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Which APO refractor

D Wright

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Chris

Chris

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, 25585 said:

I have a 100mm frac already. Another 30mm for the same money on an elderly pre-owned scope v another 50mm on a new one. 

Been there with binoculars (on a smaller scale) old 1974 Carl Zeiss beaten by new Bushnell bins. 

I'm fantasy shopping for the OP who judging by his sig has no APO's. Further to that I think we'll have to agree to disagree regarding new verses old always being better ;) 

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25585

25585

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, fireballxl5 said:

Love my Tak 150B :icon_biggrin:, wouldn't call it portable though

130 like the ES is probably a good weight limit. I like the SW 120ED Equinox, both just about affordable. If I was the OP, I would have a TV NP-127 though. 

@fireballxl5 it would be interesting to compare your Tak 150 with the Esprit & Lunt of same size. 

 

 

 

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Chris

Chris

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3 minutes ago, D Wright said:

Yes I have seen this. I am quite tempted except for the weight.

Weight is a very good consideration. Triplets don't half get heavy quick with aperture! I've owned a number of ED66, ED80, ED100's and an ED120 Equinox, but I remember being very surprised by the weight of an Ascension 80mm f/6 triplet a bought a few years back.

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25585

25585

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, Lockie said:

I'm fantasy shopping for the OP who judging by his sig has no APO's. Further to that I think we'll have to agree to disagree regarding new verses old always being better ;) 

More state of coatings & other internal perishables. For a refractor there could be flakes of paint or dust, fungus etc in a tube. Oldish photographic lenses, SLRs & binoculars I have bought in the past needed professional overhauling, so am wary or pre-owned precision optical equipment.  

 

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Chris

Chris

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, 25585 said:

More state of coatings & other internal perishables. For a refractor there could be flakes of paint or dust, fungus etc in a tube. Oldish photographic lenses, SLRs & binoculars I have bought in the past needed professional overhauling, so am wary or pre-owned precision optical equipment.  

 

I might have had a bit more luck on the second hand market by the sounds of things. I've bought and sold more than my fair share of lenses, scopes, binos second hand. My findings are that most people are honest and furthermore where ebay is concerned, know they'll get bad feedback if they don't mention fungus fro example.

The scope I mentioned is from a dealer so I would be very surprised if they didn't describe it accurately:

"Quite a rare scope on the used market and for it's age it's in stunning condition, the optics are also very very clean"

I know people used to have to pay a deposit and sit on their hands for years to get hold of these scopes, so thought it worth a mention :) 

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Timebandit

Timebandit

Posted
Posted
36 minutes ago, D Wright said:

For visual I was thinking a 16" or 20" dob. As I am looking to get a house in a dark place it would be great in the garden.

 

Therefore may I make a suggestion on Davies Lukehurst. A Gent who makes hand built scopes in the UK and using a variety of top class mirrors depending on your spec. Well worth a look for a large Dobson in my opinion?

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John

John

Posted
Posted
10 minutes ago, Lockie said:

I might have had a bit more luck on the second hand market by the sounds of things. I've bought and sold more than my fair share of lenses, scopes, binos second hand. My findings are that most people are honest and furthermore where ebay is concerned, know they'll get bad feedback if they don't mention fungus fro example.

The scope I mentioned is from a dealer so I would be very surprised if they didn't describe it accurately:

"Quite a rare scope on the used market and for it's age it's in stunning condition, the optics are also very very clean"

I know people used to have to pay a deposit and sit on their hands for years to get hold of these scopes, so thought it worth a mention :) 

I love Ed Ting's review of that scope :icon_biggrin:

http://www.scopereviews.com/page1s.html#1

I'd certainly have been interested in the scope early last year. It's a wee bit lighter and shorter than my TMB / LZOS 130 so will be less demanding on mounts.

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Uplooker

Uplooker

Posted
Posted

Great thread. Congratulations on you're good fortune. SGL loves to spend other people's money ?

You will get no shortage of opinions here. 

Good luck in you're search for the optimal visual and AP scopes. I look forward to finding out what you eventually go for.

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John

John

Posted
Posted
16 minutes ago, D Wright said:

Yes, I get the feeling that by the end of it I will be no further forward.

When your budget is tight, choosing becomes easier - there are fewer options. When you have generous funds there are just so many options and most of them very good.

 

 

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jkwhinfrey

jkwhinfrey

Posted
Posted

Everyone’s different in their preferences and our own eyes and experience. If money’s no problem the best way is to buy what takes your fancy and if it’s not right try again. It’s an expensive way to do it but that’s the fun of having the cash.

You could always buy a few of your favourites and keep the winner ?

James

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GavStar

GavStar

Posted
Posted

If money is no object, then I would go for one of the big four APO makers - Astro-physics, TEC, APM and Takahashi. I have owned three of these makes (not had an APM) and they were all fantastic.

CFF gets good reviews but the one I had wasn't in the same quality as the big makes in my opinion.

You are sensibly thinking about portability and as you know, refractors do not size up gently! 

My choice would be to go for bigger than 100mm - I think jumping to 130mm makes a good difference to me, particularly for visual.

The Tak TOA are heavy at this size so I'd focus on Astro-physics or TEC. TEC are launching a new fluorite 140mm f7 next year which I think will be lovely. Aperture per unit of weight/length I think TEC are the most optimal of all the big APO makers.

Also we are lucky in Europe in that we can get new Astro physics scopes much easier than the US. I bought my 130GTX off the shelf from Skypoint.it earlier this year and had it in my hands within a few days. Skypoint have a new 130GTX arriving at the end of November according to its website. The second hand 130EDF linked to early also looks great. Although 8kg ish in weight, because of the short length (70cm unextended) the 130GTX is easy to mount and use.

You have decided on your mount. However I've just got a trackthestars panther tts-160 earlier this week which is lovely for visual and also good for AP with the rotator option. This mount is also very portable.

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Chris

Chris

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, John said:

I love Ed Ting's review of that scope :icon_biggrin:

http://www.scopereviews.com/page1s.html#1

I'd certainly have been interested in the scope early last year. It's a wee bit lighter and shorter than my TMB / LZOS 130 so will be less demanding on mounts.

That's a great review John thanks for that :) It mirrors the vibe I've always heard about these scopes here and on CN.

The bit where someone looked through the AP130 and cried with joy was my favourite bit!

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swag72

swag72

Posted
Posted

Last year I had the luck to get hold of an original TMB LZOS 152/1200....... it's a fantastic scope and one I would recommend. I wouldn't call it portable at all, it weighs almost 20kgs and is cumbersome to move on your own. I would suggest a bigger mount with a beast of this size. as well. The unfortunate thing is that the TMB is no longer made and  purely personal thing, I wouldn't touch an APM.

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