Vixen scope and mount BIG?

[Marvin Jenkins]

I want to start this by saying that I am not the kind of guy to knock gear on forums without a load of background. That way the kit I am talking about remains in memberships collective.

A trip to my large main town (country folk feel fear at this once a year diversion) the lights are sooo bright and the shops are sooo big. Strange customs like contactless card pay, I only got my card four years ago so great to use it.

Whilst looking in a shop dedicated to the perfect kitchen/ dining room for the perfect present to display nuts for consumption at a group gathering that never happens. I looked across the street and saw a familiar site in an unfamiliar setting, a telescope.

Not just one but a bunch of scopes. In the front window of a spectacle sales emporium were telescopes on tripods. I was I immediately thrown off balance and drunkenly wandered in. I was not drunk but more than one scope and I get wobbly.

Then I saw the Vixen badge on an OTA and that OTA on a Vixen mount. I have seen so many threads on here about Vixen stuff and thought it was all high end and I was disappointed.

A 130 Vixen newt on a Porta II mount. The price was 690 euro but that is the choice of the high street shop. The real eye opener was the base level frac on a photo tripod for 350 euro. It was a Bresser and it was soo plastic.

I have a very high regard for both of these manufacturers and have intent on buying some of there products in the future like the Bresser Messier 10 DOB. Do these brands let themselves down at the entry level which is arguably really important.

Marv

 

[Franklin]

Entry level gear is usually all made by the same or similar manufacturers, usually in China and the different brands fit them out a little different, colours, accessories etc. I think the problem with Vixen entry level stuff is that it is overpriced because of the Vixen name and the great reputation Vixen has for it's, dare I say, proper stuff. True Made in Japan Vixen products are superb and warrent there expensive price tags in my opinion but charging silly amounts for beginers scopes is just profiteering. You can buy the same equipment under a different brand name for 2/3rds of the price at least. That said, I've loved Vixen scopes since the 1980's when I got my first 102M.🙂

[callisto]

You can't beat a good 80-90's "vintage"  Vixen scope & mount 

[F15Rules]

I agree with Tim, Marv. 

Most of Vixens' products are of excellent quality. They have, it's true (and unwisely IMHO) outsourced a few products to the Chinese, but I've not seen many made in Japan Vixen products that aren't excellent (their flip mirror diagonal springs to mind).

I've owned a lot of Vixen scopes, including 2  superb ED103s apos..in each case I bought the scopes used, not new. For some reason they don't hold their initial value too well, but that is great news if you are in the market for one!

If you want a real bargain high end Vixen scope, look for a used ED103s or ED115s. They will give an equivalent Tak a real run for their money, at a fraction of their new price (I know, I have a Tak FS128).

Expect to pay around £609-£900 for a used ED103s or £1000-£1200 for the bigger (and much rarer) ED115s. Expect also to be thrilled!😊👍

Photos below show: Vixen SP102m 4" F10 achromat on Vixen GP mount, Vixen ED103s 4.1" apo F7.7 on Vixen Porta II altaz mount, and Vixen ED SWT 103s on CG4 mount.

Dave

Edited November 2, 2021 by F15Rules
Photos added, text added

[Franklin]

2 minutes ago, F15Rules said:

their flip mirror diagonal springs to mind)

Made in China Dave.

[F15Rules]

Yep, they are now Tim, but I've seen old ones MIJ and they weren't great..

Dave

[Deadlake]

Have a look at RO in Japan. The price of a SD103S is close to a Takahashi 4" last time I looked. Bring the Takahashi outside of Japan and you pay quite a premium. 

The SD103S I have, the majority is all made in Japan,

The finder and diagonal are not.

The APM finder I have is made in China and much better quality then the Vixen finder, so all depends...

[Franklin]

I picked up a Vixen 1.25" Prism diagonal thinking it would be quite smart. The prism is actually quite good but it's exactly the same as the Celestron one I had and sold on.

Plastic body, thumbscrew (no compression ring) and made in China. Derr!

[Stu]

The old, good stuff is really excellent. I’ve had a number of Vixen SP, GP and GP-DX mounts and they were all excellent despite their age. The last GP I sold was very smooth and well fettled, I miss that one.

This is my lovely Vixen FL102S f8.8, bought used and every bit as good as my Tak FC100DC in my experience so far.

[callisto]

12 minutes ago, Stu said:

The last GP I sold was very smooth and well fettled, I miss that one.

How very dare you 😱  Your not getting it back 😄

Edited November 2, 2021 by callisto
change wording

[Saganite]

That Vixen Fluorite is a beauty Stu !