Houston, I have a problem....

[Stu]

.....I’m a refractorholic.

This started out just wanting a picture of my three main 4” refractors side by side, the Vixen FL102S, the FC100DC and the Genesis.

Then I thought, why not add in the others for a more complete record of what I have currently......

......then I remembered the PST Mod and the Scopetech (currently on loan from FLO) and thought it would be great to see them all together. The last shot is them in descending order of focal ratio.

For the record, in this last shot they are:

ScopeTech STL-80A Maxi 80mm f15

Zeiss Telementor II f13.3

TAL 100r f10

Vixen 102 PST Mod f10

Vixen FL102s f8.8

Takahashi FC100DC f7.4

TS 72mm f6

Televue Genesis f5

All a bit crazy but I do enjoy them. Will continue comparing them as the nights draw in again.

[omo]

There are worse things to be addicted too - a superb collection 👍

[John]

The good thing about a refractor obsession is that you can (generally) fit them all into the same room for a photo

Get an aperture obsession and that soon becomes difficult unless you have a really big house !

Do you think you would have the same obsession if you lived under dark skies ?

(serious question)

 

 

 

[JeremyS]

Absolutely brilliant @Stu!

Personally, I don't think you have too many refractors at all 🙂

 

[Stu]

4 minutes ago, John said:

The good thing about a refractor obsession is that you can (generally) fit them all into the same room for a photo

Get an aperture obsession and that soon becomes difficult unless you have a really big house !

Do you think you would have the same obsession if you lived under dark skies ?

(serious question)

 

 

 

Perhaps not John. DSOs are not so rewarding from home, so I focus on Planetary, solar, lunar and doubles and enjoy the variety of views through these scopes.

With darker skies then it would be more worthwhile having a larger aperture scope to use more regularly. I do have a 12” Truss dob project which I need to finish off which would allow me to do a bit more deep sky observing either at our local meeting site or dark site.

[tomato]

You need as many eyes as your avatar for that collection!😄

[Telescope40]

Epic Stu.  You have others ??  Mewlon etc. Please share while your taking photos. 😁😁

John 

[Barry-W-Fenner]

Following on from the Refractor vs Reflector thread.

Errr look at all them yucky Refractors, They are making my eyes hurt!

Of course I am only kidding Stu, Lovely collection you have accumulated there. I am quite interested to see the night sky through a quality Refractor now!

 

Regards

Baz

[Stu]

1 hour ago, tomato said:

You need as many eyes as your avatar for that collection!😄

This was the original reason for the avatar... 😉

[steveex2003]

14 hours ago, Stu said:

.....I’m a refractorholic.

This started out just wanting a picture of my three main 4” refractors side by side, the Vixen FL102S, the FC100DC and the Genesis.

Then I thought, why not add in the others for a more complete record of what I have currently......

......then I remembered the PST Mod and the Scopetech (currently on loan from FLO) and thought it would be great to see them all together. The last shot is them in descending order of focal ratio.

For the record, in this last shot they are:

ScopeTech STL-80A Maxi 80mm f15

Zeiss Telementor II f13.3

TAL 100r f10

Vixen 102 PST Mod f10

Vixen FL102s f8.8

Takahashi FC100DC f7.4

TS 72mm f6

Televue Genesis f5

All a bit crazy but I do enjoy them. Will continue comparing them as the nights draw in again.

 

 

 

 

Definitely still some available carpet space there.

[Louis D]

I'd be interested in hearing your preferences among them.

[Jarvo]

What a fantastic addiction 😊

I love a good refractor. I’ve now got 3 - a travel scope , an ED guide scope and my beloved Esprit 100. Oh and my first scope was a 60mm Tasco!

Is it possible to say which is your favourite or is that like choosing a favourite child?

jarvo

[sputniksteve]

On 06/07/2020 at 18:20, Stu said:

This was the original reason for the avatar... 😉

Can I see Sigourney Weaver sitting in the middle of that?

[Stu]

17 hours ago, Louis D said:

I'd be interested in hearing your preferences among them.

I fully intend to put together some more thoughts on comparing these Louis, but in order I would say it is as follows:

1) Tak FC100DC - my forever scope, amazingly capable for only 4”, compact enough to take as carry on luggage and flexible enough for lunar, planetary, white light solar, doubles, great at widefield DSO and not too shabby at other DSOs considering the aperture. The colour correction and contrast are fabulous on this scope and it has shown me lunar and planetary detail it has no right to; the Alpine rille for example and plenty on Jupiter, way beyond just two cloud belts.

2) Vixen FL102S - pretty sure this is another forever scope. Optically it seems to be the equal of the Tak so far; both have split Zeta Herc for me. The upside is the additional focal length which makes higher powers a little more accessible, the downside is the larger size and weight. That said, I love the looks and the character of this scope.

3) Televue Genesis - this is a very fine example and I love it for its wide flat fields and also the history and connection with the Stephen O’Meara Messier Objects book (he used a Genesis for his observations). This scope is surprisingly capable at high powers and although it does show some CA on brighter objectives it will split surprisingly tight doubles despite that not being its forté. It does give the best wide views of the Veil and North America Nebula that I’ve seen, giving a binocular like 5 degrees of sky with a 31mm Nagler. Another keeper.

