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TS Individual ED APO 70/420 (1 Viewer)

The scope uses lower quality FK-61 glass which will result in poorer colour correction, more CA. Plus with it being a faster f6 scope this could also make the colour correction even worse.

FK-61 glass has a dispersion rating of 81.6 while the FPL-53 glass in the ED80 has a dispersion rating of 95. True fluorite has a dispersion rating of 95.6 so you can see why the ED80 is virtually colour free with regards to CA.

Also being just 460mm focal length will require getting very close to the subject.

Paul.
 
I bought one of those as a smaller alternative to the ED80, something to use handheld, on a monopod or to take with me kayaking.
What Paul said is spot on, the scope has indeed more CA, noticeable naked and even more noticeable if you use TCs. But resolution is still superb, it's really small and a pleasure to use.
Also, being a shorter scope it has a good bit of curvature, if you're shooting close enough to the birds you'll definitely want to add a field flattener. I used a SW flattener on mine.
That said, those were my conclusion according to my sample, I used another one briefly a few weeks ago that appeared to show much less CA than mine, actually I didn't see any CA on that sample, but maybe it was just the scene that was different so I still have to confirm that.

Another alternative is the TS TLAPO804, it's a triplet with a FPL53 element. It's not so small or light as the ED70, but is much smaller than the ED80 and lighter too. More expensive though.
I have one of those now, it's an incredibly good optic, although shorter than the ED80 it takes TCs like they were invisible so no real loss on reach, the colour correction is near perfect (not that anyone would complaint about that on the ED80) and it's also hand holdable or perfectly used on a monopod. It also has a bit more curvature than the ED80 but it's perfectly corrected with the flattener, and with it the images are super sharp edge to edge.
 
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Hello Fernado (Bo dia!! :) )

Thanks for your add too. In the case of add TC´s, do you have any recommendations or prefered one?

Obrigado!
 
I use a set of Kenko Pro300 1.4 and 2x. Buying new I can’t see any other viable alternatives, the other options are too expensive for what they offer.
If it were today I probably wouldn’t buy the 2x though, I’d look for an alternative, maybe an old TC or a DIY project like using the telenegative elements of an objective like Paul has been trying lately.

De nada ;)
 
Fernando - Teleskop Express list the TS 804 as 3.5kg which is 7.7Lbs, which is virtually the same weight as the 80ED...in fact its just a little more.

Can you really hand hold this ? I tried this when i had the 80ED and it was too much, really
 
It should be possible. I forgot to take my tripod on a weeks holiday over the Christmas period and I had to do all my photography by hand holding the 80ED scope. Focusing was the only real pain as I had to focus and then with the same hand press the shutter before anything moved. I do a fair bit of weight lifting in my spare time though so it may be a bit heavy if you don't exercise regular.

Paul.
 
Paul Corfield said:
It should be possible. I forgot to take my tripod on a weeks holiday over the Christmas period and I had to do all my photography by hand holding the 80ED scope. Focusing was the only real pain as I had to focus and then with the same hand press the shutter before anything moved. I do a fair bit of weight lifting in my spare time though so it may be a bit heavy if you don't exercise regular.

Paul.
Click to expand...

I think you're way younger than some of us too ;)
 
The weight listed on TS site is wrong. My scope weights 2.2Kg according to my scale, I don't really trust my scale that much, but it's not wrong by more than a couple hundred grams, so maybe the scope weights about 2.4 or 2.5Kg but not more.

You can see this post on stargazerslounge where another user confirms what I said:
http://stargazerslounge.com/equipme...s-triplet-fpl-53-apo-80-480-arived-today.html

And the weight I'm mentioning is fully assembled to work on a DSLR, flattener, an iris and a custom machined adapter. Mine is slightly lighter than the original because I removed the dual speed knob, witch compensates for everything else I put.

Also, the handhold ability of this scope is not really the weight, it's the lenght, the shorter lenght of this scope makes it easy enough to hand hold, you only need to place it on the palm of your hand and focus with your index and thumb of that same hand, while shooting with the other. On the ED80 you have to get one extra hand ;) as the balance point is bit far of from the focuser, making it very difficult to hold it and focus with the same hand.
 
Wow that IS light. I can see how this could work now. Yes, i found the length of the 80ED + weight too awkward to use without tripod, but I reckon i could do that with your TS scope with its much lighter weight and shot tube length

Its a great price too
 
Then Fernando, in your oppinion, 70/420 is a good option as a second lens, first one will be ED80, or you think that is better wait until have enough money and then go for the TLAPO804 or maybe a William Optics Megrez 72 FD DDG APO? take into account that im just a begginer on birding. Im used to do action photography and live shows (sports and music)
 
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Well, I had both the ED70 and ED80 at the same time, and trade them both for the 804, so that tells you my choice ;) Well, actually I didn’t sell the ED70 yet, didn’t even put it for sale but I will eventually.

But frankly it’s a tough choice, I would prefer to have both the ED70 and ED80, if the ED70 had the same quality as the 80. I'd prefer that because I'd have the 70 as a portable alternative, witch a bit smaller and lighter than the 804, and the ED80 as the long reach option. As a second lens the ED70 is fine but being used to what the ED80 delivered, the 70’s images were not the same due to the bit of CA. Of course CA is easy to take care these days but I really prefer to have none.

With the 804 I have almost the best of each of them in one unit, but it’s not as light as the ED70 and not as long reach as the ED80. Although I can take care of the reach with TCs, ultimately the ED80 will probably take more power than the 804 just for being a longer FL lens.

Like I said…tough choice :)

BTW here's an alternative location to get these scopes:
http://niobo.pt/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=24&products_id=2820
http://niobo.pt/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=24&products_id=2823
This store is from two friends of mine, they’re very serious people so you can buy with confidence. They don’t have all the scopes listed yet because it’s a new area for them, they actually started it with my 804 a couple of weeks ago. But their prices are slightly lower than TS and you’ll pay less for shipment too since you’re in Spain ;)
They also wont have any scope accessories like eyepieces, etc, only the necessary for our use, the T adaptor, Trings and extension tubes.
 
I have a few shots with it already, but they're still in NEFs, I haven't had the time to convert any yet.
During the weekend I will try to convert them and will upload a few.
 
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