altair 115 triplet or sw ed120

[MBJ]

im looking to buy a decent frac and im torn between the 2 mentioned.

for me is the extra £500 worth it for visual mainly and a bit of imaging but only planets and the moon.

 

 

[Stu]

1 minute ago, MBJ said:

im looking to buy a decent frac and im torn between the 2 mentioned.

for me is the extra £500 worth it for visual mainly and a bit of imaging but only planets and the moon.

 

 

I would go for the 120ED, cracking optics and the extra aperture will count on planets and the moon in terms of resolution. Save the cash and get some nice eyepieces  

[ChrisLX200]

I would suggest the 115 would be better colour corrected - particularly in the blue end. Won't make much difference when used visually but for imaging it will. Depends how fussy you are, it's not chalk and cheese...

ChrisH

[Stu]

There you go, problem solved  

[John]

The ED120's are really excellent scopes

I've now had the opportunity to compare my ED120 with a couple of the best apo's around (Tak fluorite and LZOS triplet) and it really does remarkably well given that it's price is massively less expensive.

I don't see any CA in mine apart from a tiny touch around the brightest stars. In focus, there is no CA discernible around the moon's limb and the planets. The star test either side of focus is close to identical.

Great scopes !

 

[MBJ]

3 minutes ago, John said:

The ED120's are really excellent scopes

I've now had the opportunity to compare my ED120 with a couple of the best apo's around (Tak fluorite and LZOS triplet) and it really does remarkably well given that it's price is massively less expensive.

I don't see any CA in mine apart from a tiny touch around the brightest stars. In focus, there is no CA discernible around the moon's limb and the planets. The star test either side of focus is close to identical.

Great scopes !

 

im wondering wether to go for the ed 120 and the 0.85 focal reducer to bring it down to a decent imaging focal length and be  still cheaper than the 115

[MBJ]

would there be any difference in the equinox 120 and the ed 120 for visual 

[Stu]

15 minutes ago, MBJ said:

im wondering wether to go for the ed 120 and the 0.85 focal reducer to bring it down to a decent imaging focal length and be  still cheaper than the 115

If you are looking at imaging planets and the moon you will need barlows rather than reducers. You want as much focal length as practical to get the image scale. Obviously a reducer is useful for DSO if you do that but the 120 is not an ideal starter DSO scope.

[MBJ]

would that mean the altair 115 is not good for imaging planets too as its focal length is f7...similar to a reduced ed120

 

[John]

The Equinox 120 has the same optics as the ED120 Pro. You can use a good barlow or telextender to increase the effective focal length for planetary imaging.

 

[nightfisher]

Best of getting 120 ED, very proven lots of people love them for all the right reasons

[Skyline]

The Ed120 is a very good corrected doublet. Even at native f7.5 ratio the field flatness is extremely good even without using a reducer/flattener . Very little curvature.

[Stu]

2 minutes ago, MBJ said:

would that mean the altair 115 is not good for imaging planets too as its focal length is f7...similar to a reduced ed120

 

I'm not an imager in any way, shape or form, but my understanding is that for planetary imaging you need aperture and focal length. SCTs are often used for planetary imaging as they have both. My feeling is that any colour correction issues with the 120ED, which should be small anyway, could be fixed in processing and the additional focal length and aperture would be beneficial.

As said, I'm not an imager so I am quoting from theoretical knowledge! I'm sure some experienced planetary imagers will comment soon. The problem is that the answer for visual vs imaging is often a different scope!

From experience, I have had some of the most reliably sharp and satisfying views from my 4" Tak, but the C925 I have currently shows more colour and has better resolution under good seeing conditions. In many ways I prefer the view in the Tak just because of how it is presented, it's hard to quantify but it's just a very nice sharp, stable view with great contrast. The view in the 925 varies between better and worst depending upon the seeing conditions at the particular time.

[Skyline]

12 hours ago, MBJ said:

would that mean the altair 115 is not good for imaging planets too as its focal length is f7...similar to a reduced ed120

 

Have you thought about something like a 100ED with a longer focal length at f9? Or maybe a reflector for a bigger aperture.

