Too grab and go?

[Ags]

I quite like the low power views through this 50mm RACI finder, so I have been wondering if this is a realistic travel setup. Using various eyepieces for a magnification of 8 to 35 and a field of view of up to 7 degrees, its more flexible than the average binoculars and a lot more stable too. The whole setup weighs less than 3kgs.

[Alien 13]

Lovely, so many rigs are classed a grab and go when they aint..Proper grab an go must be able to be carried easily in one hand.

Alan

[JeremyS]

32 minutes ago, Ags said:

I quite like the low power views through this 50mm RACI finder, so I have been wondering if this is a realistic travel setup. Using various eyepieces for a magnification of 8 to 35 and a field of view of up to 7 degrees, its more flexible than the average binoculars and a lot more stable too. The whole setup weighs less than 3kgs.

Certainly works for low power sweeps of the Milky Way. I’ve taken pretty much an identical finder to the Med in the summer (remember when you could do that ?). But I soon missed the ability to go high power. 
Good for its intended purpose though!

[Pixies]

I can adapt my Altair 10x60 into a little scope:

It was great for Neowise last year. As this model allows you to use your own EPs, it's pretty flexible over a pair of binoculars for certain targets. I can get Saturn's rings in it.

However, these finders are pretty fast: mine is F3.7.  It has significant field curvature too, I guess. The views are pretty soft at the edges.

Now I have an ST80, I don't use the finder as a scope any more. There could be situations where I need something smaller than the ST80, but it's hard to argue against binoculars.

[iapa]

15 hours ago, Alien 13 said:

Lovely, so many rigs are classed a grab and go when they aint..Proper grab an go must be able to be carried easily in one hand.

Alan

If I can carry 30lb in one hand, is that still grab and go? 

[Ags]

@iapa Yes, it can be grab and go if it is not a strain. 8 kilos with 2 hands is more my level.

@Pixies I can't get on with binoculars, this will give the same views without shakes and double vision. Or maybe that's  the whiskey 😆

Now I am thinking about a 60mm ED scope, but why are the 60mms more expensive than the 70mms?

Edited June 6, 2021 by Ags

[Gonariu]

As a grab-and-go telescopes, I see very well ultrashort refractors such as 70/400, 70/300 and 50/300 (the latter would be well corrected for chromatic aberration); they are also very cheap, for a 70/300 one spends 30-40 euros, the fact that for the latter the eyepieces are 24.5 mm Huygens which are not exactly the best ... ... If you want to dedicate exclusively to Moon & planets, the Maksutov 90/1250 from what I have read are gems (clearly spending more ... .....). on principle I reject ED and apochromatics, I don't have big needs.

[Tiny Clanger]

I've found the ST80 (an Orion version,  dovetail not rings so a bit more compact ) on a photo tripod & pan/tilt head a fine little grab & go , single handed pick-up & carry even by a weedy female (me) when the tripod is closed down, I just leave it standing set up, 17mm plossl sat ready in in it, take hold of one of the pan tilt handles and lift the whole thing as it is . No problem carrying it 10 minutes walk away one winter night to get a line of sight to the nova . Just hold one leg, undo the clips on the others and let gravity pull the sections down, lock the leg clips, extend the third one. It's the work of moments from noticing a cloud free bit of sky to looking at it , and has had plenty of ten minute outings since I bought of it .

Using a second hand 40mm plossl in the ST80 gives a binocular-like 10x mag , meaning I don't need or want an optical finder for the 'scope, it is its own optical finder ... a 6mm ortho gives a 66.6x mag which is not dramatic levels of magnification, but gets useful views of the Moon and Sun (with the relevant solar filter of course)

The tripod and head ( a manfrotto 190pro and 029 pan/tilt) are probably overkill for the weight of the 'scope , but they are from my my photo kit and I already had them. I added a Baader clamp to give a more secure attachment head to 'scope than just a 1/4" screw, and to add some forward/back adjustment, the tripod etc weighs a little over3kg, the 'scope and clamp/QR plate , diagonal, 17mm plossl solar finder & filter is just under 2kg

It's a great little option to have such a 'scope available , compact, cheap, robust, light, quick to deploy, and not so precious I'd be worried about sticking it in the car boot with the camping kit , or be concerned about folk handling it to have a look for themselves. Yes, plenty of CA shows itself, but the way this is used, quite casually, I don't really care !

[Ags]

Seems to work for flowerspotting, it that's a thing...

[Ags]

Tried it out last night. It works well for doubles like Zeta Lyrae and Albireo, although the amici prism causes artifacts around brighter stars. Also scanned some star fields in Cygnus and had a look at M57. The views were very pleasing! Eyepieces used: ES 6.7/82°, SLV 6/45°, Plossls 20-25mm.

[Gonariu]

Uso anche un 80/400 acromatico che ho comprato usato un anno fa e che ho pagato 90 euro (Konus Vista - 80). Lo tengo montato in casa su un treppiede fotografico e osservo principalmente il Sole e i panorami, ma anche la Luna. Osservandolo almeno a 100X (con un oculare al lantanio Vixen da 4mm) o anche a 200X (4mm Vixen con un Barlow 2X) o a 160X (5mm ortoscopico con il Barlow 2X) e aggiungendo dei filtri per ridurre il cromatismo (o il Baader semiapo o il W8 o il W21a) non importa. Ovviamente a 200X il treppiede fotografico è scomodo ma mi adatto. Per i doppi ho provato a raddoppiare ε Lyrae, a 100X la coppia più vicina è stata raddoppiata con un po' di difficoltà, a 200X erano ben visibili tutte e quattro. Nel cielo profondo non mi dispiace; l'estate scorsa dal terrazzo della mia casa ad Orotelli ho visto M8 con sullo sfondo un mare di stelle e M7 (Orotelli è a 40º N e la coda dello Scorpione si eleva all'orizzonte). Con il mio vecchio Newton Starfinder 8” le stelle M7 sembravano diamanti, con l'80/400 era passabile (ovviamente).

