First light with the Takahashi FOA60(Q)

[HollyHound]

Just a brief report of my first few hours with the Takahashi FOA60(Q)... really it's a first and second light.

I did have this out for a short while a few nights ago just for a quick look at the moon, a few doubles and Nova Cas. This was with the scope in it's FOA60 configuration (without the 1.7x extender), giving a focal length of 530mm. Super light weight, mounted on my ScopeTech Zero/Report grab setup, it was effortless to carry from the house through to the front (normally I observe from the back patio area) so as to see the area of sky that was actually clear that night. Using my lightweight eyepiece set, I was able to check the full range from 24mm (Panoptic) to 3mm (Nagler Zoom) along with the Baader 1.25" T2 prism.

The moon was around 1/3 illuminated, quite low but very clear. The scope cooled very quickly indeed, which I guess is expected for such a small aperture, and I was able to take the magnification all the way up to 176x and the view remained crisp, contrasty and looking at the edge of the moon showed no sign of any colour aberration at all. The moon did dim a little at the higher magnifications but at all times I could see more and more detail as the magnification went up.

Switching to Castor, I was able to increase magnification and observed two solid points of light with a slight (diffraction) ring as I increased magnification. I did a quick star test and it seems perfectly collimated to me. Observing a few other stars (including Nova Cas), it was noticeable that at all times the view was of a sharp, colourful and intense orb of light... my SCT and Mak tend to give "scruffier" views, still capable but less intense I feel 🤔

Last night I was able to try in it's FOA60Q configuration (with the 1.7x extender attached), giving a focal length of 901mm... the scope becomes significantly longer, but is extremely slender and still very lightweight. Balance was easily achieved sliding the scope within its cradle or slightly adjusting the dovetail in the saddle. This time I switched to using Baader 2" T2 prism, although I haven't yet tried any 2" eyepieces (I will just for reference, but would seem slightly at odds to use 2" eyepieces with such a small slender scope, we shall see).

The moon was just under 1/2 phase and initially had a small thin patch of cloud overlaying, which concerned me at first as I thought the scope was showing "glare" around the moon, but as soon as it cleared, again there was a complete transition from light to dark at the lunar edge and absolutely no trace of any colour at all, even when I was focussing... nothing 😮

This time I went to town and again used the full range, going right up to 300x (with 3mm on the Nagler zoom)... the view got dimmer of course, but still very usable and each time I increased magnification I saw more detail of course, but it kept going even up to the max magnification used. I can't say for certain whether any more detail was genuinely visible between 200x and 300x, but it certainly seemed so. I will check this sometime by seeing if certain minimum size craters are visible or not. 

However, what I didn't see at any time where any floaters in my eye... normally I would see these around these upper magnifications, but even though the exit pupil was so small (I calculated 0.2mm), there was nothing blocking the view. It was very strange and unexpected and perhaps it was just a good night for my eyes, but very pleasant nonetheless and I'm very keen to see if this experience repeats itself.

Castor was superb again, but this time the "orbs" of light were solid tiny discs with a very faint diffraction ring (almost ethereal) all the way up to 300x. I spun the scope round and was easily able to split Epsilon Lyrae (all four elements) and again with magnifications from 100x (Fujiyama 9mm) to 300x, the view was clean, colourful and vibrant.

I spent a final 30mins just "looking around". Tried the Pentax XW14 and superb views, still showing a trace of field curvature (I find this in all my scopes, except the CC6") but such bright, vibrant star fields. Had to nudge the scope quite far forward for balance, but it was doable and the long travel focuser was able to accommodate all eyepieces, even though they all focus at very different points (my lightweight set is not par focal 😁).

Finished up and carried the whole scope and eyepieces back inside in one go (truly grab and go if you don't count the observing chair).

Conclusion... a superb, lightweight scope that provides magnificent views, both wide field and super high magnification (way beyond what it's aperture would suggest) and whilst the bigger refractors may of course resolve more detail, this tiny scope will easily give them a run for their money. I intend to keep it in "Q" configuration and use it primarily for double stars (where I think it will excel) and lunar observation. It also oozes quality and craftsmanship 👍

Cheers, Gary

 

Edited May 18, 2021 by HollyHound

[JeremyS]

Great report @HollyHound. Sounds a wonderful scope.

