Three scopes

[Kobayashi Maru]

Hi all.

New to astronomy. I currently have a 130p heritage collapsible dob. Looking to get a refractor.

• Ts-Photoline 60ed. FPL 53 Glass. $824nzd
• TS-80ed. FPL 51 glass. $929nzd
• Svbony 70ed. Not sure about glass. $813nzd

Visual at first but aspirations of EAA so will probably get an az gti mount at some stage....might be pushing it for the 80ed. I understand that the FPL 53 glass is preferable for EAA but am a little concerned that it may be some time before I get the gear for EAA and the 60ed may be a bit limiting for visual....although long term it may be a better scope than the other two.

There may be other contenders in the same range, evolux 62ed etc. Shipping is fairly costly which gives the 60ed a bit of an edge.

Thoughts appreciated.

 

 

[Louis D]

OMG, those prices are so high compared to USD prices! 😮  I hope y'all are paid roughly 2x what Americans are paid in absolute NZD.

At those prices, I would either watch the astro classified ads or go for the most aperture possible with FPL-51 glass.  If you go with a slightly longer focal ratio at 80mm, FPL-51 glass should be fine for all but the highest power viewing.

Edited October 11, 2022 by Louis D

[bosun21]

I would also go for the 80ED as the extra 20mm aperture will pay dividends for visual observing. The FPL51 glass should be fine just as @Louis D has stated apart from maybe high magnification. If the little chromatic aberration bothers you then you can use either a contrast booster or semi apo filter to subjugate it.

[Highburymark]

80ED without a doubt. Those extra 20mms of aperture will open up so many objects for you. Well worth tolerating a little bit of false colour on bright stars and the Moon for.

[Clarkey]

I would have to agree with the other comments. 20mm of aperture on a small scope is pretty significant. You might get a little CA, but given the difference in focal ratio I suspect it will be no worse than the others. At F5.5, even with FPL 53 will be pushing the limits. F7 of the ED80 is much more manageable.

What about the SW ED80 ds pro which I assume is still available? No idea on the NZ price though.

[Kobayashi Maru]

2 hours ago, Clarkey said:

I would have to agree with the other comments. 20mm of aperture on a small scope is pretty significant. You might get a little CA, but given the difference in focal ratio I suspect it will be no worse than the others. At F5.5, even with FPL 53 will be pushing the limits. F7 of the ED80 is much more manageable.

What about the SW ED80 ds pro which I assume is still available? No idea on the NZ price though.

Seems like a pretty strong push to the 80ed.

The one Im looking at is a TS 80ed through telescope express. OTA only

The sw 80ed is $1449nzd locally but comes with a diagonal, finderscope and 2" to 1.24" adaptor and let 28mm eyepiece.

 

[RT65CB-SWL]

Hi @Kobayashi Maru and welcome to SGL. 

Another +1 for the 80ED.

Think of a ‘scope as a bucket. The bigger the bucket the more it will contain... and in ‘scope terms that means more photons.