Tal 125R Apolar Apo

[G0JVK]

advice needed about buying one as i am thinking of placing an order today before midnight to beat the vat increase but am not sure being a newbie that it might be too advanced for me being new to the hobby if it would be good scope for me or not so any opinions are welcome.

Regards Rob.

[Ian123]

If it were my money i'd go for the SW Equinox 120, that's just me though, £200 cheaper and would suit you just as well as the Tal.

[Ian123]

Dont forget though the Equinox comes without diaganol and EP but you can get these with the saving you made and neither scope come's with a mount so that's another consideration.

Good luck whichever way you go, let us now which scope you end up buying and some feedback as i will be (hopefully) purchasing a APO in the next six month's myself.

[John]

The TAL has the potential to be a superb scope but it's very new to the market - I've not found any reviews yet on it.

I also would have a few concerns about the TAL 6 element optical design - if it got out of collimation it could be a nightmare.

It's all conjecture (and perhaps my concerns are unfounded) with the TAL through because there is so little information available on them at the moment.

I think for an experienced refractor user then the TAL might be a very interesting prospect. For someone new to the hobby, perhaps not.

[hunterknox]

Much as it pains me to say it, Rob, if I was in your situation I'd probably resign myself to the possibility paying Gideon Osborne an extra £37.50 and think over the decision some more.

The Tal 125 is a very nichey scope, the only one available with the six element design and relatively heavy, so I'd want to look through one and talk to the owner before taking the plunge.

There are decent comparator scopes out there - like the cheaper Equinox which Ian suggests, or the Meade triplet, which Olly on this forum regularly raves about.

The mount is is also an issue worth thinking about at this stage. Getting a system where every component complements the rest is a bit of an art form but if you can get it right it's worth more than an extra 2.5%.

If you have an idea of what you'd like to use your scope for (planets/deep sky; visual/photography etc) and your total budget I'm sure the folks here will happily throw you some decent suggestions.

[ollypenrice]

Although I do rave about the Meade 127 (now replaced by the spectacularly more expensive TEC140) I would point out that Catatonia has a 120 ED Skywatcher apo for sale and although the For Sale board requires 50 posts you could always PM him. This is a very fine large refractor suited both to visual and photographic astronomy. And the VAT man has already staked his claim. Yah booh to him!!

Olly

[G0JVK]

Ian first of all thank very much for your comments, although yes i was aware of the Tal not comming with a diagonal or even a eyepiece i was aware of that and ordered a diagonal anyway, and eyepieces i have already.

John thank you very much also for your comments too, and i know you are right that it's more for an experienced person not a begginers scope at all really so much could go wrong and i wouldn't know where to begin i know it myself really but thanks for your imput.

Hunterknox. thanks also for your imput i know in my heart that you all are right to point out all the things i know are right in my head. so thanks again everybody for your comments all are taken on board and understood,

well i think i won't be placing my order for the Tal anytime soon methinks but oneday perhaps i will, so it looks like i think i will place an order for the SW Equinox 120 instead as advised a much better prospect for me i think,

and one just a further point i will have a mount later this week a NEQ6 Pro is on the way to me hopefully will get it this week sometime.

thank you too Olly just saw your post as i was about to post this reply so thanks for the information anyway much appreciated so now i have a bit more thinking to do and not much time to do it in. AArrgghhhhhhhh.. lol:D

once again thank you all gentlemen for making your points all is understood and very much appreciated.

Regards Rob.