Makes me want one even more 👍🏻

[HollyHound]

19 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Great report @HollyHound. Sounds a wonderful scope.

Makes me want one even more 👍🏻

I have no doubt that you will get one and won’t be disappointed... it will make a fine addition to your stable 😀

I was amazed at how the view remained clear, crisp and usable no matter how much I pushed it... I would describe it as “the little scope that could” 👍

Edited May 18, 2021 by HollyHound

[Stu]

Looks and sounds fantastic! Used to have an FS-60C which I really enjoyed, with the 76mm Objective upgrade as well. The Extender Q seems an excellent addition too. I do miss this little scope so who knows, I may try one in future.

Interesting what you say regarding floaters. I can’t think of a reason why you shouldn’t see them in the Tak if you see them in other scopes, after all it’s a function of your eyes not the scope. I suspect that on a different night you will see them, especially at those extremely small exit pupils.

I do love the purity of seeing the airy disks so perfectly presented in these small scopes. Just lovely!

[JeremyS]

Can’t see it in the pics @HollyHound, but I’m intrigued as to whether  the name/serial number plate is blue or red.

Sorry for the Tak’jit question 🤣

[JeremyS]

2 minutes ago, Stu said:

Looks and sounds fantastic! Used to have an FS-60C which I really enjoyed, with the 76mm Objective upgrade as well. The Extender Q seems an excellent addition too. I do miss this little scope so who knows, I may try one in future.

Interesting what you say regarding floaters. I can’t think of a reason why you shouldn’t see them in the Tak if you see them in other scopes, after all it’s a function of your eyes not the scope. I suspect that on a different night you will see them, especially at those extremely small exit pupils.

I do love the purity of seeing the airy disks so perfectly presented in these small scopes. Just lovely!

Sounds like the sort of scope that would go down well in Somerset, Stu 🤔

[HollyHound]

1 minute ago, JeremyS said:

Can’t see it in the pics @HollyHound, but I’m intrigued as to whether  the name/serial number plate is blue or red.

Sorry for the Tak’jit question 🤣

Hi Jeremy, it’s an FOA60 with the additional extender, so has the blue plate. The red plate would be a nice touch, but optically it’s the same scope of course 👍

Tak appreciation noted and no apology necessary 🤣

[Stu]

6 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Sounds like the sort of scope that would go down well in Somerset, Stu 🤔

Any excuse! 🤣

Probably would, but hopefully I’ll be close to some decent skies so the truss dob might actually get me observing some DSO finally! It’s been ages since I did.

Anyway, enough of me, back to ‘the Tak that could’ 😀👍

[HollyHound]

21 minutes ago, Stu said:

Looks and sounds fantastic! Used to have an FS-60C which I really enjoyed, with the 76mm Objective upgrade as well. The Extender Q seems an excellent addition too. I do miss this little scope so who knows, I may try one in future.

Interesting what you say regarding floaters. I can’t think of a reason why you shouldn’t see them in the Tak if you see them in other scopes, after all it’s a function of your eyes not the scope. I suspect that on a different night you will see them, especially at those extremely small exit pupils.

I do love the purity of seeing the airy disks so perfectly presented in these small scopes. Just lovely!

Thanks Stu.

I also have the FS-60CB and FC-76DCU (photo) and agree they’re superb scopes. The FS-60CB is a fantastic wide field “binocular” view scope and doubles as a secondary (finder) scope on the AZ100. The FC-76DCU is and will remain my primary grab and go scope, as it’s such a superb combination of lightweight and aperture. I will be putting this up side by side against the FOA60 sometime, as I’m curious to see how they compare, but I love them all already 😀

I agree, I can’t think of a reason why not and so maybe I just got lucky last night (more sleep over the last few weeks perhaps 🤔🤣). The view remained “relaxed” too, no struggling to hold the view, but again could just be a good night.

