Trying to decide on APO refractor

[stanlite (Grady)]

Hi everyone,

Well Astrofest has done it again and i am now looking to go into the world of APO refractors.

My budget is roughly $3.5k to $4k and given my imager (QHY9) I am probably looking at getting a 100 to 110 mm scope.

Now this is a crowded field in the refractor market and my knowledge of Refractors is not the greatest.

the models that have perked my interest so far are as follows,

Stellavue SVR102-T
APM 107-700
William Optics A 102FTL

All these scopes are within my budget (ablit two would have to be imported as i can't find Australian suppliers). I was wondering what peoples opinions of them where (atm i am leaning towards the SVR102). Also if people have any other OTA suggestions.

[Larryp (Laurie)]

Originally Posted by stanlite

Hi everyone,

Well Astrofest has done it again and i am now looking to go into the world of APO refractors.

My budget is roughly $3.5k to $4k and given my imager (QHY9) I am probably looking at getting a 100 to 110 mm scope.

Now this is a crowded field in the refractor market and my knowledge of Refractors is not the greatest.

the models that have perked my interest so far are as follows,

Stellavue SVR102-T
APM 107-700
William Optics A 102FTL

All these scopes are within my budget (ablit two would have to be imported as i can't find Australian suppliers). I was wondering what peoples opinions of them where (atm i am leaning towards the SVR102). Also if people have any other OTA suggestions.

I have had 2 Stellarvue refractors and can't speak highly enough of them.
I have no experience of the other 2
You could also consider a Takahashi FC100DC or DF-They are also in your price range. I have an FC100DF on order, but of course cannot tell you anything about it at the moment.

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

If you are open to buying second hand, why not add a Tak into the mix?

[el_draco (Rom)]

I have WO 90 and 132 refractors. Build is beutiful and performance is amazing. Again, second hand, you can get the 132mm in your budget.

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

Take a look at Astronomy Alive's sweet 115mm Sky Rover triplet at 3k .
A friend has one here in Perth and its an impressive APO no matter what way I looked at it and thru it , a true Fluorite triplet at f6.9.
Their link is on the right side of this page .

Brian.

[Logieberra (Logan)]

The smaller pixels of your Kodak chip would go nicely with an FSQ (85 or 106).

[blink138 (Pat)]

i have just picked up the apm 107 / 700................ alas thanks to perth weather it remains, in my hands anyhow, a photonic virgin!
i would go so far as to say it is "virgin" on the ridiculous ha ha!
however it is a beautifully made hefty beast and the coatings are fabulous
pat

[Bart]

Tak, Stellarvue, Astro Physics, top name stuff, don't waste your money on crap.

It's in colour correction and image processing that you will notice the difference.

And yes, I have been there and done that, Tak all the way for me.

[Peter Ward]

The five element WO GT102 is very hard to beat for the money.

If money is no object, AP (lots of luck) or Taka (lots of bucks )

[astro744]

There is a nice Tele Vue NP101 in the classifieds under your budget.

[LewisM]

Well, being a refractor nut, I would stick to a few brands.

Tak - goes without saying. Just bought 2 myself. Only downside is the cost of accessories, and the bewildering number of them required (hence I get them all custom made, so that ONE adapter takes over the role of 4 Tak joined together ones)

Vixen - IF you can find an old Vixen fluorite, you will have an instrument as good as Tak (seeing the SAME company that made Tak's objectives also made Vixen's back then). The newer ED ones are fine as well, so long as Japanese made - the Chinese ones are merely rebadged Synta products

AP - nice, really nice, but rocking horse poo to find in the wild. Expensive, but worth it.

Stellarvue - a LOT of bang for the buck! Finally they have gone back to R&P focusers now the crazy Crayford fad is slowly waning, and the results are worth it. Their handmade scopes are WAY up there with the top 4 brands. Their Chinese/Taiwanese optic versions are damned good too.

Televue - well, I find them odd. Good optics, ugly as mud (weird retro-60's look about them to me), can have issues with internal flocking. Some say the optics are mostly made by Vixen - I am sure someone knows for sure.

Skywatcher - good, to a point. Their focusers are garbage. Their newer Esprit series - copies of Takahashi - are reporting in well. The ED80 and ED100 are good performers, especially if you change out the focuser and can live with the gawdy bling paint.

Saxon is just Synta/SW. Not much, if any difference.

William Optics - really not bad optics, but some interferometry could suggest issues with some of them. The focuser tends to slip (well, the older ones did) and the focuser rotator seems to occasionally need adjustment as it loses orthogonality - apparently a simple tweak. Surprisingly heavy for their size. A nice package usually - Hugh's fluorite in the trader is a bargain!

Officina Stellare - tough one. VERY over priced but nice optics (Russian made). Debate abounds as to the merit, or more the detriment of carbon fibre tubes on refractors, so take that how you like. I used a Viper once - nice, but no better than a good TV or Tak. Sexy looking, but beauty is as beauty does...

APM - Russian optics as well, and USUALLY well made, though there was a run of flawed tubes sent out, with gaps in the baffles etc. Expensive, but those LZOS elements are "sublime" (to paraphrase someone)

TMB - great, if you can get one, or afford one.

I just bought a Tak FSQ85 Baby-Q - eagerly awaiting it's arrival. Smallish aperture, that makes up for it with jaw-dropping sharpness and contrast, and small/light enough not to need a large mount to push it.

[pluto (Hugh)]

I can only speak from my limited experience but my Tak TSA120 was within your budget second hand (just, and I was very lucky!) and, at f7.5, I find it an excellent match with my STT8300 - same sensor as QHY9.

[gregbradley]

I would also stick to a triplet over a doublet even if the doublet has a fluorite element for imaging. Doublets don't have the correction a good triplet gets.

You should be able to get a Tak 2nd hand for that upper end of your budget.

The FSQ106 (N and ED) is of course the most popular widefield instrument around and for good reason. FSQ106N is cheaper usually but I think they are getting a name for themselves as fluorite - is well - fluorite.

Greg.

[pluto (Hugh)]

Look what Kunama just listed in the classifieds:
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...d.php?t=124092

[PlanetMan]

Within your budget you can also buy a Takahashi TSA-102

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

Originally Posted by pluto

Look what Kunama just listed in the classifieds:
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...d.php?t=124092

I was just going to post that.
Go Grady!!!!

[Kunama]

Originally Posted by pluto

Look what Kunama just listed in the classifieds:
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...d.php?t=124092

....... can deliver to Brisbane in late September but would need to be paid for now........ going to Sunny Coast in 8 weeks time.

[LewisM]

Oh, you are bringing it here Matt? My birthday present?

An absolute steal... and Matt looks after his stuff impeccably - I have bought/traded a LOT with Matt.

If I hadn't just bought the FSQ85 and FC-100... I don't have a mount hefty enough anyway (my poor justification, albeit true)

[Hans Tucker (Hans)]

So no one is going to mention or recommend TEC in this thread. Possibly the TEC110 or TEC140.

I had a look on the TEC website and noted they have listed a APO250VT f/8.2 for $49,000. Yes, I know it's above you $$$ limit....I just thought I would mention it for interested parties.

[LewisM]

Oh yeah, TEC VERY good too Just, e x p e n s i v e