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Tal 100RS vs 127 MAK?

Shure

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Astro_Baby

Astro_Baby

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Oh my... I have the 200 and the TAL. I love the TAL because its such a pretty telescope, its cranky and it feels like a scientific instrument. The views with it are pretty astounding on the moon and planets BUT some of that is emotional and I really dont know what I'd advise a beginner to buy in a shoot out.

My heart would say the TAL but my head would say the 200 just for its deep sky performance.

If I had to sell one of them though it would be the 200 but thats based on the 200 being a commercial piece of kit that I could replace if needed, one wuld be much the same as another. The TAL has a big emotional appeal "this is my telescope, there are many like it but this one is mine" how much these scopes pull on emotional appeal to other people is not quantifiable and therein lies the tough decision.

I would sereiously suggest before parting with any cash get a look through a refractor comparable with the TAL and a look through a Dob and see what you think.

To be honest a 200 and a TAL make a good combination because no one scope ever does it all.

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nightfisher

nightfisher

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I've got both of those scopes.

The 127 is very compact, I can pop it on my Porta mount for quick looks. and will stow away nicely in the car for holidays. Lightweight portable set up.

The new TAL100RS with its crayford focusser is in MHO a far better allrounder. Yes you need a more stable mount but I think it's the better bet. If I had to sell one of these scopes I'd keep the TAL.

I had one of my best session on Jupiter with the TAL at Kelling last September.

It was around 2AM and I spent over an hour observing. I had the GRS and structure in some of the cloud belts. It stunned me, I wasn't expecting that.

I had a couple of people looking and one commented that there was a bit of colour fringing. His mate said yes ok but this £1000 cheaper than your scope and just as sharp.

You really wouldn't be dissapointed with the TAL, I asked all these questions before buying mine and very glad I bought one. They come up secondhand, infact there is 100r on ebay local to me. But having had the new RS to compare aginst the older R,

I'd still shell out on the RS even though I like secondhand prices. The focusser is sooo much better. It must look good because some who was selling gear at Kelling asked what focusser I'd put on it.

Hope that's of some help.

I was a little unsure about getting the TAL100rs but sooooooo glad i did, they are so sharp, just a shame they dont make a bigger version but just the same, just imagine a TAL125rs or 150rs

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John

John

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I was a little unsure about getting the TAL100rs but sooooooo glad i did, they are so sharp, just a shame they dont make a bigger version but just the same, just imagine a TAL125rs or 150rs

They do, or used to do, a 125mm achro and there is a 125mm 6 element apochromat due out very soon :)

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nightfisher

nightfisher

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Nice link, that 150 looks stunning, but i would think it will be to pricey for me, BUT if its in feasible financial reach i would sell both my scopes to get one:):)

just had a look around the tal forum, the 150 has been postponed indefinately, such a shame

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F15Rules

F15Rules

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What a great thread, with valid opinions from so many.

I'm pinning my vote to the Tal. I confess I'm a Tal nut, and have owned 5 of them, including a beautiful 125R (rare in the UK) which I stupidly sold last year:eek:..

I now have a spanking new RS100 with fabulous Crayford focuser, and life is complete again:D.

oh, and I have an 8" Newtonian, which is a great scope but I am selling it, and a superb Lomo Mak 6" which is as good as the Tal sharpness wise but the extra aperture means it kills the Tal on DSOs.

If you can only have one scope for now, I think the Tal gives the best all round capabilities and quality, no disrespect to the SW 127..the sheer build quality of the Tal, better contrast with no central obstruction, virtually zero cooldown time and great kit of bundled accessories, all for around £240, makes it for me a no brainer.

But the main thing is, you're getting a proper scope, and all your chioices will give you great views.

You haven't said what your skies are like..if you are lucky enough to have fairly dark skies, then your Tal 4" in dark skies could perform like a 5" in town...of course the same could be said for each of the other scopes too.

