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150pl - is it really an apo killer?


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On ‎18‎/‎06‎/‎2017 at 17:23, nightfisher said:

I always hear good things about the 150PL but not ever tried one, (strange) i think you might struggle on AZ mount due to length of tube hitting tripod, not sure if a long pillar extension would really help 

I often thought the GSO 150 F6 newt was a good compromise but in the real world a Maksutov is going to be very hard to beat

 

 

Hi Jules.

I have a 150 PL tube.  if you'd ever like to look through it, get in touch when you're going up to TAC (and the forecast is for it to be clear! :smile:) and I'll try and pop along with it.

Re using it with an altaz mount, I sometimes use it on my AZ4, though it will show a bit of movement at high power when focusing or if it's windy -  like where you live :smile:.

Best regards, Paul

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3 hours ago, paulastro said:

Hi Jules.

I have a 150 PL tube.  if you'd ever like to look through it, get in touch when you're going up to TAC (and the forecast is for it to be clear! :smile:) and I'll try and pop along with it.

Re using it with an altaz mount, I sometimes use it on my AZ4, though it will show a bit of movement at high power when focusing or if it's windy -  like where you live :smile:.

Best regards, Paul

Cheers paul, might take you up on that one day, maybe in the Autumn when it actually gets dark

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36 minutes ago, ollypenrice said:

Tell me when my Apo has been killed.

Sh2-126%20HaLRGB%2024%20Hrs-XL.jpg

:crybaby2:lly

Maybe not killed but certainly wounded by the looks of all the blood! :icon_biggrin:  Joking apart, I don't go for all this "killer" of this or that, it's rarely true in reality. There is no doubt that the difference in performance between a 6"F8 Newtonian and an APO is a lot less than the price.

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38 minutes ago, ollypenrice said:

Tell me when my Apo has been killed.

Sh2-126%20HaLRGB%2024%20Hrs-XL.jpg

:crybaby2:lly

Just wondered if you had a comparison image taken with a 6" f8 reflector taken under your lovely long dark steady skies?

If you haven't then your post is completely pointless in this thread - you take great data and produce really lovely images, but that's not what we are talking about.  We all know you have brilliant seeing, fantastic skies, some of the best kit available and great processing skills.

But unless you have data captured under the same conditions ect with one of the scopes were talking about we cannot tell from your image if one captured using a 6" f8 reflector would produce wildly inferior / nearly as good / equal / better quality images.

Ant

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37 minutes ago, Ant said:

Just wondered if you had a comparison image taken with a 6" f8 reflector taken under your lovely long dark steady skies?

If you haven't then your post is completely pointless in this thread - you take great data and produce really lovely images, but that's not what we are talking about.  We all know you have brilliant seeing, fantastic skies, some of the best kit available and great processing skills.

But unless you have data captured under the same conditions ect with one of the scopes were talking about we cannot tell from your image if one captured using a 6" f8 reflector would produce wildly inferior / nearly as good / equal / better quality images.

Ant

Ouch. 

The phrase 'Apo killer' has to mean something and my point is that apos are not easily killed.  And they don't have to be expensive ones. You'll find plenty of posts from me praising the fantastic value for money and superb images offered by the budget Skywatcher reflectors. Don't set me up as an equipment snob. My posts won't support that.

I would rather see budget Newts discussed on their merits rather than set up under rather pointless terms like 'Apo killers.' You will find precisely no posts from me describing apos as 'Newt killers.'

This is my view of budget Newts for imaging:

- When collimated and sorted they can give literally world class images on smaller chips. Getting them so sorted may take some time and defeat some users.

- Their fast F ratios play particularly well with DSLRs.

- They represent incredible value for money.

- They are not 'Apo killers.' 

You think my post was pointless. I don't.

Olly

PS My 'crying' symbol was intended to convey the humorous nature of my post. 

 

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Every type of scope has its merits, I do think sky conditions and time available do force most of us to make a choice though between a nice but relatively slow APO or a faster newt. I do wonder though how much deeper dark sky images would be with something like a Tak epsilon rather than a TEC or TAK apo.

Alan

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25 minutes ago, Alien 13 said:

Every type of scope has its merits, I do think sky conditions and time available do force most of us to make a choice though between a nice but relatively slow APO or a faster newt. I do wonder though how much deeper dark sky images would be with something like a Tak epsilon rather than a TEC or TAK apo.

