.  This my first Refractor so I don't have anything to compare it to but This scope provides excellent views and images..  For many years, I enjoyed a 3" Newtonian and a 6" homemade Newtonian.  The views were not as good as the scopes today but, I still enjoyed them.

Your 120ST will give you a lot of enjoyment .... until you want something better.  

I am looking at the Explore Scientific 127mm f7.5 triplet refractor next.  Costs about $1800 US.  I could buy a large light bucket for that much money but I am getting too old to lug a big scope around.  If it is anything like the ED80, the  views in the 127 should be excellent.

[Knighty2112]

I got my Explore Scientific ED 80 Triplet Refractor last year for $599.  It was a lot of money for that size scope, I thought.  This my first Refractor so I don't have anything to compare it to but This scope provides excellent views and images..  For many years, I enjoyed a 3" Newtonian and a 6" homemade Newtonian.  The views were not as good as the scopes today but, I still enjoyed them.

Your 120ST will give you a lot of enjoyment .... until you want something better.  

I am looking at the Explore Scientific 127mm f7.5 triplet refractor next.  Costs about $1800 US.  I could buy a large light bucket for that much money but I am getting too old to lug a big scope around.  If it is anything like the ED80, the  views in the 127 should be excellent.

Yeah, at some point in the future I will most likely upgrade to a triplet ED refractor too. That I think might be 3 or more years down the line for now. Happy with my ST120 right now, and crucially when I get out to do some astronomy am loving the views I get back, even from things I've seen plenty of times before.

[andrew63]

Really enjoying this post Tim,and your enthiusiasm is contageous!

 So,after a week of wind and rain,I eventually got to get out with my new ST80 on a Ravelli tripod,as my 'Grab and Go'.

  I used the stock 10MM and 25 mm E.P.s supplied,plus a Celestron 32mm and 8mm.

   Not impressed by my initial views.

     A bit underwhelmed (Meh!)-especially after the good reviews that I've read recently,from the likes of Neil English-and I wasn't expecting anything stupendous from a £100 F5 80mm Frac.

  Need to  try again,next time with my TAL diagonal and EP's,and see if there's any improvement.

The conditions have not been great of late, so the atmosphere is not that stable.  I've been very happy with the ST80 -  similar performance to the Neil English review, but i'm sure there must be variations in performance.  You could try using the mask on the lens cap, i had a nice crisp view of Venus 30x and it makes a noticeable difference.  Also using a good barlow can sharpen things at the edges.

andrew

[Knighty2112]

The conditions have not been great of late, so the atmosphere is not that stable.  I've been very happy with the ST80 -  similar performance to the Neil English review, but i'm sure there must be variations in performance.  You could try using the mask on the lens cap, i had a nice crisp view of Venus 30x and it makes a noticeable difference.  Also using a good barlow can sharpen things at the edges.

andrew

I managed to drag myself out of bed at 5:30am this morning to check if the clear window for viewing the planets was there, and it was. Got a great view of Jupiter and its moons, and Venus too, but Venus was dazzling in the EP. Never thought to stop down the end of the tube to view it. I'll try that next time I view it, hopefully in the morning again as my weather app says it's going to be clear all the way until dawn.

[cotterless45]

At last ! talk of proper scopes, fracs ! The contrast and performance under less than perfect skies leaves most other scopes way behind.

Nick.

[John]

At last ! talk of proper scopes, fracs ! The contrast and performance under less than perfect skies leaves most other scopes way behind.

Nick.

Has the forum been dominated by reflector centred discussion then lately Nick ?. I've not noticed if it has

[Stu]

Has the forum been dominated by reflector centred discussion then lately Nick ?. I've not noticed if it has

I think Nick is just feeling a little guilty because he has allowed himself to be seduced by a little Newtonian aperture of late I believe [emoji6][emoji6]

[Knighty2112]

'Fracs all the way I say! Hehe!

[John]

'Fracs all the way I say! Hehe!

Thats just what I used to say

As long as we are enjoying whatever we are using, thats the main thing. Clouds and rain seem to have trumped any type of scope here over the past week or so !

[Moonshane]

I used to say dobs all the way but can see the benefits of different designs now I own them :0)