Stellarvue finders

[Marcus10 (Marcus)]

Hi guys

I'm looking at buying a Stellarvue finderscope and wondered what people's thoughts are on the 9 x 50 v the 13 x 80.

I guess the additional aperture of the 80 would be good to double as a RFT and would probably assist with the finderscope aspect with the additional light grasp.

However, the 80 weighs around 1 kg, and I wonder if the wider field of the 50 will be of better function in the field.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks

Marcus

[big_dav_2001 (Davin)]

I cant comment on the 13x80, but I picked up a 9x50 from IceTrades a little while ago, absolutely love it!! Nice contrast, pinpoint stars and pretty handy for checking out big open clusters...

The Helical focuser doesn't have any way to lock though, so tends to go out of focus if you happen to bump it. Is also recommend picking up an illuminator, the crosshairs can be a bit difficult to see otherwise.

Hope it helps,
Davin

[LewisM]

I have been using a Takahashi finder for a good while now - THOROUGHLY recommend it - it is absolutely SUPERB in every way. Added bonus is the Orion mini guider adaption fits it perfectly, so you can use it as a guidescope as well.

I got mine 2nd hand, so cannot comment on new prices, but honestly, the view is as good through it as some much larger mass produced refractors!

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

+1 on the Takahashi finders , as Lewis says .

The 30mm Tak finder on my sky90 is better than the generic 50mm one on my Istar but the 50mm Takahashi finder on my M210 is the best I have ever used , as Lewis said these are as good as some larger refractors .
Expensive , yes and I don't know how they do it and they are just so good its scary ! .

SV have a good reputation tho and are quite a bit cheaper .

Brian.

[el_draco (Rom)]

Hi Marcus,
I have the 13 X 80. Its a very impressive finder and gives a great view. In fact it can double as a good RFT or an excellent guide scope. Use an illuminated eyepiece and you have pretty much the perfect finder system.

Rom

[Marke (Mark)]

What about the 60 I have the 80 and 60 . The 80 is still pretty light but the 60 is half the size and both are a pleasure to use and have a little port for cross hair illum which can't be underestimated.

[LewisM]

Originally Posted by brian nordstrom

+1 on the Takahashi finders , as Lewis says .

The 30mm Tak finder on my sky90 is better than the generic 50mm one on my Istar but the 50mm Takahashi finder on my M210 is the best I have ever used , as Lewis said these are as good as some larger refractors .
Expensive , yes and I don't know how they do it and they are just so good its scary ! .

SV have a good reputation tho and are quite a bit cheaper .

Brian.

Comparing the view through a Tak 50mm finder compared to a Skywatcher 50mm finder is futile - not even close (I find the SW finders quite poor).

I must say I do like the OLDER Vixen finders (when they were still Japanese made), but the new ones - made by Synta for Vixen - are average. I still have 2 spare old 30mm Vixen finders.

I have looked through a couple SV finders - quite nice. Well worth the money.

Borg finders are also GOOD. Borg is a VERY under-appreciated range. I have a few Borg items, and they really are VERY good.

[Kunama]

I have the SV F50W2 fitted into a Takahashi bracket, it is a beautiful finder, I have used it with various Vixen LVW eyepieces as well as the supplied 23mm.

Very good optically, the helical focuser on mine is quite good in that it does not creep as some others have reported. The diagonal can be rotated but there is a small change in alignment when rotating the diagonal.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a2...ps26fa6ef9.jpg

[gb_astro]

Originally Posted by Marcus10

Hi guys

I'm looking at buying a Stellarvue finderscope and wondered what people's thoughts are on the 9 x 50 v the 13 x 80.

I guess the additional aperture of the 80 would be good to double as a RFT and would probably assist with the finderscope aspect with the additional light grasp.

However, the 80 weighs around 1 kg, and I wonder if the wider field of the 50 will be of better function in the field.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks

Marcus

Can your eyes handle field curvature Marcus?
If not you might be disappointed with the RFT aspect of the 13 x 80.
Being an F3.7 scope it naturally has a lot.
So does the F4 9 x 50 of course but you would probably not expect a RFT experience with this one.
With the narrower FOV of the 13 x 80 you might need a red dot type finder as well to get you in the ball park.

Also Nagler 31 plus Paracorr plus 1Kg finder equals a heap of counter weight on the bottom of your 12" dob.

Can't argue about the extra light grasp though.

gb.

[GrahamL]

I had a sv 50 for a couple of years and found it great , guess some of it is what do you want to find?,the brighter stars in the field you use to guide in to a section of sky before switching to a low power eyepiece are very much still there in the 50, I now have a tak 6x30 and of course it doesn't grab the light of a 50mm or larger finder but again its job is no more to get me close to where I want to be which it does well.

[Marcus10 (Marcus)]

All very good thoughts. After a bit of reflection, I'm going to go for the 13x80 and a hefty amount on counterweight on the end.

Thanks for the help everyone.

Clear skies.

[bigdobman]

Steer clear of the 13x80 - I've never seen a good one and I've seen plenty. Lucky if you can actually get it to focus. BUT the 50 is
Excellent and the F60 is Very Good

[bigdobman]

Also, ridiculously big on the 12" and you just wont be able to fit it to the 18" UC

[Gurutronic (Ernie)]

I have an F60 and a recently purchased used F80. Both are excellent finders and have no trouble coming to focus with any of my eyepieces. They are especially good with my ES 20 68deg eyepiece and can easily perform as rich field grab and go.
As an aside... Last week I dropped the F60... And despite two minor cracks on the very edge of the objective it still works well! One note though, the supplied eyepiece isn't so hot and gets pretty soft towards the outer edge.