Alan

If you could make fast reflectors play as reliably and predictably as medium apos I'd be in there.

Olly

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4 minutes ago, Moonshane said:

My view has always been to have both if you can, then you don't have to kill anything.

Must not forget the Mak/SCT, when I was a lad the choice was between a slow three inc achro or a faster six inch newt without the complications of having to image, the speed obviously made no difference for viewing but did effect the FOV for a given eyepiece and although I had both at one time I loved each of them.

Alan 

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I like all my scopes for different reasons. I have to confess though that I think terms like APO killer are created by people that really want product X but can only afford product Y and are trying to justify (almost certainly to themselves) why they shouldn't buy product X. I suppose the car equivalent is in the VW ad, the salesman of the other brand was suggesting that the door slammed 'just like a Golf'.

Personally, I (and I am assuming also most of our members with some experience under their belts) know :

  • that if you want to buy a particular type of scope then it's an itch that you'll eventually need to scratch
  • that one scope is rarely better in all aspects than all other scopes - they are just different
  • seeing conditions and transparency as well as observer condition and experience have more effect on what is seen than the scope type or quality given similar aperture etc
  • it is a rare feature or object that the cheapest scope cannot see where the most expensive scope can, given the same conditions, aperture, suitable mount, magnification, eyepiece quality, good collimation and observer / experience. It might be a little more aesthetically pleasing in the top quality scope but it will still be there in the cheapest option so does it matter?
  • it's good fun to debate this sort of thing - so keep it cool :happy11: - almost the astronomy equivalent of the weather to us Brits
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ps, I have recently established that my 120ED provides almost Newtonian like views when compared with my 16" f4 dob, masked off to a circle of 170mm at f11 - my dobfractor. That scope provided the best planetary views I have had with any scope I have owned.  :evil7:

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I watched a recorded nasa programme on the Hubble, from the time they realised the mirror had spherical aberration, rendering it an expensive flop.   The subsequent repair using a system of corrective lenses, (Costar), cured the problems.  The prog. went on to cover the various repairs and equipment upgrades to increase the telescopes capabilities.                                Feats of courage, superb engineering, to allow this marvellous instrument to continue bringing those  fantastic, and often unbelievable sights of the Universe  with unbelievable definition, to our eyes.  Gentlemen, the current best telescope is the Hubble, and whilst we all enjoy our own instruments, be they big, small, apochromatic, or achromatic, binoculars or spotting scope, the same old saying holds true. The best scope you have, is the one you are using at any one time.      Money is always going to dictate the differences in sizes and quality.   What really matters, is that when you venture out with whichever instrument, for an observing, or imaging session, you still get that buzz of anticipation. That's what it is about, nothing else.                                If the session is a disappointment for whatever reason, take a look at some Hubble's cosmic wonders, and dream on, and be grateful  you didn't spend the amount of money Edwin Hubble's namesake did.

 

 

 

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3 hours ago, ollypenrice said:
2 hours ago, Peter Drew said:

Tell me when my Apo has been killed.

Dunno, has it? Do you mean a lens or a mirror? It looks like a refractor to my untrained eye. The blue halos around the bright stars which push aside the nebulosity gives it away.

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8 hours ago, alacant said:

Dunno, has it? Do you mean a lens or a mirror? It looks like a refractor to my untrained eye. The blue halos around the bright stars which push aside the nebulosity gives it away.

Touché! Not killed, I think, but winged on the ear...

:icon_mrgreen:lly

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11 hours ago, Moonshane said:

My view has always been to have both if you can, then you don't have to kill anything.

My view is, if you can observe with lots of people with different scopes it saves the expense of buying them ;)

Cheapskate me?.......................the cheapest :D 

 

 

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4 minutes ago, swamp thing said:

My view is, if you can observe with lots of people with different scopes it saves the expense of buying them ;)

Cheapskate me?.......................the cheapest :D 

 

 

Not cheapskate ........eminently sensible  if you have the opportunity and the inclination.

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I'm more confused now over the label apo. All Newtonian reflectors are apo; the mirrors bring all light to a pinpoint focus. As soon as the light passes through glass, it's not any longer. Pay as much as you like, some wavelengths will always be brought to a distinct focus, hence what I label FWOABW refractor stars; blobs with coloured halos and dispersed light around them, rather than points. Hence, I would argue, '...my Newtonian reflector is an apo killer', doesn't make sense. Surely that should read, 'my apo x is better that your apo y'. Please correct me... 

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