Best sub £1500 refractor.....for imaging

[LightBucket]

Hi all, 

as the title suggests I will be in the market for buying a new frac  for imaging purposes, I have an 8" SCT and a small frac  for guiding purposes, but want to get something around 100mm.....so advice please...budget will be approx £1500..

[swag72]

What about a Skywatcher Esprit 100mm? https://www.firstlightoptics.com/esprit-professional-refractors/skywatcher-esprit-ed-100-pro-triplet.html comes in bang on budget

[UKJay1971]

^^ This is what I'd buy for the money and purpose, providing you've a mount that will do it justice.

[vlaiv]

Not sure what is exchange rate at the moment (I think it does fall into sub £1500), but I think you should also consider this:

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p6679_TS-Optics-PHOTOLINE-130-mm-f-7-Triplet-APO---FPL53---2-5-inch-RPA-focuser.html

 

 

[LightBucket]

8 minutes ago, swag72 said:

What about a Skywatcher Esprit 100mm? https://www.firstlightoptics.com/esprit-professional-refractors/skywatcher-esprit-ed-100-pro-triplet.html comes in bang on budget

Hmmm, yes I like the look of that....I actually thought they were a lot more...  is this a big jump up from the 80ED..?? Or is that a stupid question, as a lot of people seem to use the ED, but it is much cheaper, so my logic says you get what you pay for...so is it 4 times as good...?

[LightBucket]

4 minutes ago, vlaiv said:

Not sure what is exchange rate at the moment (I think it does fall into sub £1500), but I think you should also consider this:

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p6679_TS-Optics-PHOTOLINE-130-mm-f-7-Triplet-APO---FPL53---2-5-inch-RPA-focuser.html

 

 

Link not working for me...

[swag72]

In my opinion, once you start paying more for scopes, then the increments in improvement are not the same as the price increases. You will start paying 4 times the price for a 10% increase in quality for example. Also, it's not really fair to compare the ED80 and the Esprit as the ED80 is a doublet and not a triplet. Not that there's anything wrong with an ED80, it punches well above it's price point for sure.

[gnomus]

24 minutes ago, swag72 said:

What about a Skywatcher Esprit 100mm? https://www.firstlightoptics.com/esprit-professional-refractors/skywatcher-esprit-ed-100-pro-triplet.html comes in bang on budget

I agree with Sara.  The SkyWatcher scopes are excellent.  I have an Esprit 120 which I am very pleased with.  A major consideration with scopes is the retailer.  These can be had from FLO and so you can buy with total confidence.  I hope I'm not upsetting anyone by linking to another astro forum, but this might be worth a look: https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/480805-tak-fsq106-vs-sw-esprit-100/   Please note that (contrary to what it says in the link) you do need to buy the flattener separately these days.

Steve

[vlaiv]

21 minutes ago, LightBucket said:

Link not working for me...

Sorry about that, I probably did not paste it correctly, hopefully this time it will be ok:

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p6679_TS-Optics-PHOTOLINE-130-mm-f-7-Triplet-APO---FPL53---2-5-inch-RPA-focuser.html

Hm, strange, not working again ... but link it self does work, if still interested in checking it out - just copy the link and paste in browser address bar ...

[LightBucket]

18 minutes ago, gnomus said:

I agree with Sara.  The SkyWatcher scopes are excellent.  I have an Esprit 120 which I am very pleased with.  A major consideration with scopes is the retailer.  These can be had from FLO and so you can buy with total confidence.  I hope I'm not upsetting anyone by linking to another astro forum, but this might be worth a look: https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/480805-tak-fsq106-vs-sw-esprit-100/   Please note that (contrary to what it says in the link) you do need to buy the flattener separately these days.

Steve

Makes very interesting reading...

[RayD]

I have the Esprit 100 and the TS80 Photoline, and whilst both are very good, the Esprit seems just better made.  With your budget the Esprit 100 gets my vote, and as Gnomus notes, you would need to factor in for the FF if you are doing imaging.

[DaveS]

51 minutes ago, vlaiv said:

Not sure what is exchange rate at the moment (I think it does fall into sub £1500), but I think you should also consider this:

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p6679_TS-Optics-PHOTOLINE-130-mm-f-7-Triplet-APO---FPL53---2-5-inch-RPA-focuser.html

 

 

I have the 3.7" focuser version and its a beast. Not just the weight but the length, hence moment arm, you'll need a good mount, NEQ6 minimum. I have mine on an ASA DDM60 Pro (Last list price £7900).

Definitely look at the Esprit 100, but budget for the flattener as well.

[steppenwolf]

The Esprit 100 ED would also be my suggestion - I have its big brother, the 150ED and it is beautifully crafted but the quality ethos is followed throughout the range. I would urge you to buy the field flattener as well even though this will take you over your budget as with any relatively fast refractor, you will need one for imaging to combat field curvature.

[Andyb90]

I would recommend the Esprit 100 too. Mine actually came with the FF included, which I wasn't expecting. I like the fact that the flattener is matched specifically to the scope.