That’s the word that describes it... “purity”... such a beautiful clean, crisp disc of light 👍

Edited May 18, 2021 by HollyHound
Photo of FC-76DCU

[JeremyS]

10 minutes ago, HollyHound said:

Hi Jeremy, it’s an FOA60 with the additional extender, so has the blue plate. The red plate would be a nice touch, but optically it’s the same scope of course 👍

Tak appreciation noted and no apology necessary 🤣

Everything about this scope exudes quality. Even the nameplate 👍🏻

[HollyHound]

54 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Everything about this scope exudes quality. Even the nameplate 👍🏻

Daft I know, but wait unit you try moving the dewshield...super smooth. Plus the focuser is exquisite and the knob is metal, not plastic 👍

Edited May 18, 2021 by HollyHound

[JeremyS]

8 minutes ago, HollyHound said:

Daft I know, but wait unit you try moving the dewshield...super smooth. Plus the focuser is exquisite and the knobs metal, not plastic 👍

Shhh...Sliding the dew cap on my TSA 120 and FC 100 DZ are among my secret pleasures. And another attraction of the FOA 60 👍🏻

[HollyHound]

3 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Shhh...Sliding the dew cap on my TSA 120 and FC 100 DZ are among my secret pleasures. And another attraction of the FOA 60 👍🏻

Ah yes of course, you have those superb scopes too 👍 The TSA 120 is on my radar, but not for a while yet 🤞

[JeremyS]

1 minute ago, HollyHound said:

Ah yes of course, you have those superb scopes too 👍 The TSA 120 is on my radar, but not for a while yet 🤞

I think that’s what your AZ100 is for 🤣

FLO is citing 40 to 60 days for the TSA. Order now ready for the new observing season 👍🏻

[HollyHound]

38 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Can’t see it in the pics @HollyHound, but I’m intrigued as to whether  the name/serial number plate is blue or red.

Sorry for the Tak’jit question 🤣

Just realised that the nameplate has a gold like colour background rather than silver too... classy 😀

Oh dear, we really have succumbed to full blown Takophilia 🤣

[JeremyS]

1 hour ago, HollyHound said:

Just a brief report of my first few hours with the Takahashi FOA60(Q)... really it's a first and second light.

I did have this out for a short while a few nights ago just for a quick look at the moon, a few doubles and Nova Cas. This was with the scope in it's FOA60 configuration (without the 1.7x extender), giving a focal length of 530mm. Super light weight, mounted on my ScopeTech Zero/Report grab setup, it was effortless to carry from the house through to the front (normally I observe from the back patio area) so as to see the area of sky that was actually clear that night. Using my lightweight eyepiece set, I was able to check the full range from 24mm (Panoptic) to 3mm (Nagler Zoom) along with the Baader 1.25" T2 prism.

The moon was around 1/3 illuminated, quite low but very clear. The scope cooled very quickly indeed, which I guess is expected for such a small aperture, and I was able to take the magnification all the way up to 176x and the view remained crisp, contrasty and looking at the edge of the moon showed no sign of any colour aberration at all. The moon did dim a little at the higher magnifications but at all times I could see more and more detail as the magnification went up.

Switching to Castor, I was able to increase magnification and observed two solid points of light with a slight (diffraction) ring as I increased magnification. I did a quick star test and it seems perfectly collimated to me. Observing a few other stars (including Nova Cas), it was noticeable that at all times the view was of a sharp, colourful and intense orb of light... my SCT and Mak tend to give "scruffier" views, still capable but less intense I feel 🤔

Last night I was able to try in it's FOA60Q configuration (with the 1.7x extender attached), giving a focal length of 901mm... the scope becomes significantly longer, but is extremely slender and still very lightweight. Balance was easily achieved sliding the scope within its cradle or slightly adjusting the dovetail in the saddle. This time I switched to using Baader 2" T2 prism, although I haven't yet tried any 2" eyepieces (I will just for reference, but would seem slightly at odds to use 2" eyepieces with such a small slender scope, we shall see).

The moon was just under 1/2 phase and initially had a small thin patch of cloud overlaying, which concerned me at first as I thought the scope was showing "glare" around the moon, but as soon as it cleared, again there was a complete transition from light to dark at the lunar edge and absolutely no trace of any colour at all, even when I was focussing... nothing 😮

This time I went to town and again used the full range, going right up to 300x (with 3mm on the Nagler zoom)... the view got dimmer of course, but still very usable and each time I increased magnification I saw more detail of course, but it kept going even up to the max magnification used. I can't say for certain whether any more detail was genuinely visible between 200x and 300x, but it certainly seemed so. I will check this sometime by seeing if certain minimum size craters are visible or not. 

