New Takahashi - unboxing

[Rob]

Very nice indeed. For me the stuff of dreams!.. Tak 100mm f8! .. sweet spot for visual. I know you will enjoy to the full.

Best Rob

Edited August 25, 2020 by Rob

[mikeDnight]

1 hour ago, dweller25 said:

TSA102 John

This is interesting!  I blame Covid-19, as if it wasn't for this lockdown I'm sure we would have long since had that long awaited Tak compare evening. For now you'll have to have that party all by yourself Dave. 😟  Still, there's a potentially great Mars apparition to look forward to, so exciting times ahead. 

[jetstream]

@dweller25 has some of the nicest scopes on the forum

Congratulations for a very fine addition to the lineup!

[dweller25]

18 minutes ago, mikeDnight said:

This is interesting!  I blame Covid-19, as if it wasn't for this lockdown I'm sure we would have long since had that long awaited Tak compare evening. For now you'll have to have that party all by yourself Dave. 😟  Still, there's a potentially great Mars apparition to look forward to, so exciting times ahead. 

Yes, I will have a party all by myself 🥴 although I think I already know the visual outcome.

The DZ sits very well on the GP and i’m looking forward to testing the optics - although I can only go up to x384.

It’s a birthday present - which is in October so really I should put it away until then.......

[dweller25]

8 minutes ago, jetstream said:

@dweller25 has some of the nicest scopes on the forum

Congratulations for a very fine addition to the lineup!

Thank you Gerry 👍

Nothing like your collection though 🙂

Edited August 25, 2020 by dweller25

[jetstream]

7 minutes ago, dweller25 said:

Thank you Gerry 👍

Nothing like your collection though 🙂

Thank you David, I too have a weakness for good glass.

[John]

2 hours ago, dweller25 said:

TSA102 John

Ah - now that will make a very interesting comparison

[paulastro]

You'll have to be careful if you meet up to observe with Mike.  He uses his on a GP mount and you may get mixed up and take the wrong scope home 😄.

Like Mike's it looks fabulous on that mount.  A lovely setup,  some great observing adventures on the way 😃

 

 

[A McEwan]

Congratulations from another Tak & GP user! Hope you enjoy using that lovely most-modern Tak!   

Ant

[Cjg]

Congrats, it's 5 years since my Tak 76 arrived. It's been on many AstroCamps, outreach events and adventures, including a Messier Marathon in France with me.

Have read great reviews of the 100 DZ. Am sure yours will bring you many smiles too.

Chris

[dweller25]

8 hours ago, Cjg said:

Congrats, it's 5 years since my Tak 76 arrived. It's been on many AstroCamps, outreach events and adventures, including a Messier Marathon in France with me.

Have read great reviews of the 100 DZ. Am sure yours will bring you many smiles too.

Chris

Thanks Chris,

I had a very brief look through it last night but there was a lot of moisture and thin clouds in the sky. Looking forward to a night with better conditions.....

[Tenor Viol]

Here's me thinking, "Umm... yes, Taks are nice, but they're aimed at visual use primarily...." then I spotted there is a 0.66x reducer making it F/5.3....

Runs and hides credit card....

[johnturley]

On 27/08/2020 at 17:51, dweller25 said:

Thanks Chris,

I had a very brief look through it last night but there was a lot of moisture and thin clouds in the sky. Looking forward to a night with better conditions.....

David

What other scopes do you have to compare your Tak FC100 DZ with.

Several people people have posted on Cloudy Nights stating how marvellous the views through 100 DC and DZ are, in particular on the moon and planets, compared with larger non premium scopes such as Synta 120 ED's (such as Skywatcher ED 120, and Orion EON 10), and claiming that much higher magnifications can be used.

I would be interested to know how one would compare with my ES 127 FCD 127 scope, I kept this scope after purchasing my Esprit 150, and mounted it on an AZ-EQ5 to give me a fairly portable refractor. Everything being equal, the FC 100 DZ would be much more portable, according to RVO's website being 595mm in length (enabling it to be carried on most commercial flights), and weighing just 3.8 kg, compared to the 7 kg of my ES 127. If the latter is the case then maybe it would be feasible to take it to Tenerife, and on future planned eclipse trips, replacing my fairly basic 80mm Opticstar Refractor. 

John 

Edited August 28, 2020 by johnturley

[mikeDnight]

2 hours ago, johnturley said:

David

What other scopes do you have to compare your Tak FC100 DZ with.

Several people people have posted on Cloudy Nights stating how marvellous the views through 100 DC and DZ are, in particular on the moon and planets, compared with larger non premium scopes such as Synta 120 ED's (such as Skywatcher ED 120, and Orion EON 10), and claiming that much higher magnifications can be used.

