Which 4" refractor?

[Geoff45]

I am intending to get a 4-5" refractor, mainly for astrophotos. Hard job finding the right one, but two look good on paper. These are the Vixen ED103 f/7.7 and the William optics ZS110 f/7, althogh the WO really stretches the budget. Has anyone had experience with these scopes, or can anyone suggest alternatives?
Geoff

[matt]

What sort of $$$ are we talking about with these 2 scopes?

[astronut]

Geoff, have you considered the Saxon or its Orion clone. Both good quality without being too expensive. The Orion had a great write- up in S&S last year:)

[IanW]

My best advice, find a club local to you or amateurs in your region with the scopes you want to try and go have a look at them first hand. Put little faith in 'on paper' or magazine reviews as both tend to be over generous in their estimations and praise etc.

[Rigel003]

Geoff,
you can currently get a Takahashi FS-102 for $3490. They are replacing their flourite models with non-flourite triplets (I believe it's an industrial safety issue in the manufacture of the flourite elements). These flourite doublets are on special at AEC. The price of this OTA a few years ago was about $5000.

[Geoff45]

$2700 for the vixen and $3700 for the WO (includes diagonal, tube rings, 2" extension tube and RDF.
Geoff

[Geoff45]

This looks like a good option.
Geoff