Advice on a portable triplet refractor for under 2000€

[lrt75914]

Good evening guys,

 

I'm in the market for a triplet refractor for dso imaging that is also portable enough to be carried on a plane. Furthermore, since I already own a Skywatcher Explorer 200 PDS, I would like to stay below 600mm of focal length for my new 'portable' scope. I was considering the Skywatcher Esprit 100 but after reading about some of the early issues with the lens housing and problems with the stability of its focuser, I was wondering if it's the best scope for my money and intended purpose. I've been looking at all the other options within my price bracket and so far I haven't found a suitable alternative. I've read a lot of good things about the WO-FLT98 but the focal length is a bit to long and apparently it has already been discontinued!? Are there any other alternatives that I have missed? Could you recommend a reasonably priced telescope with high quality optics that is portable enough to be carried on a mountain/plane?

 

 

Cheers,

 

Patrick

[DRT]

http://www.altairastro.com/altair-wave-series-80mm-f6-super-ed-triplet-apo-80-480.html

I owned the ED72 from this series and it was a seriously nice piece of kit. Seems to fit your criteria and leave money to spare?

[Ben the Ignorant]

Maybe this:

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p7331_TS-Imaging-Star-102-mm-f-5-1---6-Element-Flatfield-Apo-Teleskop.html

Or that one? Its flatness is excellent but its price is kinda higher than your limit:

http://r2.astro-foren.com/index.php/de/9-beitraege/01-aeltere-berichte-auf-rohr-aiax-de-alles-ueber-apos/743-zum-fotografieren-erste-wahl-beurteilungs-kriterien

 

[DaveS]

From bitter experience I would avoid the 6-element jobs from TS, too flaky. However, have a look among this lot, and budget for a separate flattener.

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/index.php/cat/c223_APO-Refraktor-Teleskope.html

[Andyb90]

I've just ordered the Esprit 100. I like that it has a field flattener specifically matched to the scope. Also a threaded connection can be achieved for the imaging train, which is what I wanted.

The native f ratio of 5.5 is also pretty fast. I've seen some images on Astrobin with a 0.8x reducer, which gives a wider field of view and makes the scope even faster. The corner stars looked good.

The scope comes with tube rings too so I can easily mount my existing guide scope on top.

Regarding the focuser from what I understand it's straight forward enough to adjust if needed. I like that it's 3" as I'll be attaching the flattener, filter wheel and my asi1600 camera on the end.

I ordered from the forum sponsor with the check and tune service included for the optics.

Andy.

[wornish]

On 20/09/2016 at 09:44, Andyb90 said:

I've just ordered the Esprit 100. I like that it has a field flattener specifically matched to the scope. Also a threaded connection can be achieved for the imaging train, which is what I wanted.

The native f ratio of 5.5 is also pretty fast. I've seen some images on Astrobin with a 0.8x reducer, which gives a wider field of view and makes the scope even faster. The corner stars looked good.

The scope comes with tube rings too so I can easily mount my existing guide scope on top.

Regarding the focuser from what I understand it's straight forward enough to adjust if needed. I like that it's 3" as I'll be attaching the flattener, filter wheel and my asi1600 camera on the end.

I ordered from the forum sponsor with the check and tune service included for the optics.

Andy.

I am thinking about getting the same scope.

Has yours arrived ?

 

If so whats your thoughts on it.

[Andyb90]

Mine hasn't arrived yet, but will post when I get it.

I don't mind waiting a bit though as I like the re-assurance of the check and tune.

Andy.