Plus the flattener is screwed to the focuser and with a suitable adapter a filter wheel/camera can be screwed to the flattener. So the connections feel very solid.

Andy.

[LightBucket]

Wow, seems the espirit 100 is very popular, and I tend to agree as have been reading up on it, well it's now at the top of my list, even though with FF and the extra quality certificate it will be over budget...

[RayD]

32 minutes ago, LightBucket said:

even though with FF and the extra quality certificate it will be over budget

Aha but you said "approximately £1,500".  There you go, you're approximately close 

[mikeDnight]

If the Esprit is the equal of higher end brands as the advert implies, then why would it be advisable to have a brand new telescope sent off for bench testing at added cost? It either works flawlessly or it doesn't, in which case it would be returned anyway.  It just appears to imply the Esprit optics lack consistency, or am I being alarmist, and at a loss as to why some observers need to have the comfort blanket of a certificate to tell them that they have a good telescope? 

Mike

 

[RayD]

23 minutes ago, mikeDnight said:

If the Esprit is the equal of higher end brands as the advert implies, then why would it be advisable to have a brand new telescope sent off for bench testing at added cost? It either works flawlessly or it doesn't, in which case it would be returned anyway.  It just appears to imply the Esprit optics lack consistency, or am I being alarmist, and at a loss as to why some observers need to have the comfort blanket of a certificate to tell them that they have a good telescope? 

Mike

 

It's an option with the Esprit.  Every one of the WO ones are tested whether you want it or not, but there are an awful lot of them used too.

[gnomus]

28 minutes ago, mikeDnight said:

If the Esprit is the equal of higher end brands as the advert implies, then why would it be advisable to have a brand new telescope sent off for bench testing at added cost? It either works flawlessly or it doesn't, in which case it would be returned anyway.  It just appears to imply the Esprit optics lack consistency, or am I being alarmist, and at a loss as to why some observers need to have the comfort blanket of a certificate to tell them that they have a good telescope? 

Mike

 

This started to be offered by FLO soon after the reports of so many issues with the WO Star 71 Mark I.  I don't know, of course, if one led to the other.  But I believe FLO are insisting that all WO Star 71 Mk IIs are tested before going out (and factoring this into the price).  I think that because they are doing this they are able to offer this option at a relatively low price on all their scopes.  My Esprit 120 was checked, but did not need any adjustment - so I suppose that was a bit of a waste of money.  I guess it is up to the purchaser to decide.  

I am sure that the scope would be fine as is.  And if it wasn't you will have no issue with FLO.  I have no connections with them by the way, I have just had excellent service from them and don't feel shy about saying so.

[RayD]

I had my Esprit 100 checked, and the first one was rejected by Es Reid due to an issue with the focuser.  This is something that could have taken me months of painful testing to find, and then have the aggro of packing and sending the scope back.  Instead it was never sent, and I just waited for another one which was checked and passed.  I received mine knowing all was well, so for me it's worth every penny.

[gnomus]

Just now, RayD said:

I had my Esprit 100 checked, and the first one was rejected by Es Reid due to an issue with the focuser.  This is something that could have taken me months of painful testing to find, and then have the aggro of packing and sending the scope back.  Instead it was never sent, I waited for another one which was checked and passed.  I received mine knowing all was well, so for me it's worth every penny.

I suppose this is the point.  If you are not getting good results then it can be a real nuisance tracking down what the cause of that is.  Perhaps the 'check' will help in ruling out the scope as the cause.  (Or perhaps not....)

[RayD]

Just now, gnomus said:

I suppose this is the point.  If you are not getting good results then it can be a real nuisance tracking down what the cause of that is.  Perhaps the 'check' will help in ruling out the scope as the cause.  (Or perhaps not....)

Exactly so.  I don't have the optical test equipment that Es does, so I could have been running round in circles trying to single out the issue he found.  

I know you could argue that this should be picked up in QC at Skywatcher, but these are mass produced items so some are going to slip through the net, and I'm just glad mine was caught and thrown back.

[Alien 13]

Astro photography is hard enough without having doubts about your kit, it could be months or even years before some pixel peeper pointed out that your corner stars are not quite round. Having scopes checked is vital in my view and I would include the premium stuff.

Alan

[swag72]

3 minutes ago, Alien 13 said:

Astro photography is hard enough without having doubts about your kit, it could be months or even years before some pixel peeper pointed out that your corner stars are not quite round. Having scopes checked is vital in my view and I would include the premium stuff.

Alan

I agree with that Alan..  I had my Tak FSQ85 checked before it was sent out to Spain..... While I don't know if that's something that Ian King does as the norm, we both decided it was worth it as the logistics of getting the scope back to him if there was a problem would be a royal pain in the behind

[RayD]

31 minutes ago, Alien 13 said:

 

Astro photography is hard enough without having doubts about your kit

 

You could copy and paste that a few times!  I feel like I could regress back to school days and write that 1,000 times as lines 

Astro photography is hard enough without having doubts about your kit

Astro photography is hard enough without having doubts about your kit

Astro photography is hard enough without having doubts about your kit