Esprit 80 alternative

[Clarkey]

I doubt optically there will be much difference. If it was my money I think I would probably go for the WO simply because you virtually never hear anything bad about them. Also, if you are local to FLO it makes sense.

[KP82]

17 hours ago, Anthonyexmouth said:

Balls. Missed that. That gets it too close in price to the gt81 

Rupert at astrograph is very trustworthy. When it says 0.95 strehl guaranteed on his website, he means it. WO just like many other rebranders source their scopes from those same manufacturers, but they tend to charge more for the same model. The tecnosky 80 f/6 even with VAT included is still more than £200 cheaper than the GT81 (£950 vs £1,179)

Edited May 6, 2022 by KP82

[johninderby]

Astrograph is a high end telescope dealer and service is second to none. Technosky are fully tested in Italy and then checked again by Rupert here in the UK.

Always a pleasure to deal with Rupert.

Edited May 6, 2022 by johninderby

[Adam J]

On 04/05/2022 at 15:03, Anthonyexmouth said:

Well I'd like to think that, but seen quite a few reviews on quality issues with newer ones, even a couple on the flo website. Ideally I'd buy from Flo because I can cycle there. Got most of my new kit from them. 

Ok, here is the thing for me at least. I have seen optically horrible examples of every single scope that has so far been mentioned in this thread. To the extent that I would estimate a minimum of a 1/10 chance of getting a lemon no matter what scope make you chose unless you go for a premium brand like TEC, TAK, CFF, AP, LZOS or stellaview etc.  But even then I have seen some bad examples, noting that I am quite demanding. So if you are wanting a scope with mass produced machine finished optics then my advice to you is as follows. Buy from a UK dealer with a known good returns policy. If one said dealer happend to be a bike ride from your house and has a good returns policy / excellent customer service, why look further? I am sure a GT81 will meet your needs just fine. 

Adam

Edited May 6, 2022 by Adam J

[Adam J]

31 minutes ago, KP82 said:

Rupert at astrograph is very trustworthy. When it says 0.95 strehl guaranteed on his website, he means it. WO just like many other rebranders source their scopes from those same manufacturers, but they tend to charge more for the same model. The tecnosky 80 f/6 even with VAT included is still more than £200 cheaper than the GT81 (£950 vs £1,179)

Strehl is often quoted as the single measure of lens performance these days and unfortunately it's not the case. In fact in the case of imaging pit to valley is the more important reading alongside polychromatic strehl. It is very possible to have a 0.95 strehl lens that has greater than a 1/4 wave PTV and hence doesn't meet the strictest definition of detraction limited performance. 

Adam

Edited May 6, 2022 by Adam J

[KP82]

43 minutes ago, Adam J said:

Strehl is often quoted as the single measure of lens performance these days and unfortunately it's not the case. In fact in the case of imaging pit to valley is the more important reading alongside polychromatic strehl. It is very possible to have a 0.95 strehl lens that has greater than a 1/4 wave PTV and hence doesn't meet the strictest definition of detraction limited performance. 

Adam

Well the reason I mentioned the strehl on astrograph website was to say that Rupert is a very reliable person to deal with. I didn't mean to use strehl (most likely measured in either R or G only) as the only metric to say that tenosky scopes are superior compared to the others.

Edited May 6, 2022 by KP82

[Clarkey]

Just for info there is a GT81 on Astro Buy and Sell if you were interested. Other end of the country though.....

[Anthonyexmouth]

16 minutes ago, Clarkey said:

Just for info there is a GT81 on Astro Buy and Sell if you were interested. Other end of the country though.....

Always so far away. I really shouldn't have looked on there. So much I want. 

[scotty38]

I guess I'm breaking no self promotion rules now it's on hold but you should have kept your eye on the classifieds here and picked yourself up a billy-bob bargain 🙂

[newbie alert]

9 hours ago, Clarkey said:

I doubt optically there will be much difference. If it was my money I think I would probably go for the WO simply because you virtually never hear anything bad about them. Also, if you are local to FLO it makes sense.

Maybe you need to search abit more... W/O are only interested in new sales, they switch components around so frequently that they don't have replacement parts and not interested in helping owners with failed components.. So in my book they won't see another penny of mine

[Clarkey]

5 minutes ago, newbie alert said:

Maybe you need to search abit more

You might be right. Just going by what I have heard directly - but as I do not have any W/O kit I have not looked in detail. However, if you live round the corner from FLO, you can always take it back if it is a 'duffer'. Having said this, if buying from W/O is a worry there are plenty of other similar options.

[Anthonyexmouth]

3 minutes ago, Clarkey said:

You might be right. Just going by what I have heard directly - but as I do not have any W/O kit I have not looked in detail. However, if you live round the corner from FLO, you can always take it back if it is a 'duffer'. Having said this, if buying from W/O is a worry there are plenty of other similar options.

