Rip sky90 .

[brian nordstrom]

As of 28th of march 2013 , Takahashi Japan stopped production of the SKY90 .
For us owners and lovers of these sweet Fluorite refractors , an end of an era .:sadeyes: . Gone the way of the AP Stowaway .
Super collectable .
Here is my lemont .
Brian.

[blink138]

hello brian
it is interesting looking at the photos of that wonderful (i am sure it is) scope
but on another matter........ what is an apochromatic lens? can it actually be a doublet as the tak 90?
i have always thought it could be, as long as all the colours combine to a single focus, and if a doublet attains this then it is "apochromat"
however recent reports and blogs from CN suggest that you need a 3 element design to be labelled "apochromat"
pat

[brian nordstrom]

:thumbsup: She's an APO , no problems there mate and a very good one at that , no matter what you might read out there .
Brian.

[Hans Tucker]

Ah Brian..Lament not for the discontinuance of the SKY-90 but rejoice for the release of the new FC-100D :D

[brian nordstrom]

:thumbsup: Yes Hans I seen these , looks to be a worthy replacement and priced at only $2000usd , a great price . Almost a Takahashi for the mass's .
These are aimed at visual astronomy only as they come with only a 1 1/4 inch focuser , still a great scope , small , light and guarenteed to have Tak's legendary optics , nice ! .
Brian.

[gbeal]

You sure Brian? There is heaps of discussion, and lots of "western translations" going on, many of which are quite wide of the mark. The quick pic I saw on a Japanese site gave me hope that the 2" focuser could be possible.
Either way, the scope at about $2K is a revelation. Nice to see the Yen/$ relationship swing in out favour too.
Gary

[brian nordstrom]

;) Looks like we both read the CN discussions Gary , yea mate they will sell a lot of these at this price .
A lot of other top brands are going to have to sharpen their acts in this well fought 100mm APO class of scopes , its gonna be fun to watch .
I will be watching this with interest , and maybe saving a few dollars ??:eyepop:, I just really , really need a 100mm Tak ?? :rofl: .
Tempting .
Brian.

[gbeal]

Yep, plenty of speculation out there.
Even with a 1.25" focuser though, I still reckon it would be a killer. If you want the 35 Panoptic in it, then maybe you need a different scope?
Waiting to see what happens with them, for sure. It will also put a slight dent in the used Tak market, surely.
Gary

[brian nordstrom]

:question: mmm 35mm Pan ,,, lucky you , looks like I will have to use my 24mm instead with 815mm fl of the new FC100D thats 34x ,, nice . Thats almost perfect when compared with my SKY90 and E-XtenderQ 1.6 this gives 800mm at 33x , these Japaneese are on to it alright .
I will watch this new TAK with interest , looking better every time I look .
Brian.

[gbeal]

LOL, don't take my "35 Pan" reference too literally, it was the first big ugly 2" E/P I thought of.
Gary

[brian nordstrom]

:lol: I recon one of these in my M210 would be the cat's whiskers .
69x mate , nice .
You want UGLY ? try looking at my Celestron 31mm Axiom LV 82* is butt ugly , but man does it perform ... ;) .
Brian.

[brian nordstrom]

:eyepop: Here she is in my now sold 150mm f/5 Sky watcher Frac , awsome eyepiece and nearly 1kg in weight :eyepop::eyepop::eyepop:
Not many scopes handle these big buggers Gary aspecially the new FC100D as this eyepiece is 1/3 the weight of the whole scope .
I loved the views my FS60C and this 31mm gave of the dark sky here in the NT tho a very special set up and awsome to see .
Brian.