4) Vixen 102mm f10 - not really sure where this one should go, arguably just above the TAL based on being a similar f10 achro, but as a PST Mod it delivers amazing Ha views So ranks pretty highly for that.

5) Scopetech 80mm f15 - just on loan for a while from FLO, this scope is so light that even at f15 it is very manageable. Colour correction and contrast is excellent  from the time I’ve had with it so far, lunar views are wonderful, more to follow. I have a 1.25” Herschel Wedge to try in it too which should be good once I get a continuum filter. I will do some more side by side against the larger scopes to see how it fairs so watch this space, this position may change.

6) Zeiss Telementor - this is a fine example, previously owned by Roger Vine and shown on his website. I love this scope, again for its history and character, it is like a small tank barrel; indestructible! It will not show me anything the Tak or Vixen won’t show me much better, and it shows quite a lot of false colour in bright objects, but I must say there is just something about the perfect airy disks and diffraction rings it produces that I could (and do) enjoy for ages. Lunar views are cracking too.

7) TS 72mm - this is in the stable as a go anywhere scope, small enough not to have to think about really. Does many things very well, and gave me surprisingly good views of the Veil when in Pembrokeshire last year. Won’t focus with the CoolWedge so I have acquired the 1.25” to give me a more portable travel solution when the Tak is a bit too big. Colour correction is excellent (fpl-53 glass). I use it as a spotting scope too with a 2” 45 degree erecting prism.

8. TAL 100r - seems a bit harsh to put the TAL here, this is the best of three examples I’ve owned but it is up against some tough competition. I haven’t directly compared it with the Vixen Fluorite whilst side by side, but having viewed through both it really does highlight just how good the Vixen is, not just in colour correction but ability to resolve tight double stars too. Hopefully I can try some further comparisons  the planets soon and give more thoughts. It comes below the TS for instance for a variety of reasons; colour correction, size, focuser and mechanical quality. It is still a fine scope, just doesn’t do anything better than any of the others do, so may well  move on once I’ve done some more comparisons this autumn. One thing I should do is remove the ERF from the Vixen f10 and compare these two achromats.

So, do I need them all, no; in most cases the Tak will do the job with the exception of the wide fields of the Genesis. Do I enjoy owning and using them, most definitely yes. I’ve looked for good examples of the Vixen FL, Genesis and Telementor for quite long periods and now I have them I will try to keep hold of them, and use them for what they are best at.

[JeremyS]

3 hours ago, Stu said:

Do I enjoy owning and using them, most definitely yes.

I think that's the answer Stu!

[Alan White]

On 06/07/2020 at 16:22, Stu said:

.....I’m a refractorholic.

This started out just wanting a picture of my three main 4” refractors side by side, the Vixen FL102S, the FC100DC and the Genesis.

Then I thought, why not add in the others for a more complete record of what I have currently......

......then I remembered the PST Mod and the Scopetech (currently on loan from FLO) and thought it would be great to see them all together. The last shot is them in descending order of focal ratio.

For the record, in this last shot they are:

ScopeTech STL-80A Maxi 80mm f15

Zeiss Telementor II f13.3

TAL 100r f10

Vixen 102 PST Mod f10

Vixen FL102s f8.8

Takahashi FC100DC f7.4

TS 72mm f6

Televue Genesis f5

All a bit crazy but I do enjoy them. Will continue comparing them as the nights draw in again.

That is a true addiction @Stu.
I know of no cure other than using and enjoying them.
Clear skies to you.

[Louis D]

On 06/07/2020 at 10:22, Stu said:

.....I’m a refractorholic.

Hi Stu! 😄

On 06/07/2020 at 10:22, Stu said:

ScopeTech STL-80A Maxi 80mm f15

Zeiss Telementor II f13.3

TAL 100r f10

Vixen 102 PST Mod f10

Vixen FL102s f8.8

Takahashi FC100DC f7.4

TS 72mm f6

Televue Genesis f5

Are these the first 8 steps towards recovery from refractorholism?  Only 4 more to go.  Question is, what will they be?

[RobertI]

A lovely array of fracs Stu, not a dud amongst them. I’ve just placed an order for a Skywatcher ED100 and am fully expecting this to be the slippery slope! My first task when it arrives (not expecting it until August TBH) is to do a detailed comparison with the Tal to start to really understand the differences between the different flavours of fracs. Hoping to be able to get a squint through a Tak at some point. 

[John]

4 hours ago, RobertI said:

A lovely array of fracs Stu, not a dud amongst them. I’ve just placed an order for a Skywatcher ED100 and am fully expecting this to be the slippery slope! My first task when it arrives (not expecting it until August TBH) is to do a detailed comparison with the Tal to start to really understand the differences between the different flavours of fracs. Hoping to be able to get a squint through a Tak at some point. 

I'm sure you will like the ED100. I bought a blue one when they first came out and loved it. It replaced my TAL 100 RT, also a fine refractor telescope

 

[RobertI]

20 minutes ago, John said:

I'm sure you will like the ED100. I bought a blue one when they first came out and loved it. It replaced my TAL 100 RT, also a fine refractor telescope

Thanks John, good to know, I’m really looking to getting it. The plan is to replace the Tal and the meg72 (already sold) with the ED100 so a similar story to yours. I will keep the Tal long enough to do an in depth comparison which I shall share. Currently putting together a plan and a list of targets. Might reach out for some help on that. 🙂