Lunar Shootout ED100 vs ED120

[Luke]

In the red corner, the Skywatcher ED100 DS Pro, F9. In the blue corner, the Skywatcher Equinox 120, F7.5. Who will become champion of the lunar lightweight belt? Well my money is very much on the ED120. It has more aperture, so surely I will see finer details with it. But there was just that niggle of doubt. The ED100 is a cracking scope and my weapon of choice for solar h-alpha with the Quark.

Somehow I booted off the lunar session with my old TS Planetary HR 15mm eyepiece in the ED120. Good grief, what a cracking view, razor sharp. I’ve become a bit of a Tele Vue eyepiece snob and forgotten how much I enjoyed some of the more affordable eyepieces. But tonight I am looking for closer to 300x mag and the winner will be the one that shows me the finest detail. So out come the Tele Vue’s anyway, the Delos 3.5mm and Radian 3mm. I frequently swap them between the two scopes, both of which have the same 900mm focal length.

Hmmm, I should do lunar more. There is detail everywhere. The image is brighter in the ED120, but not burning out my eyeball too much. I have to say, there is plenty of detail in the ED100 as well. I spend a couple of hours scouring the moon for the more tricky details to pull out. I am not a trained lunar observer and probably in the past I didn’t push what I could see. But maybe there is something to be said for giving your eyeball a workout. My dual speed focus knob doesn’t know if it’s coming or going.

I find small differences in areas like the Ramsden rilles – the ED120 is showing me a tad more of them. I can more easily see a small crater in Sinus Iridum with the 120. Copernicus has a touch more texture in the 120. It’s taken me paying more attention than usual to spot what feels like small differences between the scopes, but perhaps to a seasoned lunar observer with a keener eye for detail than me, the differences would be greater.

So I’m about to declare the ED120 the winner. But just one moment. This past month I’ve been trying to use some of my various bits of gear more. And it bugs me that the binoviewer hasn’t been out for some time. I fetch my Baader Maxbright and chuck in the highest glass path corrector, 2.6x. Pop in a pair of 25mm Tele Vue Plossls. Didn’t I have two 20’s as well? Well I can only find one of those.

So in goes the binoviewer into the ED120. My goodness! I’m at significantly lower mag than 300 but what strikes me is that I am resolving the same kind of detail as I had done at the 300. And the finer details are easier to see. Wow. How can I up the mag some more? I put the binoviewer in my Tele Vue 2x barlow (seems like I’m a Tele Vue nut) and now I am seeing details beyond what I had got earlier at 300x. Such as in Plato, I can see a few more craters than before. We have a winner! The lunar champ tonight is not the ED100. And it’s not the ED120. It’s the Baader Maxbright.

Is this just me being overly enthusiastic about the latest toy I am playing with? I try going mono with the binoviewer. Left eye off. Left eye on. Right eye off. Right eye on. Hmmm, is my right eyeball the best? The worst is definitely both eyes off. A nice bonus on the night – I catch a meteor streaking towards Cassiopeia. I’ve stayed up later than I intended, but it’s been another really good night in a remarkable April for me. And I’d seen a lovely prom on the sun in the morning.

I really like how much lunar detail can be seen even in the ED100. It’s a staggering amount, and it’s easier to see those details than the fancy pants solar h-alpha stuff. I’d like to get to know the moon much better than I do. My trusty ED100 would be more than enough for me, but I rather fancy the bino in the 120 next time out.

Edited April 23, 2021 by Luke

[Roy Challen]

3 hours ago, Luke said:

 

I really like how much lunar detail can be seen even in the ED100. It’s a staggering amount, and it’s easier to see those details than the fancy pants solar h-alpha stuff. I’d like to get to know the moon much better than I do. My trusty ED100 would be more than enough for me, but I rather fancy the bino in the 120 next time out.

Even my Tal shows a huge amount of detail using cheap eyepieces. On a night of good seeing, it's amazing. If (and it's a big if) I ever upgrade, it would have to e something like an ED120. Gotta try binoviewers in it first though.

Great account, btw. Nice images too.

[RobertI]

Very enjoyable read! Binoviewers have been a revelation for me and in my 102ED they are remarkable. I have even really enjoyed observing the full moon at low power with them. And also high power observing of sunspots with Herschel  wedge. Somehow the image seems bigger (more panoramic, more spectacular) and more detailed than cyclops viewing at the same mag. Not tried in the C8 yet....

[mikeDnight]

That's an inspiring write-up Luke, and will hopefully lead to others who've not yet used a binoviewer to move in that direction. For me its the only way to observe the Moon and planets. 👍

[Peter Drew]

Good read!.  I think it highlights that relatively small increments of aperture result in small increments in detail.  The greatest differences are usually the observer, the conditions and the accessories in use.      🙂

[Saganite]

15 minutes ago, mikeDnight said:

That's an inspiring write-up Luke, and will hopefully lead to others who've not yet used a binoviewer to move in that direction. For me its the only way to observe the Moon and planets. 👍

I must second that !

Enjoyable read Luke, thanks.

 

Edited April 23, 2021 by Saganite

[paulastro]

Yep, I agree,  it's the binoviwer that makes the difference in any scope for lunar and planetary.  I suspect if you had used the binowiewer ONLY in the 100ED, you may have preffered the view to using the 120ED in mono vision.

I agree with Mike, for me, my binoviewer (also a Baader Maxbright) is an essential companion on all my Lunar and planetary excursions.

[Stu]

Great stuff Luke! I find binoviewers invaluable for lunar and solar observing. For me though, it has not be plain sailing to get there. I think I’ve had six pairs now, either didn’t get on with them or lost patience with changing eyepieces to vary the mag. It took me a long time to train my brain to get the best out of them, but I do feel that I do now. I compared mono and bino view last night through the Tak, and very much preferred the binoviewed result.

I do still prefer mono viewing for doubles and widefield though for some reason.

[John]

Excellent write up Luke

If only I could get on with binoviewers

I have tried them a few times but even in my 130mm triplet (which is binoviewer ready) I could not get on with them

[paulastro]

1 hour ago, John said:

Excellent write up Luke

If only I could get on with binoviewers

I have tried them a few times but even in my 130mm triplet (which is binoviewer ready) I could not get on with them

That's a shame John.  If you want to give me your 130mm triplet, I'd certainly make good use of the binocular functionality 😄.

[Chris]

Love the plot twist, and what a thrilling read!

[Mr Spock]

Interesting read. I'm thinking about an ED120 myself.

[Roy Foreman]

Very interesting read Luke. Thanks for posting