A Query about TS 80mm Triplets

[Photonic Nights]

Having come into some extra cash, I'm thinking about purchasing a replacement travel scope for use next year. In particular I'm warming towards a TS Photoline 80mm FPL-53 f/6 triplet. Has anyone got any views about this scope? I am at present a purely visual observer, a factor which has to be borne in mind here.

Thanks in advance.

 

[davhei]

Hi @Photonic Nights,

Have had that exact same scope for a couple of weeks now and had the chance to try it out on a few occasions, mostly from my fairly light polluted suburban home but once from a proper dark site. I do visual observations only and got the scope to complement my first and until now only scope, a SW 10” dob that I have used for a few years. A great scope that continues to serve me well but I found myself wanting a lighter travel setup as well as something for quick set up and tear down at home. Also found myself curious about widefield observations, my max TFOV with the dob is 1,5 degrees.

Anyway, that’s some background.

First impression was the qualitative feel of the thing. Solidly built, OTA as well as the robust focuser. Reassuring heft while still being very manageable. Checked collimation with the lens cap on and a cheshire/flashlight. Almost spot on which later was confirmed by the crisp views of stars and planets.

I must say I was very impressed by the performance from a dark site on an SW AZ5-mount. More than I was expecting from a modest aperture scope. It should be said though that as I started out my observing career with binoculars, perhaps it influences me today still in that I am easily awed. I dont know. But it certainly beat my expectations.

Honestly offered the most breathtaking view of the double cluster I have had. Just fabulous in a wide field of 3.5 degrees, the dense smattering of stars nicely framed by the background star field. The Veil readily visible with OIII-filter, both the east and west sections fitting in a single field of view. M13 resolved into many many pinpoint stars, wasn’t expecting that! Lovely. M15 less so, stars here and there and on the edges, a lot more nebulosity from unresolved stars though.

M31 filled almost the entire field of view, nebulosity extending nearly edge to edge about three degrees. Never seen the Andromeda galaxy on such a scale before, really gave you a sense of the full size that you simply can’t get with my dob.

Quickly picked up M81/82, M33 with the core and misty disk, M27, the Auriga clusters. So easy to find objects, no need for a finderscope, I just aimed along the tube ring screws and the wide field allowed the pick up of targets so easy just by sweeping around. A joy.

Planetary performance was very satisfying, at x107 jupiter showed more vivid colour than I had ever seen before, crisp detail of equatorial as well as temperate belts and even at x160 giving a 0.5 mm exit pupil the image detail was excellent. The GRS conspicuously transiting as I was observing.

Spent most of the evening with the refractor even though the dob was rigged just beside it. Really like how they offer different perspectives on classic objects.

As a bonus I also did some white light solar with a herschel wedge and a baader continuum filter. Crisp views of sunspot groups with faculae and surface granulation patterns clearly visible.

Have the scope and the basic kit stuffed into a plastic case meaning the time between deciding to go out and being at the eyepiece is just a minute or two. Certainly lowers the threshold.

Can’t say I have found anything that has let me down yet and would definitely recommend, especially as they have it in stock at the moment. I had to be patient and wait a few months before taking delivery.

 

[900SL]

I'm interested in this scope for imaging, along with a couple of other TS scopes around the same aperture, so would be grateful to hear of any members views in this regard

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I have the APM 80mm F/6 triplet which is an earlier version with the same optics. I am very happy with it as a wide-field visual scope, it is also a very nice imaging scope and travel companion. I mainly use it for DSO and solar imaging. Views of moon and planets at higher magnification are great, although I much prefer my C8 for those. Here are some images taken with the scope, and of the scope.

[Louis D]

I have the 90mm version and enjoy the views through it quite a bit.  In focus, I don't see any false color.  Star images are nice and tight.  The focuser is very hefty, though a bit spongy at high loads in that the fine focus tends to require overshoot when trying to raise the tube.  I really like the camera angle adapter on the end of it to rotate the diagonal safely while heavily loaded without having to disturb the angle of the focus knobs.

All that said, it's not really a high power grab and go scope.  It takes at least 30 minutes to acclimate that hefty triplet.  Until then, bright stars are crazy spiky as if the optics are pinched.  Thus, you have to be content with low power views until thermal equilibrium is achieved.  As such, I might consider an FPL-53 or fluorite doublet next time.