SW Esprit 120mm vs Orion EON 115mm

[RugbyRene]

Hi, I'm ready t pull the trigger on a new telescope purchase and have narrowed it down to the following 2:

SW Esprit 120mm, or
Orion EON 115mm

Both are very close in specs and was wondering if the community could advise me on the relative benefits of either & which is the preferred option.

Regards,

Rene

PS - it will be used for imaging and yes I would be getting the field flattener for both.

[Nikolas]

I may be wrong but don't skywatcher supply a flattener with the espirit 120?

[RugbyRene]

They do but it' still more expensive than buying the Orion with ff from OPT and having it shipped to Sydney.

[that_guy]

I'd say go for the Esprit, by the looks of it, the EON still uses the same focuser design as their doublet series. The Esprit uses a HEAVY duty 3.5" focuser built like a tank with built in rotator rings and focuser rotator as well. You'll have no issues with image tilt. Not to mention there are more people who own the esprit here in australia so they'll be better online community for support if needed.

[codemonkey]

I've no experience with the EON, but I had an Esprit 120 and loved it. Sensational telescope. I'd still have it to this day but the humidity in the observatory didn't agree so much with the optics (had fungus issues).

I'd say the focuser was pretty average. I spent a lot of time adjusting it because it couldn't hold any weight when I first got it. I ended up replacing it with a Moonlite and selling it to someone (who knew its condition) who apparently spent a lot of time getting it into a decent working state. I'd expect to have to replace the focuser, but you might get lucky.

[that_guy]

I've heard that the first generation Esprit had focuser issues but the QC on the later models were much improved. The focuser on my 100ED has been nothing but an absolute solid performer. But, I guess it's something to consider.

[codemonkey]

Ah, fair enough, I wasn't aware of that, Tony.

[casstony]

The TS 130 triplet in the classifieds with Moonlite focuser is a good deal provided it's in good condition. It would be of similar weight to the Esprit 120.

[Slawomir]

From my astroimaging experience with 2 units of Orion ED 80 CF triplet and with TS 102 ED doublet, my vote also goes for TS or Esprit.

[Nikolas]

That's spoken for currently (me)

[RugbyRene]

Thanks for all your responses.

After some further research I think I'll stick with the Sky Watcher. Unfortunately my budget doesn't stretch that far at the moment so will have to wait until I have the money.