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  #21  
Old 18-01-2020, 11:31 PM
Buck
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Exceptions?

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Originally Posted by LewisM View Post
In my experience, ANYTHING made by iOptron needs to be on a list, as well as North Group/ Explore Scientific. Just gad awful.
And yet .... my iOptron AZ Pro mount behaves flawlessly. Maybe it knows it has to perform while carrying a certain pre-loved Tak FC-76

Certainly wish my SW AZEQ5 was as innovative as the iOptron.

Buck
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  #22  
Old 19-01-2020, 11:21 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JeniSkunk View Post

I have to laugh at that. You'd hit the same non-existent focus knob issue on my 10x50 binoculars. They're individual eyepiece focus.
Hi again Jen ,
Pleased to hear how doing some research saved you from buying lemons

Had a laugh back when you had the same reaction with your binos 'but at least they can be focused !

Have Fun
Bobby .
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  #23  
Old 19-01-2020, 02:26 PM
jjjjohn9 (John)
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Other problems with the "Black List" are that price should be taken into account. Some of the small low focal ratio (f5/f6) refractors could be ideal starter scopes given their portability and presumably attractive price. Satisfactory Planetary views could be obtained with the addition of a barlow and filter.
The list is quite useful as a guide but would be improved if the criteria were better explained , eg What does "corrector mean?
John
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  #24  
Old 19-01-2020, 03:26 PM
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link

Quote:
Originally Posted by jjjjohn9 View Post
Other problems with the "Black List" are that price should be taken into account. Some of the small low focal ratio (f5/f6) refractors could be ideal starter scopes given their portability and presumably attractive price. Satisfactory Planetary views could be obtained with the addition of a barlow and filter.
The list is quite useful as a guide but would be improved if the criteria were better explained , eg What does "corrector mean?
John
Hello John ,
I do own a fast 4" F/5 refractor that's fun to use at lower powers & can show some planetary detail , got it with a AZ3 mount long ago , still cost over $500 at the time of sale .

There are also terrible cheap fast refractors that show rainbow coloured mush images .

Scopes using sub-aperture corrector's needs a longer explanation , try this :

https://telescope-optics.net/sub_aperture_corrector.htm

Cheers
Bobby .
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  #25  
Old 19-01-2020, 07:04 PM
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Thinking about this list, it does make me wonder, is there a similar list for binoculars?
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  #26  
Old 19-01-2020, 07:51 PM
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Bad binoculars

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Originally Posted by JeniSkunk View Post
Thinking about this list, it does make me wonder, is there a similar list for binoculars?
Here you go Jen

https://binocularsguides.com/binoculars-to-avoid/


Cheers & Beers
Bobby .
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  #27  
Old 28-01-2020, 10:42 AM
jjjjohn9 (John)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bobbyoutback View Post
Hello John ,
I do own a fast 4" F/5 refractor that's fun to use at lower powers & can show some planetary detail , got it with a AZ3 mount long ago , still cost over $500 at the time of sale .

There are also terrible cheap fast refractors that show rainbow coloured mush images .

Scopes using sub-aperture corrector's needs a longer explanation , try this :

https://telescope-optics.net/sub_aperture_corrector.htm

Cheers
Bobby .
Hi Bobby,
Thanks for your response including the link to the article on sub-aperture correctors
I am just making a comeback to astronomy and needless to say I was way out of my depth in reading that article!
No worries though - I can always refer to it in the future if I really get into the nitty gritty of telescope optics.
Best wishes,
John
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  #28  
Old 28-01-2020, 02:12 PM
dimithri86 (Dimithri)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LewisM View Post
In my experience, ANYTHING made by iOptron needs to be on a list, as well as North Group/ Explore Scientific. Just gad awful.
Hey. Whats the issue with the North Group scopes?

I have the 127mm APO. I am a noob tho, so any apparent problems would probably not be noticed by me.
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  #29  
Old 28-01-2020, 05:03 PM
Saturnine (Jeff)
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I'm with Dimithri , I also have an 127mm North Group Triplet apo and think it is a fine scope. At a recent club outing, although the skies were smoke affected the seeing was quite steady, 6 / 10 !, so did some double star observing. Pushed the magnification to silly levels of 500X on Alnitak and admittedly the image was getting soft at that mag. but at 400X was damn fine.
Have also compared it along side a club members FS102 at similar magnifications and though the 127mm gives a brighter image the image quality difference was barely noticeable, clean airy discs and diffraction rings in both scopes.
A lot of scopes in the black list are cheap but not necessarily rubbish, they fill an introductory niche that may inspire curious young, and not so young minds to graduate to better gear when they can afford to move upwards.
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  #30  
Old 30-01-2020, 06:52 PM
Star_Hunter (Ruslan)
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Hello from Russia! My name is Ruslan, I am the author of the black list of telescopes on the site star-hunter.ru. Thank you for your opinions on my article. Yes, the article of 2015, but I regularly add various models to the list.



I also want to say that the list is aimed at beginners who need a good telescope with a good image. Fast achromats are suitable for observing wide stellar fields, but the level of chromatism makes them not a good choice for observing planets. The main thing is that a person after reading this article which telescopes is undesirable to buy.
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  #31  
Old 31-01-2020, 07:17 PM
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Welcome to IIS Ruslan!
Thanks very much for creating your Black List and keeping it current.
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  #32  
Old 31-01-2020, 09:23 PM
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Alex's two posts on this thread hit the nail on the head for me. I too started with a 50mm refractor in early high school ( in the 70's : without the instant gratification of the internet) and I persevered and it captivated me and started me off on my lifetime obsession.
A couple of years later I 'upgraded' to a 75 mm reflector on a wobbly mount, (which also would have qualified for Ruslans Black list) but it showed me NGCs 3532 and 5128 via star hopping using my trusty Nortons Star Atlas, and also resolved the outer bits of Omega Centauri in my young eyes.

So do not knock the cheap scopes on Ruslans list, as it 'just takes a spark to light a fire' that could last a lifetime.

Also kudos to Ruslan for preparing the list based on common sense principles. Had my parents been able to afford better at the time, Ruslans white list would have made a far better starting point !
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