Best travelscope for under 4000€

[lrt75914]

Hi everyone,

 

The weather in my area has been pretty poor in the last couple

of months/years and I'm getting really frustrated with the limited imaging time I can

squeeze out of the local skies throughout the year. For a long time I've been thinking

about putting together a portal astrophotography setup and my last trip to the nevada

dessert finally settled it for me - I need a imaging kit that I can take on the plane with me.

 

Since I already own a Sony Alpha 7, the obvious choice would be to get a quality lens.

However, I'm not much of a daytime photographer and I really don't see a reason to

spent all that man on a camera lens that I'm not going to fully utilize.

 

I've been scouring the internet for a travelscope that could fit in a carry on bag and so

far, the best glass I've found is the Baader APO 95/560 CaF2 Travel Companion.

I was wandering if anybody here has any experience with the Travel Companion or if

there are better alternatives out there within that still fit my budget?

 

Cheers,

 

Patrick

[Victor Boesen]

I'd personally say that the king of travelscopes on here is @DirkSteele. I believe another member on here has posted about the Baader travel companion, but I can't remember his name....

EDIT: Found him  @GavStar

Edited September 4, 2019 by Victor Boesen

[DirkSteele]

My ears are burning. 😉

Gavin can opine on the Baader Travel Companion but he did tell me he was very impressed. However, I do believe they are quite hard to come by.

 

Given imaging is the focus, have you considered the Takahashi FSQ-85? Focal length is a bit shorter than the Baader but it is somewhat legendary as an imaging machine.

 

Assume you might prefer the superior colour correction of a triplet rather than a doublet? The APM LZOS 105/650 is airline portable (I own it) and is a fab scope but quite heavy at c7kg so need to consider your travel mount and tripod solution though it is short and stubby so turning moment is not too bad. You probably need to look second hand to keep in budget though.

 

Will have a think if any other scopes come to mind.

 

 

Edited September 4, 2019 by DirkSteele
Typo

[nicoscy]

Making life easy on the road is very important. So, I will throw my weight behind the FSQ-85. Flat field, no messing around with spacing, proven performer.

What are your thoughts on mount and tripod though? You still have to lug those around

I'll recommend the Gitzo Series 5 systematic 3 section tripod which is lightweight and very stiff in case you need a tripod recommendation.

As to mounting, what are your plans (mostly irrespective of the scope since you set a top limit of slightly under 100mm)?

-----

Slightly different direction: You could even go for a smaller scope and thus lighter mount and tripod. The WO RedCat perhaps or even one of the TS offerings from SharpStar?

If you go "light" enough, you can use the Skywatcher AZ-GTi in EQ mode - quite a compact option...

[DirkSteele]

+ 1 for the Gitzi tripod.  I use that model.  Great torsional rigidity, light weight, and crucially for travel, collapsed length is quite short so fits in a suitcase for example.  I reviewed it many years ago on my website.

http://alpha-lyrae.co.uk/2014/05/15/gitzo-systematic-series-5-gt5532s-carbon-fibre-tripod-review/

 

[lrt75914]

Hi guys,

Sorry for not checking back on my thread a bit sooner - work has been keeping me busy these last couple of days.

On 04/09/2019 at 20:24, Victor Boesen said:

I'd personally say that the king of travelscopes on here is @DirkSteele. I believe another member on here has posted about the Baader travel companion, but I can't remember his name....

EDIT: Found him  @GavStar

Thanks for putting me in touch with @DirkSteele. I really appreciate it :).

On 05/09/2019 at 00:21, DirkSteele said:

My ears are burning. 😉

Gavin can opine on the Baader Travel Companion but he did tell me he was very impressed. However, I do believe they are quite hard to come by.

 

Given imaging is the focus, have you considered the Takahashi FSQ-85? Focal length is a bit shorter than the Baader but it is somewhat legendary as an imaging machine.

 

Assume you might prefer the superior colour correction of a triplet rather than a doublet? The APM LZOS 105/650 is airline portable (I own it) and is a fab scope but quite heavy at c7kg so need to consider your travel mount and tripod solution though it is short and stubby so turning moment is not too bad. You probably need to look second hand to keep in budget though.

 

Will have a think if any other scopes come to mind.

 

 

I have been looking at the Baby-Q and I have read a lot of good things about Takahashi in general. The guys on cloudy nights also

suggested the Epsilon 130 as the most aperture one can get when looking at airplane portable telescopes. I have, however, heard

from a vendor here in Germany that the quality control from Takahashi has been lacking in the last couple of years. It's the only time

I've heard of any problems with that brand, but I generally trust his opinions so I'm not quite sure what to think.

 

The APM scope looks interesting albeit a bit heavy. I was thinking of getting an Avalon M-Zero as a travel mount. A lot of people seem

to think that  suggested maximum load capacity of 8kg is on the conservative side. I'm just not sure if that mount can accommodate

all the necessary imaging accessories when the telescope itself is already that heavy. Do you use the APM scope for astro imaging and if so,

is there any mount that you could recommend to go with it?

 

I know astrotrac is going to release its 360 mount with a supposed imaging instrument capacity of 10 kg. But I'm not going to trust

any marketing numbers unless they have been substantiated by independent reviews. If there is a travel mount that could carry a

7kg telescope the APM LZOS 105/650 would  be a likely candidate. Otherwise I'm going to have to look at the Takahashi as an alternative.

 

On 06/09/2019 at 10:27, nicoscy said:

Making life easy on the road is very important. So, I will throw my weight behind the FSQ-85. Flat field, no messing around with spacing, proven performer.

What are your thoughts on mount and tripod though? You still have to lug those around

I'll recommend the Gitzo Series 5 systematic 3 section tripod which is lightweight and very stiff in case you need a tripod recommendation.

