I´ve got an ATS 65 HD, which I love, but I´ve noticed that the image is slightly paler than in other scopes of exactly the same make belonging to mates of mine. I once dropped the scope (don´t know if it was paler before dropping it) but sent it to Swaro to have an element in the eyepiece replaced, and again to have the scope internally cleaned, etc. It´s improved, but I think it´s still not as rich and contrasty an image as in other ATS 65 HD´s. I may be imagining this, it´s pretty marginal both in real terms and in the great scheme of things, but has anyone else noticed variation in the performance of individual top-end Swaro scopes?
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Paler image in my ATS 65 HD (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Sancho
- Start date
Cheers, Scampo, I like that "double-blind" test idea. Like beer-testing blindfold in the old student days. Funny you should mention the Nikon Fieldscope, I had a small second-hand one years ago (RAII I think, with a 15-45x zoom on it), and loved the contrast, but used to get a lot of fringing on it. Thanks again for the straightforward and wise advice!scampo said:
Sancho,
If a double-blind side-by-side is difficult to arrange, and even if you do it, I would suggest you star-test your ATS 65 HD. Use the highest magnification you have (60x?) and a glitter point (either something small reflecting the sun outdoors - even a droplet of water will do, or something like a corner of a chromed buckle or doorknob etc. reflecting an artificial light source indoors). Check the point both in best focus, where it should not exhibit noticeable flare in any direction. Then check it defocused into a ring pattern to see whether the rings remain nearly round and whether the central spot and the rings are concentric or not. Sharp bumps can cause the lens cell to slightly deform or the optical train to become slightly misaligned. Deformed lens cells show "pinching effects" with unsymmetrical flare in best focus light points and non-circular ring patterns with "bumps." A misaligned optical train can result in a non-concentric ring pattern or astigmatism, which will show as a cross-shaped point in best focus and/or oval out-of-focus ring patterns with the axes of the ovals being at right angles depending whether you are inside or outside of best focus. If there is something significantly wrong with your scopes, one or more of these problems should be fairly obvious in a star-test. If you are not sure whether you are seeing them, you are not and should not worry.
In normal viewing, these kinds of problems show as the kind of lack of contrast you seem to be describing, as well as poor "snap to focus."
Even fairly small bumps or crashes can have a detrimental effect on the image if one is unlucky, and there need not be any visible damage to the exterior.
Hope this helps,
Kimmo
If a double-blind side-by-side is difficult to arrange, and even if you do it, I would suggest you star-test your ATS 65 HD. Use the highest magnification you have (60x?) and a glitter point (either something small reflecting the sun outdoors - even a droplet of water will do, or something like a corner of a chromed buckle or doorknob etc. reflecting an artificial light source indoors). Check the point both in best focus, where it should not exhibit noticeable flare in any direction. Then check it defocused into a ring pattern to see whether the rings remain nearly round and whether the central spot and the rings are concentric or not. Sharp bumps can cause the lens cell to slightly deform or the optical train to become slightly misaligned. Deformed lens cells show "pinching effects" with unsymmetrical flare in best focus light points and non-circular ring patterns with "bumps." A misaligned optical train can result in a non-concentric ring pattern or astigmatism, which will show as a cross-shaped point in best focus and/or oval out-of-focus ring patterns with the axes of the ovals being at right angles depending whether you are inside or outside of best focus. If there is something significantly wrong with your scopes, one or more of these problems should be fairly obvious in a star-test. If you are not sure whether you are seeing them, you are not and should not worry.
In normal viewing, these kinds of problems show as the kind of lack of contrast you seem to be describing, as well as poor "snap to focus."
Even fairly small bumps or crashes can have a detrimental effect on the image if one is unlucky, and there need not be any visible damage to the exterior.
Hope this helps,
Kimmo
Sancho,Sancho said:
Did you try to switch eyepieces with your mates - to check whether the problem lies in the objective or the ocular? Even if everything looks well collimated, one poorly cleaned/finished internal surface in the eyepiece can also reduce contrast. I assume all the external lenses were equally clean and scratch free.
Do let us know how it goes. :t:
Ilkka
Many thanks, Scampo, Kimmo and Illka - I tried the double-blind test a few times, the same with the eyepieces, and the star-test as Kimmo advised, delighted to report that there doesn´t seem to anything wrong with my scope. I´m slightly embarrassed to say that a good cleaning sorted it out, I had underestimated the need to keep the objective lens element spotless (in fact, I´ve always been wary about over-cleaning for fear of scratching or wearing the coatings). Sorry to have troubled you with a triviality, at least now I know what to do in future.
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