I month or so ago I wrote about the price of the Skywatcher Equinox ED120 in N.Z. which was the equivalent of $A3450 which was 'reasonable' I thought at the time. The Sywatcher Equinox is the 'upmarket' version with dual speed 360 degree rotating focuser, aluminium dewshiled and a higher standard of fit and finish. It comes with the FPL-53 glass - but the mating element is different in the Equinox ED120 - which is different then the rest of the Synta versions range ie. Saxon / Orion and even the smaller Equinoxs- this is again to reduce CA for AP. The F/L is 7.5. It comes in the Williams Optics style black gloss finish.The 'standard' Skywatcher gold 'Pro' ED120 OTA in Australia is priced at Bintel for $A4800 [ ! ] and Andrews has the same Skywatcher Pro ED120 OTA priced for $A3100 which is far more reasonable. [ They do come with finders / 2x E.P.s] Anyways - I have tracked down another supplier based in N.Z. and I placed my order for a new Skywatcher Equinox ED120 at a very inexpensive price of NZ $2700 or $A2354 !. Which is even more remarkable considering the Equinox versions command a 20-25 % price premium over the Standard Pro series. It comes with the tube rings and finder holder. It arrives in 2 weeks. For so long we long suffering Kiwis have had to pay 'top dollar' for any decent equipment so it is really nice to buy some top quality optics at not so astronomical prices. A fellow Kiwi has also placed an order for 2x to mount on 2x EQ6s and there is current thread on C.N.'s re. this. He will review is optical performance over the next few nights. In a month or so I will place a review on I. in S. Miine is going on a HEQ5. [I have no association with Skywatcher or any dealers / companies].
http://www.skywatchertelescope.net/s...1=1&class2=101