[Owmuchonomy]

As Stu says if it's planets you wish to image you need a long focal length. So for example I use my SCT 9.25 at about 5800mm and f/ 25. Also, what planets will you be imaging in the next few years? Jupiter will be ok for another year or so then the usual targets are very poorly placed for some considerable time.

[MBJ]

3 hours ago, Skyline said:

Have you thought about something like a 100ED with a longer focal length at f9? Or maybe a reflector for a bigger aperture.

I already have a 200p but want a decent frac for visual.

[Timebandit]

Hello. I have the equinox 120ed apo. In my opinion for the money you are going to be hard pressed to find anything better. This scope is also capable of going up against scopes far more expensive. If it's visual that you are after and you already have a reflector that you are happy with and want great bang for buck then in my opinion the SW 120 Ed will be a great choice and a great addition to you hobby. Just a great frac ?

I hope this helps☺

[MBJ]

thanks for all the comments guys,in the end i went for the sw ed120 on an heq5 mount,i think this will be a good set up for mainly visual,if i do any imaging with the ed120 it will purely be a zwo camera for planetary and the moon so the extra weight wont be an issue,if i decide to go the dso imaging route then i would probably get an ed80 and already have a 60mm ts optics for a guidescope so the heq5 should take these two and a camera comfortably.

ordered and on route 

[Stu]

1 hour ago, MBJ said:

thanks for all the comments guys,in the end i went for the sw ed120 on an heq5 mount,i think this will be a good set up for mainly visual,if i do any imaging with the ed120 it will purely be a zwo camera for planetary and the moon so the extra weight wont be an issue,if i decide to go the dso imaging route then i would probably get an ed80 and already have a 60mm ts optics for a guidescope so the heq5 should take these two and a camera comfortably.

ordered and on route 

Nice setup, I'm sure you will be happy with the results.

Eyepieces??  

[MBJ]

4 hours ago, Stu said:

Nice setup, I'm sure you will be happy with the results.

Eyepieces??  

Couple of 2" explore scientifics....couple of meade 4000 supers....baader hyperion mk3 zoom on order.

[MBJ]

• well after all the deliberation and picking a decent scope,i went to rothervalleyoptics on thurs and ordered the heq5 and sw ed 120.

picked it up yesterday,went to work and couldn't wait for today(sat),unboxed it all and ......gutted

 

opened the box that contained the head for the heq5,all the bits in there that should be ...except......In the place in the polystyrene where the counterweight bar should be was strangely enough,a dovetail.now I'm no philosopher or scientist but I don't think that should have been in there.

and now I'm minus a counterweight bar so until they open Monday if we get any clear skies its useless.

 

happy days

[ollypenrice]

Shame.

On the scopes, both are good. For reasons both optical and mechanical I'd go for the AA for imaging but the temptation to go for the 120 and an Ethos might be overwhelming for visual!

Olly

[Chris]

I had the Equinox ED120 for a while a couple of years ago which I used for DSO imaging, visual, and dabbled with planetary imaging the once.

I can't remember seeing much in the way of star bloat in my DSO images, the stars looked nice and tight even with my cheap Altair .8 and .6 reducers, and it was a stunning visual scope - the planetary views are burnt into my brain! Mine star tested well like John's so yeah get the ED120 it's a lot of scope for the money   

Planetary imaging was fine witha barlow, it just lacked a bit on resolution, you need an SCT or Newt for that - your 200p could take that role.

[MBJ]

On Saturday, August 20, 2016 at 20:30, MBJ said:

• well after all the deliberation and picking a decent scope,i went to rothervalleyoptics on thurs and ordered the heq5 and sw ed 120.

picked it up yesterday,went to work and couldn't wait for today(sat),unboxed it all and ......gutted

 

opened the box that contained the head for the heq5,all the bits in there that should be ...except......In the place in the polystyrene where the counterweight bar should be was strangely enough,a dovetail.now I'm no philosopher or scientist but I don't think that should have been in there.

and now I'm minus a counterweight bar so until they open Monday if we get any clear skies its useless.

 

happy days

I actually feel quite stupid now,...I was looking at the mount set up on the tripod and tightened up the RA and DEC levers and saw a 3rd one...when I undid it the counterweight bar slid out of the mount.....doh!.....as judge rinder would say...."stuuuupid"

[nightfisher]

nothing stupid, just a learning curve, and at least its all good