TS-Photon 150 Quick review - a great scope at a great price imho

[powerlord]

I got this OTA just before xmas to sit in mid-range FL space.

I have a 72ED, and now also an Altair 80ED for the 4-500 space, and I have the 9.25 with 6.3 reducer for around 1300. And of course higher FL without it.

I have a 200P newt, but it's big and a pain to setup and balance.

So.. after some discussion on the forum where I wanted to say away from newts, I ended up going for a smaller newt! for value for money it just seemed a no brainer.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/ts-telescopes/ts-photon-6-f5-advanced-newtonian-telescope-with-metal-tube.html

After first light I was impressed, but it was in need of a coma corrector, so on advice from FLO I bought this

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/coma-correctors/baader-mark-iii-mpcc-coma-corrector-photographic.html

So about 400 quid all in.  Possibly the ideal beginners scope ?

I've used it quite a few nights now, so wanted to just give a quick review - not war and peace, but as FLO has only started selling them, I figured it might be useful to potential buyers.

It came in a solid box, and seemed to have good collimation out of box. I've as yet not re-collimated. It looks nice in 'zwo red' and black, going well with my other ZWO bits.

The focuser is a crayford job, which though according to FLO, is better quality that the rack and pinion Skywatcher equivalent, does need careful setting up to avoid slipage with my asi1600, and EFW on the end of it.

I use the ZWO EAF - this took a wee bit of creativity to mount as the screw holes are not suitable. So it is on with one bolt, and some tie wraps - but it does the job and focuses reliably all night long through my filters automatically.

If, like me you came from a 200P, it might surprise you just how much smaller and more manageable it is. It's no longer a burden to setup like the 200p, easy to balance, less couterweights, and I am getting 0.4" RMS guiding pretty constantly with my EQ6r-pro.

It has an open back for the mirror, so be aware of that for darks. As I have quite a lot of ground light pollution I cover that up with masking tape.

I've had no dew issues so far, though I have woken to find it covered in frost - but the mirrors have remained clear.

With the coma corrector it appears sharp edge to edge - a few pics below from the last few days.

All in all, I'd say it's a great scope at a great price. I'm a very happy punter - it's going to be getting a lot of use in the coming months.

 

Edited January 8, 2022 by powerlord

[Clarkey]

I have the f4 version which is similar. Although it is good I did need to buy a new coma corrector as the Baader mpcc did not really work well at f4. Also, the focuser slipped so this was replaced too. Eventually this was near to £1000 with a couple of other bits so not such good value. However, it does deliver good photo's.

As you have discovered there is a bit of an issue with halos on bright stars with the zwo EFW so I limit the use to darker objects where the optical speed is an advantage.

[Chris Willocks]

Nice photos, I've been considering one of these in the 200mm F/5 models for imaging galaxies and other smaller objects. But can't decide between that and the Vixen VC200L, Edge HD 8 or a large apo such as the TS Optics 115 triplet?

I'm using an Atik 383L, so the pixel scale might slightly undersample with the 115 triplet at 1.38"/pixel. Whereas it would be more suited to the other scopes.

Anyway, have you had any issues with the steel tube design vs carbon e.g. flexure, collimation etc.?

Chris

[powerlord]

it's only a little scope, so can't imagine problems with flex.

The F4 is a different beast - more than 100 quid more expensive. Focuser wise - I found you do need to have it pretty tight, but then it's fine - no slippage for me and I've got a fair old weight on the end with the asiair and EFW. Never noticed Halos except on Almitak - I suppose I'm not that much if a star peeper.

[mikemabel]

I've never imaged with a reflector but after looking at these images I may be tempted

They do seem to get a bad press and the necessary coma corrector does have to be factored in.

Would a sky watcher 130p-ds be a good alternative ?

But I am tempted......

Edited January 7, 2022 by mikemabel

[powerlord]

my shortlist was the SW 150p and this. chris @ flo said the ts had a better focuser and secondary - so I thought I'd plump for that.

with coma corrector yer talking 400 quid. vs about 6-700 for a similar fl apo refactor+flattener, and even then it's not going to be as fast. I'm glad I went with the newt. Right now it's out there imaging m33 🙂

 

Edited January 7, 2022 by powerlord

[Clarkey]

I think the F5 Photon is great value for money. It is also easily portable which is a bonus. I went for the F4 for speed of capture (at the time I was using an ED80 at F6.3), but with hindsight I may have been better off with the F5 - especially as I already had the Baader MPCC.

I think the images from powerlord above are testament to the Photon's capabilities. To be honest for a true APO giving similar performance you would be looking at £1000+.

[Chris Willocks]

I was originally very tempted by one of these; specifically the 200mm F/5 model, but the fact that FLO are now stocking them makes the prospect even more tempting.

Whilst they aren't as straight-forward to use as refractors, I think newtonians have always been underrated for astrophotography; especially when it comes to value for money. You wouldn't think that the images above would have come from a scope costing only around the £400 to £500 mark.

That in itself makes me question whether it's worth spending another £1K on something like a VC200L, Edge HD 8 or apo. I also thought about spending a bit more on a ONTC carbon newtonian, but is the difference in the end result image-wise worth the extra cost of these scopes?