Best 2" Dielectric Diagonal

[pmesquita]

I'm about to get a 6" non APO refractor with Chromacor.

Which is the best 2" Dielectric Diagonal

[John]

I don't know if there is a recognised "best" one. I've used the Williams Optics and Tele Vue Everbrights and they seemed pretty good to me. The Stellarvue enhanced dielectrics seem to get good mentions as well. If you can find one I reckon an Astro Physics Maxbright must be one of the best - all the other AP stuff seems to be superb !.

John

[Ben Ritchie]

If you can find one I reckon an Astro Physics Maxbright must be one of the best - all the other AP stuff seems to be superb !

I have an AP MaxBright and it is very good (and beautifully made) but visually I can't tell the difference from my Celestron XLT one that was about 40% of the price. Whatever difference there is must be subtle. So I'm a firm believer that "good enough" is fine for diagonals, you don't need to spend the big money.

So William Optics, Celestron, Meade (not the cheap ones though) are all good, for a bit more money there's TeleVue, Takahashi and Astro-Physics but you're paying a lot more for very slight differences.

[beetlejuice]

I have the WO 1.25" and 2" dielectrics and a Stellarvue 1.25" dielectric. You wouldn't be disappointed with any one of them. They are all beautifully made and offer an improvement in image quality over my standard Celestron diagonal. It's not huge though, so I wouldn't pay over the odds for a TV, for example. The WO 2" is the one I'd go for.

[TakMan]

My pennies worth...

Just get one that is machined from a single piece of aluminium - you don't want one of the turrets to start quietly unscrewing (from heavy Powermates/Eyepieces), in the dark and then hearing your precious gear crash to the floor...

My Televue Everbright 2" is machined from a single piece (apart from the mirror section), as is the AP version - no idea about the others, sorry.

Just one less thing to worry about.... down to you if that is worth the extra £££'s (along with high reflection ratios and long lasting coatings)....

Best of luck!

Damian

[John]

My Televue Everbright 2" is machined from a single piece (apart from the mirror section), as is the AP version - no idea about the others, sorry.

Yep - I changed from a WO clone to an Everbright when I got my 2" Naglers and Ethos - optically no difference (to me) but the single piece construction of the TV is very re-assuring - must be reasonably complex to make I would think ? (I'm not an engineer though ).

John

[ahlberto]

Totaly agreed.I use to have a WO with the standart visual back in my C8 and in the last night all the diagonal and my precious new nagler 22mm fall into the gound.the diagonal went all scratched and the eyepiece is dented now.lucky for mi the glass was not affected.I now have a denkmeier powerswith S2 Wich come with a proper visual back.Material falling into the groud with bad visual back/diagonal is a danger especialy wen you use the heavy ones.

cheers

carlos

My pennies worth...

Just get one that is machined from a single piece of aluminium - you don't want one of the turrets to start quietly unscrewing (from heavy Powermates/Eyepieces), in the dark and then hearing your precious gear crash to the floor...

My Televue Everbright 2" is machined from a single piece (apart from the mirror section), as is the AP version - no idea about the others, sorry.

Just one less thing to worry about.... down to you if that is worth the extra £££'s (along with high reflection ratios and long lasting coatings)....

Best of luck!

Damian

[mike bacanin]

One of the possible advantages of the AP and TV everbrites, is the one piece construction ensuring a perfect alignment on axis.

I heard on CN from a gent abroad that his WO dielectric showed a marked effect on sct collimation when introduced into the optical chain.

Mike

[TJExcalibur]

Well this thread is a bit old but it came up when I did a search for the best 2" diagonal. As I have a Baader Hyperion 8-24mm Zoom on order for my LX90 12", I was thinking of getting a better diagonal. The obvious choice is the Baader 2" ClickLock Diagonal Mirror but then I would need the 2" ClickLock SCL Eyepiece Clamp for C11-C14 SC Telescopes (I Think) and its getting a bit expensive. Must admit I do like the click lock system as it appears to be better than a thumb screw on one side.

[jabeoo1]

On 8/27/2009 at 01:39, John said:

If you can find one I reckon an Astro Physics Maxbright must be one of the best - all the other AP stuff seems to be superb !.

John

I managed to 'find' one ! It was originally bought new for a project that never came to fruition, so unused but at a knockdown price. 

[Mr Spock]

Buy an expensive one if you can afford it. It's good to have nice things.

However, optically, the less expensive Revelation is just as good

[John]

1 hour ago, jabeoo1 said:

I managed to 'find' one ! It was originally bought new for a project that never came to fruition, so unused but at a knockdown price. 

They are great diagonals James - plus mine is the only Astro Physics piece of kit that I've owned, so far

[jabeoo1]

The fit and finish of this diagonal is second to none.  The construction is superb, the baffling is stunning in they way baffling should be.  I don't know why I try kidding myself sometimes when it comes to gear.  I buy 5 times over and gradually creep towards the thing I read about ages ago, a bit like the stepping-stone hypothesis of drug addition.  I may conjure up a review if the clouds part and let me in. 

[jabeoo1]

That said,  I am sure the scatter is well under control.  As known already the differences will be so small in the quality of view, especially during the times of normal seeing here in the UK.  However with the 3-6mm TV Zoom, when the conditions allow I am sure the coatings will prove an edge, but the physical construction of this diagonal is really something else.  Damn it....then, let the clouds stay, I will just in the meanwhile appreciate the engineering.   I wear no jewellery, but I would wear this if it were less bulky.  So then I will put it on a chain hang it on my neck while the views wait   

[John]

They are really nice things !.

Even better than the Tele Vue Everbright's I think, and those are pretty darn nice

Whats that saying ? - "better to buy once, cry once"

[25585]

On 08/08/2017 at 19:45, John said:

They are really nice things !.

Even better than the Tele Vue Everbright's I think, and those are pretty darn nice

Whats that saying ? - "better to buy once, cry once"

Done! 

[jabeoo1]

3 hours ago, 25585 said:

Done! 

I assume you jumped in & grabbed one then 25585?  If so then I look forward to hearing what you think.  Now having used it a few sessions I know its solid as a rock,  just earlier tonight and last night the lunar views were fantastic.  It holds bulky 2" eyepieces without sweat, you can really rely on this chunk of gear.  Crisp views, solid & precise to sum up.   

[GavStar]

I think the Baader bbhs 2 inch (mirror rather than prism) is top end as well.

[25585]

20 hours ago, jabeoo1 said:

I assume you jumped in & grabbed one then 25585?  If so then I look forward to hearing what you think.  Now having used it a few sessions I know its solid as a rock,  just earlier tonight and last night the lunar views were fantastic.  It holds bulky 2" eyepieces without sweat, you can really rely on this chunk of gear.  Crisp views, solid & precise to sum up.   

AP Teleskop had a 2nd hand but "perfectly working" diagonal. Having bought from them before, I was OK. When its here be trying it out on the Genesis and C8, so good litmus test.