Quote:
Originally Posted by UniPol
Having owned an FLT-132, AP 130 Starfire EDF GT and a TOA-130s I found it came down to the scope that I felt most comfortable with i.e. visual image quality, the feel & looks and perceived pride of ownership.
I bought the FLT-132 direct from WO when it was offered with free shipping and the $500 FT focuser upgrade. The price landed at that time (2009) was around $4300. I couldn't fault the scope, superb finish, brilliant focuser, great hard carry case and excellent views through the eyepiece. After owing it for over a year a second hand Tak TOA-130s came up for sale at a good price so I thought I would try it out. I was hooked on the Tak right from the start, I thought the FLT images were sharp until I looked through the TAK. The contrast and the absolute pin point sharpness of the TOA really stood out. I subsequently sold the FLT and was very happy to keep the TOA. A couple of years ago an AP 130 GT came up for sale so here I went again to see if this may be a TOA killer. To my surprise it didn't do a lot for me. It was well made, a fair bit lighter than the TOA and more portable. I did a side by side comparison with TV eyepieces on M42, Sirius, Canopus et al and couldn't really see any difference at all, in other words, both superb. Silly owning two scopes of the same aperture so I sold the AP for the same price I paid after owning it for a year. The next scope I thought would be an all rounder was an FSQ-106 EDX so I bought it new from Claude and can honestly say it is the goods. It took pride of ownership to a new level and so the TOA was sold off (for a little more than I paid for it).
I missed my TOA-130s and last year as fate would have it, a 9 month old TOA-130NFB came up for sale here on IIS which I couldn't resist. It is simply brilliant, with the large 4" focuser it is now a better balanced scope and doesn't require the tube balance weight that the TOA-130S or TOA-130NS needs. I still have my 10 year old FS-60c which gives me immense pleasure, very under-rated this class of scope in my opinion.
Anyway, "subjective" is the right word when it comes to choosing the best scope for you, we do what we do as the old saying goes.
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Agree entirely with Steve's points.
I owned an FQ106EDXIII recently. Absolutely incredible telescope. Only reason I sold it was an unshakeable feeling of guilt with the family. So, I sold it, bought presents for the wife and kids, and still had enough change to buy some stuff for myself. Then the tax cheque came this year, and, well, 2 Taks
(FC-100 doublet - ORIGINAL 1980's model - and Steve's FSQ85ED, which is no slouch visually!!!). My only ***** ever about Tak's is the asinine amount and cost of adapters needed for simple tasks. Makes them versatile, but also frustrating.
I too thought that WO's were good, until I looked through similar sized Tak's and an APM. Hate to say it, but a quality doublet is better IMHO than the WO's - my good ol' Vixen FL102S is superb with incredible colour correction and a sample test of 0.975 Strehl, and my FC-100 (serial 8111) has a sample measured Strehl of 1/8 wave, or better than 0.98 Strehl, all factors included. (incidentally the FSQ85ED comes in at 0.975 Strehl - identical to the FL102S)
I am absolutely delighted with the selection of scopes I have, and only crave an FSQ106N - the fluorite version of the newer ED series. Just that bit better in terms of controlling scatter and better QC - I will hound Marc until he relents
Anyway, have a look here - there may be someone who wants to sell their AP Gran Turismo 130:
http://www.cloudynights.com/topic/46.../#entry6020074
And:
http://www.cloudynights.com/topic/47.../#entry6161626
Like Steve, I could see no perceivable difference between the AP's I looked through, and Taks. Both also seem t image equally as well (though I do tip my hat to the AP R-H, which seems to be an incredible platform)
Actually, the Skywatcher EON120 and the SW Esprit's come up quite favourably in independent interferometry testing - perhaps consider them also? Price is more than the WO. Basically, the Esprit is a "hacked" FSQ106 clone, just a triplet (seeing the Chinese didn't/couldn'tseem to sort out the collimation woes of the original quads) and in varying sizes.