Edited June 9, 2021 by Gonariu

[Tiny Clanger]

On 09/06/2021 at 13:49, Gonariu said:

Uso anche un 80/40 ...

From the forum code of conduct:

"Official Language
English is the official language of our forums because it is the common language between our moderators and users. Because we can not moderate post/thread text in a foreign language, you may not post or have a signature in the forums in language other than English."

[iapa]

On 09/06/2021 at 13:49, Gonariu said:

5 minutes ago, Tiny Clanger said:

Official Language
English is the official language of our forums because it is the common language between our moderators and users. Because we can not moderate post/thread text in a foreign language, you may not post or have a signature in the forums in language other than English."

e osservo principalmente il Sole e i panorami, ma anche la Luna. Osservandolo almeno a 100X (con un oculare al lantanio Vixen da 4mm) o anche a 200X (4mm Vixen con un Barlow 2X) o a 160X (5mm ortoscopico con il Barlow 2X) e aggiungendo dei filtri per ridurre il cromatismo (o il Baader semiapo o il W8 o il W21a) non importa. Ovviamente a 200X il treppiede fotografico è scomodo ma mi adatto. Per i doppi ho provato a raddoppiare ε Lyrae, a 100X la coppia più vicina è stata raddoppiata con un po' di difficoltà, a 200X erano ben visibili tutte e quattro. Nel cielo profondo non mi dispiace; l'estate scorsa dal terrazzo della mia casa ad Orotelli ho visto M8 con sullo sfondo un mare di stelle e M7 (Orotelli è a 40º N e la coda dello Scorpione si eleva all'orizzonte). Con il mio vecchio Newton Starfinder 8” le stelle M7 sembravano diamanti, con l'80/400 era passabile (ovviamente).

Dal codice di condotta del forum:

"Lingua ufficiale
L'inglese è la lingua ufficiale dei nostri forum perché è la lingua comune tra i nostri moderatori e utenti. Poiché non possiamo moderare il testo di post/thread in una lingua straniera, non puoi pubblicare o avere una firma nei forum in una lingua diversa dall'inglese."

[RT65CB-SWL]

On 05/06/2021 at 20:48, Ags said:

I quite like the low power views through this 50mm RACI finder, so I have been wondering if this is a realistic travel setup. Using various eyepieces for a magnification of 8 to 35 and a field of view of up to 7 degrees, its more flexible than the average binoculars and a lot more stable too. The whole setup weighs less than 3kgs.

Mine needs to get out more often...

 

The TV Nagler T1 weighs more than the 50mm OTA + star diagonal + TV Nagler T6 combined! 

BTW - both TV Nagler's are 13mm

Edited June 11, 2021 by Philip R

[iapa]

On 06/06/2021 at 14:25, Ags said:

Or maybe that's  the whiskey 😆

Better try some decent Whisky then.

An 18yo Highland Park is a good starting point.

[Gonariu]

12 hours ago, Tiny Clanger said:

Dal codice di condotta del forum:

" Lingua ufficiale L'
inglese è la lingua ufficiale dei nostri forum perché è la lingua comune tra i nostri moderatori e utenti. Poiché non possiamo moderare il testo di post/thread in una lingua straniera, non puoi pubblicare o avere una firma nei forum in lingua altro che inglese».

I really apologize to everyone for writing in Italian in the forum. In this period I am too busy with school, so for lack of time I first write the text in Italian in Word and then I translate it into English with Google Translate, you can see that I forgot to do it before entering my message, know that it was not done on purpose. I fully agree with the rules of the forum, I consider it rude to address another in a language that he does not know. I will republish my interventions written in Italian in English as soon as I can as a matter of fairness. As I will be freer from my commitments as a teacher I propose to write directly in English in the forum, the best way to learn a language is to practice it.

[Gonariu]

I rewrite my speech in English, placed by mistake in Italian in this section of the forum both for correctness and because I participate in all discussions of the forum, including this one, with great pleasure and interest.

I also use an achromatic 80/400 which I bought used a year ago and which I paid 90 euros (Konus Vista - 80). I keep it mounted at home on a photographic tripod and mainly observe the Sun and the views, but also the Moon. Observing it at least at 100X (with a 4mm Vixen lanthanum eyepiece) or even at 200X (4mm Vixen with a Barlow 2X) or at 160X (5mm orthoscopic with the Barlow 2X) and adding filters to reduce chromatism (or the semi-opaque Baader or the W8 or the W21a) doesn't matter. Obviously at 200X the photographic tripod is uncomfortable but I adapt. For doubles I tried to double ε Lyrae, at 100X the closest pair was doubled with some difficulty, at 200X all four were clearly visible. In the deep sky I don't mind; last summer from the terrace of my house in Orotelli I saw M8 with a sea of stars in the background and M7 (Orotelli is at 40º N and the tail of the Scorpion rises to the horizon). With my old Newton Starfinder 8 "the M7 stars looked like diamonds, with the 80/400 it was passable (obviously)

[Ags]

No worries, I do the same on Dutch astronomy forums. I can write in Dutch, but I like to have Google Translate as a second opinion!