Upgrade from a ED80.

[tico]

Hello,
I want to upgrade from an ED80, and I'm thinking about which direction to take...
And one of them is to upgrade to a 4" refractor, I usually observe from my backyard, the Moon, the bright planets, double stars and some luminous Messier... this is what my sky allows me. I would also like you to It wasn't too heavy or bulky, around F/7, and since I don't usually observe for more than an hour, mount it on an alt-azimuthal mount.
In your opinion, how does your 4" refractor perform for these objects?
What mount do you use?
Thank you very much in advance.
Paul

[Elp]

Starfield 102 F7 doublet. Excellent both visual and photographically. You do need a good tripod for it and a sturdy mount head as they're a step up from anything 60mm to 80mm.

[Elp]

Also when typing please just type in default format without the text highlight as the site theme is dark to save our eyesight, you know, for our hobby.

[Mr Spock]

I've fixed the formatting. In future when you paste, select 'paste as plain text' only. Thanks.

[tico]

Thanks Spock, I know how to do it next time, it was not my intention to blind anyone...

[Grump Martian]

I have the 102 mm Starfield. A great value upgrade.

[inedible_hulk]

I had the Evostar ED80 for visual which, to be fair, I had really good time with. I was looking to upgrade to something with a little larger and optically as good or better. I saw @Mr Spock and others reviews of the Starfield 102 and I’m happy to say that it has lived up to its reputation!

[Rob]

Another vote here for a 102ED f7. Its a nice sweet spot of a scope on all fronts. Can also sit on an EQ5 with no problem.

[mikeDnight]

The benefits of jumping from 80mm to 102mm is massive. You definitely won't regret it if you do.  As for mounts, I really like a German equatorial, as it follows the object you're studying but simply turning one knob, or if motorised it will track for ages with very little tweaking. Of course an Altazimuth gives you the ability to sweep across large vistas of star fields, stopping to admire the sights as you go. Ideally having both types of mount has its  advantages. 

[F15Rules]

2 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

The benefits of jumping from 80mm to 102mm is massive. You definitely won't regret it if you do.  As for mounts, I really like a German equatorial, as it follows the object you're studying but simply turning one knob, or if motorised it will track for ages with very little tweaking. Of course an Altazimuth gives you the ability to sweep across large vistas of star fields, stopping to admire the sights as you go. Ideally having both types of mount has its  advantages. 

..and there is a fantastic Vixen ED103swt apo refractor on the for sale forums right now!

Right up there with Takahashi and a bargain at under £700..

Dave

Edited April 16 by F15Rules
Typo

[dweller25]

Hello @tico

Going from 80mm to 100mm is a good jump in performance 👍

If I did not already have a 4” Takahashi I would buy that Vixen 103Swt in the for sale section.

Edited April 16 by dweller25

[tico]

What Altazimuth mount do you recommend for this 102ED/F7..? I would like it to hold it well so as not to have too many vibrations in the image.

[inedible_hulk]

I use an AOK Swiss AYO II on a Berlebach Uni 18. No problems with vibration. However, I do find the whole experience much more enjoyable using my goto EQ5. Having the mount doing the tracking for you leaves you to just immerse yourself in the viewing experience 😊.