William Optics Z61 for viewing?

[Stevensing]

Hi all,

I am a beginner and I am planning to get the WO Z61 and the flattener for imaging. I am using a fuji xt10 mirrorless camera and a skywatcher star adventurer. 

I am also interested in visual observation, I am thinking if I should get a diagonal & eyepiece. I note that the eyepiece of this scope is 2", and I am under the impression that most telescope is 1.25". Is this a concern? I am worry next time when I get another scope, I will need to get a new eyepiece etc.

Also what eyepiece do you recommend for this scope?

Thank you so much!

 

 

[johninderby]

The scope uses 1.25” or 2” eyepieces. A 1.25” adaptor comes with the scope.

Edited September 15, 2020 by johninderby

[Stevensing]

3 hours ago, johninderby said:

 

Thanks! I should have read the menu more carefully!

[TerryMcK]

You will need a diagonal for visual to aid comfortable viewing. 

[Alan64]

Another item you may find useful is a barlow; or a short focal-length eyepiece, a 4mm(90x) or 3mm(120x).

 

[Stevensing]

Thanks guys! And yes I will need a diagonal otherwise my neck may hurt !

will I be able to get a decent eyepiece for £100? Any recommendation?

 

 

[Ruud]

Hi Steven,

With the weight of the focuser, a field flattener and a camera, the centre of mass of the Z61 may end up way at the back. You may require a longer dovetail bar. You can then mount the telescope quite a bit to to the front of the bar's centre and so offset the back-heaviness.

I have a WO ZS 73. It weighs a lot for its size but it is a perfect little scope. It gives a truly sharp, high contrast image with no trace of CA (visually, I don't use it for photography). I expect the Z61 should be every bit as good.

The Z61 would double a small but super spotting scope. I think I want one myself. It is a rich field telescope. Its 360 mm focal length allows for wide fields of view. For detailed observations of planets you'd be better off with a Mak. A five inch Maksutov with around 1900 mm focal length is optimised to deliver high power magnifications of narrow areas of the sky.

---

Under £100 I recommend the excellent value 16mm 82° Nirvana. FLO has it for £79 . In the Z61 its true field is almost  3.7° at  23x magnification.

Edited September 15, 2020 by Ruud

[Alan64]

11 hours ago, Stevensing said:

Thanks guys! And yes I will need a diagonal otherwise my neck may hurt !

will I be able to get a decent eyepiece for £100? Any recommendation?

 

 

A 3mm to 4mm eyepiece would be for the higher powers, and for a shot at the planets; and the Moon, its craters and other features.  A 6mm, and up to a 12mm perhaps, would be for the medium powers, for those not-too-close yet not-too-distant views, and relative to the telescope in question. 

From 16mm on up to 32mm,  I'd have the option to use binoculars instead, but I wouldn't since I don't care for binoculars at night.

Which eyepiece would you like per those categories?

You may find a medium-power eyepiece most enjoyable, to be used most often, perhaps a 6mm(60x) or a 7mm(51x).  For example, the 6.7mm from this listing...

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/explore-scientific-eyepieces/explore-scientific-82-degree-series-eyepieces.html

[Stevensing]

I have a pair of 15x70 binocular, I will go for the medium power eyepiece! Thank you!

[Alan64]

3 hours ago, Stevensing said:

I have a pair of 15x70 binocular, I will go for the medium power eyepiece! Thank you!

Very well, however, by no means shy away from the higher and highest powers of which the telescope is certainly capable.  Fine refractors have been known to reach powers of up to 100x per inch, and at times beyond.  But for the sake of argument, let's reduce that to 50x-per-inch, and to play it safe.

61mm = 2.4"; we'll go ahead and round that off to 2.5"...

2.5 x 50 = 125x

But I think you might be able to reach 150x, if you're determined; possibly more.  I doubt that you've even conducted a star-test with the telescope, and that is done at the higher and highest powers.  A star-test will reveal the quality of the FPL-53 doublet, the objective, of your refractor...

...if you dare, if you're not afraid to find out. 

At 150x, the planets become interesting, and they're certainly bright enough so as not to appear that dim through a 61mm aperture; Saturn might be a bit dimmer, but not by much.  Then, as I understand, Sirius, the Dog Star, may be viewed there.  You can conduct the star-test with that star, or with any other bright star.

I have what might be considered as a near-equivalent to your own telescope, in so far as a short focal-length and focal-ratio...

It's a Newtonian, rather; a 100mm f/4, and with a focal-length of 400mm.  Yours is a 61mm f/6 refractor, and with a focal-length of 360mm.  It's the focal-lengths that are comparable among our own, and for purposes relating to magnifications with various eyepieces.  

I've been trying to max out the power of the 100mm, and with some success, but I'm not quite done testing it.  At present, I'm eyeing a 4mm 58° planetary-eyepiece, but it's back-ordered until October.  I will then combine that 4mm with a 3x-barlow for a simulated 1.3mm(400mm ÷ 1.3mm = 308x), and see what I might see.  If too high, I can then barlow the 4mm with a 2x, and for a simulated 2mm(400mm ÷ 2mm = 200x).  I'll be trying out both combinations of course.  It's great fun.

You might find it entertaining as well, if not thrilling.

[Stevensing]

Thanks Alan, I will get both BST StarGuider 60º 3.2mm & 8mm  ED Eyepiece and see how it goes.

If it works out fine, I may get a 2x barlow later !