Which Tak

[Stu]

5 minutes ago, Pig said:

I have been speaking with Ian King today and I think the DF will be the best route for me ..... does anyone else in the UK sell them ?

Trutek are the only other retailer I know of. Give them a call for a price. I forget the chap's name but he is very nice.

http://www.trutek-uk.com/

[Pig]

Stu do you have to buy your own FT and fit it ?

[25585]

If I could, I would get the DL in your circs. Being a limited run, it will hold or gain value. The 7.4s can be bought after DLs have all gone. So DL is a better investment.

More importantly for higher magnifications, you can use longer focal length eye pieces which can give more comfortable viewing.

 

[mikeDnight]

1 hour ago, Stu said:

Trutek are the only other retailer I know of. Give them a call for a price. I forget the chap's name but he is very nice.

http://www.trutek-uk.com/

Nick Hudson is his name! He's a thoroughly nice, and very knowledgeable chap regarding Tak scopes, as he was the sole importer for the UK for two decades I believe. True Tec have a large pricelist download for scopes and accessories if you like window shopping, but its always worth asking Nick directly incase he can offer a better price on some items!

[Pig]

Ok, I think I will follow Stu and go for the DC with the FTF if it is cheaper !!! However, I am not sure how to swap the focusser over and In addition I was also wondering where the finder will locate as the TAKS have a bespoke finder bracket holder, or does using the FTF mean I can fit any finder ?

Almost there I think ?

 

[Pig]

9 minutes ago, mikeDnight said:

Nick Hudson is his name! He's a thoroughly nice, and very knowledgeable chap regarding Tak scopes, as he was the sole importer for the UK for two decades I believe. True Tec have a large pricelist download for scopes and accessories if you like window shopping, but its always worth asking Nick directly incase he can offer a better price on some items!

Thank you, I tried calling 3 times but the number on the web page did not connect. Maybe he stops answering after hours ?

[F15Rules]

20 hours ago, fireballxl5 said:

Not sure if this helps, but I've got a F7.3 Tak (150mm version ) and it's the dogs when it comes to planetary observation IMHO. I've only had one season with this scope and so I'm looking forward to this spring.

Photos please???

Dave

[25585]

Ask for a 7x50 finder for same price.

[John]

2 minutes ago, 25585 said:

Ask for a 7x50 finder for same price.

Why undermine the already small margins of what are small companies ?

A Tak 50mm finder costs getting on for £300.

 

[GavStar]

32 minutes ago, Pig said:

Ok, I think I will follow Stu and go for the DC with the FTF if it is cheaper !!! However, I am not sure how to swap the focusser over and In addition I was also wondering where the finder will locate as the TAKS have a bespoke finder bracket holder, or does using the FTF mean I can fit any finder ?

Almost there I think ?

 

I’m not particularly practical but I found it very easy to remove the existing Tak focuser (just unscrews) then add the correct ftf adapter for the fc100 (flo sell it) by simply screwing this on and then the ftf slots in with some small screws tightened up - took me about 2 mins.

There are no holes on the ftf to attach a finder so both Stu and I have a finder shoe that screws in to the tube rings. Works well imo. See attached picture. This shows both my and Stu’s scope - you can see that Stu has a different ftf adapter for 76mm Tak I think but both work fine. 

One other thing is that with the ftf you need to add an extension tube to get into focus - you can see we’ve both done that in the pic below. As you can imagine this is a great scope for binoviewing!

 

[F15Rules]

11 hours ago, osbourne one-nil said:

I like that bag! I like the bag's contents too. Is it a tripod bag?

Oi! You've only just taken delivery of your new VIxen SD103s F7.7! You'll hurt its' feelings!??

Dave

[25585]

9 minutes ago, John said:

Why undermine the already small margins of what are small companies ?

 

Nothing against the retailer companies themselves. But for any quality scope, I find a straight through Tasco size 6x30 finder as OE a joke. Better to not include the finder, pay less, and buy a larger independent one with diagonal elsewhere.

Retailers are probably the only way "better needed" can be communicated to a foreign manufacturer.

[John]

12 minutes ago, 25585 said:

Nothing against the companies. But for any quality scope, I find a straight through Tasco size 6x30 finder as OE a joke. Better to not include the finder, pay less, and buy a larger independent one with diagonal elsewhere.

Retailers are probably the only way "better needed" can be communicated to a foreign manufacturer.

Tak don't include a finder as standard or a diagonal or even a tube clamp in the base price.

The price is £122 extra for a straight through 6x30 Tak finder or £268 for a 50mm excluding the mounting bracket which is another £50+. I took the option of the 30mm with mine because it matched the scope but I currently actually use a £25 6x30 Skywatcher RACI finder with mine, which works very well.

 

 

 

[25585]

19 minutes ago, John said:

Tak don't include a finder as standard or a diagonal or even a tube clamp in the base price.

The price is £122 extra for a straight through 6x30 Tak finder or £268 for a 50mm excluding the mounting bracket which is another £50+. I took the option of the 30mm with mine because it matched the scope but I currently actually use a £25 6x30 Skywatcher RACI finder with mine, which works very well.

 

 

 

If a buyer chose the parallax rings, instead of clamshell tube holder, would that leave no mounting for any finder?

