Evostar 72ED opinions?

[jjohnson3803]

After much soul searching 🙂, I'm thinking about getting a SkyWatcher Evo 72ED for lunar observing.  As much as I love the crisp moon views in my 102ED, it's too large / bulky for my needs and I'll probably list it for sale soon. 🙁

Any experiences / opinions re: the 72ED?  ( I want to stay with a refractor - had a 90mm Mak and sold it awhile ago.)  Thanks!

 

 

  

[carastro]

I bought one of these very recently, but only used it for imaging.  I have been pleased with it.  Might not answer your question, but here are the images i have done with it.

 

Edited November 6, 2022 by carastro

[Louis D]

I've had an Astro-Tech 72ED for quite a few years now.  It's a great grab and go scope.  Even though it will accept 2" eyepieces, I've had trouble with heavier ones causing the focuser tube to slip as you approach zenith.  I've tried increasing the loading tension, but it still slips.  I'd recommend an R&P focuser if possible.

I've read that the SW 72ED focuser has rather limited travel and can cause problems when using a 2" diagonal.  The AT 72ED (from Long-Perng, I believe) doesn't have this issue with its long travel focuser.

Visually, it doesn't show false color except above 100x.  Even then, it's a mild violet that could be filtered with a weak yellow filter if it bothers you.  Both it and the SW have FPL-51 equivalent glass.

Overall, it's a fun scope for low to mid power viewing.  It can also be used up to about 125x without too many false color issues.

If you can stretch your budget, I'd probably get the TS-Optics Photoline 72mm Doublet APO or Astro-Tech AT72EDII FPL-53 if starting from scratch.  These would have better color correction, better R&P focuser, and better rail attachment.

[Adam J]

23 hours ago, jjohnson3803 said:

After much soul searching 🙂, I'm thinking about getting a SkyWatcher Evo 72ED for lunar observing.  As much as I love the crisp moon views in my 102ED, it's too large / bulky for my needs and I'll probably list it for sale soon. 🙁

Any experiences / opinions re: the 72ED?  ( I want to stay with a refractor - had a 90mm Mak and sold it awhile ago.)  Thanks!

 

 

  

I would get a Mak if lunar is what you war looking for probably the Skymax 102 or 127. Both very easy to handle and will deliver better results than the EVO 72ED, the smaller of the two is reasonably quick to cool. 

Adam 

[Louis D]

I have the 127 Mak as well, and the 72ED is way more of a G&G scope thanks to its wide field of view, lighter weight, and more compact size.  I'm not sure the 127 Mak would be much of an improvement over the 102ED that the OP wants to replace, other than being shorter.  The 90 or 102 Maks might work for the OP based on weight and size, though.

[Stu1smartcookie]

I have owned a 72ED and its a loverly little scope , but , as has been pointed out there are some shortcomings , a slippy focuser and the said focuser not having much travel . A 127 Mak has a real sweetspot when it comes to Lunar .But the Evo  72ED is very well priced and gives very clear views ,  and sits very well on a photo tripod or star tracker . For a quick G&G its a great buy . 

[Louis D]

1 hour ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

But the Evo  72ED is very well priced and gives very clear views ,  and sits very well on a photo tripod or star tracker . For a quick G&G its a great buy . 

Not so much in the US.  Without sales tax, the SW 72ED ranges in price from $400 to $540 while the Astro-Tech AT72EDII FPL-53 is $489.

For comparison, the Astro-Tech AT70ED is $329.  It is the closest successor to my AT72ED.  The TS-Optics 70 mm F6 ED is identical and priced at €318.49 excluding VAT.  Both brandings have an R&P focuser.

[Stu1smartcookie]

2 hours ago, Louis D said:

Not so much in the US.  Without sales tax, the SW 72ED ranges in price from $400 to $540 while the Astro-Tech AT72EDII FPL-53 is $489.

For comparison, the Astro-Tech AT70ED is $329.  It is the closest successor to my AT72ED.  The TS-Optics 70 mm F6 ED is identical and priced at €318.49 excluding VAT.  Both brandings have an R&P focuser.

Yeah it seems a high price in the States , which is a shame . 

[WolfieGlos]

I've had the SW 72ED since April, used purely for imaging. Despite collimation issues in the corners, it's been a good beginners scope to me.

I imaged the Moon 2 nights ago with a DSLR, single shot between the clouds. Cropped and enhanced with Siril wavelets.

[Stu1smartcookie]

4 minutes ago, WolfieGlos said:

I've had the SW 72ED since April, used purely for imaging. Despite collimation issues in the corners, it's been a good beginners scope to me.

I imaged the Moon 2 nights ago with a DSLR, single shot between the clouds. Cropped and enhanced with Siril wavelets.

Nice clean shot . Small fracs are more and more popular these days ( I'm a big fan , owning a sharpstar 61 ) . Really portable and fun to use visually and of course for widefield photography. Gives the op another reason to consider the 72ED . 

[WolfieGlos]

8 minutes ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

Nice clean shot . Small fracs are more and more popular these days ( I'm a big fan , owning a sharpstar 61 ) . Really portable and fun to use visually and of course for widefield photography. Gives the op another reason to consider the 72ED . 

Thanks 😀 It was tracked on the SA 2i, so quite easy to image the Moon. When the UK weather sorts itself out anyway...

And agreed on the portability, but I only image DSO's with a guider. So something for the OP to bear in mind if wanting portability and possibly expanding to imaging.

[Ricochet]

I bought a 72ED this year and have been pleasantly surprised with how good it is. The image is very sharp and I haven't noticed any real colour issues. It easily splits the double double of that gives an idea of performance, but I don't observe doubles to know if that's good or not! On Jupiter a 4mm works well (105x) and Saturn takes a bit more, around 3.5mm (120x). I think the Moon takes a similar power to Saturn but I've not particularly paid attention as I tend to vary the magnification more when observing it. 

You can't get away from the fact that it is a 3" scope and so has 3" scope performance but whenever I use it I'm never disappointed that I didn't get a bigger scope out. 

It is a very lightweight scope and I can easily carry the scope, mount and tripod with one hand which makes it easy to get out or change observing location. The downside of the lightness is that there's not a lot of weight in the objective to counterbalance the eyepiece/diagonal and so it tends to be quite back heavy. The AA Starwave Mini Az that I first tried it on wasn't up to the task of handling the imbalance but a Scopetech Zero handles it with no problems. 

However, this is actually my second 72ED. There is no facility to collimate the lens cell and so the only collimation adjustment is via the focuser alignment. Both examples needed adjustment on arrival and unfortunately the first was too far out and so was replaced. 

[Louis D]

1 hour ago, Ricochet said:

The downside of the lightness is that there's not a lot of weight in the objective to counterbalance the eyepiece/diagonal and so it tends to be quite back heavy.

Same thing with the AT72ED.  I mounted an 8" dovetail bar to the mounting foot.  To reach balance with 2" eyepieces requires clamping the bar just about even with the focuser knobs.