What do you think?

[OzStarGazer]

I still have time because as I said I want to buy it after winter, but I also tried to have a look at Andrews (unfortunately not easy to navigate when you don't know exactly what you want), and I found this which is cheap, although the aperture is small (however this is not so important for moon viewing). I doubt it is really BD because its definition is SW and not BD, but it is a good price... I think there is some confusion about what BD really is, as we already discussed in another thread...

***Super-low price!!***
Skywatcher Black Diamond
70 x 900 AZ3...$199
Yes, A$199!!
In stock!
(SW709)
70mm refractor on the strong AZ3
alt-azimuth mount with tripod.


Or


Skywatcher Black Diamond
90 x 900 AZ3...A$349
Plenty in stock!
Shipment just arrived!

High performance 90mm refractor on the AZ3 alt-azimuth mount/tripod!

[cometcatcher (Kevin)]

Skywatcher is the brand, Black Diamond is just the paint scheme. For instance I have a Skywatcher Black Diamond ED100.

[omegacrux (David)]

You could also put up a wanted ad in Icetrade
The Vixen a80mf on a vixen porta is probably a better combo costs a bit more but worth it
Like a lot of us say the mount is critical !
Get a solid mount first .
Otherwise you will be upgrading later

David

[OzStarGazer]

Yes, I could put up an ad after winter...

PS: Re BD, I seem to remember that somebody (Julian?) said that BDs are very expensive? Yes, I just checked and it was Julian:
But my point is that the cheapest "legitimate" price for a genuine 80 mm Sky-Watcher Black Diamond that I can confirm is around $1,000 (for just the tube, focuser, diagonal and 1 x eyepiece - no tripod or mount). This makes me think that what is being offered is not a Black Diamond, so it also makes me wonder what else is incorrect in the ad. (E.g. maybe it's not even a genuine Sky-Watcher?)
On the other hand, it might well be a genuine Sky-Watcher SW80 (but not a Black Diamond), and it may well suit you just fine.

[omegacrux (David)]

That $1000 would be for the ed80 which is apochromatic , which means it has no chromatic abborations ie no false colour , eg a lot of cheaper scopes when looking at the moon will give a halo of blue around same with Jupiter I find it too annoying

David

[cometcatcher (Kevin)]

Black Diamond is just a colour, nothing more. The old Skywatcher scopes used to be blue. They made some gold ones too. These days you can get both APO and achro in BD colours. Same goes for the old blue OTA's. You can't tell what the glass is by the colour scheme - except maybe for the gold ED80's. I can't remember, but I think the goldies are only APO's? Not sure on that last one.

[OzStarGazer]

Oh, I see. Yes, I have seen photos of blue SW on some sites (I think also astroshop). Maybe they just haven't updated the photos. It is possible that there is some confusion because the colours have been changed and now most SW seem to be BD while some remember that that colour used to be for the higher range in the past.

[OzStarGazer]

Does anybody here know what brand this is?
http://www.myastroshop.com.au/produc...sp?id=MAS-024A

I was just curious to know, but I don't think it is good enough for an adult, even a beginner, and the photo of the moon on the background is probably just an "ad photo"... A bit misleading if one doesn't realize...

[julianh72 (Julian)]

Originally Posted by OzStarGazer

Does anybody here know what brand this is?
http://www.myastroshop.com.au/produc...sp?id=MAS-024A
the photo of the moon on the background is probably just an "ad photo"... A bit misleading if one doesn't realize...

You won't get that view with a 70 mm "department store" telescope! A few billion dollars and an Apollo space mission are necessary to get pictures that good! (Even the Hasselblad cameras that the astronauts took to the Moon were worth thousands!)

[OzStarGazer]

Originally Posted by julianh72

You won't get that view with a 70 mm "department store" telescope! A few billion dollars and an Apollo space mission are necessary to get pictures that good! (Even the Hasselblad cameras that the astronauts took to the Moon were worth thousands!)

Exactly. The whole description is misleading... I feel sorry for the kids who think they will really see what is in the description!

[OzStarGazer]

Sorry I am such a pain today... I am sick and have fever and cannot do my work but cannot rest in bed either... So I am browsing the Internet and thinking about my future scope...

I have found these pics taken through the SW909 (which is pretty cheap and includes a mount!) and think they are not bad at all.
http://www.dpreview.com/galleries/85...deshow?start=3
Not even the second one with a bit of blue (CA) is bad in my opinion...

That's all for the moment...

[Regulus (Trevor)]

The mount was an EQ5 convert to Alt-Az. The exposure time for this was short and tracking not needed
Camera was a Canon eos 600d
The Sky Watcher 90x900 would be good too but more prone to Chromatic Aberration than the Vixen 80. Celestron do a achromat 90x1000 too that would be good for Luna and Planetary viewing too with minimal CA and that comes with an adequate beginners Alt-Az mount
http://www.ozscopes.com.au/refractor...ster-90az.html

[omegacrux (David)]

I stand corrected , I thought that was a pic I email'ed Trevor
Sorry Trevor

David

[Regulus (Trevor)]

Originally Posted by omegacrux

I stand corrected , I thought that was a pic I email'ed Trevor
Sorry Trevor

David

Not a problem David - ya seen one luna photo, ya seen em all, eh?

[OzStarGazer]

Originally Posted by Regulus

Celestron do a achromat 90x1000 too that would be good for Luna and Planetary viewing too with minimal CA and that comes with an adequate beginners Alt-Az mount
http://www.ozscopes.com.au/refractor...ster-90az.html

Thank you! It looks like a very good choice and is even lighter than the SW in spite of being longer. (Maybe it's the mount that's lighter, but it's better anyway.)

PS: I think I will buy it in September (if I decide to go with it), so I will have it for the next Blood Moon. I have missed the first one due to angry clouds and rain gods....

[OzStarGazer]

By the way, if the Celestron mount/tripod is a bit shaky I could use vibration suppression pads I guess? Seben seems to have the best price.