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Just spoke to Luke, he confirms it is a Doublet APO but cannot tell me what kind of glass but thinks its from Schott. Seems to be the big brother to the ED120 Black Diamond version. Definitely not in the Esprit line. He says the price will be around the $3000 mark, or just under.
Now by coincidence (?), Astronomics is releasing its 152mm Doublet APO in January and is accepting pre-orders. There is a thread running on a beta test on CN. The Astronomics 152mm Doublet APO is priced at $3999 USD, but it may have better Abbe numbers and build quality, too soon to tell.
Big difference between the $3000 AUD (landed and GST inc) and $3999 USD without delivery or import charges. I assume the Skywatcher would need a focuser upgrade, but not the Astronomic.
The APM 150 Doublet does look good, and its on sale right now for 2998 euro, or $4690 Aud (without shipping or import charges). Astronomics specs look very similiar but the $5260 AUD price give a big advantage to the APM sale price.
Its good to see more competition in this sector.
Last edited by glend; 28-11-2017 at 09:57 AM.
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