I'm really annoyed that I've kinda lost confidence in the the esprit, I've drooled over then for years and reviews have always been good until recently. My issue is I'm not sure I'm experienced enough to examine the images to know if it's a scope issue or use issue. I wanna know when I buy a new triplet that's tested it's right and any imagining problems are self made or somewhere else in the train

[Clarkey]

Unless you spend a small fortune there are always potential quality issues with any 'budget' scope and you can be unlucky. (Even TAKs have been known to be faulty) I think the main thing is to buy from a trusted retailer who will sort out and resolve any problems. When I purchased my first imaging scope (SW ED80 and flattener as you have) I had major problems trying to get a good image. I tried various things and communicated with FLO - assuming I was doing something wrong. Eventually I returned the scope and flattener and it was inspected by Es Reid who determined it was a bad batch of FF's - all at FLO's expense. So personally, I would make your choice and buy from your local shop and worry about the problems IF they occur. As for spares and replacement parts, I am not sure how many spares you would really need? Most stuff can be replaced or sourced somewhere and providing the optics are good there is nothing to worry about.

Look at the images and if YOU are happy, then jobs a good'un.

[Anthonyexmouth]

1 minute ago, Clarkey said:

Unless you spend a small fortune there are always potential quality issues with any 'budget' scope and you can be unlucky. (Even TAKs have been known to be faulty) I think the main thing is to buy from a trusted retailer who will sort out and resolve any problems. When I purchased my first imaging scope (SW ED80 and flattener as you have) I had major problems trying to get a good image. I tried various things and communicated with FLO - assuming I was doing something wrong. Eventually I returned the scope and flattener and it was inspected by Es Reid who determined it was a bad batch of FF's - all at FLO's expense. So personally, I would make your choice and buy from your local shop and worry about the problems IF they occur. As for spares and replacement parts, I am not sure how many spares you would really need? Most stuff can be replaced or sourced somewhere and providing the optics are good there is nothing to worry about.

Look at the images and if YOU are happy, then jobs a good'un.

I guess, it is nice having Flo a short bike ride away. Maybe I should go back to my esprit dream. 

[Xsubmariner]

I am fortunate to own both an Esprit 80 and WO GTF81 and for me they are both excellent imaging telescopes. Your statement you doubt your ability to gauge a Scopes operational performance suggests you need added assurance with any perspective purchase. There are distributors who will/can provide third party assessments so it might be best to stick with one of them.

 

[newbie alert]

1 hour ago, Clarkey said:

You might be right. Just going by what I have heard directly - but as I do not have any W/O kit I have not looked in detail. However, if you live round the corner from FLO, you can always take it back if it is a 'duffer'. Having said this, if buying from W/O is a worry there are plenty of other similar options.

I am right as it happened to me personally...

[Anthonyexmouth]

34 minutes ago, Xsubmariner said:

I am fortunate to own both an Esprit 80 and WO GTF81 and for me they are both excellent imaging telescopes. Your statement you doubt your ability to gauge a Scopes operational performance suggests you need added assurance with any perspective purchase. There are distributors who will/can provide third party assessments so it might be best to stick with one of them.

 

Do offer that service but even there, the last 2 reviews of the esprit are bad. Go and check it out and tell me what you think. It's the esprit 80

[Clarkey]

Yes - the last two reviews are not good. Given it is the optics it is not encouraging. Personally I would save a few more pennies and buy the SM 90mm triplet. I got one before Christmas (at the lower price) and it is excellent. I'm not convinced of the need for a carbon tube - in fact I would prefer aluminium for the better cool down time, but it is excellent. (There is a TS version in aluminium but it takes away the 'local' advantage of FLO).I have not used it much yet (due to galaxy season) but I am looking forward to putting it through its paces after the summer. There is a thread on it in the FLO section:

 

[johninderby]

Or the…….

https://astrograph.net/epages/www_astrograph_net.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/www_astrograph_net/Products/AGTEC90OWL

Out of stock at the moment though.

[callisto]

18 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Or the…….

https://astrograph.net/epages/www_astrograph_net.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/www_astrograph_net/Products/AGTEC90OWL

Out of stock at the moment though.

Tell the truth John you were looking at the handle 🤣

[johninderby]

12 minutes ago, callisto said:

Tell the truth John you were looking at the handle 🤣

 

[Anthonyexmouth]

Ok, it's Saturday night, I've had a couple of glasses of port so time to mix it up a bit. 

Looking at the sharpstar 76mm triplet and it's TS optics counterpart. SS version has 1 ed element, the TS has 2. 

I can get the SS locally bit not sure about the TS, Flo do offer TS reflectors but not refractors. 

The saving would allow me to buy an optolong lextreme but do I really need that in a bottle 3/4 area?