Good luck, and do let us know what you go for.

cheers

Dave:)

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spaceboy

spaceboy

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Good choice to get some bins Shure. You will be able to do a bit of stargazing while you consider all your options. In some cases objects like M45 are best viewed through binoculars so they will become an essential part of your kit what ever scope you decide to buy. Check out M42, double cluster, M36,37,38. Depending on the magnification of the binoculars you should just be able to make out the rings on Saturn. There will be no detail as such but you will notice that there is a difference to this disk shape over the other planets. You will most certainly make out phases of Venus. You will be able to locate all these objects using Stellarium

What you have to consider when taking any advice is how many and what scopes the people have that are giving you advice. Most novice astronomers will have several scopes to choose from and sometimes we forget what it would be like not to know how telescopes perform. We have all been there at one point deciding what will serve us best and wondering what the sky will look like through any given scope. The best thing is to trial run scopes before you buy as no single scope can give you every thing you want and not everyone wants the same things. What may work for one person may not work for you. Paul G offers some excellent advice.... what do you want to look at, do I want to image etc. With the binoculars you can now start to see in better detail what you want to point the scope at. The 8" dob is a good choice for a first scope but again the whole nudging thing may not be your cup of tea. If you find a club see if anyone can let you have a go of their's. It may be the case you would be better getting a slightly smaller 150p on a EQ5.

BTW if you do choose the TAL try to avoid the 100R and spend that little bit more on the RS100 as I read the earlier model 100R had some focusing issues with certain eye pieces due to a shorter travel of the R&P focuser and internal baffling wasn't as good.

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Whippy

Whippy

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BTW if you do choose the TAL try to avoid the 100R and spend that little bit more on the RS100 as I read the earlier model 100R had some focusing issues with certain eye pieces due to a shorter travel of the R&P focuser and internal baffling wasn't as good.

I've owned two 100R's and neither of them had issues with EP's, TBH I think the baffling issue isn't a huge one. A lot of manufacturers don't use them at all including the likes of Televue so they can't be that important!

As a curveball, why not a long refractor like a Skywatcher 150PL/skyliner 150 or TAL2? More aperture, much more tolerant of collimation than a shorter model and still fairly small.

Tony..

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michael.h.f.wilkinson

michael.h.f.wilkinson

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I've owned two 100R's and neither of them had issues with EP's, TBH I think the baffling issue isn't a huge one. A lot of manufacturers don't use them at all including the likes of Televue so they can't be that important!

As a curveball, why not a long refractor like a Skywatcher 150PL/skyliner 150 or TAL2? More aperture, much more tolerant of collimation than a shorter model and still fairly small.

Tony..

Don't you mean reflector? A 6" F/8 Newtonian is a classic APO-killer. That should start a whole new discussion. :)

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Whippy

Whippy

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Don't you mean reflector? A 6" F/8 Newtonian is a classic APO-killer. That should start a whole new discussion. :)

Ah, yes. Ahem. I've owned two Mak-Newts (5" and 6") that were absolute peaches for observing and I would love a larger one but the weight would make them a bit unwieldy. So something like a 8" f8 really appeals.

Tony..

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Shure

Shure

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Ah, sorry!! Its a secondhand Celestron ED100 thats just gone up for £250. Great optics for the money. Better colour corrected than the Tal and a more versatile scope than the Mak.

(IMHO!!!)

Is that for just the OTA? Nothing else I presume?

It is a bummer having to wait till I hit the 50 post mark :)

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GazOC

GazOC

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It is the OTA only and you would need at least a EQ5 mount.

Not that it would save THAT much money but I think you'd get away with an EQ3/2 for visual use. I had an Evostar 120mm f8.4 frac on the old EQ 3/2 with ally legs and it was OK (just!!)

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spaceboy

spaceboy

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Thanks spaceboy!

I have been checking UKABS but they certainly don't hang around long on there.

Tell me about it! I spent 3 months sat watching UKB&S day in day out trying to build up my EP collection and you can't even take a p*** with out missing something :):D

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