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Old 14-08-2012, 03:38 PM
chris lewis
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chris lewis is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: auckland
Posts: 191
The cost was approx. $A2000 which really was somewhat of a bargain, as these scopes really are rare. I have brought a few thousand dollars worth of optics from the dealer over the years so he took this into account.
It's build and optical qualities are to say the are least excellent. The chrome looks amazing up close. It has a clear aperture of 108 mm [ 4.1/4 in.] with a F/L of 14.8.
The lens wear made by Horiguchi optics who supplied early Takahashi scopes.
The controls are solid and smooth. It is perfectly balanced. The 50mm / 500 mm finder with .96in. interchangable eyepieces in it self gives great images up to 80x.
CA is not an issue with normal magnifications. Above 280x - 300x some very minor purple color fringing can be glimpsed on the edge of the moon but you do have to look for it. It would exceed my old Orion ED100 with CA correction and image quality. The 1.25in. focuser is smooth and the image snaps into view.
Star tests are text book. Stars are pin point sharp. It takes magnifications in the 200x -300x range well. Last week the seeing was not the best and my Meade 6.7 4000 UWA, which gives 240x, gave the best images of Saturn with surface hues and ring detail easily seen. It does give that 'wow' feeling. have been desiring a scope like this for 40 odd years. I Spend half my time just looking at it - even my wife thinks it looks impressive !
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