How would you spend my £1000...

[AntHart]

Hey

Wondering what you guys would spend your money on if you had a up to a grand and wanted a nice wide field refractor (inc flattener/reducer if req) for a full frame dslr.

The mount i have is an EQ6-Pro...also planning on buying the ASI120mm guide cam and possibly the Evoguide 50ed guide scope
Interested to see what you’d choose 👍🏼

 

[TerryMcK]

For widefield I have the William Optics ZenithStar 73 and flattener. You’ll still have a bit of change from your £1000. It has an imaging circle that fully covers a full frame dslr.

[pete_l]

Full frame, wide field, including flattener, less than £1k .....

Have you considered the 61EDPH. 61mm f/4,5 (274mm fl) 5 element - three of which are the flattener, "usable" up to full frame.

Edited May 15, 2020 by pete_l

[Obi Wan Ken00bi]

Esprit 80ED or WO Zenithstar 81, those are extremely high quality triplet refractors you wont ever need to upgrade from (if you want to stay in that focal range).

You can also opt to go bigger and get a 100/700 APO (doublet) like Technosky, but I'd rather buy the brands above.

I own the Esprit 100ED which is perfect match for the EQ6 and love it to bits. Pic attached ( 1st = full colour, 2nd = narrowband)

[AntHart]

13 hours ago, Obi Wan Ken00bi said:

Esprit 80ED or WO Zenithstar 81, those are extremely high quality triplet refractors you wont ever need to upgrade from (if you want to stay in that focal range).

You can also opt to go bigger and get a 100/700 APO (doublet) like Technosky, but I'd rather buy the brands above.

I own the Esprit 100ED which is perfect match for the EQ6 and love it to bits. Pic attached ( 1st = full colour, 2nd = narrowband)

Those images are gorgeous!! 😁 Thanks mate...I was looking at the Esprit 80 also but thought with the flattener it would be a bit over budget? I do like the WO scopes, the Z81 is high up my list!

can I ask which camera you used for those images?

 

EDIT.... since found this ...

An M48-fitting doublet field flattener is also available to flatten the field and minimise aberration and distortion. When used with the field flattener the Esprit-80's imaging circle is 33mm.

I don’t think the imaging circle is enough to fully cover a full frame sensor...

Thanks again 

Ant 

Edited May 16, 2020 by AntHart

[AntHart]

8 hours ago, TerryMcK said:

For widefield I have the William Optics ZenithStar 73 and flattener. You’ll still have a bit of change from your £1000. It has an imaging circle that fully covers a full frame dslr.

Thanks mate, the WO Z73 looks a beautiful scope! 

[AntHart]

7 hours ago, pete_l said:

Full frame, wide field, including flattener, less than £1k .....

Have you considered the 61EDPH. 61mm f/4,5 (274mm fl) 5 element - three of which are the flattener, "usable" up to full frame.

Thanks mate, I think for full frame that FL is a little short but does look a tidy little scope 👍🏼

[Shimrod]

10 minutes ago, AntHart said:

Thanks mate, I think for full frame that FL is a little short but does look a tidy little scope 👍🏼

I had a couple of recommendations for the TS Optics photoline - 80 or 90mm ( TS Optics ) when I asked a similar question a while back. I ended up with a ds pro 80ed and upgraded the focuser as I was also looking for a lightweight travel scope and wanted the slightly longer focal length.

 

edit: Link to cheaper non-carbon fibre version  TS optics

Edited May 15, 2020 by Shimrod
saving money fo reducer!

[Obi Wan Ken00bi]

Ah I see the flattener is not included idd. My apologies for suggesting it!  It can be so easy to go over budget in this hobby right? The Zenithstar 73 or 81 will give similar results I have no doubt. The resell value of WO scopes is also really high, so that will be the smart bet!

I am using a ASI1600mm pro with 7 ZWO filters. Mono imaging isn't the easiest route and in my experience takes some of the casual fun out of the hobby. I find I get stressed for clouds or dewing up once I collected the L, R & G channels but not the B yet!. However the results speak for itself. You get more detail and it's easier to combat light pollution somehow. Downside is that I am not using the 'full potential' of my Esprit, since the ASI1600 is only a 1 inch sensor and not APS-C or fullframe like DLSRs.

Edited May 15, 2020 by Obi Wan Ken00bi
spelling error

[Neil27]

These are fairly new on the market and provide a comprehensive Package possibly for your needs.

 https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/rvo-horizon-72-ed-doublet-refractor-full-imaging-package.html

[Shimrod]

1 hour ago, Neil27 said:

These are fairly new on the market and provide a comprehensive Package possibly for your needs.

 https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/rvo-horizon-72-ed-doublet-refractor-full-imaging-package.html

Presumably the RVO branded version of this Altair branded one :  Altair 72mm Doublet   with some value added extras (like the case). So own brand, but it should be possible to find some reviews of the Altair scope if you fancy the RVO package.

