NGC104 Taken with Esprit 150mm

[PeterSEllis]

Hi Guys,
Its been a while since I posted, so I thought I would post the 1st light shot taken with my Skywatcher Esprit 150mm ED Triplet. This was taken on the 14/10/2016 just before the full moon, globular cluster are about all you can photograph when there is that much light around.
If there is any interest, then I will makes some further comments about the Esprit 150mm.

Cheers
Peter

[casstony]

Tell us more Peter. What do you think of the optics and focuser?
Might be worth taking a 30 second shot of a brighter star to check for lens mounting issues, a common problem on earlier Esprits.

[PeterSEllis]

Hi casstony,

Some further comments on the Esprit 150mm. I'm more than happy with it, the finish is excellent, the rack and pin focuser is definitely not a moonlite or feather touch for that matter. Having said that, with the x10 fine control it is adequate, and I don't think I will bother to change it (all my other telescopes have either a feather touch or moonlight). One feature that it does have, is a focuser flick leaver lock, that allows the focuser too hold up to 10Kg, which makes up for any short falls in the focuser (my camera gear weighs 1.5kg). The Optics are just superb with no sign of false colour either visually or photographically, that's what you pay the money for. I did a 10sec exposure on Alpha Centaurus and there was no sign of colour fringing.
The only cropping I need to do when I photographed NGC104, was to remove the border artifact from DeepSkyStacker. Stars to the edge of the field where round, with no sign of astigmatism or chroma. It is early days, but I don't think I will be parting with it any too soon. It is not a replacement for my C11, which I use for DSO's, but as I explained to my wife, a wide angle lens, in other words, a "refractor" telescope you just have to have.
You don't see many secondhand ones on the market, that's got to tell you something about them.

Cheers
Peter

[casstony]

None have sold on IIS from memory.
I've got the 80mm esprit. They're a great package with the included flattener, albeit with a little focuser tuning needed.
Hope the 150 serves you well Peter and I hope you don't have to shift it too often :)