I would be interested to know how one would compare with my ES 127 FCD 127 scope, I kept this scope for which I bought an AZ-EQ5 mount, to give me a fairly portable refractor. Everything being equal, the FC 100 DZ would be much more portable, according to RVO's website being 595mm in length (enabling it to be carried on most commercial flights), and weighing just 3.8 kg, compared to the 7 kg of my ES 127. If the latter is the case then maybe it would be feasible to take it to Tenerife, and on future planned eclipse trips, replacing my fairly basic 80mm Opticstar Refractor. 

John 

That high power claim was probably me John, but you have to remember I'm nuts!  When my FC100DZ arrived, clear skies also accompanied it, which gave me an opportunity to push the magnification on binary stars. With a driven EQ mount, a 1.6mm Vixen HR eyepiece and a 2X Ultima barlow I managed an impressively sharp view of a double star at 1000X. I watched that double for about half an hour not quite believing the magnification. I must have checked the eyepiece I was using at least three times just incase I was wrong, but I wasn't. The view was better at 500X without the barlow, but even then it's a rediculously high power.  Of course I wouldn't suggest using 1000X with planets or the Moon, but if the seeing is good a tiny Mars might benefit, and the Moon enjoys high powers up to 400X ish. Generally though, I find 180X is good for Jupiter, with Saturn a little higher - 200 to 250X. Venus takes higher powers well and can be quite a party trick at 400X plus. 

I don't think you'll find the DZ better on DSO's than your 127, or for general observing. The light grasp and resolution of the 127 is an undeniable advantage, and 5" is a real sweet spot in refractors. But the Tak is a jewel that I'm sure you'd enjoy. May be having both would be the way to go?

Mike😊

[John]

3 hours ago, johnturley said:

David

What other scopes do you have to compare your Tak FC100 DZ with.

 

I think David has a Tak TSA 102 and a Tak FS 128 so the FC100 DZ is in good company. He probably has some other scopes as well.

 

[dweller25]

4 hours ago, johnturley said:

David

What other scopes do you have to compare your Tak FC100 DZ with.

Several people people have posted on Cloudy Nights stating how marvellous the views through 100 DC and DZ are, in particular on the moon and planets, compared with larger non premium scopes such as Synta 120 ED's (such as Skywatcher ED 120, and Orion EON 10), and claiming that much higher magnifications can be used.

I would be interested to know how one would compare with my ES 127 FCD 127 scope, I kept this scope for which I bought an AZ-EQ5 mount, to give me a fairly portable refractor. Everything being equal, the FC 100 DZ would be much more portable, according to RVO's website being 595mm in length (enabling it to be carried on most commercial flights), and weighing just 3.8 kg, compared to the 7 kg of my ES 127. If the latter is the case then maybe it would be feasible to take it to Tenerife, and on future planned eclipse trips, replacing my fairly basic 80mm Opticstar Refractor. 

John 

Hello @johnturley

I have compared my TSA102 to my FS128 on the planets and the FS shows more detail, I would expect a similar outcome with your ES127.

I had very specific reasons for buying the relatively light 100DZ, my expectation is that visually it will match the in focus views of the TSA - we shall see.......

 

[johnturley]

2 hours ago, dweller25 said:

 

I had very specific reasons for buying the relatively light 100DZ, my expectation is that visually it will match the in focus views of the TSA - we shall see.......

 

Hi David

I wondered otherwise why you would want to get a 100 DZ when you already had a TSA 102.

If I do decide to get a 100 DZ it will be mainly to provide a lightweight portable high quality scope.

John 

[coopman827]

Congrats on the new DZ David.  Your SN is way different from mine, which is something like 1D0051.

[dweller25]

6 hours ago, coopman827 said:

Congrats on the new DZ David.  Your SN is way different from mine, which is something like 1D0051.

Thanks, yes the new serial number system is challenging to understand.

[nightfisher]

David, enjoy your new scope, sure looks nice

[dweller25]

37 minutes ago, nightfisher said:

David, enjoy your new scope, sure looks nice

Thanks - wish I still had the AZ4 it would be a good match.

[Sunshine]

A beautiful scope! it's great to see so many Vixen GP mounts out there, they are smooth workhorses. Have you posted a second first light report aside from the peek 

at the moon? I would love to read that.

[dweller25]

5 hours ago, Sunshine said:

A beautiful scope! it's great to see so many Vixen GP mounts out there, they are smooth workhorses. Have you posted a second first light report aside from the peek 

at the moon? I would love to read that.

Hello @Sunshine

I used the DZ to view and sketch Mars in 2020. If has proved to be a lightweight very high optical quality scope. You can see the drawings in the SGL sketching section - i’m not the greatest artist though🥴