 

[F15Rules]

Shaun,

It sounds like you've made your decision now, but just a couple of points maybe worth considering (and I'm genuinely unbiased I think, as I don't use either scope):

At F9, the DL will have more depth of focus than the shorter DF. One of the reasons I liked ED100 doublets was their superior depth of focus over the F7.5 EDs...everything is just easier to focus down precisely on, especially at high powers, for instance on close doubles and planetary detail. I know a Feathertouch is a superb unit, but increased depth of focus is a real benefit at F9, regardless of the focuser, I feel.

Also, I personally prefer the stellar images at longer focal lengths..they just seem "cleaner" somehow. A long focus achromat can give superbly sharp, well defined "bullseye" images (and with larger airy disks which I personally find attractive), that some short apo scopes can only dream of (I don't mean Taks though), but of course they do have CA, being achromats.

The weight of both scopes should not be an issue: they both weigh less than my ED103s F7.7, and that sits very nicely on a Vixen Porta II: even allowing for the DL having a focal length of 900mm, the DF is only about 160mm (just over 6") shorter in focal length (not sure if either or both have a retractable dewshield?).

Tak clamshells are very good in my view, and my FS128 is held VERY securely in its' clamshell ring. I don't know if a clamshell is available for the DF and DL models, but if they are, I think one would hold either scope very securely, and I'd recommend it.

Finally, just another word in favour of Trutek.. I've had a few dealings in a small way with Nick Hudson and found him very helpful. He is old school, and not maybe as "slick" as some retailers, but he knows Taks inside out and shares his knowledge freely in my experience. And he supplied my FS128 to the original owner (from whom I bought the scope), back in 1999?..

Good luck with your decision!

Dave

[25585]

My F9 100mm ED Equinox refractor has found its own niche in my scopery, other fracs being F5 and F7.5. My longest FL scope bar the C8 which is F10.

[John]

33 minutes ago, 25585 said:

If a buyer chose the parallax rings, instead of clamshell tube holder, would that leave no mounting for any finder?

 

The Tak finder mounts onto a flat part of the Tak focuser with 2 threaded mounting holes in it. If you go for a non-Tak focuser then you need to find a new way to mount the finder but opting for tube rings rather than the Tak tube clamp does not affect this unless your new finder mounting point is on the tube clamp.

 

 

 

[Timebandit]

1 hour ago, John said:

   

A Tak 50mm finder costs getting on for £300.

 

 

 

55 minutes ago, John said:

Tak don't include a finder as standard or a diagonal or even a tube clamp in the base price.

The price is £122 extra for a straight through 6x30 Tak finder or £268 for a 50mm excluding the mounting bracket which is another £50+. I took the option of the 30mm with mine because it matched the scope but I currently actually use a £25 6x30 Skywatcher RACI finder with mine, which works very well.

 

 

 

 

 

Woow, Tak certainly have got their " added extras" .  

So excuse my ignorance. But what does a DC cost and a DL  ?

I take it the Tak scope itself does include the lens components and a focuser as standard???

 

 

[GavStar]

Here’s a link to the trutek price list. Gives you an idea of all the Tak ‘extras’ you can buy.

http://www.trutek-uk.com/pricelists/tak_Jan18pl.pdf

For OTA only, DC is £1919, DF is £2180 and DL is £2630 (with tube holder)

[John]

Some info here from Takahashi in Japan about the 2nd run of FC-100DL's (apologies for the Google translation ):

https://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&prev=search&rurl=translate.google.co.uk&sl=ja&sp=nmt4&u=http://www.takahashijapan.com/ct-news/news_topics/newst_170530_fc-100dl_17.html&usg=ALkJrhh9V_Nkjgt4ahl8-CPq5rctXrKzag

[John]

Another interesting link here. A comparison on an Italian website of the Tak FC-100DL and the 1993 F/10 model, the FC-100N. English (of a sort) can be selected from a drop down menu if the link is not in that language:

http://www.dark-star.it/astronomia-articoli-e-test/fighting-telescopes/takahashi-fc100-n-vs-fc100-dl/

 

[mikeDnight]

When the first run of DL's were first introduced, the difference in price between them and the DC/DF was not too great, making the DL an attractive option. With the massive increase in price of the second run of DL's, they aren't such an attractive option; especially when the real world performance between the two is so miniscule, that even the most critical eye would be very hard pushed to notice any real difference in performance. It would be more sensible for most people to buy the F7.4 fully kitted out with clam shell, finder and micro focuser and save unnecessary expense. Having observed with both scopes I certainly wouldn't pay the new price for a DL.

[avtaram]

I'm following this thread with interest as I am planning on buying a 100mm Tak some time in spring.

Avtar

[marcus_z]

By the way, there's also the option to upgrade to a 3" Starlight Feather Touch: A30-1903-85 They also have images of an FC-100DC/DC on their website. Note that this upgrade increases weight by about 1kg. The focuser is so smooth that I hardly use the micro focus knob!

[Pig]

Has anyone tried a Quark in the DL for Visual ? I am thinking with the extra focal length of the DL the magnification may be a tad on the high side, with my 32mm TV giving 118X , whereas the DF would be a more useful 84X?