spying

[nicnac]

Just been flicking thru Sky@nights forum (not a traitor, honest) and i came upon an interesting thread there discussing the SkyWatcher 150P & the 150PL.

The claim was that the PL was better all round than the 150P and that the "claims" made buy the marketing lot are pretty much mute.

Out of interest, what do you guys make of this ??

Whats the skinny?

[vegas]

Well the main difference is the 150p is F5 while the 150pl is F8 so can offer higher Mags (good for planetary use). I guess one of the possible responses to this conundrum could be... Depends what is is used for?

[Ibbo!]

Also it easier to produce a good f8 than a good f5

also easier to collimate

Steve

[pvaz]

Also it easier to produce a good f8 than a good f5

also easier to collimate

Steve

And less expensive cause you can buy cheaper EPs for a slow scope and see less small imperfections they may have. Also you get better eye relief for high mags cause you won't need those tiny ones.

[iamjulian]

The 150P has a 2" crayford focuser where the 150PL still seems to have the 1.25" rack and pinion.

[brianb]

150P has a 2" crayford focuser

There really isn't a lot of point in fitting a 2" focuser to a Newt unless the secondary mirror is big enough to illuminate the wider field properly. Even then, with a mirror faster than about f/6, you need a coma corrector for the extra field width to have acceptable image quality. Since a coma corrector costs about the same as a 6" Newt, the issue is essentially moot.

R&P focusers can work very well, un fact some of the very best scopes in existence have R&P focusers. No claims that the SW 150PL's focuser is the same quality as that on e.g. a Takahashi, but suggesting that a R&P focuser is inherently inferior to a Crayford is wrong. (Not all Crayfords are equal, either.)

[dweller25]

The F/8 has a much smaller secondary than the F/5 which will give slightly better contrast on the planets.

[FLO]

The Skywatcher Explorer 150pl used to be our favourite here at FLO because its f8 ratio makes it is easier to collimate and less demanding on eyepieces. Also, the longer focal length achieves a higher magnification without resorting to less comfortable (shorter focal length) eyepieces.

More recently the shorter tube Explorer 150p was given a 2" Crayford focuser with Direct-SLR connection so it is well and truly back in the limelight! Generally, for high magnification visual use we favour the 150pl otherwise we recommend the 150p, particularly if you intend imaging.

HTH

[FLO]

... the "claims" made buy the marketing lot are pretty much mute.

Please post a link to the thread, it sounds interesting

[Brunty12345]

i should be buying the 150PL soon so im gonna keep an eye on this thread

[nicnac]

give a few mins steve,

i will have to find it again

[nicnac]

Please post a link to the thread, it sounds interesting

odd, for some reason it wont let me access the link without the cover DVD

left that on my desk at work

[jbh]

Did you mean this topic here Same old question.... ?

Specifically the post by 'great_bear'