However, what I didn't see at any time where any floaters in my eye... normally I would see these around these upper magnifications, but even though the exit pupil was so small (I calculated 0.2mm), there was nothing blocking the view. It was very strange and unexpected and perhaps it was just a good night for my eyes, but very pleasant nonetheless and I'm very keen to see if this experience repeats itself.

Castor was superb again, but this time the "orbs" of light were solid tiny discs with a very faint diffraction ring (almost ethereal) all the way up to 300x. I spun the scope round and was easily able to split Epsilon Lyrae (all four elements) and again with magnifications from 100x (Fujiyama 9mm) to 300x, the view was clean, colourful and vibrant.

I spent a final 30mins just "looking around". Tried the Pentax XW14 and superb views, still showing a trace of field curvature (I find this in all my scopes, except the CC6") but such bright, vibrant star fields. Had to nudge the scope quite far forward for balance, but it was doable and the long travel focuser was able to accommodate all eyepieces, even though they all focus at very different points (my lightweight set is not par focal 😁).

Finished up and carried the whole scope and eyepieces back inside in one go (truly grab and go if you don't count the observing chair).

Conclusion... a superb, lightweight scope that provides magnificent views, both wide field and super high magnification (way beyond what it's aperture would suggest) and whilst the bigger refractors may of course resolve more detail, this tiny scope will easily give them a run for their money. I intend to keep it in "Q" configuration and use it primarily for double stars (where I think it will excel) and lunar observation. It also oozes quality and craftsmanship 👍

Cheers, Gary

 

 

Not having seen one in person, is the open end of the dewcap slightly curved inward, I.e. rounded? If so, it’s a nice touch

[HollyHound]

Just now, JeremyS said:

I think that’s what your AZ100 is for 🤣

FLO is citing 40 to 60 days for the TSA. Order now ready for the new observing season 👍🏻

Ah yes of course, I knew there was a reason for getting that mount 🤣

Don’t tempt me...self imposed Tak buying embargo for a little while 🤔😀

[Tiny Clanger]

3 minutes ago, HollyHound said:

Just realised that the nameplate has a gold like colour background rather than silver too... classy 😀

Oh dear, we really have succumbed to full blown Takophilia 🤣

Is this the meeting for Takophiles Anonymous  ?  😁

[HollyHound]

8 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Not having seen one in person, is the open end of the dewcap slightly curved inward, I.e. rounded? If so, it’s a nice touch

Yes, it’s very subtle but it does (all the others are straight ended) and it’s another area of attention to detail 😀

Does it make any difference to the view... no, but it’s nice nonetheless... plus it actually makes the dew cap easier to put on and off 👍

Edited May 18, 2021 by HollyHound

[JeremyS]

26 minutes ago, Tiny Clanger said:

Is this the meeting for Takophiles Anonymous  ?  😁

But maybe not so anonymous. I’m Jeremy and I’m a Takophile.

Trouble is after looking at Gary’s wonderful thread, I know I’m going to struggle to sleep tonight.

Takophilia is no laughing matter. It affects your whole life. Or, as someone else might have said, a Tak is not just for Christmas.

Edited May 18, 2021 by JeremyS

[HollyHound]

4 minutes ago, Tiny Clanger said:

Is this the meeting for Takophiles Anonymous  ?  😁

Yes, it has become a bit like that... unfortunately it’s probably catching too 🤣

[JeremyS]

4 minutes ago, HollyHound said:

Yes, it’s very subtle but it does (all the others are straight ended) and it’s another area of attention to detail 😀

Does it make any difference to the view... no, but it’s nice nonetheless... plus it actually makes the dew cap easier to put on and off 👍

It certainly makes a difference to MY view. It’s a detail of beauty 👍🏻

Edited May 18, 2021 by JeremyS

[HollyHound]

1 minute ago, JeremyS said:

But maybe not so anonymous. I’m Jeremy and I’m a Takophile

It’s been only 5 days since my last Tak purchase 😬

[HollyHound]

7 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

It certainly makes a difference to MY view. It’s a detail of beauty 👍🏻

Actually, I think all these details make the scope very Taktile 🤣

[Sunshine]

That was a great read, it is a cute, wee little Tak with the heart of a lion, I want one too!