As to mounting, what are your plans (mostly irrespective of the scope since you set a top limit of slightly under 100mm)?

-----

Slightly different direction: You could even go for a smaller scope and thus lighter mount and tripod. The WO RedCat perhaps or even one of the TS offerings from SharpStar?

If you go "light" enough, you can use the Skywatcher AZ-GTi in EQ mode - quite a compact option...

I have not thought of a tripod as of today. I'm still looking at all the portable mounting options that are available. Since the Astrotrac 360 is

just around the corner I was thinking of waiting on a couple of reviews before I make a decision on that. The Avalon M-Zero, however, is a

strong contender. Do you think the Gitzo tripod would mesh well with the Avalon M-Zero mount?

 

I think weight is more of a limiting factor for me than weight. That's what drew me to the Baader Travel Companion. Fairly large aperture in

a small and light package. In the end, though, any large aperture will do as long as I can still find a mount for it.

 

I have a Skywatcher StarAdventurer in my arsenal and had been looking at the RedCat as well. Some of the posts here on stargazerslounge.com

seem to suggest that that scope suffers from misshapen stars, though. It is certainly worth a thought, but right now I just wanted to now what the

ultimate travel rig would look like and how much it would cost (within a certain limit).

On 06/09/2019 at 10:53, DirkSteele said:

+ 1 for the Gitzi tripod.  I use that model.  Great torsional rigidity, light weight, and crucially for travel, collapsed length is quite short so fits in a suitcase for example.  I reviewed it many years ago on my website.

http://alpha-lyrae.co.uk/2014/05/15/gitzo-systematic-series-5-gt5532s-carbon-fibre-tripod-review/

 

Thanks for the link and thank all of you for taking the time and answering my questions.

[JCAZ]

I'm just curious, what the best travel scope over 4000 Euro?

[AngryDonkey]

It fits in a trailer, does that count?

http://www.cruxis.com/scope/scope1070.htm

[DirkSteele]

The Epsilon 130 is certainly another viable choice if you are happy to consider mirrors as well as lenses.  I have not heard any negative concerns on Takahashi myself, but even the best brands will let occasional sub standard scope through the net.  If you buy from a dealer who you trust to rectify any problems, then this should reduce that risk.

 

I am afraid I am a visual only guy so cannot really comment on the imaging side of things with the APM LZOS 105, but I have seen many images taken with it on line and they have been excellent.

 

As for mounting on the Gitzo.  It has a standard 3/8 photography head connection.  I do not know what mounting the Avalon uses but if it is not that, you should be able to have a small adapter fabricated quite easily.

[Highburymark]

I’m visual only too, though I use an Epsilon 130d for night vision. At F/3.3, t’s the perfect scope for this - I’m delighted with it, though perhaps don’t test it quite to the extent that an imager would. Holds collimation extremely well too. Would have thought it was a great travel companion for imaging too.

For travel I picked up a lovely TV85 recently. Taking astro equipment abroad is quite demanding on telescopes, so I needed something that was really robust. I also use it for daytime activities too - bird observation in particular. Had always heard that the 85 had bullet proof build quality, which it certainly does, but was heavy and had slightly less than perfect optics. In fact it’s only 3kg for the OTA, compact for carry on baggage, and I’ve been really impressed by the sharp, colour free views, even at high powers on Moon and bright stars. 

But if you can find one, the Baader apo must be one of the best travel refractors ever made. Nice and fast for imaging as well as exquisite triplet views through the eyepiece.

[GavStar]

For visual the Baader travel companion

For imaging The Takahashi fsq-85

Both absolutely wonderful (and the AP Stowaway and Tv85 ain’t bad either 😉)

A couple of past threads that may be of interest.

I also have the Epsilon 130d but prefer the ease of use and views through my travel refractors.

Edited September 13, 2019 by GavStar

[DirkSteele]

That is an envy inducing line up of small scopes!!

[ollypenrice]

A good FSQ85 is a fabulous scope and I was a keen advocate. Sadly, though, both the FSQ85 and 106 have, in recent years, been plagued by quality control issues including collimation and tilt arising from the capstan wheel (which I think is now discontinued.) My worry with the Epsilon would be losing collimation, which might eat a lot of time if it goes out in transit.  To quantify my remarks on Takahashi QC I personally know five people who've had new FSQ problems. For me this confirms what your dealer said.

Would the Esprit 80 be compact enough? I think it's very good.

Olly

[GavStar]

13 minutes ago, ollypenrice said:

A good FSQ85 is a fabulous scope and I was a keen advocate. Sadly, though, both the FSQ85 and 106 have, in recent years, been plagued by quality control issues including collimation and tilt arising from the capstan wheel (which I think is now discontinued.) My worry with the Epsilon would be losing collimation, which might eat a lot of time if it goes out in transit.  To quantify my remarks on Takahashi QC I personally know five people who've had new FSQ problems. For me this confirms what your dealer said.

Would the Esprit 80 be compact enough? I think it's very good.

Olly

Pleasingly my new Fsq-85 has perfect collimation. I admit it was a slight concern (due to the 4 lens petzval design) before purchase but the star test was excellent. I had a bad collimation issue with a CFF telescope and it’s certainly a disappointing issue to have with an expensive scope. 

[gorann]

Like Olly I would go for an Esprit 80 and save money for other parts of the kit (or maybe you included mount and tripod in the 4000 Euro). I never read anything but positive reviews about the Esprit series and QC appear to be excellent.

If you really want to spend on something that is supposed to be spectacular, there is this one from Vixen:

https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p7247_Vixen-100mm-f-3-8-APO-Refraktor-Astrograph---5-element---Korrektur-bis-Mittelformat.html