[Dr Strange]

Seconding the recommendation on the Esprit 80. It comes with everything you need to image with save the DSLR. 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/esprit-professional-refractors/skywatcher-esprit-ed-80-pro-triplet.html

[AntHart]

57 minutes ago, Dr Strange said:

Seconding the recommendation on the Esprit 80. It comes with everything you need to image with save the DSLR. 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/esprit-professional-refractors/skywatcher-esprit-ed-80-pro-triplet.html

Hi,

I clicked the link and took a look...I’m not sure the imaging circle that provides is enough for my camera ( full frame ) ... from the website...

An M48-fitting doublet field flattener is also available to flatten the field and minimise aberration and distortion. When used with the field flattener the Esprit-80's imaging circle is 33mm.

The 6d needs an imaging circle of 44mm to cover the sensor fully.

Thats a real shame!  

[AntHart]

9 hours ago, Neil27 said:

These are fairly new on the market and provide a comprehensive Package possibly for your needs.

 https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/rvo-horizon-72-ed-doublet-refractor-full-imaging-package.html

Not sure I could live with that colour combo!lol 😯

[TerryMcK]

Thinking of the WO ZS81 this is actually a doublet (not a triplet as somebody said earlier on) and with the addition of a x0.8 flattener gives a focal length and FOV similar to ZS73 (the flattener is a X1 on the ZS73). Not certain if the slightly more light gathering of the wider aperture justifies the extra cash needed.

That said if you do decide on a WO scope the difficult part is choosing the colour! I went for red and it is gorgeous. Very similar in shade to my ZWO cameras and hence satisfies my latent OCD.

[Martthebass]

Slightly over £1k but another recommendation for WO. Unfortunately this time the colours don’t match. GT71 on an AZ-EQ5 with ZWO mini guide and ASI120 mini. 0.8x reducer fitted.

[newbie alert]

Esprit 80..

[haitch]

On 16/05/2020 at 02:10, AntHart said:

Not sure I could live with that colour combo!lol 😯

It makes me think "Fisher Price... My First Imaging Rig" 🤣

[AntHart]

On 18/05/2020 at 13:56, haitch said:

It makes me think "Fisher Price... My First Imaging Rig" 🤣

That’s brilliant  white/black, orange...that’s a cool combo but that orange and turquoise... no no nooo!haha! 

[david_taurus83]

From experience, the WO GT71 will not provide full frame correction. With the Flat6A II anyway, which is now discontinued. Not sure about the newer Flat 6A III. Anyway, I sold mine and bought an Altair Starwave 70 EDQ-R 346mm focal length. Very good correction on a full frame 6D and no vignetting whatsoever. Very close to your budget. Variants include the WO Star 71 (more expensive) and the TSQ-71ED. All with FPL53 glass.

[Robindonne]

On 15/05/2020 at 17:50, Neil27 said:

These are fairly new on the market and provide a comprehensive Package possibly for your needs.

 https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/rvo-horizon-72-ed-doublet-refractor-full-imaging-package.html

What an ugly peace of material

[Adam J]

On 15/05/2020 at 04:13, AntHart said:

Hey

Wondering what you guys would spend your money on if you had a up to a grand and wanted a nice wide field refractor (inc flattener/reducer if req) for a full frame dslr.

The mount i have is an EQ6-Pro...also planning on buying the ASI120mm guide cam and possibly the Evoguide 50ed guide scope
Interested to see what you’d choose 👍🏼

 

You dont want to go too short on focal length as your big sensor will allow you to maintain a large FOV without needing to sacrifice aperture and focal length. 

To give you the best advice i would want to know which full frame dslr we are talking about.

In general though I think that anything with a reducer under your price range will be unlikely to cover a full frame sensor. So that leaves scopes that are fast enougth to enable them to get away with just a flattner. Kinda rules the ZS81 out to be honest and the Esprit 80 does not claim to cover full frame only APS-C.

In all honesty unless you can push to a Esprit 100 or a FSQ85, which clearly you say you cant, then I think that you are stuck in the 70mm scope range due to price.

So I would go with the WO ZS73 + FLAT73 as others have said and have some change left over.

If you want to cover that full frame camera dont fall into the trap of the 0.8x reducer it will not cover that size of sensor, stick with the FLAT73a.

Hope that helps.

Adam

Edited May 24, 2020 by Adam J