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Equinox 120 ED or TV 102??

Danny

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Danny

Danny

Posted
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Hello everyone,

I'm new to this site but not that new to stargazing as such. Here's my quandary: I want to buy a good, high quality instrument purely for visual use but have no committments to any particular observing schedule, so I'll be just as likely to look at Luna or a faint open cluster. I'm after optical excellence and durability. I have narrowed my search to two instruments; the new Skywatcher Equinox 120 or the well-established Televue 102. I'd appreciate your opinions.

Cheers,

Danny.

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John

John

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Hello Danny,

Welcome to SGL :lol:

Both superb scopes I believe (not having had the pleasure of using either :shocked: ) but, even though I'm a great fan of Tele Vue products, I don't think I could bring myself to pay almost twice the price of the Equinox 120 ED for a TV 102. The larger aperture scope would prove more versatile and I could put it on a quality mount and still have plenty of spare change for some nice eyepieces to go with it.

John

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Paxo

Paxo

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I have to agree with John, although I have a small number of TeleVue optics and they are all excellent, I would go for the extra aperture, and, as with john, spend the difference on eyepieces etc.

Steve..

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Danny

Danny

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Hello John,

Many thanks for the warm welcome. Very good points! Yes, I'd be saving a good few bucks but I'm also considering keeping a 'scope for years, possibly decades. I guess the 120 would be better in some ways ( I don't know how well it would perform on planets though?) but does it have the build quality to withstand a lot of use (misuse?) in the field? I must admit, I've always liked Televue even though I suspect they're not that popular in the UK; but I've never heard of a bad review from their products. I'd be willing to fork out the extra cash for a 'scope that can deliver again and again. Saying that, the ED 120 looks beautiful and some of the initial comments I've heard were very tempting....

Cheers,

Danny

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John

John

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Many thanks for the warm welcome. Very good points! Yes, I'd be saving a good few bucks but I'm also considering keeping a 'scope for years, possibly decades. I guess the 120 would be better in some ways ( I don't know how well it would perform on planets though?) but does it have the build quality to withstand a lot of use (misuse?) in the field? I must admit, I've always liked Televue even though I suspect they're not that popular in the UK; but I've never heard of a bad review from their products. I'd be willing to fork out the extra cash for a 'scope that can deliver again and again. Saying that, the ED 120 looks beautiful and some of the initial comments I've heard were very tempting....

Again pointing out that I've not actually tried these scopes, I reckon that the larger scope would be better on planets than the smaller one - aperture rules and all that !.

Tele Vue products are very popular in the UK - I've used many of their eyepieces and currently own 4 Naglers, a 24mm Panoptic and a 2.5x Powermate which are simply great :shocked:

I can't comment directly on the build quality issue although I know that TV products are superb in this respect and would probably suffer less depreciation than the Skywatcher equivilent if that is an issue,

Have you considered William Optics products ? - the FLT110 is an excellent (and very well made) triplet apochromat scope which, in the UK, you can get on an HEQ5 mount for about the same price as the Tele Vue 102 OTA. Just an idea .....

John

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Viking

Viking

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Danny,

I agree with John re the Equinox.

I bought the Equinox 120 on an HEQ5 pro mount. I am pleased with the setup even though the weather hasn't allowed as much viewing as I had expected. Re the TV, I have only used their eyepieces and powermates - the Nagler T4 17mm is my most used.

I purchased the scope and mount through FLO, our sponsor - see the url

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=equinox120

although it seems that you might not be resident in the UK.

John

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Doc

Doc

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I would go gor the 120d as well.

The little increase in aperture is very nice and with the money saved you could buy a few naglar eyepieces to relly appreciate how good your scope is.

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Danny

Danny

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Thanks Doc,

Yet another chime for the ED120. Why is everyone so in favour of the Skywatcher? Is it not the case that Televue is to Skywatcher as a Porche is to a Honda or some such??

Danny

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John

John

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Thanks Doc,

Yet another chime for the ED120. Why is everyone so in favour of the Skywatcher? Is it not the case that Televue is to Skywatcher as a Porche is to a Honda or some such??

Danny

Danny - I think it's because you get more "bang for your buck" with the Skywatcher and the build quality of the Equinox series is much closer to that of premium brands than their other ranges (the optical quality of the ED Skywatchers has always been exellent IMHO).

If you are happy to pay the extra for the smaller scope thats fine of course - but the Skywatcher will outperform it :shocked:

There are not many Hondas that outperform Porsche's as far as I know - but I don't know that much about cars :lol:

John

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Doc

Doc

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Danny follow the link....

Tele Vue - 102 Refractor.

102mm (4") Apochromatic Refractor From Tele Vue.

£1,580.00

Is your price for the complete package as thats £1870.

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John

John

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Danny follow the link....

Tele Vue - 102 Refractor.

102mm (4") Apochromatic Refractor From Tele Vue.

£1,580.00

If that price holds Doc it's great value - thats lower than I've seen them for sale used :lol:

I sill might go for the larger aperture scope though .... :shocked:

John

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canuck

canuck

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Unless the product was virtually flawless, how many companies would still successfully use a rack & pinion focuser in todays Crayford world?

If you're talking basic light grasp, then the Skywatcher wins hands down...but if you want aperture, why not buy a Newtonian? If you're looking at something deeper, then in my opinion, it doesn't have a chance against the Televue. The TV 102 is a wonderful instrument, and every piece of it looks and feels like a work of metallic art. It does not have that mass-produced, CNC machined feel.

Is it not the case that Televue is to Skywatcher as a Porche is to a Honda or some such??

Comparing an Aston Martin to a Honda would be more accurate, in my opinion.

Would you buy a Losmandy, or an EQ-5? Answering that question might help.

Good luck with your decision.

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GazOC

GazOC

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Only in the world of refractors could somebody make positives from having less aperture and an outdated focuser. :shocked::lol:

If you want to look at the scope rather than through it and we're not worried about aperture then Takahashi make some amazing 60mm apos... :)

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Danny

Danny

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Hello folks,

Thanks to everyone for offering their opinions. I have made a descision; I had to be honest about what I'm looking for- really. Both 'scopes offer excellent optics, but the Televue exudes pedigree - both optically and mechanically. It's a scope you can pass down to your grandchildren. If I have a problem, I can call Televue directly and talk to the guy who built my 'scope. It can be serviced many years from now. With respect, I am willing to forego the extra aperture and resolution of the Equinox for the smaller TV 102. For me, quality and ultimate value are the two criteria that override everything else. I plan to mount it on Gibraltar or some such alt-az mount. I hope I don't regret it, but I doubt I'll be disappointed.

Danny.

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tony4563

tony4563

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ED120 all the way for me. Best bang for the buck in a refractor of that aperture. Why pay more for less? :scratch: The build quality of the Equinox is much improved to the older pro series, and the optics, (whether they are the same or not as its predecessor) are superb.

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FLO

FLO

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Having spent a lot of money on a 'premium' brands, most people manage to convince themselves it was worth it... :lol:

tch, behave Gaz! :)

The decision to buy a premium refractor is usually driven by emotion, not specification or requirements. The arguments we create to 'justify' spending so much are really not necessary (assuming you have your partners approval!) and rarely hold water. It is clear that Danny wants a TeleVue so it matters little that more spec is available for less or that the FLT110 or 120ED will show more. Danny, you can do a great deal of wothwhile astronomy with a 4" aperture and TeleVue are one of those brands that are a joy to use. If you add an 8"+ Newtonian, you will have a very nice setup :lol:

Our William Optics FLT110 doesn't show anything like as much as the Skyliner 250px but by crikey, its wonderful to use :shocked:

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